After attending The Greatest Journey discipleship course, an Operation Christmas Child shoebox recipient in Southeast Asia tells her friends about Jesus and inspires her parents to begin a children’s ministry.

For 12-year-old Naomi* the box was so much more than a gift! Her Operation Christmas Child shoebox brimming with toys and other fun items showed her an amazing glimpse of God’s love. Naomi was so happy about all the new things, but she especially appreciated the note, written with care by someone who loved her enough to send her the shoebox. This proved to be a direct answer to her mother’s prayers.

Naomi’s mother Rhonda* believed that she should raise Naomi and her two brothers, ages 7 and 1, in a Godly way, but she wasn't sure how to start.

A friend invited Rhonda to attend church and soon the older two children had each received a gift-filled shoebox and were attending the Samaritan’s Purse follow-up discipleship course, The Greatest Journey, on Wednesday nights. As they went through the 12 engaging Bible lessons, the brother and sister began to follow Christ and share Him with others. This, too, blessed their mother's heart.

“The Greatest Journey discipleship program really transformed my children’s lives,” Rhonda said. “My son and daughter learned so much about the wonderful and amazing works of God. They really enjoyed every lesson of The Greatest Journey.”

Completing all 12 of the Bible lessons, Naomi and her brother attended a graduation ceremony where they each received their very own Bible. Rhonda couldn’t help but notice how excited and happy her children were with this second gift.

“I never expected that Bible to change our lives, or that God had a ‘greatest’ purpose and plan for my daughter after that graduation,” Rhonda said.

Five days later when Rhonda came home from work on a Friday afternoon, Naomi told her she’d had three neighborhood friends in their home. But instead of playing together as they usually did, Naomi brought out her new Bible and read the story of creation from the book of Genesis. Naomi was so excited because her friends had lots of questions about the Bible story, like “Why don’t our parents tell us about the amazing creations of God? Or, how God created man?”

Naomi was grateful to be able to share the Word of God and all she had learned in The Greatest Journey with her friends. With a level excitement and anticipation, she asked her mother if she could have them over again to continue sharing Bible stories with these friends who hadn’t heard them before.

“It never came into my mind before that my daughter would be overtaking me and my husband in making disciples.”

“I can’t really explain and express how happy and amazed I am with what my daughter did,” Rhonda said. “It never came into my mind before that my daughter would be overtaking me and my husband in making disciples.

“Because of what happened that day, my husband and I decided to do children’s ministry in our house every Sunday afternoon to continue what our daughter had started.”

“And a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6).

The couple is structuring the children’s meetings in their home after The Greatest Journey course their daughter learned so much from.

“I am so blessed with the kids who joined us because I can see in their faces the hunger of knowing God, and I can feel their excitement to come back every Sunday,” Rhonda said.

Naomi is also amazed by this outreach because of how God is transforming lives through it. Two of the children who attend used to bully each other, constantly quarreling and full of hate.

“But after ministering to them that Sunday, they became best of friends, always laughing and talking to each other—unlike before,” Rhonda said.

“I am very thankful to God for using the Samaritan’s Purse discipleship program as an instrument to serve His purposes not only in my daughter’s life, but to our whole family. To God be all the honor and glory!”

*Name changed for security

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