UKRAINE – For weeks now, the war in Ukraine has forced thousands of families to leave their homes and travel to the Poland border. Packed in cars, buses, and trains, many of these refugees have no idea where they are going. Operation Blessing sat down with Tamara and Tatyana, two Ukrainian mothers who met on one of the trains headed for the border.
They shared the story of their harrowing journey with us. Like so many others, they fled the tragic violence of the Russian invasion, leaving everything behind in search of safety. They fled shelling and bombs to keep their sons safe.
Ukrainian Refugees Find Relief
Because of the generosity of friends like you, Operation Blessing greeted these Ukrainian mothers and their children with food, a warm place to rest and recharge, and encouragement. We reach out right at the border with a heated tent, at a refugee center, and through various Polish churches.
At these rest spaces we provide toys and volunteers to play with kids. With your support, we’re also sending vital supplies throughout Poland and Ukraine.
Several of these families left their homes with minimal belongings and almost no critical travel supplies. You ensure Operation Blessing can provide these items to thousands of refugees. Please continue to pray for these families and make a gift of support today.
WORLDWIDE – Operation Blessing has hundreds of volunteers being the hands and feet of Jesus all across the globe. With your support, teams are quickly on the scenes of natural disasters and crises. They also reach out to meet medical and hunger needs. Operation Blessing volunteers go above and beyond the mission, and represent you and the Lord well.
Because of the generosity of friends like you, these volunteers are able to reach out to hurting people and let them know they are seen and loved. Isn’t it wonderful to be able to fulfill the Great Commission together? Thank you for joining the mission of Operation Blessing. To find out more about volunteering with Operation Blessing or to show your support, visit https://www.ob.org/disaster-relief/volunteer/
TEXAS – As a single mother in Texas, Christina does her best to provide for her three boys. “My family is the reason I keep going forward,” she explained. “They are the reason why I get up every day and work and do the best I can.”
However, for most of her life, Christina has suffered with lupus, an autoimmune disease that makes it difficult for her to keep a job. Many times she was left bedridden for months and simply did not have the strength to work. The bills would start to pile up and food would become scarce for this single mother in Texas with lupus.
“There are times that you don’t know what you’re going to do. You don’t know how to face your children when it’s dinnertime, or they’re hungry and you really don’t have anything,” Christina told Operation Blessing staff. “It almost feels like you’re drowning and you’re taking your children with you. You lose hope.”
Help For A Single Mother In Texas With Lupus
Thankfully, hope became real once more. Christina’s church, OpenDoor, is an Operation Blessing partner ministry. For 30 years, the organization has received truckloads of food and household necessities from Operation Blessing. When Christina found out about the food distribution, everything changed.
“My mind was blown away. They give, and they give so freely. If you had a need and you were hurting and you were broken, as long as you showed up, they were there to bless you. And when I leave, I always feel empowered, and I feel refreshed, and I feel like I’m not alone. The food that you receive, the quality is great,” she said. “And you feel good as a parent getting to put that on the table for your kids.”
Now, Christina is in the process of starting her own at-home business. She does not have to feel alone as a single mother in Texas. She says she will always be thankful to those who were there for her when she needed it most. “For the partners of Operation Blessing, I would tell them thank you. They have no idea of all the tears that are shed that they have stopped.”
Thank you for your heart to provide food for families struggling to make ends meet. The thoughtful hunger relief initiatives you make possible help fight food insecurity and bring real hope in times of uncertainty.
UKRAINE – While the dangers of war are driving Ukrainian families from their homes, neighbor Poland welcomes refugees with open arms. By the thousands, refugees are fleeing violence. Some have nowhere to go.
However, with support from you, something can be done. Every day, Operation Blessing teams see stories of fear and despair being turned into stories of hope and safety. Thanks to the gifts from friends like you, we can partner with local churches to offer rest, warm food, and a place to plan next steps to thousands of refugees.
Polish Churches Aid Ukraine Families
Local churches have made a stand of solidarity with crisis victims by offering shelter and comfort. Polish churches are working to assist Ukrainian families in desperate need.
As Polish churches aid Ukraine families, your support of Operation Blessing is making this possible. When refugees cross the border, several have mentioned that they feel almost immediate relief. You ensure there are dozens of smiling faces, volunteer hands offering assistance, and supplies ready to be distributed. Your support arrives immediately and positively affecting families whose lives were changed in an instant by violence and invasion.
MEXICO – For over 40 years, Operation Blessing has been dedicated to partnering with faithful friends like YOU. Together we demonstrate God’s love by alleviating human suffering. An area that is quickly growing, thanks to your compassionate support, is our Life Changing Surgeries Program. Our generous partners made this initiative possible.
In fact, with help from friends like you, Operation Blessing recently hosted a surgery marathon for medical patients in the impoverished Chiapas region of Mexico. With the support of local doctors who have a heart to help, and thanks to reduced costs at a nearby clinic facility, the life-changing event made it possible for more than a dozen patients to receive the treatment they needed. Through this special project, a faithful supporter changed lives for the poor and hurting.
In all, 14 beneficiaries received much-needed surgeries in just one week! Thank you so much to our special partner, and to all of you for your hearts to give.
Meet The People Blessed By A Surgery Marathon In Mexico
UKRAINE – As the dangerous conflict continues, more and more families from Ukraine are crossing the border into Poland every day. Each day, trains, buses, and cars line the road into Poland, filled with frightened passengers.
Mothers, children, and the elderly are traveling by the dozens in the cold and wet, some with no idea where they are going. The stories are heartbreaking, the images, staggering. Many of these families left their homeland with minimal belongings and almost no helpful supplies for traveling.
They are filled with fear and sadness as they escape the danger near homes they knew. Operation Blessing is able to greet these refugee families with a warm welcome and encouragement. Through partnering with local churches and communities, Operation Blessing teams are able to meet the immediate needs of refugees as well. For the past few weeks, Operation Blessing teams have been on the ground in Poland helping in any way possible.
You Make a Difference for Families from Ukraine!
Thanks to the generosity of friends like you, Operation Blessing has built a welcome tent for refugees to rest, charge phones, and have a warm meal. You ensured that these families have the critical supplies that will assist them in the next step of their journey.
“I am in deep pain,” said Ermalyn, a typhoon victim in the Philippines. Not long ago, Super Typhoon Rai ravaged the Philippine islands. Tens of thousands of people were left homeless and deeply affected by the storm. The torrential rains and heavy winds flattened houses and destroyed local businesses.
Ermalyn, her husband Milandro, and their children survived this nightmare storm only by fleeing to shelter on safer ground. “I feel helpless,” Milandro said. “I earn from selling coconuts, but all the trees were wiped out. We lost our home. We don’t have food.” Their story echoes those of so many Filipinos affected by Typhoon Rai.
Typhoon Victims In The Philippines
But thanks to faithful partners like you, both here at home and in the Philippines, Operation Blessing reached out to bless thousands of typhoon victims in the Philippines who were in desperate need. Your support made it possible for our team on the ground to jump into action.
Operation Blessing staff partnered with the Philippine military and local governments to bring critical relief supplies to victims in various towns and cities. They traveled throughout the island provinces by land, sea and air to make this effort possible!
“Thank you for the rice and canned goods,” said Ermalyn. “This is really a big help because my husband does not have work, and our children need food.”
The chief of their village reported that this was the first assistance people in their area had received since the typhoon struck. In addition to providing these life-saving supplies, Operation Blessing staff also encouraged victims through their kindness and prayers.
Jennifer, another victim left homeless and living in a tent along the road, said, “I just want for my family to be more comfortable, especially during the cold nights.” She was so happy when she received food, sleeping mats, and warm blankets to help them through this ordeal.
As time passed, with your support we also sent longer-term relief, such as generators and clean water stations, to communities that were left with very limited access to electricity and drinking water. Because you care, we continued to stand by the people of the Philippines throughout their difficult times.
Thank you for reaching out to bless disaster victims in dire need in the Philippines and around the globe. You have been a source of help and hope to so many.
UKRAINE – Operation Blessing sat down with Yana, a mother of two who fled the violence in her home in Ukraine. Yana, like so many other Ukrainian refugee mothers, was forced to flee her home in the Ukraine for the safety of her family. She is now one of many refugee families entering Poland. One thing that is very clear from her account is that the situation in her home area became very dangerous very quickly. Even as she and her children fled to Poland, her harrowing journey was a constant and chilling reminder as to why she had to leave the Ukraine so rapidly.
Danger During Yana’s Escape From Ukraine
Yana and her family had already heard weapons being fire in her village. She knew that Russian soldiers were very close and that aggression had come to the place she and her children called home.
Even in their escape there were tell tale signs of the deteriorating situation around them. Yana could see projectiles moving around here and her family. Yana summed up her feelings in one simple comment. “I was afraid for my kids. That’s why I left.”
“I was afraid for my kids. That’s why I left” -Yana Andreeva
Comfort For Ukrainian Families Entering Poland
Because of friends like you, Operation Blessing is able to meet many families like Yana’s at the Polish border to offer aid, supplies, food, and a place to rest. As we meet refugee families entering Poland, we hear many stories like Yana’s. We also hear how grateful they are that people care about their plight. Even something as simple as a warm cup of coffee or time for the families to relax means so much to them. Thank you for helping us greet these tired families with peace and comfort, to give them a warm welcome and remind them how much you care about them. To make a gift and support crisis victims in Ukraine and beyond, visit www.ob.org/crisis
PERU – For a mother named Evangelina from the small community of Pistuni in Peru, living with little or no access to clean water was a constant struggle. Home to fewer than 100 people, Pistuni lies over three hours away from the nearest city. Many residents make a living here by raising and selling cattle.
Water is vital to the residents’ basic survival and to their continued livelihoods. They need it for drinking, for their livestock, for hygiene, and for washing dishes. However, Pistuni’s remote location means families here have limited access to water. For residents like Evangelina and her family, the journey to gather and bring back the water from distant mountain springs for their everyday needs was a hard one. And it often ended in disappointment.
No Access To Clean Water
“Here we have no water. We have to fetch water… a donkey carries it. And sometimes the donkey drags the containers and then they break, and we run out of water,” Evangelina explained to Operation Blessing staff. “We’ve already lived more than 24 years without water.”
During certain months, rainwater accumulates and forms a pool closer to home. This also provides a water source for the villagers. But this water is exposed to the elements and pollution for long periods, which presents a potential risk for Evangelina and her family.
Her 7-year-olddaughter, Nely, described the water. “It’s dirty and smells. The color’s like cocoa.” Sadly, the possible health complications from drinking the poor-quality water became all too real when Nely became sick with a stomach infection—a common occurrence in Pistuni.
“I had to take her … carrying her on my back,”Evangelina recalled the day she sought treatment for her daughter. “I was very worried and thought that maybe my daughter would die.”
Making matters worse, residents also had no access to proper bathrooms, which made waste management another issue that put the villagers’ health at risk. But thanks to the generosity of Operation Blessing donors, who worked together through a crowd-funding endeavor, help was on the way.
Hope Of Clean Water On The Horizon
More than 90 people donated to bring clean water to this struggling community! Our team soon arrived with a project that would benefit all the families of Pistuni, including Evangelina’s. Because of the kindness of friends like you, a new sanitation system was built. And it even included bathrooms.
Using a series of pipes, the staff worked to connect the community with a water source nearly two miles away. The water is gathered in a reservoir, where it is treated and chlorinated. Through this system, safe and clean drinking water reaches the 17 homes in Pistuni.
Additionally, Pistuni residents participated in workshops on the maintenance of the bathroom and water systems. They learned the importance of handwashing and personal hygiene. Now, families know how to take care of themselves and their new systems.
Thank you for providing water to this struggling community. Now that they’re refreshed with a sustainable source of clean water, Evangelina and the entire village have a new sense of joy.
“Now I’m happy, happy, happy because I have water! I’m no longer sad.”
UKRAINE – Some of the most somber accounts of life in war-torn Ukraine come from the woman and children who experienced the onslaught of an unprovoked invasion. As these woman and children flee their beloved homes from Ukrainian towns like Kyiv and Kharkiv, Operation Blessing is there to help victims of the Ukraine refugee crisis.
As we meet them at the Polish border north of Ukraine, our goal is to comfort them after their harrowing and stressful journeys. Many sit down and talk with us as they arrive. Their voices are filled with trepidation and sadness as they describe the tragic circumstances that forced them to leave their homeland for such an uncertain future. Ksenia is one of those stories.
Ksenia is a mother from the Ukraine who originally did not see the need to leave the country. As the reality of war set in, that attitude quickly changed. A shell hit the street she lived on. This would not be the end of the danger she or her children would face.
Two utility poles fell, likely from structural problems caused by shelling or other military activity. This resulted in a blackout situation for her and her family with no electricity or communication. It created a terrifying predicament as the once peaceful landscape around them degenerated into chaos. Sadly, things would only get worse.
Homes nearby were soon on fire. Streets her children could easily have been walking or playing on with their friends were attacked. Then a shell hit the home next to them. War was becoming a way of life.
These were not just images on television or warnings read over the internet. This was the sound of bombs smashing into brick, stone, and mortar. Vibrations of explosions shaking the floor under them. Sounds they came to dread as they waited and prayed that the whistling in the air would not be the last thing they heard.
Any doubt about how deadly the situation had become was now erased in Ksenia’s mind. She and her children were in mortal danger. The young Ukrainian mother would have to do what any mother in the world would do. She had to flee.
Going Into The Unknown
Now she had to make a long uncertain journey with her children to Poland. A country she knew little about. A strange place with a language she does not speak. Her only options were take a risk into the unknown or stay in a city that was being shelled. Terrifying choices for anyone. Where would she go? What was waiting for her in Poland? How would she comfort her children when they asked her what was happening?
But Kindness and Compassion Were Waiting For Them…Not Fear
Operation Blessing, supported by the outpouring of love from so many friends like you, is there to welcome woman like Ksenia when they arrive in Poland. A team from Operation Blessing works daily to comfort the many victims of the Ukraine refugee crisis. They provide food, supplies, and comfort. Their message to the Ukrainian refugees is very clear. You are not forgotten. Thousands of people care for you and your children.
Ksenia’s Reaction
Ksenia is very grateful that so many have partnered with Operation Blessing to help foster a sense of safety and peace. She is grateful for the love and support. She sums up the sentiment beautifully with this comment:
I didn’t expect that the whole world is praying for Ukraine, everyone cares about us, we are also praying.
-Ksenia, a young mother and refugee from Ukraine
You Are The Hands And Feet That Can Answer Prayer
For those who have given, we at Operation Blessing are so grateful. Your faithfulness is inspiring. For the staff and volunteers in Poland and the Ukraine, our prayers go with you. Thank you for your contributions and your endless support. As the spirit moves you please continue your commitment to support mothers like Ksenia and her family through this terrible situation.
