Tchao Beleyi used to be haunted by nightmares of people chasing him down to beat him. “When I would sleep, in my dreams, I would see people following me, pursuing me,” he said. His 9-year-old son Kevin was also troubled. “He used to steal money from us,” Tchao said. “If he saw money lying around,…
Operation Christmas Child
Good News and Great Joy Delivered—by Shoebox—to a Teen in Mongolia
When Dariya, 13, of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift in February, it interrupted her life with joy. ‘They Told Us About Jesus’ Dariya lives in an apartment in the Mongolian capital with her grandmother, Bebe Bakhpit, and 10-year-old cousin, Hannah. Her parents are divorced, and her mother works in South Korea—often…
Operation Christmas Child
Texas Teen Crochets for Girls Around the World
During National Collection Week two years ago, Alathia Purtell formed what even she thought was an impossible dream—to produce 2,000 crocheted purses for Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts. Alathia, then 12, was visiting her maternal grandparents in Canton, Texas, when she went with her grandmother Sue to her church’s shoebox drop-off location. There, Alathia saw…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Volunteers Begin Helping California Homeowners After Devastating Fire
SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER IN CALIFORNIA There wasn’t much time to flee Paradise as the Camp Fire roared across Butte County, California. Residents reported harrowing escapes with their shoes heating up under them as they abandoned cars stuck on melting tires. Before it was fully contained, the Camp Fire burned more than 14,000 homes and…
Operation Christmas Child
God Is Transforming Families in Botswana through The Greatest Journey
In the desert village of Serinane, hours outside Botswana’s capital Gaborone, jobs are hard to come by. The little money that finds its way to the village is often spent on alcohol; many families are hurting as a result. Life is difficult for everyone here. Change will only come person by person, with God’s transforming…
Operation Christmas Child
Zac’s Story: Coming Full Circle from Fiji
Zac and a Jump Rope Please enable Javascript to watch this video “Somebody thought of me.” Zac and his four siblings grew up playing with sticks and stones in his home country of Fiji. They played with what was available because exchanging gifts wasn’t common in their culture. And, for the family of seven, they…
Operation Christmas Child
Volunteer Perseveres in Leadership Despite Challenges
After spending 24 years as a special agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kathy Aiken found a different calling. Today, Kathy serves as an area coordinator for the Operation Christmas Child East Alabama Area Team. Based out of Talladega County, Kathy leads a team of volunteers that promote shoebox packing year-round. “I feel like…
Operation Christmas Child Espanol
Volunteer at a Drop-off Location (es)
Sirve como Voluntario en un Drop-off Location Semana Nacional de Recolección En cerca de 5,000 lugares en toda la nación, hay voluntarios que dan la bienvenida y oran con las personas que entregan cajas para Operation Christmas Child. Otros voluntarios llenan contenedores y cargan camiones con las millones de cajas que, en oración, anticipamos recibir.…
50 Years of Ministry
Discipling Boys and Girls through The Greatest Journey
After 16 years of collecting and delivering Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts, Samaritan’s Purse launched its own follow-up discipleship program for the boys and girls who receive them. In 2009, this 12-lesson course called The Greatest Journey started at Good Shepherd Church in Pifo, Ecuador, located just outside of Quito, and today has grown to…
Our Ministry
Social Media Links
It's National Collection Week! Pack a Shoebox Find Your Drop-off Location Rushing Relief to Jamaica After Hurricane Melissa Give Now Christmas Catalog 2025 You can bless your friends and family! Give a gift—a goat, clean water, emergency food, or any of 35 options—in their honor, and you’re sure to touch their heart and help someone in need.…
