BALTIMORE (AP) β The Christian ministry Samaritan’s Purse is flying more than 60,000 shoeboxes packed with Christmas gifts to children in northern Iraq.
A 747 cargo plane loaded with the shoeboxes, clothing and food, took off from Baltimore-Washington International Airport today.
The Reverend Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, says the Operation Christmas Child gifts and relief will be delivered to families in Iraq’s Kurdish region who have fled Islamic State militants.
Operation Christmas Child officials say Christians packed more than 10 million shoeboxes with gifts and messages this year for delivery to children around the world.
Graham said a boy who packed a shoebox with gifts and his picture 14 years ago was recently contacted through Facebook by the Philippine girl who received it. Graham said they fell in love, got married in October and asked everyone at their wedding to pack shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child this year.
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