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B&H Gets Firsthand Look at Impact of Operation Christmas Child

NASHVILLE, Tenn., 5/01/2013 – When B&H Publishing Group president Selma Wilson and trade book publisher Jennifer Lyell visited Peru earlier this year with the Operation Christmas Child ministry to distribute gift-filled shoeboxes to needy kids, it was a life-changing experience they were eager to share with their entire team.

They joined the mission trip in relation to B&H’s upcoming release Operation Christmas Child: A Story of Simple Gifts by Franklin Graham and Donna Lee Toney (October 1, 2013). The book is a memory- and photo-filled twentieth anniversary celebration of the ministry that has inspired everyday people to provide more than 100 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in 130 countries.

At a special B&H division gathering last week, Wilson and Lyell shared their experience, as did guest speaker Livia Satterfield, an orphan whose life was forever changed by Operation Christmas Child.

Growing up in a Romanian orphanage where living conditions were very poor, Livia’s greatest wish was a modest one: to have her own set of hair clips. In time she received a shoebox from Operation Christmas Child that contained not only hair clips but also toys, personal hygiene items, and a two-part friendship heart necklace—one heart for Livia to wear and another for her to give away.

Livia gave the second heart to the woman who delivered the box to her, a woman 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 employees. “God was there when that shoebox was packed for that little girl. God changes lives with something that simple.”

B&H employees were also given the opportunity to join together in ministry with Operation Christmas Child, packing 50 shoeboxes to send worldwide, filled not only with soccer balls, crayons, and tooth brushes, but also with prayers.

Proceeds from the book Operation Christmas Child will go to support the ministry it seeks to celebrate and honor.

B&H Publishing Group, a division of Lifeway Christian Resources, is a non-profit publisher made up of people who are passionate about taking God’s Word to the world. Because we believe Every Word Matters™, we seek to provide intentional, Bible-centered content that positively impacts the hearts and minds of people, inspiring them to build a lifelong relationship with Jesus Christ. Among our print and digital releases for the trade, church, and academic markets, titles include The New York Times No. 1 bestsellers The Love Dare and The Vow as well as the award-winning