Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham delivered Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes to children in Yangon, Myanmar, on November 19. He was in the country for a multiday evangelistic festival. This year kicks off the work of Operation Christmas Child in Myanmar. Good news and great joy will be brought to more than 16,000 children through the…
Operation Christmas Child
Louisiana Churches Come Together to Learn about Operation Christmas Child
It was an extraordinary September Saturday for children and their families on New Orleans’ North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Around 100 participants from 11 churches in the area gathered at Crossgate Church in Robert for the first annual Operation Christmas Child Kids’ Summit. Organized by volunteer area coordinator Beth Hiller of River Fellowship in nearby…
Operation Christmas Child
Doors Opening for the Gospel Among the Saramaccans
Romario grew up in the riverside village of Duatra, deep in the jungle of Suriname, along the eastern coast of South America. As a young child, he knew nothing of Jesus Christ, and there was no church for him to visit. Yet his thoughts kept returning to the idea that there must be a God…
Operation Christmas Child
Franklin Graham Reflects on 25 Years of Sharing God’s Love Through Shoebox Gifts Delivered to the Ends of the Earth
Since 1993, Samaritan’s Purse has partnered with local churches around the world to deliver 157 million Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts to children in need in 160 countries. Each one—packed full of fun toys, school supplies, and hygiene items by a family or individual—is sent with prayer that the child who receives it will experience…
Operation Christmas Child
Shoeboxes Launch Outreach to Children in Western Mexico
Jesús was in trouble and he was afraid. He tried to hide from the police, knowing prison—and separation from his wife and children—awaited him. When the police caught Jesús, he was sentenced to seven years in jail in Mazatlan, Mexico. “My life was sad. I felt defeated,” he said. In prison, Jesús met Pastor Carlos,…
Operation Christmas Child
Andy Castillo’s Story: Rescued by God
Andy Castillo, Operation Christmas Child regional director for North and Central America, was interviewed during a recent trip to his native Honduras. He and his team took part in several festive outreach events while there. You became involved in full-time ministry, and specifically children’s ministry, in a unique way. How did that come about? Castillo:…
Operation Christmas Child
Edward Graham Joins Celebration for New Church in the Mountains of Mexico
La Laguna village in remote Mexico, home to the Nahuatl people, was once unreached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. No one in the mountain community had ever heard the name of Jesus. No one had ever been told that God loves them or how they could have a personal relationship with the Living Savior.…
Operation Christmas Child
Shoebox Gifts Go Even Where There Is No Road
Sixty bare-chested men started running towards Dian and Sandee. The group’s leader was waving his rifle in the air and yelling. Among the throng was a man carrying a black cooking pot and more men brandishing their rifles in the air. The two women froze. But to their surprise, the horde ran past them and…
Operation Christmas Child
Shoebox Gifts Help Churches Share the Gospel Across Ukraine
Millions of children have fled to western Ukraine or left the country entirely since war broke out last February. Each of them has a different story of confusion, fear, and trauma. Churches across Ukraine are meeting the practical needs of the displaced in many ways, including providing shelter and food. Samaritan’s Purse alone has provided…
Operation Christmas Child
Shoebox Gifts Bring Joy to Deaf Children in Namibia
The classroom was quiet as boys and girls opened their Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. There were no squeals of excitement or chattering, no shouting for friends to come and look at the fun gifts inside their shoebox. Yet, their smiles were so big and bright that verbal expressions weren’t needed to reveal the joy overflowing…
