She peered through a busted window into the church basement and saw that floodwaters from Hurricane Helene had left a muddy mess. The Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift items that First Baptist Church of Damascus, Virginia, had collected during the year were now wet and filthy. Jaz, age 11, saw something that gave her hope—a…
Operation Christmas Child
Idaho Woman Ignites a Passion for Shoebox Ministry in Local Church
Michelle Morgan celebrated her 50th birthday in an unusual way. Instead of cakes, cards, and carefully wrapped presents, she wanted shoeboxes. Fifty of them. And she wanted toys, school supplies, and hygiene items to pack inside of them. Michelle planned to prepare 50 Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes for children in need overseas to commemorate her…
Operation Christmas Child
Press Release Operation Christmas Child August 2022
Families Collect School Supplies for Children in Need BOONE, N.C.—As the new school year approaches, shoebox packers are making use of back-to-school prices to purchase gifts and essential items for children in need around the world. They are collecting school supplies along with hygiene items and fun toys, to pack in shoeboxes. Operation Christmas Child,…
Operation Christmas Child
Dania and a Radio
Dania and a Radio "Even though we were poor, prayer made us feel rich." I was born in the Middle East in a country where 97 percent of the population—including my parents—didn’t believe Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord. My parents moved our family to another country in the region to pursue a better future.…
Operation Christmas Child
Evangeline and the Glitter Notebook
Evangeline and the School Supplies Please enable Javascript to watch this video “Growing up in a dump site you smell smoke and other unpleasant things, but the shoebox gifts smelled so good.” I grew up on a small island in the Philippines. There were five kids in my family—I’m the second oldest. My parents were…
50 Years of Ministry
Good News and Great Joy for Children Around the World
The summer of 1993, Franklin Graham received a call from England asking if he would fill shoeboxes with gifts for kids in war-torn Eastern Europe. Familiar with the suffering there from his recent visits to the region, Franklin agreed. Around Thanksgiving, his office received another call from England asking about the gifts. Franklin remembered the…
Operation Christmas Child
Shoebox Packers
Shoebox Packers These photographs are available for news media outlet use in coverage of Samaritan's Purse-related stories. If your news outlet uses a photograph, please credit: "Courtesy of Samaritan's Purse." These photographs are not for commercial use. It’s never too early to get children involved with packing shoeboxes! A girl completes her shoebox gift by including…
Operation Christmas Child
Colombian, Venezuelan Children Receive Shoebox Gifts at Easter
On Easter weekend, April 19-20, hundreds of children in the Colombia-Venezuela border city of Cúcuta, Colombia, heard about Jesus’ love for them through Operation Christmas Child. Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, joined one of our church partners in Cúcuta to present the Gospel and hand out Operation Christmas…
Operation Christmas Child
Caring for Grenada a Year After Beryl
Last summer, Hurricane Beryl ripped through the Windward Islands as a Category 4 storm. The tiny island of Carriacou—20 miles northeast of mainland Grenada and home to nearly 10,000 people—received the brunt of Beryl’s fury. Sustained winds of 150 miles per hour thrashed its shores and whipped through its rolling hills ripping roofs off houses…
Our Ministry
Opportunities Arise for Punta Gorda Church After Hurricane
Pastors of New Life in Christ Church in Punta Gorda, Florida, had been praying that God would bring revival to their congregation and to their community. They didn’t want the Gospel to just stay inside the walls of their church. However, they never imagined that God would answer their prayers through a fierce hurricane named…
