Proceeds from Franklin Graham's book Operation Christmas Child, to be released Oct. 1 by B&H Publishing Group, will go to support the ministry.

Subtitled "A Story of Simple Gifts" and co-written by Donna Lee Toney, the photo-filled book is a 20th-anniversary celebration of Operation Christmas Child (OCC), which has delivered shoe boxes in more than 130 countries to more than 100 million children suffering from poverty, disaster, disease and war.

Since 1993, many Christian retailers, including LifeWay Christian Stores, have taken part annually in Graham's Samaritan's Purse program?which collects shoe boxes filled with toys, school supplies and hygiene items for children.

B&H Publishing Group President Selma Wilson and Trade Book Publisher Jennifer Lyell visited Peru earlier this year to distribute OCC shoe boxes. At a special B&H gathering last month, Wilson and Lyell shared their experiences, as did guest speaker Livia Satterfield, an orphan whose life was impacted by OCC.

Growing up in a Romanian orphanage where living conditions were very poor, Satterfield wanted to own a set of hair clips, which she received in an OCC shoe box along with toys, personal hygiene items and a two-part friendship heart necklace—one heart to wear and another for her to give away.

Satterfield gave the second heart to the woman who delivered the box to her and who would eventually return to Romania to adopt her.

"It was no coincidence those hair clips were on the top of the items in the box," Wilson told B&H employees. "God was there when that shoe box was packed for that little girl. God changes lives with something that simple."

During the gathering, B&H packed 50 OCC shoe boxes.

• Prev
• Next