2023 September Blessings

Happenings

Catch up with the goings-on at Operation Blessing!

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A Happy, Healthy Life in Peru!

Villagers in Osocco have clean water and bathrooms thanks to partners like you

From Food Scarcity to Plenty

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HAPPENINGS

MEXICO: You helped provide Isabel and her community of El Tirol with the hens, supplies, and training to generate income and meet their families’ needs for a long time to come.

SENEGAL: Your compassion gave kids across Africa lifechanging surgeries, including Ibrahima. He feels a new sense of belonging now that his cleft lip has healed.

INDONESIA:

Chili pepper farmers on Nias Island can provide more food for their families after selling their produce. Thank you for giving them this opportunity.

HONDURAS: Thank you so much for providing life-giving clean water to villagers in need all around the world.

UNITED STATES:

Hurricane season is here, but you are always there— empowering volunteers to offer tangible help after disasters like the tornado that struck Texas this summer.

PERU: Because of you, Ercilia and her children— along with their community on the Amazon River— received care from a medical brigade and access to much-needed medicines.

A HAPPY, HEALTHY LIFE IN PERU!

village to find water somewhat suitable for drinking.

Sweet 4-year-old Yareli experienced firsthand the struggles caused by a lack

Osocco village, providing 28 families with the blessing of drinkable water piped directly to their homes. Children like Yareli have been rescued from

Seventy-nine-year-old

Cayetana had suffered through carrying water long, hard distances for years, but not anymore! “I don’t have enough words to say thank you to the friends that donated this amazing blessing—water, and pretty bathrooms. We won’t have to cry of sadness anymore, but we’ll cry of joy because we finally have these two things essential for living. Thank you so much.”

Today, the precious villagers and children of Osocco have good reason to celebrate! They are thriving like never before— because of love and support from friends like you. Thank you for recognizing the priceless value of clean water and helping to make such a positive difference in their lives.

The villagers danced in celebration of their new water system!

Join the Blessing Movement!

Would you like to wake up each morning with the amazing feeling of knowing you’re making a difference?

You can be a part of building blessings across the globe every day. Whether it’s through food for struggling neighbors, life-changing surgeries, clean water for vulnerable villagers, or vital disaster relief,

you can be the blessing the world desperately needs. Get involved in rescuing the hurting on a daily basis for as little as $19 a month. You can make it possible for us to respond to urgent cries at a moment’s notice. In return, you will receive a handmade cross from the Holy Land as our gift to you!

ob.org/blessingbuilders

From Food Scarcity to PLENTY

Nye has always believed in helping others. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, this single mother of four was working as a nurse in her Virginia community—until she went into respiratory failure and became a patient herself. That’s when she needed help from friends like you.

“They said I was gone for about eight seconds,” Nye said. “The doctors believe that I had COVID, and that turned to pneumonia.” She had to quit

You created a brighter tomorrow for this single mom and her family

working because she couldn’t risk further exposure to COVID.

“It was a very scary time for me not to be able to support my kids,” Nye explained.“We were just honestly living off of the savings that I had accumulated. And once that started dwindling, I started panicking.”

Then, her pastor at Freedom Church told her the church was starting a food pantry with the help of Operation Blessing. There, thanks to you, Nye received the food she desperately needed to feed her family. “The food pantry actually helped me and my kids a lot,” Nye told Operation Blessing staff. “God really answered my prayers.” The food pantry made sure Nye and her family were no longer facing food scarcity on a regular basis.

Nye also blessed others by running the food pantry!

When Nye’s pastor gave her the opportunity to run the food pantry, she seized the chance to give back to the community again. “Anything for the Lord!” Nye exclaimed. “When we partnered with Operation Blessing, it opened opportunities for me to do what I know the Lord put me on this earth to do, and that’s to meet others that are in need.”

Thanks to our ministry partners and to you, Nye’s family made it through the rough patch. Now Nye is

back to working full time as a nurse—and her family is thriving. “The Lord has carried me through so many storms. He has covered me in so many ways,” she said, overcome with emotion. “I’m filled with so much joy and happiness.”

Because of the love Jesus Christ poured out on us, it is our mission at Operation Blessing to be used to pour out His love to others. Thanks to friends like you, families just like Nye’s are receiving the help they need when they need it the most.

Watching him laughing and eating regularly makes me delighted.

–Nirnay’s mother

Hope of a Brighter Tomorrow

How friends like you provided much-needed surgery for a child in India

othing brings parents more joy than welcoming a new child into their home. Every moment is cherished. The first days and weeks are filled with delight and anticipation about the bright future waiting for their little one.

But dark clouds quickly steal that joy when a child is born sick or with an abnormality that jeopardizes his future. For Nirnay’s parents, his condition became a nightmare when they realized there was no way that they could help their son—unless someone like you intervened.

After little Nirnay was born, a gland under his tongue began to swell and grow. By the time he was just 2 years old, it was so large that it filled most of his mouth. He could barely eat. His mother fed him soft food through a tiny opening near his upper lip.“He cannot eat or speak properly, and he is

unable to control his saliva,” said Sudesh, Nirnay’s father. “We must always be careful with him, so he does not get injured or infected.” Their sweet little boy needed around-the-clock care at home—he could not go out or play with other children. Without help, their son would never be able to thrive. Nirnay’s parents took him to a nearby government hospital but only received referrals to other hospitals. They were devastated to discover that Nirnay needed multiple surgeries to correct his

Thanks to friends like you, Nirnay is thriving!

condition, as they would never be able to cover the cost of treatment on their own.

Every time Sudesh looked at his child, he felt helpless. “We tried a lot to get him treated through the government hospital, but nothing worked out.” They were out of options—and out of hope.

Then compassionate friends like you stepped in to take away the despair of this precious family. Nirnay would get the surgeries he needed—paid in full.

After his first surgery, Nirnay made a quick recovery. He was able to eat without difficulty and even began learning how to speak. During followup visits, his doctors determined that he wouldn’t need the other surgeries after all!

Nirnay’s parents were thrilled. Their son would be able eat, talk, and grow along with other children his age. The compassion of people on the other side of the globe had truly given them a miracle and restored their dreams for the bright future they had imagined.

“I am happy for my son,” Sudesh said. “I had no chance and was unable to help my son get any treatment. But the support from Operation Blessing and surgery at Padhar Hospital changed our lives, especially Nirnay’s. Watching him laughing and eating regularly makes me delighted.”

Every year, our Operation Blessing family helps provide thousands of life-changing surgeries to desperate families around the world who would not otherwise be able to afford the cost of surgery. It is only through the kindness of people like you that we are able to make miracles like Nirnay’s possible.

Thank you for your heart to bless the hurting.

Mykhailo has survived in Ukraine throughout the past year and a half of war. He described that very first day the rockets hit. “We stood there in horror, gazing at the sky.” Unable to go down into the bomb shelters with his wheelchair, he would

Meet Mykhailo

wheel himself to the far side of his house from where rockets were being launched. He believes God helped him through that tragic time until his area was liberated.

Sadly, the tragedy did not end there. A dam collapse sent Mykhailo, along with tens of thousands of other Ukrainians, fleeing their already battered homes. Because you care, Operation Blessing was there to continue feeding him and so many others. You also made it possible for us to provide much-needed generators, water pumps, and other relief supplies in this hard-hit area.

Thank you for faithfully blessing the people of Ukraine!

Miracles in Kenya

A starving mother prayed, and you helped answer Kenya

One,two, three… Khoboso counted. Yes, all six of her sweet little ones were there, snuggled up close to each other in sleep. She was thankful. At least they were safe and together. But dread quickly overcame her brief moment of comfort. They still had nothing to eat.

The drought had swept through their region like a pack of hungry wolves, devouring the herd of camels her family depended upon for survival—along with the flocks and herds of her entire pastoral community. If it wasn’t for compassionate friends like you, their story would have had a terrible end.

“All the livestock we had have been wiped out by the drought. Five sickly camels are all we have left. Before this drought,” Khoboso said, “whenever we needed food, we would take a few animals and sell them, then we would buy food for our families and children.” Khoboso went on,

The kids were so excited to have a filling meal!

“We move among our neighbors and relatives begging. If we get lucky, we get a little something. If not, then we all sleep hungry.”

When Operation Blessing met Khoboso, she was near the end of her rope. “My husband and I keep asking ourselves, ‘How will our children survive in this drought?’ Even if we get lucky from begging, whatever we get is still too little even for the children. It’s just something to trick our stomachs.

It’s never a proper meal.”

But happily, because of your amazing

Khoboso can cook her kids dinner thanks to you.

Continued from page 19

kindness, their situation would soon change. When we learned about Khoboso’s village, we made a commitment to be the difference for the suffering souls who call it home.

One day, Khoboso saw a group of people approaching in the distance. She’d heard of them before. Hope was on the horizon! As Operation Blessing volunteers entered the village and started handing out bags of rice, beans, maize, and containers of cooking oil—solid staples to sustain a family— Khoboso’s heart soared. You had come to her rescue!

She hurried home with her

bounty in hand, eager to share the good news with her children. As she heated the oil and the smell of cooked food began to waft throughout their hut, she was overcome with emotion. They almost hadn’t made it. But compassionate strangers like you answered her prayers. When the kids woke up from their naps, they couldn’t believe their eyes. It was a moment they’ll never forget—a moment made possible by you.

“Thanks to you, today I am not worried about where we will get food! We have enough for us and our children.” Khoboso shared the gratitude filling the

The joy that we have today is because God answered our prayers and sent you to bring us food. We are really grateful!

–Khoboso

hearts of many in the village. “The joy that we have today is because God answered our prayers and sent you to bring us food. We are really grateful!”

Every day, the love of Operation Blessing supporters makes its way through communities across Kenya. Together, we fight the effect of natural disasters like the drought that stole Khoboso’s way of life. Through initiatives like sack gardens in desert environments, we help families sustain themselves for the long term. By offering

whatever supplies or assistance they are most lacking, you provide tangible evidence of God’s love that Kenyans will remember for years to come.

When you stand with us, you also make sure families have clean water access near their homes so they can drink and cook without getting sick. And you empower families to provide for themselves through microenterprise projects like goat-rearing and beekeeping. You are giving people a way to break the cycle of poverty in Kenya. Thank you!

or Medicine?

Parents in Guatemala can now provide both because you care

this dilemma because they can’t afford both. But your love is reaching out to them with a solution.

There were times when I stopped buying food because I had to pay for my daughter’s treatment when she got sick.”

As a parent, Nury frequently faced this difficult decision: food or medicine?

Imagine having to make that choice for your child. Every day, many families around the world deal with

Nury has lived in the remote community of El Reposo, Guatemala, since she was a child. To see a doctor, residents must walk 45 minutes to the nearest health center. Even if they can make the journey, many simply can’t afford to purchase medication.

“Many times, we spend more than we earn per day,” said Juana, who also lives in El Reposo. “Sometimes when you get sick or something happens to you, you have to figure out what to do—take natural medicine or seek help from a neighbor.”

Thanks to the generous support of friends like you, Operation Blessing was able to provide them with an answer to their problem— training residents to become Community Health Volunteers. Through the class, both Nury and Juana learned how to administer basic first aid care, measure vital signs, and detect signs of malnutrition, COVID-19, and other serious diseases.

Juana was able to put her training into practice almost immediately when her niece was bitten by a squirrel. “At that moment I remembered that they had given us a first aid kit. I put into practice everything that we

had been taught in the course by Operation Blessing.” She used the supplies to stop the bleeding quickly. “The program was very good for us. Now we know what to do in any situation.”

After graduating, Nury will be able to serve her family—and community—when they get sick. “It is a great relief and blessing for what they taught us,” she told us. “Thanks to Operation Blessing for helping us!”

“ The program was very good for us. Now we know what to do in any situation.

–Juana