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PrayerPoint archive

Miriam stood in disbelief as she surveyed her family’s new home—an unheated classroom with mattresses pushed against the concrete walls and one electric bulb to provide the sole source of light.

The teenager wanted to cry when she thought about their small farm near the village of Tamarasheni. She could picture every detail of the two-story house where she had lived with her parents, grandparents, and brother. Now it was all gone.

The loss was difficult to comprehend.

“After the bombing, I was very afraid,” Miriam said. “It’s hard to talk about. I feel so far away from my friends and school and home.”

Longstanding tensions between Russia and the former Soviet state of Georgia erupted into all-out war last August. Dozens of villages like Miriam’s were caught in the crossfire and virtually wiped out in the onslaught.

In December, Samaritan’s Purse delivered thousands of shoe box gifts to children like Miriam whose families were living in school shelters. Miriam smiled more than she had in months as she looked item by item at the gifts of love sent by a child in America.

Several churches across Georgia are partnering with Operation Christmas Child to bring the Good News of the Prince of Peace to refugee children. Giorgi, whose church has participated in the project for 10 years, is excited about the opportunity to give youth a more global perspective of God’s love.

“The boxes say, ‘You are not alone in your world. Other people care about you.’ And it reminds children that they have a responsibility to give to others and to connect to the rest of the world,” he said.

The outreach is also bringing unity to church denominations as they join together to share the hope of Christ.

“We want to be good examples of peace,” Giorgi said.