OCC Ghana
Thirty-seven percent of Ghana’s 24.8 million people are 14-years-old or younger. In the 2011-2012 season, 180,000 shoe box gifts will be delivered to children in Ghana, which first received the gifts in 1996. Since then, 1,040,491 children in Ghana have received a shoe box gift.
In 2010, Operation Christmas Child began offering a new, follow-up discipleship program to our ministry partners in conjunction with the shoe box gifts. This year in Ghana, these Bible lessons will be offered to 19,600 children who receive a shoe box gift.
The Greatest Journey begins when children are freely offered Gospel storybooks along with their shoe boxes. The Greatest Gift of All booklets—printed in over 70 languages—contain colorful illustrations that explain the Good News of Jesus Christ in a simple, engaging style.
After receiving a shoe box gift, boys and girls are invited to participate in the voluntary Bible study course produced by Samaritan’s Purse. The 12-lesson set guides children through a study of who Jesus Christ is, what it means to follow Him, and how to share this exciting message with others.
To help these boys and girls continue to grow in their faith, we also want to provide them with their own copies of the Greatest Gift of All New Testament. This special edition also includes select Old Testament stories, a dictionary, and a section that encourages the children to memorize Scripture.
Spiritual Impact Stories
Sharing the Greatest Gift
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights" (James 1:17a, NIV).
While distributing Operation Christmas Child shoe box gifts in a village in Ghana, a member of the National Leadership Team noticed the thickly calloused feet of a young boy. “Please, God, let this boy receive a pair of shoes in his box,” the woman prayed. The boy had never owned a pair of shoes and walked a total of six miles just to get to school every day. When the child opened his box, he found not just one pair of shoes, but two! And both pairs were just his size! The volunteer rejoiced when she saw that God had placed the perfect gift into the hands, and onto the feet, of this child.
Strengthening the Churches
Eight new churches in the Eastern and Western Regions of Ghana have been started this year as a result of shoe box gift distributions, and other churches have been strengthened.
PRAYER REQUESTS
Pray for local volunteers as they look for new opportunities to distribute shoe box gifts.
RELATED STORIES
Christmas Joy in the Dominican Republic
Fox News hosts Greta Van Susteren and Sean Hannity join Franklin Graham to distribute shoe box gifts to children in the Dominican Republic and Haiti
A Valued Treasure
A shoe box gift showed comfort and the love of God to a young man while he was an orphan living in Russia
A Celebration of Service
Franklin Graham thanks Operation Christmas Child volunteers for helping spread the message of God’s love through shoe box gifts
