April 2024 Blessings Magazine

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Today, Davina Can Run!

Your compassion helped provide a miracle and a new future for a hurting child in Nigeria

Happenings

Catch up with the goings-on at Operation Blessing!

Helping Blind Israelis

Find Their Way

You’re helping the most vulnerable people navigate wartime

A Season of Growth

Thanks to You

Indonesian chili farmers reap what they sow

Breaking Tradition in the Best Sort of Way

A family in Peru has clean water because of friends like you 16

The Miracle of Giving Food

Your love is empowering one Virginia woman to help others in need

Because You Care

We’re offering a big shout-out to our volunteers and to you!

HAPPENINGS

JAPAN: Thanks to friends like you, Operation Blessing delivered disaster relief supplies to a local church for those impacted by an earthquake in Japan.

MEXICO: Because of your love and support, the Hernandez family’s water system was greatly improved with the installation of water tanks and training on water chlorination.

PORTUGAL:

Your faithful support allowed Operation Blessing to build a professional kitchen at Lagoinha Church in Portugal to serve meals to vulnerable people within their community.

TEXAS: While wildfires still raged, destroying over a million acres in the Texas panhandle, we reached out with comfort and practical relief thanks to you.

UKRAINE: Because of your generosity, OB has delivered over 200 cargo loads to hard-hit areas of Ukraine, addressing the urgent needs of individuals and families struggling with the challenges caused by the ongoing war.

COSTA RICA:

Your compassion provided a two-day medical and dental brigade for those facing health difficulties at a remote indigenous reserve in Costa Rica.

Helping Blind Israelis Find Their Way

YOU’RE HELPING THE MOST VULNERABLE PEOPLE NAVIGATE WARTIME

For anyone, undergoing a nonstop barrage of rocket fire would be shattering. Losing your home to the assault would be almost unthinkable. Being attacked while seeking haven in a bomb shelter would be shocking. But imagine if you had to endure such devastation without your sight.

Since October 7, Operation Blessing has been traveling to many parts of Israel, helping people affected by the ongoing war—especially vulnerable people like recent immigrants, those who are displaced, and those who struggle with blindness. “It’s more difficult because I can’t see and can only hear,” said a woman named Irit about the fighting. “It causes me a lot of anxiety.”

Thanks to the generosity of partners like you, we met many of the most urgent needs of these hurting people—distributing thousands of food boxes, hygiene products, and seasonal clothing.

Sofia gratefully accepted the food and other products you helped provide to assist her through this disorienting time.

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One of the precious people we had the opportunity to meet was Sofia, a Holocaust survivor. She went blind at an early age, when Germany bombed Stalingrad during World War II. But this didn’t stop her from teaching piano to blind children over the years, something that gave her so much joy. She gratefully accepted the food and other products you helped provide to assist her through this disorienting time.

At the Jewish Institute for the Blind in Jerusalem, thanks to your support, we partnered with a caterer to prepare hot meals for many evacuees there who are blind or visually impaired. Oren from the Institute told us their goal in working with people affected by the war with Gaza. “On October 8, we decided that we were going to open our place— to host blind people and their families from We thank all the Christians who support Israel. –Oren

all over the country who feel frightened, because lonely blind people don’t know where to go. Where is the shelter, they need to know. When is the next siren going off?”

Right now, these people are relying on the assistance of the Institute for their daily meals and other needs. Since the government provides breakfast and dinner, CBN Israel and Operation Blessing joined forces to supply lunch, not only to the shelter but also to other places where internally displaced families now reside. And this is all because you care!

“It’s warmed our hearts. We thank all the Christians who support Israel,” Oren said, “all the good people who give support—all over the world.”

As those at the Institute like to say, “The heart sees more than the eyes can ever imagine.” At Operation Blessing, as you so regularly demonstrate, a heart of compassion is key. We so appreciate your loving heart!

MAY WE NEVER F0RGET!

We join our brothers and sisters in Israel as they honor Holocaust Remembrance Day on May 6. Please remember to keep all those living throughout Israel in your prayers.

A SEASON OF GROWTH

Thanks to you

Working in the agriculture industry can bring a great harvest, or it can be filled with insurmountable challenges and pitfalls. Countless variables have to come together just right in order for crops to flourish. Natural factors beyond our control such as the weather, grade of soil, and animals looking for a snack—combined with other challenges like lack of proper tools and poor economic standing—can all interfere with the quality of the harvest.

Farmers in remote areas are all too familiar with these challenges. However, thanks to your dedication to helping people in vulnerable communities, a group of farmers in Indonesia recently received the needed support to significantly improve their crops.

Mr. Radianus is a chili farmer in the rural community of

Indonesian chili farmers reap what they sow

training on how to nurture the crop to help improve the yield at harvest time. We also moved the gardening location of Mr. Radianus and the group to a secure spot, where the farmers could look out for each other.

Bawamataluo. His crop provided his primary source of income. Needless to say, when his harvest didn’t produce a high yield, he was devastated. He grew desperate for his situation to change.

Thankfully, Operation Blessing heard about his dilemma and knew how to help. Because of your generosity, Mr. Radianus and other chili pepper farmers in similar situations were given quality seedlings and new farming equipment to get their crops going strong. As the seedlings grew, so did their hope for the future.

In addition to seeds and tools, you provided the farmers with

A fresh start was exactly what Mr. Radianus needed. Now that he’s in a safer location, equipped with new tools and expanded knowledge, his crop flourished, and he reported that his income increased. He and the other farmers are planning to expand their crops soon.

Operation Blessing’s support of the farmers is one example of how you empower others through microenterprise. Everyone needs a little help sometimes, and we’re so grateful that you help make these miracles happen.

It hurts to be judged before people really know you. Young Davina knew this all too well, as her severely bowed legs brought attention to her like a neon sign—but that didn’t dampen her spirits.

This sweet 5-year-old girl was born with a condition called rickets, which made her legs

really know you. Young Davina misshapen. But she just kept moving, overcoming the difficulties she faced with an infectious smile and a passion for life.

Full of energy, she loves to dance and doesn’t shy away from playing soccer and other games with friends. But it’s hard to stay on your feet when your legs won’t cooperate. She often ended up on the ground, battered and bruised.

In fact, most days it hurt her just to get up and walk, but there was too much life to live for Davina to stay down. And while she might have come home with bruises, she got out there and tried her best to be part of the action.

This became all the harder, however, when people singled her out or ridiculed her. Davina’s mother, Saratu, shared, “Some days ago someone described my house by telling someone it

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was ‘the house with the girl who has bowed legs,’ and this made me cry.”

Aside from her condition, life was already challenging for Davina, her siblings, and her widowed mother. Her father had been sick and bedridden for two years, and then he passed away. Being ill for so long, he was unable to set them up for a life without his provision. Since he died, their family has barely survived on the support of others.

Living in a small, underdeveloped town in Nigeria created even more obstacles for the family. Their area is out of the government eye and has very weak infrastructure—particularly where healthcare is concerned. It would have taken a miracle for Davina’s family to even access the facilities and physicians needed to give her corrective surgery—and that’s if they could have afforded it.

Davina and her mother are so grateful to you for Nigeria created even more obstacles for the team were able to

Surgery to repair Davina’s legs was just one of many impossible dreams—until now. God made a way, thanks to you! When our Nigerian surgery coordinator named Eyen met Davina, he knew there was hope for this precious girl. Because of your compassion, he and the rest of our life-changing surgeries team were able to connect Davina with skilled physicians and provide her with corrective surgery free of charge. Thanks to you, we were also able

BREAKING TRADITION IN THE BEST SORT OF WAY

My family and I are overjoyed. … We are really grateful for this help and blessing we received.

–Rute, Elvis’s mother

Elvis trudged along the dusty path with a heavy jug slung across his slender 11-year-old frame. The sun hung high in the sky outside the village of Llinquipata as Elvis and his father began the difficult walk to collect water. Beads of sweat already trickled down Elvis’s forehead as father and son pressed on for this essential resource their family so desperately needed.

The journey to fetch water was a ritual of suffering that Elvis’s family and the community of Llinquipata had endured for generations. The remote village relied on either collecting water that ran off their tin roofs during the rainy season

day—the exhausting journey to collect water from distant wells. As the water had a distinct odor and yellowish hue, even a successful trip came with limited reward.

But now, thanks to the generosity of donors like you, a new day has emerged for Elvis and his neighbors in Llinquipata. After receiving a state-of-theart, solar-powered water system, the people of this remote village no longer struggle with water scarcity. The innovative solution you helped provide includes a treatment system, an elevated tank to store clean water, and a network of pipes to bring this precious resource directly to the homes in

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A family in Peru has clean water because of friends like you

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from dirty wells forever! The added blessing of bathrooms with biodigester toilets has given each family the power to protect their health like never before.

Elvis had grown up witnessing the generational struggle for clean water that had defined the lives of people like his mother, Rute. Now, donors like you have given this young boy the opportunity to become part of a historic turning point that has shattered the tradition of water scarcity. One thing is certain for Elvis, his family, and the surrounding community

of Llinquipata: Some traditions deserve to be broken.

“My family and I are overjoyed,” Rute said. “We used to have to strain the water we carried to utilize it. Now, thanks to Operation Blessing, we have water very close to us, and the water has been filtered and purified. … We are really grateful for this help and blessing we received.”

The Miracle of GIVING FOOD

YOUR LOVE IS EMPOWERING

ONE VIRGINIA WOMAN TO HELP OTHERS IN NEED

“This is just a rough patch, and I know it’s passing,” said Zine from Virginia, trying to stay positive. That’s just who Zine is.

But right now, times are tough. Food prices are soaring, and hardworking people like Zine are struggling to make ends meet. When money got tight, Zine was thankful to find relief through your love and support and the food pantry at Bethel Worship Center Church International, a ministry partner of Operation Blessing.

Twenty years ago, Zine moved from South Africa to the United States. Over time, she noticed others in need all around her and wanted to help, so she left a well-paying job as a delivery specialist to establish a group home in Virginia for people with

mental disabilities. Even with a financial plan, she saw the COVID pandemic slow her progress and dwindle her reserve.

During this time, because of your support, she didn’t have the burden of paying for her own groceries weighing on her. Instead, she was able to focus on those in need. “I can devote my day to working in the business,” she said. “It just gives me a lot of peace.”

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Zine often picked up extra groceries for neighbors who were not able to travel to the food pantry.

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Zine often picked up extra groceries for neighbors who were not able to travel to the food pantry and even brought back some cake for the children who lived next door. “There are a lot of needy families who need food,” she told us. “You get a lot of fresh food here, fresh vegetables and milk. This is really useful to someone who isn’t getting a lot of protein.”

Your generosity made all that possible. Thanks to you, Operation Blessing is able to provide food so that food pantries like this one and others across the country can continue providing groceries to Zine and many others.

“It’s bringing comfort,” said Sabrina, who runs the pantry at Bethel Worship Center Church with her mother. “The food makes a difference in the finances at home because they can comfortably make a decision to pay the light bill and not be hungry.” And the quality of

the food you provide is something Sabrina says she would serve to her own family.

“The money is going straight to the communities—people you see in the grocery store, people that you see at church, they are direct recipients of the donations,” Sabrina told us. “Seeing another human receiving something they need, it just gives me joy.”

The compassion her whole staff has for helping others pours over to the people they meet, including Zine. Every time Zine visited the food pantry, she felt your love in action. “When I look into the women and men’s eyes, I see the face of God.”

Today, Zine is working toward becoming financially independent and no longer needs assistance from the food pantry. She is doing what she loves—caring for others in her group home.

Because You Care!

As National Volunteer Week approaches, we'd like to give a big shout-out and a huge thanks to all of our volunteers! And also to those of you who support them through your generous giving. Because you care, the hungry and hurting receive love, help, and encouragement during their times of greatest need.

If you aren't currently volunteering, now’s your chance! In addition to disaster relief and food distribution, we also have opportunities for you to help from the comfort of your own home as a digital volunteer.