Call to Prayer Day 8 ~ Operation Christmas Child

It's transportation day! Pray for the seamless transportation of the shoebox gifts as they are transferred from local drop-off sites to regional Processing Centers. 

What a journey...The end is here...what an adventure it has been! It has been a great experience, some long days, and lots of prayers being said on behalf of Operation Christmas Child. We have given our best efforts, and been filled with true joy in the process, yet I still wish I could/would have packed just one more shoebox so that one more child could come to know Jesus. We have labored and now God can multiply these precious boxes as they go into the world! May each one reach one or many, many more!

"Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" Ephesians 5:20

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!" Psalm 118:1

Call to Prayer Day 7 ~ Operation Christmas Child

Thank God for blessing Operation Christmas Child with more than 100 million shoebox gifts over the past 20 years. Pray that millions of more children will experience the love of Jesus Christ through these simple gifts.

What a ministry! Twenty years ago, Franklin Graham made a promise to collect a few gifts for boys and girls in war-torn Bosnia. Today, Operation Christmas Child has become a year-round, international project, delivering millions of shoeboxes to children in nearly 100 countries each year.

In July 1993, a man from the United Kingdom named Dave Cooke reached out to Graham because he needed help collecting gifts to send to children in Bosnia. Graham promptly agreed, then—as he tells it—just as promptly pushed the project to the back of his mind and continued focusing on various other projects at Samaritan’s Purse. Later that fall, Cooke called back asking when Samaritan’s Purse would send the gifts they collected. With the last-minute help of several pastors, including Free Will Baptist Pastor Rob Morgan of Donelson Fellowship Church in Nashville, Tennessee, Graham was able to deliver on his promise and sent 28,000 shoebox gifts for the children of Bosnia.

Franklin Graham delivers shoebox gifts to children in Bosnia.

 The program has grown from 28,000 the first year to over 100 million. Twenty years later, more than 103 million shoebox gifts have been collected and delivered in more than 150 countries, each one representing an opportunity to proclaim the Gospel. Whether their needs are physical or spiritual, the millions of boys and girls who have received shoeboxes have experienced powerful blessings through these simple gifts. Each gift is not only filled with toys, hygiene items, and school supplies, but also with the power of prayer. “We ask people to pray as a family as you pack the boxes,” Graham said. “Pray that God would use them. And He does. We have seen miracle after miracle of how God has used a box.” 

Twelve-year-old Dulce Maria lives in extreme poverty in Honduras with her father and four siblings. Her mother committed suicide in 2002 due to extreme depression over the family’s difficult financial situation. Her father takes her to school every day and then goes to do janitorial and maintenance work in households that hire him for a day.  Dulce Maria always wanted a doll, but her father couldn’t afford to buy her one. Imagine the surprise and delight she experienced when she received a shoebox gift, opened it, and saw a doll! Jumping for joy, she said it was the most beautiful one she had ever seen. But her joy was not yet complete that day. The Gospel was shared during the distribution, and she learned more about Jesus through a children’s storybook, The Greatest Gift, offered with the shoebox. Dulce Maria went to her teacher and told her that she had received two gifts that day: the doll and eternal life in Christ.

Brenda Valdez, a 5-year-old girl in the Dominican Republic, received the symbolic 100 millionth shoebox gift last year. Operation Christmas Child hopes to reach millions more children with boxes collected this year.  No matter who packs them, from three former U.S. presidents, to the family down the street, each gift-filled shoebox throughout the past 20 years represents the joy of one more child, like Dulce Maria, who has been reached with a tangible expression of God’s love.  “We are just getting started with Operation Christmas Child,” said Randy Riddle, director of the project’s domestic operations in the United States. “The potential is so great to reach more and more children.”

After 20 years delivering shoeboxes to 75 percent of the countries around the world, the motivation for sharing the gifts has remained the same. “I want the children of the world to know, I want their parents to know, that God loves them,” Graham said. “He cares for them, and He wants them to be with Him in heaven.”

Join my "Build One With Me" Build A Box Online Challenge: Build One With Me Challenge Link and help me reach my goal by packing your own online boxes today!

Call to Prayer Day 6 ~ Operation Christmas Child

Pray for the safety of Operation Christmas Child partners who are serving in areas of the world where people may be hostile toward Christians.

Did you know when you pack a shoebox online the shoeboxes go to hostile areas where we can't go deliver shoeboxes?  It is $25 to build a box online and a great ministry!  I would challenge you to over the next year to try to build one box online.  It will touch a child that would never receive a shoebox by our regular collection efforts.  You can follow this link to build your box online today: 

https://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/buildonline/ 

You can still help share God's love with children around the world even if you don’t have time to shop for and pack an Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift. With a few clicks of your mouse or swipes on your touchscreen, you can build a shoebox online. Make it your own by choosing from a list of gifts, then add a personal letter and photo. We'll pack your shoebox and send it for you, for a suggested donation of just $25. We've even made it possible to challenge friends so they can join you. Or, you can purchase a gift card so they can build a shoebox online themselves.  Today is my 40th birthday...I will be packing an online shoebox TODAY for my birthday!  I set a goal of 6 online boxes and I've already done one. Will you do one too? 

Join my Shoebox Challenge!
Join my "Build One With Me" Build A Box Online Challenge: Build One With Me Challenge Link and help me reach my goal by packing your own online boxes today!

#ipackedashoebox 

"Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Matthew 25:40

Call to Prayer Day 5 ~ Operation Christmas Child

Pray for the children who enroll in The Greatest Journey follow-up discipleship program, that they will come to faith in Jesus and share the Good News with their friends and family.  

Our Purpose is to bless kids and share the true meaning of Christmas the Good News of God’s Love and Salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. Shoeboxes are a Gospel Opportunity to show Christ’s love and tell the salvation message to kids around the world. Shoeboxes are lovingly and prayerfully packed with gifts that bring delight to a child. In the hands of local churches, every gift-filled shoebox is a powerful tool for evangelism and discipleship—transforming the lives of children and their families around the world through the Good News of Jesus Christ! After receiving shoebox gifts, boys and girls are invited to enroll in The Greatest Journey, 12-lesson discipleship program where they learn what it means to faithfully follow Christ and how to share their faith with others. Upon on completion of TGJ, they have a graduation service and receive a New Testament Bible in their own language. 2.8 million children have participated in TGJ as of 2014. On average 1.86 children per minute accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior through The Greatest Journey Discipleship Program!!!! 

Haiti - TGJ Classes

Call to Prayer Day 4 ~ Operation Christmas Child

Pray that every girl and boy who receives a shoebox will experience God’s unconditional love and provision through the gifts they receive.

We deliver good news and great joy to millions of children around the world through the gift of a simple shoebox. Operation Christmas Child has delivered over 113 million boxes as of 2014. We have 11 sending countries including the USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Austria, Australia, Finland, Germany, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Spain, & Japan and over 500,000 volunteers worldwide. We deliver the Gospel Message through the power of a shoebox to over 130 countries and territories on 6 continents including: Kenya, India, Philippines, Ecuador, Haiti, Iraq, China, Republic of Georgia, Sudan, Asia, Russia, Uganda, Nicaragua, Kosovo, Bosnia, Croatia, Rwanda, and Ukraine and many more.  These gifts have the power to change a child's life FOREVER!  

You can read about Shoebox Stories where children share about receiving their special gifts at: SHOEBOX STORIES online. It will make your heart smile!

"Everything in my shoebox was special. I really liked the school supplies. I was really excited that I had a set of 10 pencils!" ~ Yuri received a shoebox in an orphanage in Honduras at age 6. 

Call to Prayer Day 3 ~ Operation Christmas Child

Today will you pray that every child who receives a shoebox gift will have the opportunity to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Each shoebox has "The Greatest Gift" in the child's native language where it has been translated!  The Greatest Gift Bible Storybook that is told from John the Baptist perspective introducing Jesus and explaining Jesus as the Greatest Gift. It also explains terms like Grace, Authority, the Tomb, Sin, the Cross, Lord, Heaven, and Eternal Life. It tells about Jesus calming the storm, Lazarus coming back to life when Jesus calls him from the grave, Feeding of the 5000, the Creation, Jesus as our Good Shepherd, Jesus being arrested, the Resurrection, the Upper Room & Jesus’ Appearance to Disciples, and it ends with the sinner's prayer outline plan of salvation. Pray this precious book grasps each child's eyes and heart and takes root to teach them about a relationship with their Heavenly Father.

Call to Prayer Day 2 ~ Operation Christmas Child

Pray that the Lord will use Operation Christmas Child to bring joy to boys and girls who face difficult circumstances such as poverty, disease, famine, and war.

"In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." -Psalm 5:3


If you wonder why we do it, every day boys and girls worldwide suffer from war, poverty, disease, and natural disasters. Each box is a Gospel Opportunity. Operation Christmas Child makes it possible for millions of children to experience God’s love through shoeboxes filled with gifts. The boxes open the door for presenting the Good News of Jesus Christ and the salvation message by working in and through local churches to distribute to boxes.

November Week 3: Pray for Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia "RECA"  and for Sensitive Countries where Christianity is illegal! November 15-21st:
1. Pray the delivery and clearance of the shoeboxes is completed before Christmas this season.
2. Pray the Ministry Partners use the Christmas and New Year’s season as an opportunity to share the Good News.
3. Pray for the Ministry Partner trainings.
4. Pray the volunteer National and Regional Leadership Teams are able to reach new territories with the OCC project.