As smiling volunteers place red-and-green shoeboxes into the waiting, outstretched hands of children who have no concept of a gift or the love of Christ, a man wearing a shirt bearing the logo of Operation Christmas Child quietly watches with a look of reflection on his face. “Each time it captures my heart when I…
Operation Christmas Child
God Is at Work in Benin’s Furthest Reaches
In the early morning the long wooden boats motored gently across Nokoue Lake, past the small craft propelled by colorful sails, past the fishermen tending and mending large traps, toward the water dwellings of Ganvie. Secured in the wooden craft were hundreds of Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts destined for an outreach event at a…
Operation Christmas Child
Fueled by Faith
Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts are making their way from processing centers to trained volunteers around the world. These teams often go to great lengths to deliver the gifts to the far reaches of their countries so that boys and girls can hear about God’s Greatest Gift, Jesus Christ. Here are some interesting modes of…
Operation Christmas Child
God’s Perfect Timing in Honduras
Guanaja is one of Honduras’ three picturesque Bay Islands, located 44 miles off the north coast of the mainland in the Caribbean. One of its cays is home to the densely packed tiny town of El Cayo: population 5,300. It’s known as the Venice of Honduras because of a series of winding canals that run…
Operation Christmas Child
Bringing the Good News to an Island Off Ivory Coast
The island of Vridi Ako is a largely forgotten place, even though it is located just a short distance from Ivory Coast’s largest city, Abidjan. Accessible only via a 30-minute ride aboard a makeshift wooden ferryboat, Vridi Ako is home to a wide variety of ethnic groups. The one common denominator on the island is…
Our Ministry
Franklin Graham Hands Out Shoebox Gifts, Meets Children’s Heart Project Families in Mongolia
Franklin Graham spent a whirlwind weekend in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, as he met with children and families who have benefited from Samaritan’s Purse Children’s Heart Project and later gave out Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts. On Friday, he enjoyed song and dance performances by Mongolian girls and boys who have received critically needed cardiac surgery through…
Operation Christmas Child
The Happy Grandmas Send God’s Love
Their days often start early and end late, but when you’re doing what you love, the busy days don’t really seem like work at all. “This brings us joy every day. We give every day to God, every part of this ministry,” said Barbara Korn, who is part of the dynamic duo known as “The…
Operation Christmas Child
Faith on the Mountaintop
Pastor Rick and his team knew it would be tough—physically and spiritually—to reach the remote village they had been lifting up in prayer. To share the Good News of Jesus Christ there, the group had to scale steep mountains, cross rivers full of rocks and stones, and push through dense bamboo and vegetation. Their journey…
Operation Christmas Child
Delivering Grace
“We want to help make disciples. We want kids to know that they are loved by the creator of the universe. We want kids to know that Jesus died for their sins and they did nothing to deserve it. It’s unconditional.” Kimberly Hahn, director of operations at Orange Lutheran High School in California, overflows when…
Operation Christmas Child
From Wyoming to the World with Love
Jana Ginter lives on the southeastern plains of Wyoming, 30 miles east of Cheyenne, a place where golden wheat fields stretch in almost every direction to the far distant horizon and where acres of sunflowers glow in the late-summer sun. Here, “next-door” neighbors live several miles apart, separated by spacious farms and cattle ranches, most…
