A team of seven recently set sail on a 57-foot boat named Cloud Nine with cartons of Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts on board. Their destination? An isolated part of Kwajalein Atoll. Home to some 11,000 people scattered across 100 small islands, Kwajalein Atoll is a part of the Marshall Islands, a nation located in…
Operation Christmas Child
Shoebox Gifts Help Churches Share the Gospel Across Ukraine
Millions of children have fled to western Ukraine or left the country entirely since war broke out last February. Each of them has a different story of confusion, fear, and trauma. Churches across Ukraine are meeting the practical needs of the displaced in many ways, including providing shelter and food. Samaritan’s Purse alone has provided…
Operation Christmas Child
The Good News Blossoms in West Africa
Johnjames left his home in Nigeria to serve as a missionary in Gambia, a nearby West African nation, in January 2020. He brought with him his 5-year-old son, Unique, while his wife and newborn son planned to join them a couple months later. Due to the global pandemic, however, those travel plans were thwarted. Undaunted,…
Operation Christmas Child
Family & Children’s Resources
Family and Children's Resources Our collection of child-friendly resources can help your church, group, or family catch the vision for packing shoebox gifts for boys and girls in need around the world. Be sure to check out all of the fun options! Featured Resource Lola's Lion :60 Second Trailer Lola, a lonely little girl living in…
Operation Christmas Child
God’s Perfect Timing in Honduras
Guanaja is one of Honduras’ three picturesque Bay Islands, located 44 miles off the north coast of the mainland in the Caribbean. One of its cays is home to the densely packed tiny town of El Cayo: population 5,300. It’s known as the Venice of Honduras because of a series of winding canals that run…
Operation Christmas Child
Reaching the Deaf Community in the Country of Georgia
Pastor Paata has a big goal: to reach every family that includes a deaf person in the country of Georgia with the Good News of Jesus Christ. And he’s found a great tool to start conversations with deaf children or a hearing child of deaf parents—Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts. Paata, who is deaf, said…
Operation Christmas Child
Sparking Revival in Paraguay
Joyous cries permeated the quiet streets of the San Lorenzo neighborhood in the outskirts of Asuncion, Paraguay, as dozens of children peeled open their Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts. Jaws dropped at the sight of soccer balls, stuffed animals, crayons, and more. The initial timidness vanished as the group of 50 children picked out their…
Our Ministry
Franklin Graham Hands Out Shoebox Gifts, Meets Children’s Heart Project Families in Mongolia
Franklin Graham spent a whirlwind weekend in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, as he met with children and families who have benefited from Samaritan’s Purse Children’s Heart Project and later gave out Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts. On Friday, he enjoyed song and dance performances by Mongolian girls and boys who have received critically needed cardiac surgery through…
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
God Uses Shoebox Gifts to Start a Church in Ghana
Northern Ghana is known for its wildlife—elephants, buffalo, and leopards roam the Savannah region—but also boasts a mosque that dates back to the 1400s. This ancient building made of mud and reeds stands is a source of pride for local Muslims, including the Kamara people. They saw Christians as unwanted foreigners, that is, until a…
