OperatiOn Bless ing internatiOnalApril 2013

BlessingsAid for Mali

Operation Blessing brings critical food and relief toMali’s displaced families

fleeing civil war{ p A g e 8 }

operationblessing.org

The photo of the mother and daughter on the cover of this issue was recently taken in a place called Timbuktu. Ever heard of it? I don’t like to admit it, but I had to consult a World Atlas map to find it. I used to think that Timbuktu was

a mythical place that people referred to when they wanted to describe a spot as far from home as possible. Timbuktu is an-all-too-real place in the West African country of Mali. There is a crisis going on there now as Islamist guerrillas clash with NATO forces. Thousands of innocent families fled their homes to escape the fighting and are hunkering in makeshift camps.

Operation Blessing is working in the camps alongside local churches, providing displaced families with rice, beans, mosquito nets and other relief supplies. Besides vital supplies, the biggest gift we bring is pure, unconditional love — Christian compassion in action — in the form of food and relief supplies given freely, without asking anything in return.

Tony Cece from our Virginia Beach staff was in the camps helping organize relief efforts and took the cover photo of the mother and child. He captured a happy moment in the midst of a very sad situation. That’s what Operation Blessing does. We bring the light of Christ’s love into dark places. We deliver relief with a purity of intent that is understood and appreciated by those we are helping, regardless of the language they speak.

By supporting Operation Blessing, you, gentle reader, are putting smiles on the faces of mothers and children that you will never meet in this world, but God willing, you will meet them in the next.

May God bless you,

A Message from The PresidenT

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4 Feeding a Small Army When George’s company suddenly terminated his sales position, he and his wife Becca struggled to feed their three small children

6 Lesly’s New Smile Marvin and Ingrid were soon-to-be new parents, but late in the pregnancy they received devastating news

11 Wear Your Calling Get your I AM CALLED wristband today to wear as a reminder of your heart for the impoverished and hurting

12 Looking for Love Alone, hungry and wandering the streets, could this 11-year-old orphan survive and find a loving home?

15 A Healing gift OBI delivers medical and hygiene supplies to a children’s burn unit in Guatemala’s National Hospital

Inside this issue Cover page 8

Aid for MaliOperation Blessing brings critical food and relief to Mali’s displaced families fleeing civil war

page 12

page 15

A Message from The PresidenT

page 6

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pennsylvAniA

When George suddenly lost his sales job due to the economy, it was a shock to his family. And with three young children to feed, it wasn’t long before he and his

wife Becca found themselves unable to pay their bills and put food on the table.

Thankfully, George and Becca turned to an Operation Blessing-supported food pantry near their home for help with groceries and other household items. The food supplies were enough to ensure that their children wouldn’t go hungry.

“Your first thought is always, ‘I’ll go without before I let my kids go without’,” Becca said. “So knowing that they were taken care of and that they had the things they needed makes you sleep better at night.”

“It was a relief to know that we had Operation Blessing there to help us when we were in the trenches,” Becca added.

To help provide for his family long term

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however, George had a plan to get back into the trenches—this time with the U.S. Army.

George entered the Army and was soon deployed to Afghanistan. With his steady income, Becca and the kids no longer need help from Operation Blessing or the local food pantry, but they still go there regularly—now volunteering to serve others in need.

“Becca and her family just had some struggles in their lives for a period of time,” said Gary Bellis who directs the food pantry. “And the beauty of this is we were able to help them until they could get back on their feet, and so you see that full circle where we gave them a hand up and now they’re giving back.”

“Thanks just doesn’t even cover it,” Becca said. “It kind of seems like such a small word to say because it’s amazing the lives that are touched and changed through Operation Blessing.”

Operation Blessing has been partnering with the food pantry that helped George and Becca for more than seven years, currently reaching around 1,500 families every month. Across the nation, Operation Blessing’s Hunger Strike Force trucks deliver an average of 2 million pounds of food and product to partnering food pantries every week. ◆

“It was a relief to know that we had Operation Blessing there

to help us when we were in the

trenches.”

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When Marvin and ingrid learned they were expecting their first child, they

considered it a blessing and anticipated their child’s birth with excitement.

But late in the pregnancy, ingrid received devastating news—their little girl would be born with a cleft lip and palate.

Lesly’s New Smileel sAlvAdor

Marvin and Ingrid were soon-to-be new parents, but late in the pregnancy they received devastating news

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Life-changing surgeries don’t just begin in the operating room… they start with you.

each year, hundreds of thousands of children are diagnosed with medical

conditions from cleft lips and palates, to eye and ear impairments, to appendicitis. The good news is that many of these conditions are treatable through surgical procedures. The bad news? Many of these children will never experience the medical care they need because their families are too poor.

Your gift of $500 helps provide surgery for those who need it most. The procedure could be a cleft lip and palate correction, an appendectomy, facial surgery, hernia repair, club foot surgery, or many others. Just $500 is all it takes to transform lives from despair to hope.

When baby lesly was born, ingrid did her best to care for the little girl and Marvin worked hard in hopes of saving enough money to afford corrective surgery for her. then Marvin lost his job.

“Our financial situation was very difficult,” Marvin said. “We had to ask for help just to buy food and formula for the baby.”

then Marvin heard about Operation Blessing’s program that provided free cleft lip and palate surgeries, and he asked for help. at four months old, little lesly received the corrective surgery she so desperately needed to fix her cleft lip, and soon she will receive a second surgery to repair her cleft palate.

“We are so thankful to god first, and Operation Blessing,” Marvin said. “i hope that god blesses you and gives you strength to help more people.” ◆

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In the city of Diabali, Siatan waited patiently for the food distribution to start, her 12-year-old daughter Koumba sitting next

to her. Koumba’s knees were bandaged—a constant reminder of the recent skirmish between rebel soldiers and the military that had killed her younger brother and left her with shrapnel wounds.

Sadly, their experience is not unique. Fighting between rebels and government forces have endangered families, forcing a quarter

million people to flee their homes in Timbuktu and other northern cities of Mali in search of safety.

Ameen and her family fled the city of

Gao when fighting became intense.“I said to my husband, ‘Let’s try to go, we

need to walk. If we are unable to make it—fine.

MAli

Aid for Mali

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Operation Blessing brings critical food and relief to Mali’s displaced families fleeing civil war

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But if we stay, we will be killed’.” So Ameen and her family set out on foot to make the 600 mile journey to safety with nothing more than the clothes on their backs.

Eventually, they were offered transportation and brought to the capital city of Bamako where they are living in an internally displaced persons—or

IDP camp. But in the city of Bamako, food and other necessities are expensive, and she worries they will not survive if they do not return home.

“They have fled their homes, work, and every sense of normalcy as they try to keep their families safe from harm,” said OBI’s Tony Cece. “Most can’t find work. Life is very difficult and

they need help to provide food for their families.”To help alleviate some of the suffering for these desperate families,

Operation Blessing relief workers distributed several tons of rice and beans to displaced families like Ameen’s who have fled fighting and are now living in IDP camps.

For others who are beginning to return to what is left of their homes in cities like Diabali, Operation Blessing is also providing mosquito nets as well as additional food and relief supplies, to help these impoverished families survive the crisis.

Still, the reminders of the conflict are everywhere—with ammunition shells and burned out vehicles littering the ground where children used to play.

But thanks to OBI partners like you, there is now some hope arriving as well.

“God is in control,” Ameen said. “I know that He will make a way. I don’t know how or when, but I trust Him.” ◆

I AM CALLeD to help the poor, the hungry, the thirsty, the hurting, the abused,

the broken.every day, we rise with a calling in our

heart. a calling to help our neighbor in need…a hungry child in africa…the orphan, the widow...the mother broken by poverty.

now, share that calling with others with this unique 1” wide wristband that serves as a reminder of your heart for the poor.

get your wristband today with your gift of $25 and you’ll be helping to provide critical

food, water and other relief for those in need. Or, get four wristbands for $75

and let your friends and family wear their calling too!

HondurAs

Looking for LoveLinda dreamed of going to school and learning to

write her name — but more than that, she just wanted to be loved

Linda dreamed of going to school, learning to write her name, even doing homework—but more than that, she just wanted to be loved.

As a young girl Linda worked on a farm in the mountains of Honduras, enduring years of physical abuse until finally rescued

by her grandfather. He cared for Linda as best he could, but he had barely enough resources to provide food and shelter.

“We always had food, but it was very little and I was never satisfied,” Linda said. And more than anything, she wanted to attend school. “I dreamt about going to school, I wanted to know what it was like to do homework, write my name.”

But her birth in the mountains of Honduras had never been recorded, which meant she didn’t have the proper identification she needed to enroll in classes. “I saw how the other kids went to school and I just couldn’t go.”

Then her grandfather died, and Linda was left to fend for herself. “I was very sad because I loved him and he loved me a lot,” Linda said. “I was left without my grandpa. This time I said to myself ‘this time I am alone’.”

Without anyone to care for her, Linda wandered the streets—vulnerable and hungry.

When her cousin, Mirna, became aware of Linda’s situation and malnourished condition, she adopted the orphaned girl into her family, caring for her with the income she earned from her small business, established two years ago

with the help of an Operation Blessing microenterprise loan.“I felt so happy to know that there was someone who cared for me and

loved me,” Linda said.Still unable to attend school, Linda was enrolled in a literacy

workshop run by Operation Blessing to help adults in Linda’s village learn to read and write. There, OBI teams learned Linda’s story.

Operation Blessing helped Linda by providing the medical care she needed to regain her health, as well as new clothes and shoes. OBI staff even helped her through the legal process to obtain documentation so she could enroll in school.

Today, Linda is attending classes for the very first time, “I want to finish my education,” she said. “I would love to be a doctor and help sick people. I thank Operation Blessing for all the help they gave me and for helping me go to school. Thank you Operation Blessing!” ◆

Photo Prayer of the DayA photo. A prayer. A great way to start your day.

Want to see more great Photo Prayers like this one? Sign up to receive your free daily e-mail at

ob.org/photoprayer

Pakistan

“Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.” – Helen Keller

Please take a moment today to pray for children in Pakistan and

throughout the Middle East who live in a “shattered world” due to poverty. Pray especially for access to health care such as medical clinics and hygiene training so they can grow strong and healthy.

www.operationblessing.org

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A Healing gift

GuAteMAlA

A bandage and some ointment might not seem like much of a gift, but for children in Guatemala City’s National Hospital it brought much-needed smiles and healing.

Recently, Operation Blessing Guatemala delivered medical supplies such as first aid kits, medicines and personal hygiene products to help children recovering in the hospital’s burn unit.

Thank you OBI partners for bringing relief—in both big and small ways—to help some of the most vulnerable and impoverished! ◆

“Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved; for you are my praise.” – Jeremiah 17:14

Giving children help – and hope.

2013 Annual Fund DriveComing to the rescue of children – both directly, with medical

care, food programs and more, and indirectly, by helping parents support their families and improving conditions for poverty-stricken communities – is a key mission of Operation Blessing.

It was also at the heart of Christ’s ministry.

That’s why we’re asking you to live your faith and take part in our Annual Fund Drive to help transform the lives of hurting children around the world. With your compassionate support, we can offer hope to a child when it’s needed the most.

Will you help a child today?

“Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these’.” – Matthew 19:14

Copyright © 2013 by Operation Blessing International, P.O. Box 2636, Virginia Beach, VA 23450. For more information, call (800) 730-2537 or visit our website at operationblessing.org