UKRAINE – After months of living in constant fear for their lives, Ukrainian families like Oksana’s suddenly faced a new challenge—winter without heat.
Oksana shared, “The winters here are different…The temperature can be -4 degrees Fahrenheit or sometimes even -13. You can simply freeze. Our house was heated with a boiler, but it was destroyed when the war started.”
Since Russia began targeting power supply across Ukraine, civilians haven’t known from one day to the next whether they will have a source of heat the next day. They could wake up freezing because of shelling in the middle of the night. And many, like Oksana, had their heat sources destroyed by the war long before the current power supply issues.
But thanks to the generosity of friends like you warming homes and hearts in Ukraine, many of these families have hope. Thanks to our compassionate Operation Blessing partners, our teams in the Ukraine are installing wood-burning stoves to bring comfort and joy to those in great need.
“As the war continues, the needs are going to increase as the weather gets colder,” said Jeff Westling, Operation Blessing’s chief of staff in an interview with WTKR news network. “The need for heat is of primary concern for us right now. So we are providing wood-burning stoves, or wood-fueled stoves, to residences, especially in the areas that have been heavily attacked.”
This life-saving work is warming homes and hearts in Ukraine, providing the Ukrainian people with a reliable source of heat no matter what happens to the electrical grid. Together with our faithful supporters, Operation Blessing is upholding those who are suffering so they can endure the worst of the war.
And Ukrainians feel the love! Oksana shares, “If Operation Blessing had not brought us heating, we would have frozen here. If Operation Blessing had not brought us a stove and firewood, then I do not know how my children and I would have survived.”
She is beyond grateful. “Operation Blessing is doing a great thing by providing stoves and firewood for people. It is a big help. Thank you very much.”
Please consider getting involved in reaching out to hurting people in Ukraine and around the world.
WORLDWIDE – This year at Operation Blessing, we had the privilege of witnessing the amazing things you accomplished for families around the world. Your love traveled across the globe providing gifts of hope and help for families in need.
In the United States, you provided families in need with food for their tables and helped victims of hurricanes and tornadoes get back on their feet. You gave clean water to Osocco, Peru, food to families in Kenya, disaster relief to Filipino families, life-giving medical care to Princika in India, and much, much more.
Your incredible outpouring of support also made it possible for Operation Blessing to respond to the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Ukraine this year. Countless bags of food, supply kits, warm meals, hugs, and words of encouragement were poured out on Ukrainian families, thanks to you!
Thank you so much for your amazing generosity. Because of your partnership with Operation Blessing, your love traveled the world and families have been given gifts of hope. Visit ob.org/hope to help even more families in need!
PERU – Gladys lived with her family in Mañazo, a rural community nestled in the highlands of southern Peru. Her parents raised livestock while Gladys took care of the household chores.
At one time, expectant mothers in Mañazo had no access to prenatal care in Peru. Most women could not travel the 27 miles to the city of Puno or even afford the cost of an ultrasound. Often, complications were left undetected and untreated leaving women in terrible pain during pregnancy. Many even died during childbirth.
“I was afraid I would lose my baby because of my health,” said Gladys. “I couldn’t pay 70 soles to have an ultrasound performed.” But thanks to your compassion, Gladys didn’t have to face this pregnancy alone. Since Operation Blessing launched the prenatal counseling program in Mañazo earlier that year, our staff was able to be by her side from the first stages of her pregnancy.
This program in Mañazo is just one of several prenatal programs in Peru you provided to serve the rural communities surrounding Puno. Gladys would need all the love and support she could get in order to face the journey ahead.
Prenatal Care In Peru
During her pregnancy Gladys faced two separate health challenges. First she developed a female infection. Later, she suffered intense pain and discovered she had gallstones. The obstetrician and staff at the prenatal counseling program were by her side every step of the way throughout her challenging pregnancy. They monitored the baby’s health during both treatments through several ultrasounds. To Gladys’s relief, her baby remained healthy.
“I couldn’t see how my baby was,” said Gladys. “Operation Blessing helped me. After seeing that my baby was okay, I felt relieved.” Through the new prenatal counseling program, you also provided a safe place for Gladys and other women to receive the prenatal care in Peru they needed.
Staff offered workshops to equip expectant mothers with techniques on how to carry their babies safely to term. Women like Gladys learned about childbirth and the warning signs to look for throughout their pregnancies. “I didn’t know how to control my contractions, but after these workshops I learned how to breathe,” said Gladys.
“Thanks to the workshops that were given to us, I knew how to act when I had pain during my pregnancy. That’s what helped me the most.” Today, Gladys is overjoyed to hold her precious healthy baby girl, Yuletzi, thanks in large part to the prenatal counseling program and to you.
Join Operation Blessing and become someone’s miracle this holiday season! You can come alongside Operation Blessing as we seek to break the cycle of suffering all over the world. Your support provides miracles to countless families through initiatives including: aiding displaced Ukrainian families, installing water systems in Mexico, providing life-changing surgeries in India, helping victims of Hurricane Ian in Florida, and much more.
One of the hardest realities of 2022 has been the tragedy of the Ukraine Crisis. The invasion by the Russian military under the orders of Vladimir Putin have plunged this once peaceful Eastern European nation into chaos.
The scars of the war are everywhere. Decimated buildings, smashed roads, as well as damaged vehicles line roads and villages. Homes are abandoned as explosions and the threat of deadly violence make them uninhabitable.
Millions of Ukrainians have been forced to flee into neighboring countries. Many find themselves in Poland. Their lives are now at a complete stand still and their futures remain unclear. They do not know when they can return home. And even when they can, they have no idea what they will face in Ukraine. While they have lost homes and possessions there is still one thing they cannot afford to lose, which is hope.
Be Someone’s Miracle This Holiday In Ukraine
You can help be their hope. Your support can provide displaced Ukrainian refugees with the supplies they need to survive. More than just provisions, you are giving them something else. You are showing them that people care. You are living the gospel message through your actions. You are helping them to keep holding on to hope! Please continue to be a light for so many people living in sadness this holiday season. Visit https://www.ob.org/mc/holidaygiving/ to make your holiday gift today!
NAIROBI – Before he was even two, sweet little Mohammed was often the center of attention— the wrong kind of attention. His facial deformity made him different, a difference that most children couldn’t understand. Desperately in need of surgery for his cleft lip and palate in Nairobi, Mohammed’s life was not easy. “Eating some types of food and drinking water was a problem,” his mother said, but his parents couldn’t afford the operation that would help him.
Mohammed’s family lived in a slum community. As a contract laborer, his father earned the equivalent of about $50 per month, not nearly enough to pay for surgery and provide for the family. His mother stayed home to take care of the house and their three children.
Then, the family discovered the joyous news that Mohammed could get free surgeries through Operation Blessing’s Life-Changing Surgeries program. Together, compassionate friends just like you provided the funds this struggling family needed to fix his cleft lip and palate in Nairobi, and allow Mohammed a chance to live a healthy life.
He would be able to eat, drink, and speak without a problem. “It was difficult to understand clearly what Mohammed was saying before due to the deformity, but now after the surgery I can comprehend what he is saying,” said his mother. “My child is now fine. Thank you, Operation Blessing—I am very grateful for the support.”
Our Life-Changing Surgeries program doesn’t just change the lives of individual recipients, it changes the lives of entire families. When friends like you come together, we can give the gift of healing to so many who cannot afford it or who have no access to medical care.
“I don’t feel good about this.” As a longtime Kentucky resident, Darlene was no stranger to the life-threatening force of tornadoes. But she sensed there was something different about the approaching storm. Even the local meteorologist said he’d never seen anything like it.
Darlene knew that her elderly mother, Betty Sue, preferred to wait out tornadoes in her own home eight miles away. But this time she didn’t resist evacuating. Instead, when Darlene arrived to pick her up, Betty Sue grabbed her medications and an overnight bag and got in her daughter’s car.
Together, they waited out the storm as best they could in Darlene’s basement with pillows over their heads. And when the storm knocked out their power, the backup battery kept the radio going with uplifting Gospel music.
“It was the scariest thing I’ve ever been in!” Darlene told us. Despite that, “We told each other we loved each other, and Mama said, ‘It’s going to be all right. God’s going to protect us.’”
Devastation After the Storm Passed
When the storm had passed, Darlene got a phone call from a neighbor of her mother’s who was in tears. Frantic, he was calling to report that Betty Sue’s house was completely gone—he hadn’t been able to find her and feared she was dead. “There’s nothing left over here,” he told her.
The next day, they went back to Betty Sue’s house. Although the structure was indeed gone and its contents were scattered over several blocks, some of Betty Sue’s belongings had survived the tempest—including all seven of her Bibles and some irreplaceable family pictures—her most cherished possessions. Following the destruction, it was evident that it was time to begin thinking about rebuilding after the storm.
Soon after the tornado passed, thanks to caring friends like you, Operation Blessing was able to rush to the scene, reaching out to battered victims with disaster relief supplies and assistance. One of the main things our team on the ground noticed was that many people, like Betty Sue, desperately needed places to store their belongings as they waited for homes to be repaired or even rebuilt entirely.
Rebuilding After The Storm With A Storage Shed To House Belongings
And now, thanks to a sturdy storage shed that you helped provide, Betty Sue has a place to safely keep all of these items while her new home is being built on her daughter’s property.
Darlene said that after all they’ve been through, “We’re just thankful that we’re here and we’re alive.
“I just want to thank everyone for all your hard work and perseverance—blessing everyone,” she said. “The main thing is, you’ll pray with people, and that means a lot to my mother because I know prayer’s what will get her through this.” She also expressed thanks for all the donors who helped.
Once again, your compassionate support works hand-in-hand with our disaster relief teams and volunteers to aid and comfort victims during some of the most difficult times of their lives. Thank you for so richly blessing those in need
“Just want to thank everyone for all your hard work and perseverance—blessing everyone.”
UKRAINE – When Russia launched a brutal attack on Ukraine, families in Mariupol, Kiev, and many other Ukrainian cities suffered from the violence.
Those who didn’t evacuate were forced to live in basements for safety. Because of the danger, many food suppliers have refused to deliver to certain areas. This has led to empty store shelves and growing food scarcity for precious families still living in Ukraine.
But thanks to the support of friends like you, many of these families have hope. You made crisis relief possible by supporting a bakery deep within the hard-hit city of Kurakhove. Your dedication and love have been instrumental in keeping bread on the table in Ukraine.
The Social Bakery, run by Zhenya and her husband, is in a dangerous area. They daily face constant threats from artillery and falling shells. Because of the risks, most businesses have left the region. Now, The Social Bakery is one of the only sources of food for many hurting families who still live there.
Zhenya shared with us, “Every morning we visit the cities and villages to find out who needs our help. It’s mostly the elderly. Then we return to the bakery to see how much bread we can give that day and then let the villages know what we can do.”
Faithfully Keeping Bread on the Table in Ukraine
When the bakery was in danger of closing its doors due to a supply shortage, Operation Blessing stepped in to help. With help from our partners, the bakery was able to get the supplies they needed to keep food production in full swing! They were also able to support their dedicated staff who worked to make desperately-needed food for families in dire conditions.
Thanks the generosity of our donors, The Social Bakery was also equipped with a delivery van. This van makes it possible for Zhenya and her team to travel many more miles. It means they can reach more families with life-sustaining food!
The inspiring kindness of Operation Blessing friends like you has provided hundreds of families with daily bread and food bags to sustain them through this difficult time.
Thank you for showing love and support to Ukrainian families in their time of greatest need.
Florida – In the aftermath of catastrophic hurricanes like Ian and Fiona, it’s an incredible comfort to know that when desperate times strike, you will be there—reaching out with a helping hand to assist victims in need. Whether it’s a hurricane in America, a war in Ukraine, an earthquake in the Philippines, or a drought in Kenya, your love arrives quickly to heal broken hearts and lift downtrodden spirits! Your caring and generosity to help us facilitate hurricane relief can make all the difference in assisting people after devastating hurricanes.
Restoring Shattered Lives In Florida After Hurricane Ian
The devastation following Hurricane Ian has been nothing short of horrific, especially in Florida. Coastal areas described as war zones, houses floating away, sharks in the streets, thousands of rescues and dozens of casualties marked this storm as truly historic. Devastating hurricanes like Ian put a toll on the communities that face them, But compassionate Operation Blessing friends like you offered hope in this dark time.
“The power’s out and you can’t see anything,” said Pastor Matt of Crosspoint Christian Church, who lived through the tragedy. He sat in the dark with his wife, his 1-year-old, his 3-year-old, and their Golden Retriever—just waiting throughout the terrifying storm in Cape Coral, Florida.
When he emerged from his home, the scene was almost unimaginable. Snapped power lines were everywhere. And his yard was covered in debris that looked like it had been through a paper shredder. He said, “The devastation here right now is significantly beyond anything I’ve ever experienced.”
Matt told us about 40 downed trees on his church property and how the landscape of his town had completely changed. We also met Alexandria, who had two feet of sea water ruin much of her home, and Michael, whose roof had been smashed.
Even before the storm, because of your support our teams were nearby and ready to launch the moment roads became passable. Our first relief load reached victims the very next day. With your help, we sent truckload after truckload of vital supplies like food, water, generators, and tarps into hard-hit areas of Florida, including to Matt’s church.
Hurricane Ian Recovery Efforts
Then, thanks to you, just a few days after the storm we were able to start Hurricane ian recovery efforts. From our base at Calvary Assembly of God in Port Charlotte, we organized teams of disaster volunteers who would bless heartbroken homeowners with practical assistance like removing downed trees from yards, hauling off debris, cleaning out flooded homes, and covering broken roofs. Matt said, “Thank you! Thank you for being willing to sacrifice of your resources to resource people who are in need—who are suffering devastating loss. And thank you for living out who we’ve been called to be as followers of Jesus.”
We anticipate staying in Florida blessing the hurting for many months to come and helping with Hurricane Ian recovery efforts. Follow the latest at ob.org/ian.
Blessing Victims Of Hurricane Fiona
Puerto Rico – Hurricane Fiona struck Puerto Rico as a Category 1 storm but still caused massive destruction. Widespread power outages meant that over a million people were plunged into darkness. Tragically, Hurricane Fiona struck on the fifth anniversary of the devastating Hurricane Maria, damaging some of the same communities in Puerto Rico. The battered citizens again face a long road to recovery. Even when the power and water began running again, they were left to overcome ruined infrastructure and flooded homes. Giovanni, a local pastor, said, “We have experienced a national catastrophe.”
Disaster Supplies Made A Difference For Hurricane Victims
Because of your love we already had disaster supplies prepared and staged in Puerto Rico—so while torrential rains continued to cause severe floods and landslides, you provided solar lights to brighten the dark nights, water purifiers for those without access to clean drinking water, as well as disaster kits and other vital relief items.
Responding to the crisis, Operation Blessing also quickly began connecting with local partners who set up an emergency feeding program to provide hot meals, especially to children and the elderly. Our strategic partner, Centro de Ayuda Social at Puerto Nuevo, is a community kitchen that is capable of supplying at least 300 meals a day. Through your kindness, we offered hot meals to displaced hurricane victims. It is only because of your love that we are able to bring hope to these disaster victims. Pastor Giovanni said, “We feel blessed that we have Operation Blessing coming in here, because we know their heart.” Thank you!
OKLAHOMA – Sandra knows what it’s like to go without. She gets a modest fixed income that’s never quite enough to feed her family. Disabled and diabetic, she’s a longtime resident of Wetumka, Oklahoma, a small rural community that is one of the poorest in the “Sooner State.” Many residents here, like Sandra, receive government assistance in the form of disability checks or unemployment. Food insecurity in Oklahoma is a problem many people like Sandra deal with frequently.
Sadly, the result is too little food for too many families—hundreds of them, in fact. But it’s also a part of the country where neighbors look out for neighbors. Here, if you have any extra, you share with others.
Battling Food Insecurity
And generous friends like you have also made a profound impact. Thanks to you, we’re able to keep an Operation Blessing partner ministry, On White Horses, stocked with food to battle food insecurity in Oklahoma. Townspeople gratefully accept the gifts of cereal, canned veggies, pasta, snacks, and more to feed their families.
This helping hand has made such a difference to people like Sandra. She says the outreach has truly been a blessing to her and so many others. “When I need things, I can come out and get what I need. They give a lot that lasts a long time.” Sandra knows firsthand—and is grateful. “It helps me and my children, and my sister and her family,” Sandra says as volunteers fill her car full of food. “We’re thankful for what they’re doing for our community—and not just our community, but all over Oklahoma.”
Providing Hunger Relief In Oklahoma
Since 2019, Operation Blessing has been providing a whopping 150,000 pounds of food each year to this partner ministry for hunger relief in Oklahoma. Travis Klingeman, co-founder of the distribution partner, shares his excitement about the amount of food you help provide through Operation Blessing: “It’s amazing!” He says,“What drives us is the ability to love on people through food.” So for the cash-strapped people of Wetumka, Oklahoma, Operation Blessing and faithful partners are definitely creating a brighter tomorrow. Sandra couldn’t agree more, saying, “I think they’re a blessing to everyone.”
PERU – After her husband abandoned her, Susan did her best to raise three boys on her own. She began selling snacks on the street, but her income was only enough to feed boys once each day. Food insecurity in Peru was a huge problem for her as she struggled on a daily basis.
Early every morning, she cooked what little food she had over an open fire on the floor before leaving for work. By the end of the day, her youngest son would lie awake crying for more food.
“I work hard, but it isn’t enough,” said Susana with tears in her eyes. “It hurts me to watch my children suffer.”
But things got worse. A storm tore panels off the shanty they were living in. Susana didn’t have the money to fix it, so she looked for scraps of wood and metal to cover the holes. “Sometimes it rained hard,” said Ezequiel, her 7-year-old son. “When the wind blew and the rain came in, we got wet.”
Fighting Food Insecurity In Peru
Then compassionate friends like you offered to help provide hunger relief and battle food insecurity. Operation Blessing built her a new home with a sturdy roof, a kitchen, and a sanitary bathroom. You provided beds, a table with chairs, and all of the tools Susana needed to stock her new kitchen. “Thank God,” said Susana. “Not only do I have a new house, I also have a refrigerator, pots, spoons, plates, and other items to care for my children.”
Our staff trained Susana how to use her new supplies to start her own business—cooking and selling food for her community. Now, she earns three times what she used to make selling snacks on the street.
Susana is grateful. “You gave me supplies so I can work and support my sons,” she said. “I’m going to work hard with everything you have given me to put food on the table.” “Now we eat three times a day!” said Ezequiel. “My mom and my brothers aren’t going to suffer anymore. Thank you, friends.”
