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…
Operation Christmas Child
Operation Christmas Child Blesses Typhoon Survivors on Saipan
Typhoon Yutu destroyed thousands of homes and left families without shelter, food, and water last fall on the small Pacific island of Saipan. Cornerstone Christian Church gathered together and wept during their first worship service after the storm hit. “We were broken, as individual people and as a congregation,” said Femie Rey, whose husband, Manuelito,…
Operation Christmas Child
Good News and Great Joy Delivered—by Shoebox—to a Teen in Mongolia
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…
Operation Christmas Child
The Power of a Shoebox Packed with Love and Prayer
Ivanna Ramos was looking for a miracle. Ivanna, 12, lives with her single mother and three siblings down a dusty dirt road on the island of Roatán, Honduras. Her father left the family years ago, after lots of “arguments and fighting,” she said. “We always had problems for no reason.” The conflicts and her dad’s…
Operation Christmas Child
“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
Edward and Kristy Graham Distribute Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes in Ecuador
Each year, Samaritan’s Purse distributes millions of shoebox gifts around the world to children in need. Edward Graham, the youngest son of Franklin Graham, and his wife Kristy were among those who recently traveled to Ecuador to help distribute Operation Christmas Child gifts and celebrate the graduation of those who completed The Greatest Journey, a…
Operation Christmas Child
Shoebox Gift Distribution Brings New Life, New Ministry in Ecuador
Jamyleth’s life changed for good when she was an 8-year-old girl living on a farm in Riobamba, Ecuador. It was then she received a gift-filled Operation Christmas Child shoebox. “I was very excited,” Jamyleth, now 22, recalls. “I had received presents from my parents before, but nothing like the shoebox. My favorite thing in the…
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
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
Shanika & Sherika and the Mittens
“We received mittens in our shoebox gifts in Jamaica at age 8. Before this, our father cut a notebook and pencil in half so we’d have school supplies.” We grew up in rural Jamaica sharing most things, not because we’re twins but because it was a necessity for our family to make ends meet. Our…
