Pastor Soja knew that there were two words the Bara people group never wanted to hear: “Jesus” and “prayer.” Made up of more than a million people, this ethnic group inhabits southern Madagascar, the island nation off the east coast of Africa. Cattle rustlers by trade, they marked themselves by thievery, violence, and isolation. Fifteen…
Building Church Partners
Dally Quintana serves as the church relations coordinator in Chicago, where she leads a team of volunteers to promote Operation Christmas Child among their congregations. Dally and her husband, Hector, began volunteering with Operation Christmas Child in 2012 and have packed shoeboxes for over 17 years. They started out as project leaders in their church,…
Newsletter May 2024
Ends of the Earth
“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.…
Press Release Operation Christmas Child December 20, 2022
Growing Faith and Local Gardens in Northwest Liberia
For the first time in her life, Teter Washington learned the importance of churning up the soil before applying fertilizer, and she’s learned the technique of growing plants in bags filled with water and nutrients. These simple improvements to her farming practices have produced higher quality and higher quantity harvests. And this increase in her…
Missouri Volunteer Motivated by Jesus’ Last Words
Springfield area resident fulfills dream to reach children for Christ through Operation Christmas Child. Jill Cobb of Mountain View, Missouri, does what she does because she’s focused on Christ’s final words on earth, which begin: “Go and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19, NKJV). She volunteers as an area coordinator for Operation Christmas…
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…