!["The Mighty DC-8 has been [God's] instrument taking the Gospel message of Jesus Christ throughout the world," writes Joe Proffitt, a flight engineer with Samaritan's Purse, as the legendary plane is decommissioned.](https://spweb-uploads.s3.theark.cloud/2025/11/HS-1-320x273.jpg)
My name is Joe Proffitt and I have had the honor and privilege to be a flight engineer aboard this beautiful aircraft, the Mighty DC-8, for the past five and a half years. McDonnell Douglas produced 554 DC-8s. Samaritan’s Purse was blessed to operate the last one registered in the United States. In 2014, during…
Operation Christmas Child
The Gospel Transforms a Family in East Africa
Bahati was suffering from constant headaches a couple years ago. So, her mother Sina turned to the only people she thought might be able to help her daughter. She went to the local Christians and asked for prayer. Sina was not a believer herself and, in fact, was sometimes unfriendly to Christians. But she’d heard…
Operation Christmas Child
God Brings New Life to a Disabled Boy in Mongolia Through Operation Christmas Child
Teenaged Sampil is a different person after receiving an Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift. Once generally homebound, he now travels freely about the city of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Instead of being lonely, he now plays on team sports and has many friends. He initially had finished his education at the primary school level, but after a…
Operation Christmas Child
Introducing Churches to Operation Christmas Child
Mary Johnson serves as the church relations coordinator for the Greater Petersburg, Virginia, Area Team. This group of volunteers is responsible for promoting and coordinating shoebox packing efforts in five counties just south of Richmond. “I think our key role for this area is our black churches,” Mary said. “Our job is to get in…
Operation Christmas Child
Encouraging Students to Serve Children Around the World
Adrienne Krater loves encouraging students to help reach children around the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Operation Christmas Child. It’s her focus as a year-round student relations volunteer in the Dayton, Ohio, area. Adrienne encourages local young people to pack Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts and tells them how God is using…
Operation Christmas Child
Press Release Operation Christmas Child January 01-13-21
Samaritan's Purse Celebrates 9.1 Million Shoebox Gifts Collected for Children in Need BOONE, N.C., Jan. 13, 2021—Despite a global pandemic, millions of shoebox packers shared the true meaning of Christmas with children in need this past holiday season. Some 7.8 million gifts were brought to curbside drop-off locations nationwide for the Samaritan’s Purse project Operation…
Operation Christmas Child
Bringing the Good News to an Island Off Ivory Coast
The island of Vridi Ako is a largely forgotten place, even though it is located just a short distance from Ivory Coast’s largest city, Abidjan. Accessible only via a 30-minute ride aboard a makeshift wooden ferryboat, Vridi Ako is home to a wide variety of ethnic groups. The one common denominator on the island is…
Operation Christmas Child
Vladimir and the Toy Car
Vladimir and the Toy Car "How could something as small as a toy car teach me about God’s love?" When I was 9 years old I essentially lost my family. My mother died, and my father’s alcoholism made it difficult for him to raise me. In Ukraine it was tough to find enough work to…
Operation Christmas Child
Nadia and a Doll
Nadia and a Doll "As a Christian from a low-income family in Ukraine, I saw my shoebox gift as an answer to my mother’s prayers. " While growing up in Ukraine I lived in a three-bedroom apartment with my family of 11. Toys were rare in our neighborhood. I remember one of my neighbors showing…
Franklin Graham
Newsletter September
Franklin Graham Update | September Preparing War-Weary Ukrainiansfor a Harsh Winter Preparing War-Weary Ukrainiansfor a Harsh Winter Dear Friend, Winter comes early in Eastern Europe, and it looks like it will be a harsh one for the people of Ukraine. After six months of war, millions are living in badly damaged houses without power or running water as they…
