The strewn debris and trash still hanging from the barren trees in Brandt Justice’s backyard stand as stark reminders of how high the waters rose when floods ravaged his small Kentucky community last week. In the early hours of Feb. 16, the small tributary behind his home suddenly swelled and climbed to the tips of…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Pack Animals Gifted to Carolina Organization Helping with Helene Relief
A February storm had softened the ground considerably and loosened the roots on an old poplar tree. Wind gusts finished it off. Mike and Michele Toberer were hours out of town when the timber fell and broke a large opening into a fence holding their mules. Three of them escaped into the highway. “That was…
Our Ministry
On Call – Spring 2025 – Cow Horns and Kangaroos
Cow Horns and Kangaroos World Medical Mission – A Ministry of Samaritan's Purse Spring 2025 Blog by Dr. Brian Ginn, a general surgeon at Nazarene General Hospital in Papua New Guinea. Brian and his wife, Abigail, a pediatrician, are serving through the Post-Residency Program. World Medical Mission Serve with Us Apply Now There is a lot…
Operation Christmas Child
Shoebox Heroes
Millions of people become shoebox heroes to children in need around the world by prayerfully packing an ordinary box with toys and other fun items to communicate God’s love in a way a boy or girl can understand. But some shoebox heroes go “above and beyond” to ensure that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed through Operation…
Operation Christmas Child
Follow My Shoeboxes with Me
Follow My Shoeboxes with Me The Operation Christmas Child shoebox I packed full of toys and other fun items went to a girl or boy in the country listed below along with the message of God's love. These simple gifts bless not only the child in need, but their family and community as well! My shoebox…
Operation Christmas Child
Press Release Operation Christmas Child Feb. 1 – Over 11.3 Million Shoebox Gifts Collected
Local Families Provide School Supplies for Children in Need Around the World BOONE, N.C.—As the summer season comes to an end, local families are preparing for the school year with back-to-school sales, but many families are not just shopping for their own children. Families are collecting school supplies, along with personal care items and fun…
Operation Christmas Child
Operation Christmas Child Brings Hope to Fire-Ravaged Community
Notebooks and pencils were some of the items that immediately caught Fernanda’s attention when she peered inside of her shoebox gift. She’d be going back to school in a few months and had no supplies to take with her—everything she owned had burned during a fire a few weeks earlier. The inferno had attacked the…
Operation Christmas Child
Reminded of God’s Faithfulness after Helene
Letis Avila lifted her hands to the Lord in prayer as Hurricane Helene bore down on her western North Carolina home last September. Though the storm took a lot from the Salvadoran mother of two, Letis is still praising God today. Soon after the sky cleared and waters receded, two Samaritan’s Purse staff members arrived…
Our Ministry
Newsletter September 2025
Franklin Graham Update | September Franklin Graham Update | September It's All About Jesus Dear Friend, Another season of Operation Christmas Child is just around the corner! In a few weeks, millions of God's people will be packing and praying over their shoebox gifts that Samaritan's Purse will send to children across the world. We give glory to God that in over three decades we…
Operation Christmas Child
Age Is No Obstacle for Shoebox Packing
Leila Mae Cummings’ favorite activity is to pack Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts. This 98-year-old resident of Greensboro, North Carolina, packed hundreds of them this year because she has a heart for children and hard work. “Growing up on the farm, I can’t ever remember a time when I didn’t have a job to do,”…
