PHILIPPINES – “When they took me, I never expected they’d bring me back alive.” These haunting words from Jimmy Pacheco capture the terror he faced as a Hamas hostage. Pacheco endured a horrifying ordeal as one of the hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attack in Israel. Jimmy, a Filipino national, worked as a caregiver for an elderly man in Israel. On that day, his employer was brutally murdered, and Jimmy was taken hostage. During his captivity, he suffered tremendously and feared he would lose his mind. Out of desperation, he even ate toilet paper dampened by water on the walls—so he could survive and see his children again.
The Fate of a Hamas Hostage
After being held for more than a month, Jimmy was finally freed in November 2023. An Operation Blessing team from his Philippines homeland was on the ground in Israel and provided him with emotional support.
“When I first saw the sunlight and came out from the tunnel, I just knelt,” Jimmy said, his voice full of emotion. “I thanked the Lord because I saw the sun again and breathed fresh air.”
Thanks to friends like you, Jimmy’s story didn’t end with his release—it transformed into one of hope and giving. The trauma of Jimmy’s experience led him home to the Philippines, where Operation Blessing remained in touch with him. “Life has gotten easier,” Jimmy shared, finding peace with his family in Santa Ana, situated in the province of Cagayan.
But rather than focus solely on his own recovery after being a Hamas hostage, Jimmy turned to his community’s needs. “I can’t help but think about my neighbors,” he explained. “Since I was young, I’ve always preferred giving rather than receiving. You know what they say: it’s better to be the giver than the receiver.”
Because of your generosity, Operation Blessing was able to partner with Jimmy to bring vital healthcare to remote areas in Santa Ana. Through our mobile medical clinics, your compassionate support provided eye exams, medicines, vitamins, hygiene kits, and health screenings to hundreds of families across three underserved communities—all free of charge.
“They really need this kind of medical mission,” Jimmy emphasized, speaking of his neighbors.
In these isolated locations, access to basic healthcare is often out of reach, and the challenges Jimmy witnessed growing up in this region stayed with him even during his years working abroad. Having experienced hardship in his own childhood, he understood firsthand how a lack of basic medical care can impact entire families.
That’s why Operation Blessing’s mobile medical clinic was so crucial—it brought essential healthcare directly to these communities, removing barriers of distance and cost that had long prevented many from receiving the care they desperately needed.
Your continued kindness helped turn one man’s traumatic experience into a multiplying blessing for his community! Despite Jimmy’s own challenges, his first thought was to help others. Your faithful support allowed him to become the hands and feet of Jesus for his neighbors. Jimmy’s story is a reminder to us all that Jesus can take even our darkest moments and use them to become a light for others.
