Army Sergeant Omar Cortes served in the military for 15 years and was deployed twice to Iraq. He was medically retired in 2013 due to his combat injuries. After returning home to Puerto Rico, Omar and his wife Heidy started growing apart and desperately needed to reconnect—not only with one another but with God. Omar…
Ends of the Earth (es)
By Volunteering, She Became a Prayer Warrior
“Prayer is such a central piece of Operation Christmas Child. It supports all parts of the organization. It’s that underpinning to make sure everything else runs smoothly,” said Nancy Osborn, prayer coordinator for the Maine West team of year-round volunteers in the Portland area. A resident of Falmouth, Maine, Nancy works full-time as an inventory…
Veteran Couples Find Healing, Help in Christ During Alaska Marriage Training
The summer season of Operation Heal Our Patriots is off to a great start! We’ve already welcomed about 30 couples to Samaritan Lodge Alaska, and we expect to host nearly 160 couples before the season ends. We praise God that we’re already seeing life transformation among these wounded veterans and their spouses. Individuals are coming…
Shoebox Gifts Bridge the Divide
Shoebox Gifts Bridge the Divide Shoebox Gifts Bridge the Divide God used prayer and Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts to help reconcile a believer to his estranged family. Today he is no longer the only Christian among them! Ibrahim* grew up in a rural village in Burkina Faso. The local community highly respected his family because…
Remembering 9/11, Strengthening Military Marriages
As the world marks the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Samaritan’s Purse continues to strengthen the marriages of wounded military veterans and spouses who’ve sacrificed so much to defend the freedoms our nation enjoys. The September 11 attacks are what led many to armed service, which included combat deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, and…
Shoebox Distribution Photos
A Shoebox Gift Filled A Hole in His Heart
When people tell Karabo Maretlane he’s lucky, he says, “I’m chosen.” Karabo grew up in a village in the southern African nation of Lesotho. When he was 5 years old, his father died and his mother left him with his grandmother. As this elderly woman raised him, she taught him how to read, write, and…
Treasures in the Trash
Koshe dumpsite in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, contains mountains of trash. Some families who live near it are left to scale its slopes daily in search of salvageable items to provide for their sons and daughters. What toys these precious ones have were once on the trash heap. Samaritan’s Purse recently delivered Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes…
Blessing Children in Chile
Boys and girls in Santiago, Chile, are learning about God’s love for them through Operation Christmas Child outreach events at local churches. Every child who receives a gift-filled shoebox also gets a copy of The Greatest Gift Gospel booklet. Watch the video above to see how the Lord used a shoebox gift prayerfully packed in…












