GFA World joins with Samaritan’s Purse to bring hope and joy to children in desperate situations around the world.

STONEY CREEK, ON, GFA World (www.gfa.ca) says one of the first signs of Christmas in their local community are the familiar red and green Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes.

In early November a shipment of boxes arrived at our office from Samaritan’s Purse ready to be folded and filled with treasures for children around the world. Throughout the month, the boxes are available for pickup for anyone in our community who wants to participate in this Christmas tradition.

GFA World, located at 245 King Street East in Stoney Creek, is also the home of Believers Eastern Church, an evangelical, indigenous church movement around the world that we serve alongside, as an international mission organization.

We were excited for the opportunity that Believer’s Eastern Church had to partner with Operation Christmas Child (OCC) as a Shoebox Collection Centre for Stoney Creek and the surrounding area, during OCC National Collection Week, November 19-24.

This was our second time serving as a collection centre and we were blessed to see the number of shoeboxes grow from over 400 in 2018 to over 700 this year. Throughout the week we welcomed generous donations from individuals, churches and organizations in the area. GFA World staff and students volunteered their time to greet donors and receive shoebox gifts during our hours of operation.

Operation Christmas Child is a hands-on project that brings joy and hope to children in desperate situations around the world through gift-filled shoeboxes packed by Canadians. It is one way to remind children suffering as a result of war, poverty, famine, disease, and disaster that they are loved and not forgotten.

Since its beginning in 1990, shoebox gifts have been delivered to more than 157 million children in over 130 countries. In 2018, Canadians donated 517,437 Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. Each shoebox is given regardless of a child’s gender, race, or religion.

PHOTO CUTLINE: GFA World and Operation Christmas Child: Canadian-based mission agency GFA World, www.gfa.ca volunteers their office building as an Operation Christmas Child Collection Centre in Stoney Creek. They received over 400 shoeboxes this year during OCC National Collection Week, November 19-24.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2019, GFA World (www.gfa.ca) is a leading faith-based humanitarian and mission agency, bringing vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions, especially to those who have yet to hear the “good news” of Jesus Christ. In 2018, this included more than 70,000 sponsored children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,100 villages and remote communities, over 4,700 wells drilled, over 11,400 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 240,000 needy families, and spiritual teaching available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry.