Samaritan’s Purse’s Operation Christmas Child has already begun delivering the joy and love of Christmas to children all around the world. Giving presents to children who have limited means, Operation Christmas Child is putting the brightest smiles on their faces as God’s love fills their hearts. According to Samaritan’s Purse, one family in Mongolia has experienced the blessing of Operation Christmas Child for two generations, and hopes that their youngest will continue to believe in and learn about Jesus.
In an extremely remote part of Mongolia, four-year-old Amina opened her Operation Christmas Child shoebox filled with paper, colored pencils, a comb, a toothbrush, a washcloth, a jump rope, a blue and green sundress, and a ruler with the words “Jesus loves you” written on it. Amina’s father, Baljinnyam, shared that it was really “touching” to see his daughter receive a shoebox gift and it was particularly meaningful because he received one too as a child. Baljinnyam described his journey learning about Jesus and reading the Bible since discovering His love, and hopes his daughter will continue to do the same. He explained, “I’m so amazed that God created everything—the land, mountains, rivers that He created so wonderfully…reading the Bible, I understood that God is made of Spirit—not made of dirt, not made of sand, not made of this worldly stuff.”
Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has spread God’s love to over 198 million children in more than 170 countries and territories. For many children, it is the first gift they ever receive, but more significantly, it is also the first time they have a “tangible expression of God’s love.” Thousands of volunteers from churches around the world pack and deliver the shoeboxes to bring the joy and wonders of Christmas to children from all ends of the earth.
Franklin Graham, the president of Samaritan’s Purse, shared that “every box is an opportunity to reach a child with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” For children like Amina, opening the shoebox also opens her heart and mind to learning about Jesus and building a relationship with the Lord.