Operation Christmas Child—a project of Franklin Graham's charitable organisation Samaritan's Purse—will pack thousands of shoeboxes this Christmas filled with toys, food, and other goodies to be given away to children from all over the world.
Samaritan's Purse is welcoming donations that will definitely help brighten up any kid's day. However, the Charlotte Observer reported that there are some specific things that the charitable organisation does not include in their shoeboxes such as "Harry Potter" and "Pokémon" merchandise.
"Harry Potter" is a series of books for children and adults written by J.K. Rowling. It is about a young boy wizard who miraculously survives a deadly attack when he was just a baby, and must stop at nothing to defeat the most evil wizard of all time. Many conservative Christians do not support "Harry Potter" because they believe it promotes witchcraft and Satanism.
Meanwhile, the Pokémon is an animated creature that has spawned several popular video games, television shows, movies, and card games.
Joey White, assistant director of Operation Christmas Child, explained that they restrict these items because it goes against what they are trying to teach in their ministry.
"There are some references that may be questionable," he said. "There's a possibility (Potter and Pokémon) could interfere with our ministry to share the love of Christ with kids around the world."
On the other hand, there are other items restricted due to practical reasons. For example, Operation Christmas Child does not include any liquids, breakables, or "melt-able chocolate food" because it might not hold up in shipping and eventually cause a mess.
As much as Graham dismisses Islam as a wicked religion, many of these shoeboxes are going to predominantly Muslim countries. "A lot of these boxes will be going to refugee children – you know, these kids coming out of the Muslim countries, coming to Europe," Graham said.
