Quality items in Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts can be the gifts that keep on giving, as children grow up with lasting treasures that sometimes mean even more to them over time. Here are some examples of quality items and reasons they’re important to include: Quality items can become life-long keepsakes. Some shoebox items are…
“Mama Gump”: Her Hugs Went a Long Way
“Brother Graham, I’m Mary. Gotcha some shoeboxes for God. Where do you want ’em?” That’s how Mary Damron introduced herself to Franklin Graham, 30 years ago. A coal-miner’s wife from West Virginia with a great heart for children, Mary became a global ambassador for Operation Christmas Child during just the second year of the project.…
Operation Christmas Child Grows Albanian Church
Mark Datson is the Operation Christmas Child Regional Director for the Baltics, Balkans, and Central Europe. “… in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum [in present-day Albania] I have fully preached the gospel of Christ” (Romans 15:19, NKJV). Today, Operation…
Bringing Hearts to Christ in Cambodia
Hands clasped, heads bowed, children whisper their first words to the Creator they’ve just learned about. This moment of solemn surrender happens at tens of thousands of Operation Christmas Child outreach events across the globe each year. Watching one such prayer in his home country of Cambodia was especially meaningful to a boy named Samay*.…
Churches Dedicated Among Unreached Himba of Namibia
Update (Sept. 8, 2021): Since this article was originally published in 2019, Samaritan’s Purse has built a second church building in the Himba community of Otutati. Dedicated on February 27, 2021, this facility is an additional outpost of hope to this unreached people group. The Gospel continues to spread among them through the oral resources…
Newsletter December 2024
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2024 Mid-Year Report
God Uses Operation Christmas Child to Launch Mongolian Churches
Batnorov, Mongolia, is home to only 5,500 people, though an incredible 400,000 head of cattle graze here. Located closer to Russia than the country’s capital of Ulaanbaatar, it is known to Mongolians as the birthplace of Ghenghis Khan’s best friend, Boorchi. However, it’s not because of cows or famous friends that there’s been celebration in…











