Faith Community Church of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, included an extra-special element in a recent worship service. Nineteen-year-old Evilyn Pinnow, founder of the church’s shoebox club, returned from college in Ohio to lead the congregation in the packing of their 10,000th shoebox gift. Significant contributors in the history of the club brought toys, school supplies, and…
Operation Christmas Child
Shoebox Gifts Protected in the Storms
When Hurricane Laura threatened Louisiana at the end of August, and again when Hurricane Delta came only a few weeks later, Lula Singletary and her daughter, Kathy Guidry, prayed for God’s protection as they evacuated their neighboring homes in Woodlawn. This community near the town of Jennings endured wind gusts of more than 165 mph,…
Operation Christmas Child
Thinking Locally—and Globally—with Operation Christmas Child
Ben Smith knows the power of a good story and the difference it can make in people’s lives. Hearing stories about how Operation Christmas Child helped bring the Gospel to children around the world fueled his involvement in the Samaritan’s Purse project from the very beginning. As a child, he packed shoebox gifts with his…
Operation Christmas Child
Planting Gospel Seeds in Ghana
Steady streams dripped from holes in the roof, and puddles were scattered all over the floor. The rain pounded relentlessly and threatened to drown out every other sound in the small church. But as the wet and windy thrashing continued, the songs of praise soared louder. Rita Danso had just started a Gospel presentation when…
Operation Christmas Child
Shoebox Gifts Open Doors in Storm-Weary Acapulco
Children and many of their parents gathered together under the large cobertizo in La Barra de Coyuca. The young people of this small town just west of Acapulco recall, as if yesterday, the nightmare of Hurricane Otis. Even now, when it begins to rain or the winds pick up enough to shake their roofs, children…
Operation Christmas Child
Franklin Graham Hands Out Shoeboxes on Saipan and Guam
Feb. 22-23 UPDATE Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham and his wife Jane, along with musical artist Michael W. Smith, traveled to Guam on Saturday, Feb. 22, to help hand out gift-filled Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes at Life in the Son Christian Fellowship in Tamuning. The day before the trio assisted in distributing shoeboxes on nearby…
Our Ministry
OCC Special Report Pacific Islands Story
Special Report A Project of Samaritan's Purse Children on Remote Pacific Islands Respond to the Gospel A new Operation Christmas Child initiative is bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to isolated island nations. Some communities in the Marshall Islands are so isolated that the only way to reach them is by boat. On Lib…
Franklin Graham
Newsletter December 2024
Franklin Graham Update | December Franklin Graham Update | December 'From Devastation To Celebration' Dear Friend, As Christmas approaches, we continue to see so much need all around us. Our disaster relief teams have served thousands of storm-stricken families. Meanwhile, we've been collecting and shipping Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts to millions of children worldwide. Hurricane Helene brought out the best in our…
Operation Christmas Child
Shoebox Gifts Bring Joy to Deaf Children in Namibia
The classroom was quiet as boys and girls opened their Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. There were no squeals of excitement or chattering, no shouting for friends to come and look at the fun gifts inside their shoebox. Yet, their smiles were so big and bright that verbal expressions weren’t needed to reveal the joy overflowing…
Operation Christmas Child
Operation Christmas Child Brings Gift-Filled Shoeboxes to Palau
Franklin Graham’s bold vision to deliver gift-filled Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes in Jesus’ Name to every child on 1,000 Pacific islands—more than half a million kids—began early last year and reached more than 65,000 children in 2019. Earlier this year, the campaign arrived ashore on Palau, where scores of shoeboxes were handed out to children…
