Operation Blessing Outlines Initial Tornado Response Efforts

Operation Blessing response to 2021 December tornadoes in Midwest

*PRESS RELEASE*

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (December 13, 2021) – The Virginia Beach-based humanitarian organization, Operation Blessing, has launched several tornado response efforts following the weekend’s deadly tornadoes.

A member of the organization’s US Disaster Relief team concluded damage assessments in and around middle Tennessee today. The team member will also travel to KY tomorrow morning to meet with partners and conduct damage assessments in the Bowling Green and Mayfield areas.

Operation Blessing has deployed a truck filled with Disaster Relief Kits, donated recently by The Home Depot Foundation, to its Bristol, TN warehouse for distribution in the hardest hit areas. Operation Blessing will also deploy one of its Hunger Strike Force trucks containing bottled water, nonperishable food, and disaster relief supplies to Mayfield, KY tonight. A second truck is being readied for Bowling Green, KY.

In addition to these efforts to help meet immediate needs, Operation Blessing is assessing long-term relief efforts, to potentially include coordinating volunteers for debris removal from damaged homes and helping residents find and sort salvageable belongings.

Please stay tuned to www.ob.org for further updates.

About Operation Blessing Operation Blessing (OB) provides humanitarian services such as strategic disaster relief, medical aid, hunger relief, clean water and community development. Founded in 1978, Operation Blessing has touched the lives of millions of people in more than 90 countries and territories, including the U.S. For more information about Operation Blessing, please visit www.ob.org.

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Extreme tornado damage, home lies in ruins

Relief for Heartbroken December Tornado Victims

December tornado victims in Midwest suffered damage to homes

As reports continue to roll in from the shattered Midwest about the December tornado victims, our heartbreak continues to grow. You might have heard that officials now fear as many as a hundred people might have died from this string of devastating storms.

Homes, businesses, communities, and lives have been torn apart. Victims of these deadly tornadoes desperately need help from friends like you.

Christmas wreath amid December 2021 tornado damage

Help for December Tornado Victims

Because of the ongoing support of our generous partners, Operation Blessing is already reaching out to the affected areas. With help from friends like you, we are sending an initial shipment of disaster relief kits, water, trash bags, food, and other disaster relief supplies.

We’re also looking into areas that might be served by Operation Blessing’s clean water expertise during this difficult time, and will continue to provide support, comfort, and relief as the needs unfold. Would please consider giving a special gift at this time to help disaster victims in need?

And please continue to pray for the victims of this tragedy and for all those affected. We’re so grateful to have you as a vital part of our team. God bless you.

Deadly Tornadoes in Midwest

UPDATE 12/13/21 – With help from compassionate supporters like you, Operation Blessing is already sending relief and assessing damages following the string of devastating tornadoes in the Midwest. Continue to check back for more details, and please continue to pray for the victims and communities affected by these tragic storm.

You can give a special gift to help disaster victims now.

MIDWEST – Last night a series of deadly tornadoes ripped through the Midwest. Will you join us in praying for all of those impacted by these devastating storms?

Tornadoes in Midwest Cause Devastation

According to the NOAA Storm Prediction Center, no less than 24 twisters were reported across five states including Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee. At least 50 fatalities have been reported by officials in Arkansas and Illinois. There have also been at least 50 reported deaths in southwestern Kentucky, including mass casualties at an Amazon warehouse facility.

Meanwhile, the death toll is expected to continue to rise. One tornado’s path—extending from Arkansas to Kentucky—if verified, is potentially the longest traveled of any since 1925. Currently, more than 300,000 power outages are being reported across eight different states.

Operation Blessing’s disaster response team is currently assessing the situation to determine how we may be able to provide compassion, comfort, and relief.

Please Pray for Tornado Victims

Please pray for the victims of this tragedy and all affected. There are surely many broken hearts today as these families deal with injury, destruction, and lost loved ones. Thank you for being part of our Operation Blessing family that provides light during these dark situations.

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You Made Their Hearts Merry And Bright With A School In Peru

PERU – James, age 5, and his brother Jampier, age 3, go to great lengths to get an education—literally traveling a long way to get to school in Peru each day. Unfortunately, the conditions of the local schoolhouse they travel to had long left much to be desired. 

Each morning their dad, Angel, would pile them onto a small motorbike and begin the long drive to school. While that might seem surprising from our American perspective, this is simply life in the remote highlands of Peru. Angel said, “It’s complicated to live in the countryside.” 

Then, after that long and often-cold journey, James and Jampier would reach a cramped and borrowed classroom space that didn’t truly meet the children’s educational needs. For the rest of the day, Angel and his wife would farm the land—like most people in the village of Charamaya.  

Angel’s family, along with their neighbors, dreamed that someday the area might have a better school for young children like James and Jampier. 

A New School In Peru

When our team in Peru heard about the situation, they thought this would be the perfect opportunity for a new school project! Thanks to friends like you, they worked with the community to build a special new octagonal classroom building on the land of the existing school. This shape would offer the little kids plenty of space to learn and play while still keeping them safe and warm in the chilly highlands. 

But our supporters didn’t stop there. They sent them a strong, character-based curriculum. They provided a kitchen so the kids can enjoy nutritious meals comfortably in their new building. And they gave them a bathroom to facilitate and teach good hygiene. 

Angel said, “We are thankful to Operation Blessing for all of this building process. It is beautiful. Now our kids will learn today and, in the future, become leaders. God bless you!”     
        

Now, when James and Jampier head to school, they’re met by a warm, cheerful building that’s conducive to learning and growing. Their classroom is as merry and bright as their sweet young hearts.

 Widowed in a Wasteland – Your Love Comes Through for Disaster Victims in the Philippines

PHILIPPINES – When a massive storm struck their hut of a home in the Philippines, Maribel was focused on keeping her children safe from danger.  

As the typhoon continued to pummel the small community, the roof of their house caved in. Maribel’s husband heroically helped his family escape the crumbling structure. They made it out alive, but he did not.  

The home was left in shambles. Her family now desperate and homeless as disaster victims in the Philippines. So Maribel and her children were forced to stay in shelters and relatives’ homes. Just when Maribel thought it couldn’t get worse, fallout from COVID-19 complicated matters. Her hope for rebuilding suddenly came to a halt. 

“How can we survive if no one helps us?” Maribel worried. “I was afraid we wouldn’t have a house again. I was scared for my kids.” 

For Marilou, Maribel’s oldest daughter, the loss of her father and her home also hit hard. “I lost all hope, because I can’t really build a house for my family,” the young girl said. “Only my dad was strong enough to build one for us.” 

But your love was already traveling to Maribel’s family! Thanks to our generous partners, Operation Blessing teams first provided Maribel with food bags full of rice and other groceries to feed her family.

Two weeks later, they arrived again with more food supplies and a life-changing message: Operation Blessing partners were making it possible to build a new home for Maribel and her children.  

“I remember telling my kids that we should pray,” Maribel said. “I thank the Lord for hearing our prayers! He sent us all the help we needed.” 

In addition to a home, your kindness provided pigs for Maribel to raise and sell as income. You surrounded Maribel and her children when they felt completely alone.

Your love has galvanized this young widow and other disaster victims in the Philippines to carry on for their children. Thank you! 

Celebrate Christmas In Japan With Origami Snowflakes

Experience Christmas In Japan With This FREE Origami Snowflake Project

It’s Christmas time in Japan! Follow along with Operation Blessing partners as we make a Japanese origami snowflake.

Similarly, you can find Christmas traditions all over the world. These holiday traditions come from just about every corner of the globe, from North America to the Far East. When it comes to Japan, origami is a great way to celebrate the holidays with their unique cultural art form.

Christmas In Japan And Origami Decorations

Origami is a tradition with origins in the Far East. The meticulous art of folding and manipulating paper to create designs has become a tradition in the “Land of the Rising Sun.” Bring to this elegant craft the joy of Christmas and you have a new way to celebrate the holiday. Come learn how to make origami snowflakes and create a beautiful ornament or holiday decoration.

Origami Snowflakes

Now it is time to immerse yourself in this holiday craft project. There are a couple of ways you can do this. One way is to follow along with this simple video. You can do this here at the Operation Blessing website or directly on the YouTube platform. One advantage of using the video is you can pause the screen as you complete different steps. This allows you to work at your own pace without the pressure of having to keep up.

If you click over to YouTube you can use the time stamp as well. The time stamp has all the steps in an easy clickable format. At any time you can click on any part of the time stamp and go to that part of the video. Before you know it you are making Origami snowflakes inspired by Christmas in Japan.

Time Stamp For Origami Snowflake Project

Here are the different steps broken out by when they occur in the video

00:00:09 First Steps: Paper

00:00:25 First Folds

00:00:37 Top Right Corner

00:00:49 Top Left Corner

00:00:55 Fold Triangle Corners

00:01:12 Folding Sides To Center

00:01:26 Folding Up And Left

00:01:37 Folding bottom Corners

00:01:47 Fold Over

00:01:53 Folding Backwards

00:01:57 Then Flip

00:01:59 Make A Tail

00:02:06 Fold Tail In Half

00:02:13 Repeat 5X

00:02:25 Insert Tail Into Pocket

00:02:31 Connect The Pieces

Works Cited

“History of Origami – How Origami Came About.” Origami-Instructions.com, 2019, www.origami-instructions.com/history-of-origami.html.

Times of Refreshing for Parched Nigerians

NIGERIA – Chief Daniel’s community of Karara in remote Nigeria depended on three water sources, none of them adequate, until friends like you came along with clean water solutions in Africa.

They had a shallow, unreliable well nearby with a hand pump that often broke down. Then there was an open, unclean well that disappeared during the dry season. And finally, a dirty stream lay a half mile away that, not surprisingly, also dried up at certain times of the year.

Not only did the people of Karara have a hard time finding water to drink, the lack of water affected their cooking, cleaning, health, hygiene, and farming, as well. Sometimes, they suffered from typhoid, malaria, and other mosquito and water-borne illnesses. This was simply life for over 100 residents in Chief Daniel’s community.

However, we’re happy to report that friends like you heard about their difficult situation and reached out to bless the village of Karara with clean water solutions!

A New Deep Water Well In Nigeria

Our water experts drilled a new deep-water well for these precious people. We tested the water—to ensure that it’s safe for the residents to drink—and provided resources to prevent mosquitoes from breeding and spreading disease. Then we trained a local team to maintain the well and gave them the tools they would need. Finally, we offered vital handwashing and hygiene training to the whole community.

As you can see from their smiling faces, the people of Karara were thrilled to dedicate their new well and took great joy in the refreshing water. Chief Daniel said, “Glory, honor and praise be to the Most High God who made this day a reality in the life of the Karara community. Permit me to express our gratitude to you for counting us worthy to benefit from this great humanitarian service.”

And we thank YOU for giving life around the world through Operation Blessing’s clean water solutions in Africa!

No Longer Afraid to Drink – Thanks to the Blessing of Clean Water

HONDURAS – Meet Yoselin, a sweet 8-year-old girl from San Juan, Honduras. She is being raised by her grandmother, and the two enjoy doing almost everything together. What they don’t enjoy is the difficult and dangerous daily trek to fetch water. 

But when Yoselin’s grandmother became too old to make the treacherous journey, Yoselin had to go alone. She said, “Walking there is dangerous. You fall because there are stones, and when it rains there is mud,” she told Operation Blessing staff. “Once a child tripped and hurt his head because he slipped and fell on a stone. I’m scared to go there alone, because what if something like this happened to me?” 

Even so, Yoselin and all the other residents of San Juan had to walk through the mountains every day to access an improvised cistern that served as their water source. Making matters worse, the water they worked so hard to collect was not even clean. Yoselin and her grandmother would use a blanket to strain it. While this helped remove dirt and mud, it didn’t make the water safe to drink. “I got a bad stomachache and it wouldn’t go away,” Yoselin said.  

After suffering so much pain, Yoselin feared drinking the water again, but she had no choice. “I didn’t even want to see that water. I was thirsty but I didn’t want to drink it. I was afraid I might get sick again,” Yoselin remembered. 

The Need For Clean Water

Desperate for help and the blessing of clean water, community leaders in San Juan reached out to Operation Blessing. Our staff visited San Juan. After seeing the need, over 100 faithful Operation Blessing supporters like you enthusiastically stepped up to crowdfund a new water system for San Juan, raising the $20,000 required.  

healthy-living-with-clean-water-honduras

One day while at the store in town, Yoselin heard two men talking about the new water project. Overjoyed, Yoselin ran home to tell her grandmother the happy news. “I was moved by the news because I knew that now I was going to drink clean water,” she said.  

 Soon construction was underway with the help of community members and friends like you. The project began with a catchment system and dam up the mountain, along with nearly three and a half miles of pipeline. The system carried the water to a new 15,000-gallon storage tank where it is filtered and chlorinated. From there, another four-mile-long distribution network brings clean water to over 150 homes in the community—including Yoselin’s.  

  “I no longer had to drink dirty water,” she exclaimed. “Lord, thank You very much!” 

 Many heartfelt thanks to all of you who reach out to thirsty people with a blessing of clean water around the world.  

Thank You for Your Generous Support!

Thank you for your generous support! We hope you enjoy your beautiful handmade ornament. Crafted by talented artisans, this amazing piece has made its way from Peru all the way to your Christmas tree. Your support blessed the very hands that made your ornament! Through your love, Operation Blessing held artisan training workshops in the community of Manacamiri. Here, many artisans learned new techniques and skills to help take their craftwork businesses to the next level. The workshops also led to community-wide reforestation efforts to replenish the supply of trees used to create hand-carved figurines and bowls. Because of your amazing support, the artisans of Manacamiri in Peru have been blessed immensely. Watch this video to learn even more about the artisan training workshops in Peru!

Working Hand in Hand in the Midst of Disaster

LOUISIANA – This year hurricanes battered the Gulf Coast once again. However, your faithful love and support is working hand in hand with our Hurricane Ida disaster volunteers to reach out to victims during these difficult times.

When Hurricane Ida struck Louisiana with winds nearing category 5 force, it wreaked havoc in towns like Houma, La. Roofs were torn off, trees strewn everywhere, houses soaked. Over a million people found themselves without power. Thankfully, few lost their lives in the storm. But the toll on the lives of individuals whose towns and homes were devastated was steep.

That’s when your love showed up to provide food, water, cleaning supplies, and volunteer help!

Elderly widow Dorothy survived the terror of the storm. She listened to the roof ripping off and watched water pouring through her ceiling. But you sent her hope and comfort through vital aid and Hurricane Ida disaster volunteer assistance to help restore her home. Incredibly grateful, Dorothy said, “In all this mess are blessings. Blessings in the people that are helping, and we appreciate it so much.”

Support And Help Through Hurricane Ida Disaster Volunteers

A recent retiree named Kenneth, heard about Operation Blessing’s disaster recovery team at a local distribution of free food and supplies. His property was heavily damaged, but our volunteers helped him gut the home and clean the yard. Together, they searched for whatever belongings could be salvaged. Kenneth teared up as he spoke about the support he received.

“It’s great to have people in this world who help people who are in need,” he said. “I think the Lord heard my prayers, and he answered with these great people… What they did today—it’s a miracle.”

Those are just a few beautiful examples of how your compassion worked hand in hand with the many volunteers who gave of their time to help hurricane victims. Volunteers like David.

David, a father of 7 and contractor from Florida, learned about our volunteer work through Facebook. He rounded up three of his sons, Remington (21), Maverick (19), and Malachi (11), and they headed to Houma to help. As a family, they believe that life is about investing in people and giving back to the community. According to David, “Jesus just said to love unconditionally, and that’s why we’re here.”

A Family Volunteers Together

As a father, David felt so blessed by this opportunity to not only help others, but to model servanthood to his sons as well. He said it’s about “training up that new generation, a new army.” Together, they worked hard, cutting up fallen trees and removing debris from yards.

“Being here with Operation Blessing—with their volunteers and their staff—has just been a highlight,” David said.

And he had a special message for you. “I know some of you can’t come into the field, but you can sow a seed with Operation Blessing. You can give your financial support so people that can come… and be the hands and feet because of your donations. When you give to Operation Blessing, you truly are giving to an organization who is loving unconditionally.”

Thank you for partnering with Operation Blessing and our dedicated volunteers to bless the hurting in Louisiana!