Nestled in the mountains of the Pichincha province of Ecuador, Pastor Segundo Santacruz leads a large church that meets in a very small building. “Amor a la Vida” (Love for Life), as the congregation is called, reaches out to the Quechua community around them in a variety of creative ways. They provide food for their…
Operation Christmas Child
‘The Lord Loves Even His Enemies’
In a small town on the plains of Central Asia, most people are hostile to the small group of Christians living among them. Though these courageous believers are continually harassed, they faithfully persevere. Two Christian women named Aigul* and Dinara* were meeting regularly to pray for their town. Persecution flared up when Aigul’s mother died.…
Operation Christmas Child
Children in Madagascar Hear the Gospel for the First Time
Pastor Soja knew that there were two words the Bara people group never wanted to hear: “Jesus” and “prayer.” Made up of more than a million people, this ethnic group inhabits southern Madagascar, the island nation off the east coast of Africa. Cattle rustlers by trade, they marked themselves by thievery, violence, and isolation. Fifteen…
Operation Christmas Child
An Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Gave Hope to an Orphan in Honduras
Yuri Lopez grew up in 14 different orphanages in Honduras, after being separated from her family when she was 2 years old. Her life seemed hopeless. But when she was 6, Yuri received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift and “experienced hope for the very first time,” she said. “Everything in my shoebox was special,”…
Media
Press Release Giving Multiplied as Families Provide School Supplies for Children Around the World
Giving Multiplied as Families Provide School Supplies for Children Around the World BOONE, N.C.—Local families are preparing for the school year with back-to-school sales and adding more items to their lists for children in need around the world. Shoebox packers are using this time to purchase gifts and essential items to fill Operation Christmas Child…
Operation Christmas Child
Press Release Operation Christmas Child Drop-off Locations Now Open
Operation Christmas Child Drop-off Locations Now Open BOONE, N.C.—Children in need are being blessed this Christmas season through the Samaritan’s Purse project, Operation Christmas Child. Individuals, families and groups have the opportunity to pack a shoebox gift filled with fun toys, school supplies, and personal care items and drop them off now during National Collection…
Operation Christmas Child
Celebrating 50 Million Children Discipled
“Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). Children are precious to God. The Bible tells us that “children are a gift of the LORD” (Psalm 127:3) and that we are responsible to train them up “in the way [they] should…
Operation Christmas Child
Kojo and a Yo-yo
Kojo and a Yo-yo Kojo received a shoebox in Ghana, West Africa, at age 12. My family of nine shared a one-room clay house. We had little money or food. My mom worked in the local high school cafeteria and fed us with leftover rice and peanut soup. My dad worked in a sugar cane…
Discipleship, Education & Training
The Heart of a Chaplain
In 2009, the Rev. Mark Sukulao lay in a hospital bed in Zimbabwe, very ill, discouraged, and in almost constant pain. This hospital was the third one he had been admitted to in less than two months, and now he was facing another surgery. Many anxious thoughts churned through the pastor’s mind. What was God’s…
Operation Christmas Child
Friendly Competition in Oklahoma Multiplies the Impact of Operation Christmas Child Around the World
Oklahoma youngsters Ava and Sam hold a friendly competition each year to see who can pack the most Operation Christmas Child gift-filled shoeboxes. But, win or lose, their real goal is the same—to see kids all over the world come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Ava and Sam love to pack…
