FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PINE
 
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD COLLECTION
October 5th to November 16th
 
 
 
ON-LINE DONATIONS         
Praising God for 32 Years of Operation Christmas Child
 
In the summer of 1993, Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham received a call from a man in England asking if he’d be willing to fill shoeboxes with gifts for children in Eastern Europe. Franklin agreed, but figured Christmas was months away. He forgot about the promise until he received a call back around Thanksgiving asking about the gifts.
 
Franklin asked his friend, the late Pastor Ross Rhoads of Calvary Church of Charlotte to see if he could help with the need. A Sunday shortly afterward, Pastor Rhoads demonstrated for his congregation how to fill a shoebox with simple gifts and encouraged them to include a letter to the child as well. Within weeks, the church had 11,000 shoeboxes lining their hallways.
 
Due to their generosity and additional gifts from Canada, Samaritan’s Purse sent 28,000 shoebox gifts to children in the Balkans that Christmas. Through these gifts, we communicated to children and their families what the angel said to the shepherds about Jesus’ birth: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people”
(Luke 2:10, ESV).
 
Every year since, Samaritan’s Purse has collected shoebox gifts filled with toys, school supplies, and hygiene items for children around the world. Since 1993, more than 220 million children in more than 170 countries and territories have received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox. The project delivers not only the joy of what, for many kids, is their first gift ever, but also gives them a tangible expression of God’s love.
 
Tens of thousands of volunteers from local churches around the world partner with us to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ at festive outreach events where children are surprised with these shoebox gifts.
 
A Sign of God’s Love
 

Ministry partners are using sign language to help deaf children learn about Jesus in their own language.

 

The Gospel message wasn’t clear to Zahira until it was presented to her in her own language—a dialect of sign language the Cuban girl uses in the Dominican Republic.

At age 14 she was invited to an Operation Christmas Child outreach event led by a local church that has a ministry to the Deaf community. Interpreters used sign language to tell the children about Jesus Christ, God’s Greatest Gift. That made the Gospel accessible to Zahira in what is called her heart language, a core way of communicating that produces a high level of comfort and understanding.

She watched intently as the story of Jesus’ sacrificial, redemptive love expressed on the cross was explained in sign language during the event. In the following weeks, she attended The Greatest Journey classes, a follow-up evangelism and discipleship program for Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift recipients. Through each lesson, also communicated in sign language, she began understanding God’s love in a way she hadn’t before.

“I didn’t know about Jesus,” Zahira said. “I had no clear idea.”

She realized that sin had separated her from God. She began to cry, feeling shame and regret. But she had hope after learning that Jesus had died and rose again to give new life to those who repent of their sin and turn to Him.

Zahira gave her life to Jesus, finding a Savior and His provision of a welcoming church community where she could find friendship, fellowship, and encouragement to grow in her faith.

She was overjoyed to receive a Bible as part of her graduation from the 12-week discipleship course.
 
“When I accepted the Lord, I first began to prepare myself and learn,” Zahira said. “Step by step, I kept moving forward and learning more each day.”
 
Zahira began sharing the Word of God with family and friends. Her mother as well as a friend gave their hearts to Christ. Zahira said The Greatest Journey equipped her with the knowledge and confidence to tell others about Christ.
 
“The whole plan was teaching us step by step,” she said. “And I want to keep growing. I don’t know the Word of God deeply yet, but I’m taking it step by step—growing, accepting, and learning.”
 
Caring for the Marginalized
 
There are multiple versions of sign language within a country or language group, with their own grammar and structure that can differ from culture to culture or community to community.
 
To help Operation Christmas Child ministry partners share the Gospel with deaf children in their communities, Samaritan’s Purse is piloting the development of selected resources that make the content more accessible for translation into their local sign language. These elements will be especially helpful for presentations or talking one-on-one.
 
This is part of a wider Operation Christmas Child initiative to bridge communication barriers to reach often marginalized children, including the deaf and hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired people, oral-based learners, those with disabilities and special needs, as well as those displaced because of forced relocation and war.
 

Zahira is one of 50 million children discipled, but millions more boys and girls around the world need to discover God’s love for them, just as she did. God can use you to help change the lives children like her simply by packing a shoebox! National Collection Week is coming Nov. 17-24, 2025 when more than 4,500 sites will be open across the country to receive your prayerfully packed gifts.