A broken leg for a man named Sunday brought consequences far beyond pain and inconvenience—his children stopped attending school and his family rarely ate as he begged on the streets to survive. The father of three was felling trees, his job of 10 years, when a freak accident sent a heavy limb crashing into his…
Health & Medical Ministries
Call Me Beautiful
In her tribal community, Adamma* knew from a young age her esteemed purpose in life was to become a wife and a mother. But at age 22, she remains neither due to a medical condition that makes her unable to become pregnant. Adamma felt cursed, as other girls had already been married for several years…
Health & Medical Ministries
Restoring Sight in South Sudan
Chiray, 24, walked many hours, guided by a cousin, from his village to Mankien, South Sudan, because he’d heard there were doctors there who could help him to see again. He’d been blind for more than a decade. At 10 years old, Chiray began to lose his sight. For the longest time he’d blamed it…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Hope Rises on the Frontlines
For almost a year, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted and devastated communities around the world—with more than 100 million cases reported globally. The overall impact of the outbreak is staggering. In the United States, case numbers have surpassed 27 million with close to 500,000 deaths. Los Angeles County alone has reported more than 1.8 million…
Operation Christmas Child
A Shoebox Gift Filled A Hole in His Heart
When people tell Karabo Maretlane he’s lucky, he says, “I’m chosen.” Karabo grew up in a village in the southern African nation of Lesotho. When he was 5 years old, his father died and his mother left him with his grandmother. As this elderly woman raised him, she taught him how to read, write, and…
Operation Christmas Child
Shoebox Gifts Open Gospel Doors Among Benin’s Unreached Peoples
Ogouleroun was quick with a big smile on that Sunday morning, singing joyfully near the back opening of the rough-built church in a field donated by the village chief. The wooden structure was roofed with dried palm fronds, and Ogouleroun’s hands touched that roof as he worshipped. His tall stature stood out among the other…
Operation Christmas Child
Shoebox Gifts Remind Mexico’s Children that God Is Near
Esmeralda startled her daughter Fernanda awake as Hurricane Otis roared over their town just outside of Acapulco. Gentle words did little to sooth the 10-year-old’s fears as she saw the terror in her mother’s face, especially as the sheet metal roof peeled away. “I told them, ‘We’re going to stay here and nothing’s going to…
Operation Christmas Child
After Overcoming Leukemia, Shoebox Recipient Disciples Others
Laying in a hospital bed in Panama City, Panama, Maykel only had a few days to live—or so the doctors told his parents when they informed them he had Stage 3 leukemia. Their precious son, only 11 years old, had recently heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ when he received a gift-filled Operation Christmas Child…
Operation Christmas Child
Life Change in Central Asia
Providential Meeting Changes Lives in Central Asia God uses a shoebox gift to draw a boy to Christ just days before his death. Facebook Twitter email As Pastor Gadi returned from distributing shoebox gifts to children in a village several miles from the capital city, he saw two boys standing on the side of the road…
Operation Christmas Child
Samaritan’s Purse Celebrates 10.5 Million Shoebox Gifts Collected for Children in Need
Samaritan's Purse Celebrates 10.5 Million Shoebox Gifts Collected for Children in Need BOONE, N.C., Jan. 17, 2020 Because of the generosity of donors across the United States, Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse, collected more than 8.9 million shoeboxes in 2019. Packed with fun toys, school supplies and hygiene items, these gifts bring joy and the eternal…
