CHESAPEAKE, Va. – It’s 4:30 a.m. when Leroy’s alarm goes off, and he soon sets out to collect donations for the 13 senior citizen homes where he distributes food.

For the last 20 years, Leroy has faithfully been serving the less fortunate in his community—one might think that it was his full time job. But he just laughed when I posed that question to him.

“I do have a full time job at the shipyard,” he replied. “I put in many hours there, after which I follow the passion God had given me, serving the less fortunate.”

I met Leroy at the parking lot of Operation Blessing’s warehouse, where our partners from the local area were collecting food items for distribution. Leroy drove in with a little truck and then walked to the registration table with a smile. I introduced myself and began asking him about his ministry.

He said he has been coming to Operation Blessing to collect food items for 20 years. He said that God put on his heart a passion to provide food to many of the people around him who he saw were hungry. Starting small, Leroy began picking up food supplies from Operation Blessing in order to provide food to the needy through his church.

“For 20 years Operation Blessing has blessed me, and the blessing continues so that I can bless others,” he said.

Leroy’s ministry has grown significantly. With a modest beginning, today he is blessing more than one thousand people. I asked Operation Blessing’s warehouse manager, Lonnie, about Leroy.

“He is a wonderful man,” Lonnie said. “He calls at least twice a week requesting food. He never gives up, and we believe in what he does.”

Along with many other partners, several thousand pounds of food were distributed at the warehouse parking lot today. Ministries reaching out to their communities depend on Operation Blessing’s support to serve the poor among them. The weather did not cooperate with the distribution, but with everyone helping each other, every truck was loaded with food and supplies just in time.

I caught up again with Leroy as he was finishing loading his truck. He gave me a big smile and a heartfelt thank you.

As I reflected on what I saw and heard from Leroy during the distribution, I was blessed knowing that hungry people will be fed and that Operation Blessing is truly making a difference by fighting hunger.

AFGHANISTAN – As I walked into a restaurant for lunch, I was greeted with a big smile by a young boy, Mohammad. He was a “shoe-shine boy” to all the customers. He seemed very bright, handsome, and industrious. Sadly, his father was killed by a road side bomb and his mother had no skill set that would allow her to earn an income. In fact, she had no other choice but to beg on the busy streets of Kabul.

Mohammad is the oldest among four siblings, so he took the role of his father—the bread winner. If he doesn’t earn enough money for the day, his family will struggle to scrape together a decent meal. Mohammad would have loved to be in school, but he knows he never will. His hope is that his siblings will.

Children in Afghanistan have to make tough choices. They desire to be in school, but for most of them income for the family is more important than education. Boys work while girls take care of the home. Years of war have left behind many widows and fatherless children. In Kabul, the poor live in crumbled homes without proper sanitation or safe drinking water—survival is their goal.

For most, schooling is considered to be only for the rich—their children are born to work. They phrase it as “fate,” but we want to be able to give them hope.

To encourage families who can’t afford to send their children to school Operation Blessing is partnering with an educational center to provide classes for their children. Together we cleaned up an old building, fixed the structure and painted the walls. We believe every child should be given an opportunity to go to school, and the place should offer the best care and the best environment possible.

Today there are approximately 80 children who attend the educational center. From pre-school to 5th grade, these children are taught to read, write and be creative. I was amazed to see how these beautiful Afghan children were learning, drawing and participating in everything.

In every child I could see a special gift. Their futures promise to be bright when they have the opportunity for an education. If everything was right for Mohammad, he could have been finishing high school. At least I was able to offer his siblings the opportunity to attend the educational center and with a big smile he said, “Thank You.”

Mohammad continues to shine shoes, keeps the customers happy, and provides food for his family. But when he has a free moment, he too visits the educational center to learn to read and write.

HONDURAS – Denis and his wife, Mirna, were waiting for us to arrive so that they could prepare pastelitos (patties made of wheat flour). As soon as we got to their house, Mirna began filling the pastelitos with different things such as beans, corn, rice and potatoes. She fried them in oil and served them to us with a special dip. They were very tasty! While I enjoyed the pastelitos I asked Denis to share how Operation Blessing had helped his family. The following is a personal account from Denis himself:

My two-year-old daughter, Genesis, cried every night for milk. But we did not have the money to buy it for her. My wife and I would pace back and forth, patting Genesis to sleep, but she would scream even more because of the hunger. Since we had no money to buy milk, we gave her water mixed with sugar to fill her hunger, not knowing that the sugar was keeping her awake all night long.

– Denis

El CHAQUITE, Honduras – We were up on Puca mountain—7,000 feet above sea level. Our vehicle could not go any farther because it was too steep, so we packed our gear and walked for about an hour. It was a tiring walk. I was breathing heavily and my legs and knees were hurting, but I wasn’t going to give up so easily. I was determined to see the projects that OB Honduras was doing.

At the top, the air smelled fresh and I was surrounded by a beautiful, green rain forest and the simplicity of life. I felt the richness of God’s creation as I stood and had a panoramic view of the mountain. I was soon greeted with beautiful smiles of young children who probably don’t often go anywhere except to school, which is a 45-minute walk from home.

When our OBI team first came to this village, the people were surprised to see visitors because no one had visited them before. The team spent five days in the village observing the families and learning about their lives.

Their children were beautiful but looked weak. They did not have nutritional supplements in their diet. The men and women worked hard in the fields but made very little money.

All suffered from poor health, living in homes where the living room also served as the kitchen. This causes breathing problems for the families because there is little ventilation for the smoke from the wood-burning fires. If they ever fell ill there was no medical care for miles. Serious sicknesses require a long journey to see a doctor, which often results in arriving too late for treatment.

The OB Honduras team decided to start working with Daiman, an elderly man with one daughter and four grandchildren that he supports. He has worked all of his life on a coffee plantation earning very little income. Now he is 70 years old and endures serious pain in his joints. He is not able to work as before, which means that he is earning very little income. His family’s daily diet comes from the wild vegetation that grows around his home.

The OBI team trained Daiman in family farming and gave him a variety of vegetable seeds. Within a few months, the plants yielded fresh vegetables such as radishes, carrots, onions, beets and cabbages, which Daiman and his family use for food. His harvest was so plentiful that he was even able to sell vegetables to his neighbors for income.

Daiman was very thankful to OBI’s team for coming so far from the city to provide him with an alternative food source for his family. Already, five families have benefited from this garden concept that the OBI team has put in place.

At the end of the day, going downhill was much easier. And over all, we had a fantastic day.

ZACAPA, Guatemala – We left at 5:00 this morning heading to Zacapa, east of Guatemala City. The cool weather quickly turned hot as we arrived at the community where Operation Blessing is providing breakfast for 100 children.

The families in this community represent several different ethnic backgrounds, many of whom moved to this area a couple years ago when heavy floods destroyed their homes. We drove through the community and went directly to the public school to visit the children.

As the children were having breakfast, little Julie caught my attention; she has a beautiful smile. While I was taking pictures, Vivian (who is OB staff in Guatemala) told me that Julie is one of her favorites, and she began to share about her family.

Julie’s mother, Norilda, is a single mom. She doesn’t have a steady income, so every day she knocks on doors offering to do whatever chores may be available. With the little money she earns, she provides dinner for her family. She doesn’t have relatives nearby who can help her and she can’t go to her neighbors for assistance because they are poor themselves. Norilda continues to worry, not knowing how she will be able to take care of her children. Her only hope is God.

Julie helps her mom with all the chores in the house so it is usually after midnight by the time she goes to bed. She often struggles to get out of bed in the mornings because she goes to bed so late. But Julie has to get up early to make sure her mom is up and off to work, then she helps her younger brother get ready for school.

Every morning she goes to school without any breakfast. The few times she does get something to eat, Julie gives it to her younger brother. Although she wants to study, she has a difficult time concentrating in her class because of her empty stomach.

Almost all the children in Julie’s class are poor. Most of them also come to school without having breakfast. Then, when school is over, they run to the garbage dump site looking for food.

After this situation was brought to Operation Blessing’s attention, we started a breakfast program for these kids. A donation of cereal from the United States arrived in Guatemala just in time to start the program. A healthy, nutritious breakfast is the highlight of the morning for these kids. Julie is so happy now because not only does her brother get breakfast, she gets to enjoy it too.

Just before we left the school, the children prayed for us and thanked OB for this wonderful blessing.

Guatemala—Today (May 10) is Mother’s Day in Guatemala. I am way up north in a village called Chahal. I did not realize that even here they celebrate Mother’s Day. In a simple way, the schools recognize the mothers. There were no flowers or gifts given, just a simple thank you.

Life is not that easy in Chahal; mothers struggle to take care of their children. Famine has caused the dads to travel to the cities to work, and until they find a job or have some money, they do not return to their families. Meanwhile, the mothers continue to struggle.

While visiting this area, I came across a young mother named Josephine who had a nice smile; but her beautiful smile hid a very painful past. I started asking questions and found out that her husband died six years ago of a sudden and unexplained illness; even the hospitals could not provide an answer. Josephine was fortunate to be able to stay with her father whom Operation Blessing Guatemala had been working with on an agriculture project.

But it was not easy for Josephine’s dad to support his daughter and her two children, along with seven other family members. The chilies and beans he grew on his land did not give him a good enough profit.

Operation Blessing began to talk with Josephine’s dad about how he could have a productive farm if he planted corn as well, which could be harvested every four months. He was willing to receive the training and Operation Blessing gave him corn seeds.

Today, Josephine’s dad earns three times more than what he used to and is now able to give better care to Josephine, her daughters, and the rest of their family. Josephine also helps her dad around the house and in farming the land.

Operation Blessing is honored to be able to help families like these, and especially single mothers like Josephine who work hard to provide the best for their children.

Happy Mother’s Day…

There is a lot of paperwork and many different signatures are needed by a variety of office heads. Tracking down those signatures was a task in and of itself.

I was at customs all day to make sure things were going smoothly and by the end of the day, the Lifesaver jerrycans were released from customs. It was a relief, because the other NGOs I talked to simply said, “Good luck with customs,” but they did not realize that God was on our side. 

Planning the distribution is not an easy task since I depend on partnering organizations. I was just ready to jump in a vehicle and go to the relief camps, but coordinating our efforts took some time and organization.

Eventually, we hit the road. It was a long drive to Jacobabad Camp. Our host read a message from his phone saying that more F16s had arrived to Jacobabad which he tells me is the base for the US Air Force. When we reached the city, he pointed out NATO supply trucks that had recently been burned by terrorists. I also found out that we were only about 7 kilometers away from Baluchistan, which is not a safe area. However, the Lord was with us all the way there and back.

The roads had been badly destroyed by the flood and there were overturned trucks creating traffic jams. Our driver passed a truck too quickly in an area where water still covered the road.  We got stuck and the vehicle almost capsized.

When we got moving again, we had to change our route due to heavy traffic and we even drove on railway tracks part of the way. No matter what the obstacle was, we were determined to get the jerrycans to the flood victims.

 
The people in the relief camps may not have known what it took for us to get the jerrycans into their hands, but having clean water is going to drastically change the quality of their lives. Even with all the challenges, at the end of the day it was worth it.

LAHORE, Pakistan – The story of Sakina, a young beggar, is a sad, but very real example of the lives of the poor in Pakistan. Her story, paraphrased here, was first told in an article on Dawn.com written by Nouman Shafqat.

Sakina was still a little girl when her father passed away, leaving her mother alone and desperate to care for their family. Before long, their situation worsened and Sakina was sent to the streets to beg for money.

Her daily task was hard and Sakina soon found the streets a difficult place to be, but if she wasn’t successful in her begging, her mother would beat her.

“Sakina used to wonder why God has made her so much different from others. She also wished to go to school but she could not afford it,” the article stated.

One morning Sakina awoke with a high fever and pleaded with her mother to be allowed to stay home, out of the rain. Unable to convince her mother, Sakina hit the streets despite her illness. But it was cold and wet and there weren’t many people on the street that day anyway. So she went home.

She lay in her bed with a tattered blanket covering her feverish, aching little body. Sakina desperately needed to see a physician, but her family simply didn’t have the money to pay for it. Her mother found a neighbor willing to loan them the funds and she called for a doctor.

But her efforts made little difference in Sakina’s life. “Poor Sakina was lying peacefully on her bed. Nothing mattered for her now. She had passed away,” ended the story.

This is truly what the poor go through in Pakistan—not one day goes by that a beggar does not ask for money. Everyone is asking for food, and sadly enough parents will use their children to get money. Mothers will carry their sick babies while asking for a handout and parents will send the older children to beg on the streets by themselves. I so often wish I could give their children a better life.
 
I am now back in Pakistan with 500 Lifesaver jerrycans to be distributed to flood-affected families. I am looking forward to again seeing the families and children I first met a month ago. I hope you will follow my journey as we bring these Lifesavers to these forgotten people.

ZERIAB, Egypt—When I met Romany, I learned that he had almost been run over by a horse cart. Why? He is blind. I cannot even tell he is blind because he looks directly at me when he speaks. No one has to hold his hands when he takes me through the narrow roads to the center for disabled children that he manages. Only the voice of a person guides him to where he wants to go. The center is on the third floor of the building and he knows every step to his office. I never once saw him falter.

I take out my notepad to take notes. Romany uses Braille to write his notes. It is amazing to see how he moves his fingers; not once does he prick his finger with the sharp tool he is using. He is quick and confident in his writing. He listens to every word I say and speaks passionately about his work.

Romany runs a training center for autistic and disabled children. This is the only center of its kind in Zeriab, a town outside of Cairo, Egypt, that is home to about 12,000 families. The word “Zeriab” in Arabic means, “A place where they raise pigs.” I have no idea why it is named this. Maybe it is because the majority of the people living here are Christians, and only Christians are allowed to raise pigs in this predominantly Muslim country.

The training center is right in the center of the garbage dump area where about 30 percent of the people who live in Zeriab work, sifting through garbage to look for recycled items. The rest of the people do daily odd jobs earning below the poverty level.

Romany was fortunate because his parents sent him to a blind school to be educated well, but he still was not accepted as a “normal” person. It is a common cultural norm in Egypt that parents do not acknowledge their child’s disability if they have one.

This is especially true for girls; they keep them away from everyone. They are worried that if someone finds out about their child’s disability when young, no one will want to marry them. The parents also do not want any of their other children’s future impacted by their one disabled child. Romany’s job is to educate these parents about the future these children can have. He speaks in the church about giving life to disabled children and through these messages the center now has 38 children who receive therapy, education, and are taught how to take care of themselves, communicate with others, etc.

I asked Romany, “How were you able to get this role in the church?” He smiled and said that for 10 years he talked with many churches, asking them to accept him as a minister to the disabled. They all said, “The blind is to be served and not to serve.” The only church that accepted him was in Zeriab. After seeing the dedicated work of Romany in Zeriab, the churches who before had rejected him have now appointed him as an overseer of disabled programs. My translator said to me, “Do you know what the people of Zeriab say about Romany? They say, ‘He is the father of the disabled children.’”

Before Operation Blessing started working with Romany, I wanted to be sure I knew the man well we would be working with and be sure he was the right person to partner with. I asked a lot of questions about him from those who were going to introduce him to me. The first thing Romany asked me when we met was, “Why are you asking so many questions about Romany? Who is Romany? He is nobody. It is the people we need to care about.” It took me a minute before I could answer him.

Operation Blessing is very proud and honored to work with such a humble person as Romany and partner with him to support his training center for these precious disabled children.

NOWSHERA, Pakistan – It is 5:30 p.m. in Nowshera. The sun is setting, and it is almost time to break today’s fast. By this time of the day people are hungry and thirsty; they are worn out because of the hot weather; and they have not eaten since 4:30 this morning. The fasting does not even permit them to swallow their saliva.

The mood of the camp seems to be restless; everyone is back in their own tents so that they can break fast as a family. It is hard to prepare any solid food at the relief camp—they do not have cooking facilities or pots and pans to cook food. The common practice of breaking fast is to eat dates and have a sweet drink, after which, a delicious meal is served with meat, rice and bread. But today in the Nowshera relief camp, the people have only dates for their meal.

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We just pulled in with our small truck packed with 2,000 packets of cooked food. The food preparation started at about 10 a.m. with the help of ten volunteers. At 2 p.m., we picked up the food from the old city to take it to Nowshera.

This city was hit hard by the flood.  It was inundated with about 10 feet of water without any warning, and the people only had a couple hours to get out of their homes. Since they lived near a quarry, they managed to get to higher ground for safety.  It has been more than a month since the flood first hit their homes, and it is still flooded. The quarry has now become their temporary home—a very crowded tent city.

It is hard to control a hungry crowd. Men, women and children all push each other to get a meal. We had to quickly distribute the food and leave to avoid an unpleasant situation. I hoped that everyone would get a hot meal, but there are always the weaker ones who do not make it to the line. For such people, we kept some packets of food in the truck.
 
I was clicking away taking pictures when a very fragile lady touched me and asked for food. She could hardly speak and was mumbling to me. She was 85 years old and lived with her only son. I gave her some packets of food and she put her hand on my head to bless me.

She then caught hold of my hand and took me to her tent. Her son had been putting up the tent and had not realized that the food had been distributed. The woman said that in all her life, she had never seen such a disaster. She hoped that she would not die in her tent; she just wanted to go home. I prayed for her.

 
The people in Nowshera were very grateful for the food we gave them. For most of the families, this was the only meal they would have when they broke their fast. It is through our partnership with Shelter Now International that we will be able to provide this community food for a week.

As I was leaving the camp I saw smiling faces. They were waving their hands in appreciation of what we had done for them. Operation Blessing has been a great blessing to the many lives we have touched over the last few days in Pakistan. Thank you for supporting our work. God bless you.

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