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…
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…
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…
Emergency Field Hospital Opens, Expanding Medical Care in Mozambique
UPDATE (April 11): One week after opening our Emergency Field Hospital in Buzi, Mozambique, Samaritan’s Purse medical staff have treated some 1,000 patients and delivered ten babies—opening a second maternal ward to meet the growing number of expectant mothers. Delfina was terrified that she would have to give birth in the rising water when Cyclone…
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…
Samaritan’s Purse On the Ground in Flooded Southeast Texas
Update (Sept. 27): Samaritan’s Purse continues work in Vidor and Winnie, Texas. In Vidor, we have our Team Patriot volunteers serving for the first time on a disaster relief mission. Team Patriot is a brand-new initiative that offers Operation Heal Our Patriots couples—wounded military veterans and their spouses—an opportunity to serve U.S. homeowners after a…
What DART Means to Me
APPLY NOW FOR THE DISASTER ASSISTANCE RESPONSE TEAM Four years ago, when Hurricane Irma hit the Caribbean, my wife and I were living on the island of Antigua. It was at this time when I first learned about the Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART). We were amazed at the talent, speed, and godliness…
Greta Van Susteren Christmas Special on Newsmax
Greta Van Susteren recently traveled to Jamaica to cover the relief work of Samaritan’s Purse on the island after Hurricane Melissa. She will be spotlighting the ministry of Operation Christmas Child as we delivered shoebox gifts to children in need. Her Christmas TV special aired at 4 p.m. ET on Christmas Eve and 4 p.m.…
Team Patriot
God Answers Prayers in Storm-Wrecked Jamaica
Derick emerged from cover to survey the storm he had just survived. Hurricane Melissa had churned for hours over Black River, Jamaica, and from what he could see, his community was in ruins. The once-lush tropical forests had been stripped of all color, while aluminum roofs and household possessions were strewn across the streets. Aluminum…











