February 2024 Blessings Magazine by Operation Blessing

blessings OPERATION BLESSING

FEBRUARY 2024

Love

Stories of how YOU help the hurting around the world.

Your

Reaches Around the World!

SHELTER FROM THE STORM, THANKS TO YOUR LOVE

PAG E 6

BLESSED THROUGH NOURISHMENT PA G E 1 6

HOW YOUR LOVE TRANSFORMS LIVES IN THE MOUNTAINS PA G E 1 8

Inside this issue

Your Love Reaches Around the World

How you changed hunger to hope for a family in Kenya

Happenings

Catch up with the goings-on at Operation Blessing!

Shelter from the Storm

A newborn has a place to sleep after Hurricane Otis, thanks to your love

Fighting to See

10 2

You offered healing in the midst of a war

Blessed Through Nourishment

16 18

Americans navigating retirement with your support

How You Helped Transform Lives in the Mountains Clean water for a remote community

Love and Chickens

You pulled a hurting family from the brink of starvation

operationblessing.org | 977 Centerville Turnpike, Virginia Beach, VA 23463 | (800) 730-2537 3

OPERATION BLESSING

HAPPENINGS COSTA RICA: Thanks to friends like you, children at a school in Costa Rica will soon have access to clean drinking water!

KENYA: After Nzambu suffered with a large tumor for 10 years, your gracious giving is providing him with a fully funded life-changing surgery!

UKRAINE: Because of your generosity, war survivors like Olena received fuel briquettes to keep their homes warm during Ukraine’s frigid winter months. 4

PERU

MEXICO: After a hurricane, you helped provide assistance to families reconstructing their homes. You also sent hot meals via this food truck.

PERU: Thanks to your love and compassion, women like Nikita are able to obtain ultrasounds and learn about the health of their babies.

ISRAEL: Your faithful support allowed Operation Blessing to work alongside CBN Israel to serve people like former Hamas hostage Joey and so many others who have been affected by the conflict. 5

Shelter from the Storm, Thanks to Your Love My child is going to die. He’s going to die.

“

Huddling under the kitchen table, Yaretzy and her husband clung to their 3-year-old son and shielded the tiny newborn baby in their arms as the wind from Hurricane Otis pounded their home in Acapulco, Mexico. Over

MEXICO

A newborn has a place to sleep after Hurricane Otis

had welcomed their second baby boy, Dylan, into the family. As he had been born several weeks early, they were overjoyed, unaware that trouble was brewing in the Pacific. The young family was prepared for a tropical storm like other storms they had encountered—never dreaming this one would change direction into the monster that would turn at the last minute to rip their home and lives apart. “We had never experienced anything like this,” Yaretzy told us. She even feared it would kill her baby. “The wind was very strong. We were screaming for it to stop.” When the storm was finally over, their trouble was just beginning. The destruction that Otis left behind overwhelmed Yaretzy. She cried most of the day, wishing it was all just a nightmare. But it wasn’t. Continued on page 8

and over the young mother cried, pleading for the winds to stop, but the unexpected Category 5 hurricane was relentless. It tore through their roof and ceiling, leaving the terrified family drenched—even toppling over their refrigerator. Just two days before the storm hit, Yaretzy and her husband 7

Continued from page 7

Everything the young couple owned was gone. For three days, they wore wet clothes and searched for food, water, and something dry to sleep on. All they had for little Dylan was a plastic box for him to rest in. Then you reached out and surrounded Yaretzy and her family with love and compassion. Your generosity provided them with clean bottled water, food, an air mattress, pillows, hygiene items, and the supplies she needed to take care of her children—even toys for 3-year-old Diego and a crib for baby Dylan. Yaretzy couldn’t contain her tears—this time, tears of joy. “I didn’t imagine they were things for the baby,” she cried. “Before,

I put him in a little box that is plastic, but I don’t put him there anymore. Now, I put him in the crib.” And young Diego was overjoyed with the toys you sent him. “I saw Diego happy, and I hadn’t seen him like that.” For the first time since the storm, Yaretzy and her family were able to sleep through the night. “I feel blessed, more than anything,” she told us with a smile on her face. And she has you to thank! With your support, we were also able to provide hot meals, water purification systems, and medical care to many other families who were hurting after Hurricane Otis. Your kindness is giving them hope and shining God’s love in the middle of a terrible disaster. Thank you!

Love

CELEBRATING…

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. I John 4:7-12

Happy Valentine’s Day from all of

us at Operation Blessing and from those around the world who have been blessed by your love.

Fighting to

See

You offered healing in the midst of a war

Y Before her surgery Diana struggled with reading and daily activities.

oung Diana from Ukraine wanted nothing more in life than to play with friends and become a teacher when she grew up. Unfortunately, life for Diana hasn’t been that simple. Diana had problems with her vision from birth, but it wasn’t until she was in school that an eye exam revealed congenital cataracts in both of her eyes. This condition affected her ability to interact with peers and her performance in school, as well as daily life activities. As if that weren’t bad

UKRAINE

enough, in February 2022— before her family even had time to look into further treatment— war broke out. Shelling began in her hometown, and Diana and her family were forced to flee to the area of Lviv, Ukraine, for safety. Operation Blessing responded to the conflict in Ukraine as soon as it was safe enough to do so, providing comfort and aid for those in need. Thanks to you, we gave food and basic necessities both to refugees and to families remaining in war-torn Ukraine. Despite the ongoing woes of war, you continue to provide help to the hurting and healing to the afflicted. In Lviv, Sunday school workers noticed that Diana

was unable to play with the other children due to her vision issues, and they referred her to Operation Blessing. When friends like you heard the story of the 11-year-old Ukrainian girl struggling to see, they quickly responded with love and assistance. Because of this outpouring of grace, Diana received the surgery she so badly needed. Her eyes are now well along the path to healing, and she can take full joy in being a child. Her family is so grateful. Diana said, “I’m happy that I can see now, I can draw now, and I can play with the other kids.” Thank you for changing lives in Ukraine and around the globe!

After the surgery you provided, Diana is doing great! 11

Love Your

Reaches Around the World!

HOW YOU CHANGED HUNGER TO HOPE FOR A FAMILY IN KENYA

hey’re only children, but Farayan and his small niece Neewo have known hunger pains that few of us can even imagine. When severe drought struck Kenya, their family lost everything— including the animals they depended on to survive. Food was scarce. Hope faded more with every passing day. Farayan’s mother—who is also Neewo’s grandmother, Nagisai—did what she could to provide for her family, but when the drought struck, she had nothing left. Every day, this matriarch of her multi-generational

Nagisai and Neewo struggled through the time of drought.

KENYA

family spent hours walking from village to village, searching for work—anything that would allow her to put just a little food on the table. All too often, she came back empty-handed. “It would break my heart when I tried so hard and got nothing,” she said. “So, I went out again and again, trying to look for food. If I didn’t find anything in one village, I would walk to the next and on to the next.” But everyone was suffering. For miles around, no one had any food left. Continued on page 14

Continued from page 13

When she did find a little morsel of food, she gave it to her children or the grandchildren she also thought of as her own kids. “I would tell them, ‘I know it’s not enough, but be patient. This is all we have for now.’ Then I would go back out again and beg for more food. ... I thought the drought would kill my children.” The sack gardens you provided for this community are making a huge difference.

They needed someone to reach out and change their circumstances. Thankfully, across the world, friends like you heard Nagisai’s cries. You came to her rescue with a most precious gift—food for her family and the 780 other families in her surrounding community! For Farayan, Neewo, and Nagisai, you also provided something else— something more precious than food. When you sent your love around the world, you brought hope that tomorrow could be better. The severe drought in Kenya affected villages like theirs all across the Marsabit region. And your support not only helped with food, it also gave families access to clean

The women of the village proudly display the vegetables they grew in drought conditions.

water and helped with long-term initiatives aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty. Through a local sack garden program, our teams trained community members to grow their own produce—right there in the parched landscape— so parents could provide for their children for years to come. These initiatives gave families like Nagisai’s the tools that they needed to cultivate food and generate ongoing income that would help them build a brighter future for the next generation! Over and over again, your love is making the difference for those in greatest need.

VIRGINIA

Nourishment BLESSED THROUGH

Americans navigating retirement with your support

etired and living on a fixed income, Winifred knows just how difficult it can be making ends meet in today’s economy. Having worked many years for a Virginia-based shipyard, she thought retirement would offer her a chance to rest after years of hard work. But instead, Winifred has been struggling to even buy food due to rising inflation. Thanks to your generous support, she doesn’t have to weather the storm alone. Because of faithful donors like you, Winifred was able to turn to Netcasters Kitchen, a food distribution partner of Operation Blessing. There, Winifred is able to receive food without paying the high grocery store prices. “It makes a difference, makes a great

difference,” Winifred said. “I don’t have to worry about going to the store to get this or get that. Basically, they give you everything that you need. Fresh food and canned food and pastries … all that good stuff.” Winifred is not only able to benefit physically, but she also receives spiritual support with every visit to Netcasters Kitchen. “It’s great. They start to pray for you. And, you know, some of us don’t get prayer unless we come through this line… I feel God’s love all the time. I know He loves all of us.” Through the uncommon kindness of donors like you and the efforts of Netcasters Kitchen, Winifred can keep food on the table without straining her tight budget. “You learn how to maintain. That’s what you got to do,” Winifred explained. “When you get this stuff at the food bank, and you see the price of the stuff in the store, you’re like, ‘Thank you, Jesus,’ because you don’t have

to pay the high price to get the healthy meals.” Your support continues to offer hope and positively impact lives across the United States. Thank you for embodying the love of God through the essential gift of food. Your generosity ensures seniors like Winifred can live out retirement knowing high-quality, nutritious food is never out of reach.

When you get this stuff at the food bank… you’re like,“Thank you, Jesus,” because you don’t have to pay the high price to get healthy meals. –Winifred

PERU

How Your Love Transforms Lives in the Mountains You helped a community receive clean water

f the vista a person sees from his front door were an indicator of wealth and happiness, then Jacinto should have been a rich and contented man. Surrounded by towering mountains in the Peruvian highlands, he cares for his herd of sheep in this lovely spot. Jacinto lives in a distant community located about three hours away from beautiful Lake Titicaca. However, the 68-year-old sheepherder and his camera-shy wife, Juana, faced harsh realities. Situated in such remote spots, indigenous communities like theirs are made up of isolated, vulnerable people. They had no running water

at their home, and they had to make long, grueling treks to fetch water for drinking, washing, and cooking—but the water was not even clean. “We suffer a lot because of this,” Jacinto said. “Sometimes we got sick because we didn’t know the water wasn’t good for us. But,” he pointed out, “what else can we do— we still have to walk to get water. I want my wife to rest, but sometimes I get tired and she helps me.” Fortunately, Operation Blessing reached the people of Osocco with great news for every member of this rugged community. With help from friends like you, our staff built a pumped water system that would take the water from its source to a

reservoir, then filter and treat it—allowing clean water to be piped to each house! And, because of your generous gifts, we also provided biodigester bathrooms next to each house. Thanks to donors like you with loving hearts, after so many years of suffering Jacinto and Juana had their lives changed forever. “I can’t believe we have water. I can’t believe we have a bathroom.” Jacinto rejoiced. “Thank you so much, my friends. God bless you all!”

THAILAND

LOVE and CHICKENS

You pulled a hurting family back from the brink of starvation.

our love is reaching around the world and blessing so many hurting families in need. Children like Malik (age 6) have food today because you came to their rescue. Malik loved helping her grandmother. She cleaned the house and raised chickens on their poultry farm. “Grandma loves me and my brother,” said Malik. “She takes care of us.” The chickens helped provide for their needs and put food on the table. But for Grandma Aon, raising her grandchildren by herself was hard. And then the unthinkable happened: a flood washed away their farm. Overnight, Grandma Aon had nothing left and no way to support her family without help from friends like you.

Grandma put salt on the rice for me because we had no money,” Malik said. “She told me to eat first, and she would eat what was left.

“

“I was very stressed,” Grandma Aon told us. “I have nothing to invest to buy more chickens.” She knew that finding a job would be difficult, but she needed to support her grandchildren. “Who will hire me? I did not know what to do.” Eventually, their money ran out. Grandma Aon could no longer afford to buy food, except for a little rice. She boiled it for Malik and her brother first. “Grandma put salt on the rice for me because we had no money,” Malik said. “She told me to eat first, and she would eat what was left.” The burden was too heavy on her grandmother. Sometimes, she simply broke down. Malik stayed by her side and tried to encourage her. “When I saw Grandma cry, I would wipe her tears and say, ‘Don’t cry. God will be with us.’” Grandma Aon continued to seek God for an answer. “I prayed and asked Him to provide money so I could Continued on page 22

God has answered my prayer. God has brought His people to care for me.

“

–Grandma Aon

Continued from page 21

raise chickens once again. One night, I had a dream about some people from Bangkok who would teach me about raising something.” Her dream came true! Through your generosity, our Operation Blessing team in Bangkok had the opportunity to train Grandma Aon in the skills she needed to run

a business. You also gave her 300 chickens along with the feed and supplies she needed to relaunch her business. Then you went above and beyond to provide her family with enough food until the chickens were old enough to sell. Malik jumped in and began to help her grandmother feed the chickens and fill their water buckets. “I’m glad Grandma has work to do and has income,” she said. “I am glad that I can help her.” And Grandma Aon’s business is thriving once again. Since it relaunched, she has raised and sold nearly 700 chickens and says that her family is no longer hungry, thanks to you! She is thankful for all God has done through your love and support. “God has answered my prayer. God has brought His people to care for me. I have peace and joy now. Thanks for helping us.”

Give Hope THAT WILL LAST LONG INTO THE

FUTURE!

Have you ever thought about creating a legacy that will continue to spread the message of love and hope to future generations? It's easier than you might think. One simple way to make a lasting impact is to name Operation Blessing as the beneficiary of an asset you own. Several types of assets allow you to designate beneficiaries just by completing a Beneficiary Designation form.

THESE INCLUDE:

Stocks Life Insurance Policies Donor Advised Funds Bank Accounts Retirement Accounts such as IRAs and CGAs To learn more about Beneficiary Designations, please contact us. ob.org/plannedgiving | plannedgiving@ob.org | 800-333-2373

Love Your

Makes a World of Difference

Thank you for sending your love across the globe to touch hurting hearts and bless people in their time of need.

operationblessing.org

TO SEND A SPECIAL GIFT OF LOVE TODAY, PLEASE VISIT:

ob.org/giveblessings SCAN ME

977 Centerville Turnpike Virginia Beach, VA 23463

(800) 730-2537

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.