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
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
Sailors Brave Difficult Seas to Deliver Shoebox Gifts in the Pacific
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…
Our Ministry
Newsletter September 2025
Franklin Graham Update | September Franklin Graham Update | September It's All About Jesus Dear Friend, Another season of Operation Christmas Child is just around the corner! In a few weeks, millions of God's people will be packing and praying over their shoebox gifts that Samaritan's Purse will send to children across the world. We give glory to God that in over three decades we…
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…
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
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…
Operation Christmas Child
‘Thank You So Much for Bringing Me to Jesus’
Millions of Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts are packed for boys and girls in need around the world each year, many of which include an email or physical address inviting the child to write back. If you have ever packed one of those boxes and wished you could hear from the child who received it,…
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
Shoebox Packers Go From Devastation to Celebration
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…
