Samaritans Purse

The South Pacific Tsunami that washed away coastal villages in Samoa on September 2009, claimed at least 140 lives, and left thousands of people in need of emergency assistance. Samaritan’s Purse immediately mobilised a Disaster and Assistance Response Team (DART) that arrived on the ground within days of the Tsunami.

We partnered with Reverend Nu’uausala Siaosi and the Apia Protestant Church to assess the situation and how to best meet the needs in the affected communities. The DART team included experienced relief workers from Samaritan’s Purse in Australia, the UK, Canada and the USA. (more…)

The Apostle Paul, quoting our Saviour, gave the definitive teaching on generosity: “And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (Acts 20:35b, NKJV).

We’ve probably all experienced the truth of that saying at times in our lives. We know the warm glow that comes from choosing the perfect gift, and seeing the appreciation of a loved one when it is opened.

One of the things I most appreciate about Operation Christmas Child is that it exemplifies selfless giving. Millions of people spend their money on the items for the boxes. They spend their time carefully putting boxes together, praying for the children who will receive the gifts, and in taking them to a collection point.

They give with no expectation of getting anything in return. Most people who put together a shoe box will never know the child who receives it. They won’t see the reaction as the child excitedly opens the lid, and looks in wonder at all the gifts.

They do it because they know how blessed it is to give − especially to give something in the name of Jesus Christ. Their generosity enables a child in another part of the world to receive a tangible expression of God’s unconditional love.

All of our projects at Samaritan’s Purse depend on caring people like you who pray, serve, and give in support of this ministry to demonstrate God’s love and share the good news.

Franklin Graham

Click to see how your gifts are changing lives around the world.

Operation Christmas Child

Many innocent children are caught in poverty and hostile environments, trying to survive while constantly at risk of being exploited. Samaritan’s Purse is there to offer compassion assistance and protection. (more…)

As you may know, we ask for a donationwitheveryshoeboxtocover warehousing, transport and critical training programs for our indigenous partners who receive and distribute the shoe boxes.

This past Christmas the donations fell short and we prayed earnestly for God’s provision from our supporters and we were astonished at the generous response. Within just days, we received over $70,000!

This was a wonderfully encouraging response and demonstrates how deeply committed you are not only to the children and families who are served through Samaritan’s Purse, but also to our local partners who are so crucial to carrying out our projects. Thank you!

Tatenda Makuni, a 19-year-old girl from Zimbabwe, is passionate for Operation Christmas Child for more than one reason. As a seven year old in Zimbabwe, Tatenda received her very own shoe box!

Today she is a student at the University of Western Australia. She shared her story with our warehouse volunteers when she was volunteering in the warehouse with friends from her uni… (more…)

The street has been nicknamed Dark Street for many years. Lost in the slums of Papua New Guinea, locals knew Dark Street for its nightly gun battles between young people and the police. Mothers would lay awake listening and wondering if their older children would come home, and how many more minutes before the baby woke again from the noise.

Recently, Pastor Magi shared how for generations clans fought against other clans, passing on their hate for the individuals and families of the rival clans. The hate is so deep that the children grow up believing that if they talk to their enemy they could be killed themselves. (more…)

Just before Christmas 2009 Operation Christmas Child was able to ship 306,408 gift filled shoe boxes to children in Cambodia, Fiji, PNG, Samoa, Thailand, Vanuatu and Vietnam.

We have already begun receiving reports from the filed on this year’s distribution… like this one report from the first distributions in Papua New Guinea:

“After driving for another hour (from the first distribution outside of Port Moresby) we entered the jungle then arrived at the end of the road. The team from the Living Light Foursquare Church carried the boxes on their shoulders and eventually made it to the river’s edge where there was a dingy with a motor and we piled the boxes into the boat and began the journey up the river that wound back and forth. (more…)

The distances and efforts that are made to get these boxes to children are always amazing. To think that any one of these shoeboxes tells a story of the heart of the people packing them, then that box travels from them, to Samaritan’s Purse warehouse, to the shipping yard, then overseas on a long journey, then onto the partner church, then down a long and winding road, through a jungle, down a river, then more jungle and finally into the hands of one very important child!
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As of December 16, 2009 we have shipped a total of 306,408 gift filled shoe boxes to children in Cambodia, Fiji, PNG, Samoa, Thailand, Vanuatu and Vietnam. Please continue to pray for our indigenous partners as some of these are still being delivered over the next few weeks! Our indigenous partners go to extreme lengths to get these boxes into children’s hands.
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Dear Friend,

When I wrote to you in May expressing genuine concern about a shortfall in our funding, never did I expect the outpouring of support that friends like you selflessly provided. I have been truly humbled by your generous support.

Thank you for your prayers, for your continued belief in our programs and for your truly generous gifts. I know that your support has come from the heart, for it is the heart – and the strength of God – that encourages us to lift up the lives of those in desperate need.

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Kingborough Family Church has always had a strong attitude of giving to Operation Christmas Child. Its enthusiasm and dedication to the shoe box appeal has seen the number of shoe boxes increase from 50 to 250 in just two years. What an incredible achievement!

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Thanks to the immediate response of our generous donors, the future of our projects in South East Asia is now secure. To date, over $470,000 has been raised.

Thank you for giving above and beyond our expectations – we truly appreciate that you have such a deep and abiding commitment to our mission!

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Shoe boxes from Australia and New Zealand have been delivered throughout Fiji since 2005. Earlier this year we were able to help the local churches in Nadi to assist the victims of the January floods. The relationships that we have through the National Leadership Team (NLT) for Operation Christmas Child was critical in making the aid possible. In January the floods covered the ground floor buildings and in some cases all the way up to the eves.

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In 2008 one of the more than 300,000 boxes collected from Australia and New Zealand was given to Pov who lives in the village of Viel Thom in Cambodia. 

“I’ve never gotten a gift like this before,” said six year old Pov. “I like the stuffed animal the most,” she added, pulling the stuffed gorilla tightly into a hug.    

With an unstoppable grin on her face, Pov carefully looked through the contents of her shoe box stopping to inspect a pencil case filled with pencils and erasers and pens.  

“I will use this for school,” she said.  “I like it so much.” 

Pov’s parents, poor rice farmers, would never have dreamed of giving a gift like that to their daughter.  Yet on the day of the distribution, Pov could not contain her excitement.  

Because of Operation Christmas Child Samaritan’s Purse has been able to provide many other basic needs in Viel Thom over recent years such as water filters through local partners, a school for the children of the community, and support for the village’s men.

Your gifts and prayers truly do make a difference!

Dear Friend,

I know you’ll join me in celebrating the fantastic news that 303,921 children in the Asia Pacific region have been given their very own Operation Christmas Child shoe box. – Read the full story

Logistically, so many things need to come together for this program to be a success. Every link in the chain is crucial. So thank you for everything you did to make this amazing project possible! 

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