Over the past 16 years, I’ve had the opportunity to hand out Christmas gifts to hurting children all over the world and to tell them the story of the Savior who came from heaven to rescue us from sin and death. Nothing brings it all together—the joy of Christmas with the power of the Gospel—quite like Operation Christmas Child.

During the next few weeks, people just like you will be filling shoe boxes with simple gifts—each one for a precious girl or boy that the Lord has laid on their hearts. Samaritan’s Purse will collect those millions of boxes and ship them overseas for delivery to children in over 100 countries around the globe.

While we are reaching millions of children and families, God is touching one heart at a time. Every box you pack represents one more child who will have the opportunity to hear the Good News of God’s love.

One child whose heart was touched was Cecilia, a 13-year-old Mexican girl suffering from a malignant tumor behind her eye. She heard the Gospel during the gift distribution and immediately accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior.

Two days later, her sickness put Cecilia in the hospital. She asked her parents to bring her the doll and teddy bear from her shoe box, “so I can take them to heaven with me.” Cecilia said she had lived the most wonderful day of her life on the day she got the box and found Jesus. Cecilia is in heaven now, but through her witness, her parents and grandparents have become believers.

For our church partners across Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, the shoe box gifts are a powerful tool for sharing the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.

These tangible expressions of God’s love open doors for local churches to share the true meaning of Christmas—God’s gift of His Son, Jesus.

Along with their shoe box gifts, children are given colorful storybooks that present God’s plan of salvation in their local language.

We provide churches with a 12-part Bible study to teach children about the Gospel, invite them to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, and train them to share their faith with family and friends.

Children who complete the Bible lessons receive a personalized certificate and a special New Testament that includes favorite Old Testament stories.

By God’s grace, millions of children have made commitments for Christ and become
strong witnesses for Him to their families and friends. I’d like to share with you just one story about what God did in a little village in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mimbulu is a collection of mud-brick houses and thatched huts with no electricity or
running water. Most of the villagers are subsistence farmers living on far less than $1 a
day. You can imagine how happy and excited the children were when our team handed
out shoe box gifts from Operation Christmas Child. Later, hundreds of girls and boys
signed up for our Discipleship Program, and most of them made commitments to Jesus
Christ through the Bible study course.

Traditional religions and occult practices are common in this part of Africa, but many people in Mimbulu have been delivered from spiritual darkness as a result of this evangelistic outreach. Three girls, all under the age of 10, confessed to being involved in witchcraft, repented of their sins, and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ. One cult leader, after reading his son’s Bible lessons, renounced his false religion and surrendered his life to the Lord. Other adults turned to Christ at the graduation ceremony where they heard their children recite Scripture and listened to a pastor preach the Gospel.

The Lord is doing great things in Mimbulu, and we give Him all the glory!

We treat every single gift box as a Gospel opportunity. That’s why prayer is the most important thing we ask people to do when they pack their shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. We want each person to pray for the child who receives the box and ask God to touch that child’s heart. That’s where the real power of Operation Christmas Child lies—in God’s answers to those millions of heartfelt prayers. Jesus promised,
“Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13, NKJV).

There are girls and boys all over the world who would treasure a box of gifts from someone like you. Encourage your church and friends to get involved. Together, we can see children, families, and even entire communities transformed for the glory of God.

Please pray for Operation Christmas Child in the weeks ahead as we deal with the extraordinarily complicated task of collecting, processing, and shipping millions of gifts. This is the largest Christmas gift project in the world, and it is possible only through God’s power and grace.

Thank you, and may God richly bless you in the upcoming holiday season.

Sincerely,

President
Samaritan's Purse

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