Operation Christmas Child

2019 - Bosnia and Herzegovina

Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering Croatia
Population: 3,849,891, with 13% under the age of 15 (source – CIA The World Factbook)

Thank you for bringing Good News and great joy to a child living in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Your shoebox gift was one of 14,868 sent to Bosnia and Herzegovina from the UK in 2019.

We thank God for the thousands of children that have received shoeboxes here since Operation Christmas Child began distributions. While we are not able to provide pictures or information on the specific child who received your individual shoebox, we hope you will be inspired by the photos and stories below.

Children Receiving Shoebox Gifts in Bosnia & Herzegovina

Girls with shoebox gift and reindeer antler
Girls with shoebox gift and reindeer antler
Girl explores shoebox gift
Boy explores shoebox gift
Girl and mother looking at shoebox gift
Girl with shoebox in snow
Girls with shoeboxes in snow
Girl with shoebox in snow
Boy holding shoebox gift in snow

Stories & Quotes From Bosnia & Herzegovina

A Family’s Joy

Our local partners visited one family with six children. The father is unwell and not able to work. They live in extreme poverty in one room and depend on a humanitarian programme to survive. For the first time they heard the Good News of the Gospel and experienced great joy as they opened their shoeboxes. Their mother who brought them to the outreach event cried tears of joy as she watched her children experience such happiness.

 

Shoebox Gifts Bring Unity

“We distributed about 220 shoeboxes, and shared the message love God and your neighbour as yourself to a town that still bears the effects of civil war. Due to war two ethnic groups (Bosnjaks and Serbs) live separately in fear of one another, but at this distribution they were together and their kids played together. For this town that is a big deal.”

– Local Church Partner.

 

Shoeboxes For Migrants

We distributed shoebox gifts to children in a camp for migrants in Salakovac, near Mostar. Our contact person to enter the camp was a lady who works for the International Migrants Office and she told us how she received a shoebox when she was a child in Konjic just after the war, and how she was honoured to have the opportunity now to see other children in need receiving shoeboxes.

– Local Church Partner.

 

UK Volunteers Visit Bosnia and Herzegovina

Trish, our Operation Christmas Child Regional Manager for the East of England, recently visited Bosnia with a group of UK volunteers. The team visited homes in the local community and saw the joy each shoebox brought. Trish said,

“One little girl, who was about two, got her shoebox and there was a Peppa Pig in her box and that was the first thing she saw. She grabbed that and hugged it. Each one of the children would take things out one at a time and look at them, not like our kids who might empty out the box!”

child plays with peppa pig

The team also visited a boy with Cerebral Palsy who was delighted to receive a toothbrush after having had a visit from the dentist earlier that day. His whole face lit up when he saw the toothbrush. Anne, one of the UK volunteer’s, has a husband who also has Cerebral Palsy and she was able to encourage the boy’s mother who worries for his future.

Azima (former shoebox recipient and now Operation Christmas Child volunteer) shared with Trish that many children were coming to know Jesus as a result of receiving a shoebox and choosing to go along to her The Greatest Journey class.

“You don’t know the difference that a shoebox is making in a child’s life,” said Trish. “They get to hear the Word of God, and they get to experience God’s love through a shoebox.”

A Glimpse Of The Joy Your Shoebox Gifts Bring

Our Local Partners

Operation Christmas Child invests in building National Leadership Teams made up of trained local volunteers and staff within over 100 countries. These teams then work alongside many Regional Leadership teams who in turn train local church leaders and teachers. In Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 teams are working with 36 ministry partners (teams of volunteers in local churches) to make Operation Christmas Child and The Greatest Journey possible each year!

The Greatest Journey

Each shoebox gift delivered by Operation Christmas Child is a tangible expression of God’s amazing love. But a shoebox is just the beginning. After receiving a shoebox gift, children have the opportunity to enrol in The Greatest Journey – 12 fun and interactive Bible lessons, where they get the chance to discover who Jesus is and how to begin their own journey of faith. At the end of the course they get to experience a graduation ceremony where they receive a New Testament in their own language.

The Greatest Journey is taught by local volunteers who have been trained to deliver the programme. It is offered free of charge, without obligation and with the consent of the child’s parent or guardian. Over 393 children in Bosnia and Herzegovina have enrolled in this programme since it started.

You can be a part of helping us “go and make disciples of all nations” as Jesus commanded. Sign up for a monthly gift of £5, and each year you will give 12 children study materials, a New Testament, and the opportunity to share their faith with family and friends. Learn more

Thank You

Thank you so much for packing a shoebox gift and sending love and hope to a child in need. Your generosity makes such a difference!

Discover More

Explore More
Destination Countries The Journey of a
Shoebox Gift More Questions on
Follow Your Box