OPERATION BLESS ING INTERNATIONALAPRIL 2015

Blessingsoperationblessing.org

A Shoebox of Hope Abandoned in a shoebox as a tiny infant,

thriving 5-year-old Mika receives a legal name and birthday during a poignant baptism

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A Message from THE PRESIDENT

Bill attends the special baptism ceremony at Zanmi Beni Children's Home in Haiti where orphaned and abandoned children receive legal names and birth certificates for the first time.

Each week, millions of viewers watch a myriad of “reality” TV shows. Imagine

a new series called “The Least of These,” where the contestants are children

born into poverty, with the finalists being those who have survived the most

horrible conditions. If such a show ever aired, the winner would likely be someone

like Mika, the little Haitian girl whose picture is on the cover of this issue.

A child born into a poor family in a country like Haiti is far more vulnerable and

less likely to survive than a child born in the U.S. If the child has one or more

disabilities, the odds against survival skyrocket and the chances of a fruitful life are

almost nonexistent. OBI works hard to change the odds.

My sister Virginia was born with Down Syndrome. My mother said, “God put

Ginny into our family so that we can give voice to the voiceless. We need to fight for

her and for other children like her.”

My mom spent the next 50 years working as a fierce advocate for children with

disabilities. The Lord blessed her efforts; laws were changed, programs and

organizations were established and countless children born with disabilities had a

better life. Mom worked until her passing at age 91 and Ginny is still thriving,

working and enjoying music, swimming, bowling and more.

The Bible makes many references to our responsibilities to children, especially to

“the least of these” — those most vulnerable. One of my favorites is from Matthew:

“Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.” When

I look into the eyes of a poor child in Haiti, or in other countries where we work, I

see Christ looking back at me and hear my mom whispering in my ear. Please join me

in the fight to help children who cannot help themselves.

May God bless you,

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A Message from THE PRESIDENT 4 High Hopes With no safe place to turn on her small island home, a young woman fleeing abuse receives the helping hand she needs

6 Orphaned by Ebola Operation Blessing brings hope to children left orphaned by the Ebola virus

7 Give a Gift that Changes Lives Join Club Bless and bless the lives of vulnerable children all around the world!

12 Eliana’s Answered Prayer A struggling mother in Peru is given the special blessing of a new home and business

14 Living Life Two Weeks at a Time An Operation Blessing-supported food pantry helps a struggling young family put food on the table

Inside this issue Cover PAGE 8

A Shoebox of Hope Abandoned in a shoebox as a tiny infant, thriving 5-year-old Mika receives a legal name and birthday during a poignant baptism

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PAGE 14

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PHILIPPINES

High Hopes

By the time Mia* reached high school, she wasn’t sure how she would be able to continue her education.

Mia had been raised by her grandparents on a small farm-ing island in the Philippines. The elderly couple had always done their best, but their income was barely enough to meet their basic needs.

It seemed like an answer to prayer when her high school principal offered Mia a chance to work in her home and continue attending school. But before long, she was living in the principal’s house, working long hours completing housework and being paid just $7 a month.

In spite of the conditions, Mia was willing to do the work if it

With no safe place to turn on her small island home, a young woman fleeing abuse

receives the helping hand she needs

*Name changed to protect identity.

“Now I feel like I have a family.” – Mia, trafficking survivor –

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meant she could finish high school. And the principal’s husband was kind to her. He would even offer her extra pay as a gift, which she eagerly accepted to help pay for her grandmother’s needs.

But all of that changed one tragic night. While the rest of the house slept, her employer’s husband entered her room and forced himself on her — threatening her that if she told anyone, she would never be able to finish school. Worse, when the principal found out, she threatened to kill Mia.

With no safe place to turn on the small island, Mia used nearly all the money she had to purchase a $4 ferry ticket to take her to a different island in the archipelago to escape the abuse. She managed to finish high school while living in a government shelter, and even received a scholarship to a nearby college. But after high school, Mia found herself with no income, living on the streets. Her dream of a college education was slipping away.

Then she learned about a special shelter for trafficking survivors that had been remodeled and furnished by Operation Blessing, and within the week, Mia had a new home. There, thanks to the com-

passion of Operation Blessing partners and OBI-partner organi-zation Solid Ground International, she receives all of her housing, meals, medical and dental care, clothing, shoes and more free of

charge while she pursues her college education.“I didn’t have any family support system,” she said. “Now I feel

like I have a family.”And she has high hopes for the future; with a degree in hospital-

ity management, she intends to pursue a career abroad. ◆

A special shelter for trafficking survivors in the Philippines has been remodeled and furnished by Operation Blessing.

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The deadly Ebola virus has ravaged West Africa, claiming a staggering amount of lives and leaving thousands of orphaned

children in its wake. Now living with extended family members, these children are coping with devastating loss and facing an uncertain future.

Operation Blessing teams in Liberia have started a program to reach out to these orphans, providing clothing, food supplies and toys to more than 300 children in Monrovia, Liberia’s capital city. The program also plans

to provide each child with the financial support they need to attend school and earn an education so they can have a brighter future.

Thank you for helping us reach these vulnerable children! ◆

LIBERIA

Orphaned by EbolaOperation Blessing brings hope to

children left orphaned by the Ebola virus

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Give a Gift That Changes Lives OJoin Club BlessP

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Join Club Bless today and bless the lives of vulnerable children all around the world! No matter what giving level you decide to join

Club Bless at — please know that your gift will have an immediate impact in helping to relieve suffering and spread God’s blessings to those who need them most.

Learn more at ob.org/ClubBless

– CLUB BLESS – Monthly

President’s Circle $500

Bless-The-Greatest Need 250

Bless-A-Village 100

Bless-A-Family 50

Bless-A-Life 25

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A ShOebOx of HOpe

HAITI

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Abandoned in a shoebox as a tiny infant, thriving 5-year-old Mika receives a legal name

and birthday during a poignant baptism–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

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It was the first Easter after the tragic earthquake in Haiti when a tiny baby arrived at the doors of Zanmi Beni Children’s Home in Port-au-Prince.

An estimated three days old, Mika was tiny,

emaciated, vomiting, apparently blind and close to death — curled up in a simple shoe box. The babe had been abandoned at the General Hospital and brought to Zanmi Beni for care.

“With tears in her eyes, Dr. Thompson asked us to take Mika in and save her life,” said Bill Horan, OBI president. “We were maxed out already with more kids than

we had room for, but Loune (Director of Zanmi Beni) and I could not turn the child away.”

In the following weeks, the loving caregivers at Zanmi Beni nursed little Mika back to health. She began eating, gaining

weight and even her vision began to improve.“Within a few months it was evident that her vision was perfect and

that she was perfect in every way,” Horan said.

This month, little Mika turned five years old. Rambunctious and full of life, she is one of the youngest residents of Zanmi Beni Children’s Home and also one of the brightest and most active. She effortlessly

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Mika arrived in a shoebox on Easter morning in 2010.

Bill Horan, OBI president, with Mika in 2011.

Mika thriving at Zanmi Beni in 2012.

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memorizes scripture and knows countless songs by heart. She confidently boards the bus each day to attend school with several of the older children at Zanmi Beni.

“Mika is yet another shining example of what love can do,” Horan said.Mika and the other children at Zanmi Beni recently received a

precious gift — legal names and official birth certificates. In a beautiful baptism ceremony, Operation Blessing and Zanmi Lasante (Partners in Health) celebrated the lives of more than 60 orphaned and abandoned children who call Zanmi Beni home.

Zanmi Beni, which means “Blessed Friend” in Haitian Creole, is truly a place of refuge and healing for orphaned, abandoned and special needs children in Haiti in need of hope.

The children's home was founded in 2010 through a partnership between Zanmi Lasante and Operation Blessing and has since grown and expanded to include a new 30-room dormitory, dining hall, fish farm, bakery, arts and music center, chapel, library, outdoor play area and more. The children enjoy nutritious meals that include fresh tilapia, eggs and organic veggies all grown on campus, and have structured class time, physical and water therapy and round-the-clock care. And the transformation for children like Mika has been

Bill Horan with Mika at the recent baptism ceremony.

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"When I look into the eyes of a poor child in Haiti, I see Christ looking back at me."

––––––– Bill Horan, OBI president –––––––

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PERU

Every day Eliana would wake up worried that she wouldn’t have enough food to give her children.

She worked tirelessly, hand-washing laundry and cleaning houses in her small Peruvian village, but her earnings were barely

A struggling mother in Peru is given the special blessing of a new home and business

Eliana’s Answered

Prayer

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enough to provide for her elderly mother, five children and two young grandchildren at home.

“My children eat at least once a day, at least a banana with salt,” Eliana told OBI staff.

But making sure her family had food wasn’t her only concern. Over two years ago, Eliana’s home collapsed during a storm, and since then her family has had to endure living in deplorable con-ditions, having only two tents and some wood for shelter.

Their home offered little protection from the elements and rats would easily get in, eating what little food they had and even biting them as they tried to sleep.

Despite the hardships, Eliana did not lose faith and kept working hard to give her children a bet-ter life, even managing to enroll them in school.

“Whenever I had nothing to give my children to eat, I would kneel to pray to God and out of nowhere my neighbors would come to bring me something,” Eliana said. “God answered my prayers.”

When Operation Blessing saw the awful condition in which Eliana and her family were liv-ing, teams immediately set out to improve their situation and build them a new home. OB Peru also constructed a room specifically for Eliana to use to start a real laundry business, furnishing it with everything she would need — including her very own washing machine.

With a safe, new home and successful business, Eliana’s prayers have been answered, and she is now able to give her family three meals each day and provide a better life for her children.

“I really never thought I would be making this amount of money in my life!” Eliana said. “My children and I live better now — thank you, Operation Blessing!” ◆

The deplorable condition of Eliana’s home before Operation Blessing constructed a new house.

Eliana's new laundry business.

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When their son Owen was born, Nathan and his wife Kimberly couldn’t have been happier and worked hard to tackle their new responsibilities as parents.

However, the young family was now living paycheck to paycheck, stretching their finances as far as they could and doing their best to cut expenses. But even then, they often found themselves going to bed hungry.

“We got paid every two weeks, and it was literally like you lived your life two weeks at a time,” said Kimberly.

Things got worse when Kimberly’s mother died, sending her deep into depression, which prevented her from holding down a job. It became a real struggle trying to survive on only one income and their situation soon became dire.

VIRGINIA

Living Life Two Weeks at a TimeAn Operation Blessing-supported

food pantry helps a struggling young family put food on the table

“We got paid every two weeks, and it was literally

like you lived your life two weeks at a time.”

––– Kimberly –––

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A family member told Nathan about a local Operation Blessing- supported ministry that donates food to those in need, and there he was able to get the food he needed to feed his family.

They used the food they received care-fully, freeing up their income to pay their most important bills. “We could pay rent one month because we got a ham we could liter-ally use for two weeks,” Kimberly said.

Before long, Nathan’s hard work paid off, and he was offered an excellent new job opportunity.

“Through all my struggles, I started getting these glimpses of the Lord providing for me,” Nathan said.

Kimberly was even able to return to work, and the family started getting back on its feet. Now, Nathan and Kimberly volunteer regularly at the same place that gave them a helping hand when they needed it most. ◆

Living Life Two Weeks at a Time

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2015 Annual Fund Driveto rescue children in desperate need.

Copyright © 2015 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

A girl in Mexico is forced into the sex trade; a young mother in South Sudan has no idea how she’ll feed her four young children;

and in Cambodia, a little boy faces a lifetime of shame because of a correctable birth defect.

Can you help come to the rescue of children like these by supporting Operation Blessing’s 2015 Annual Fund Drive?

Visit operationblessing.org to learn more.