Sharing the Love of Christ Around the World

22-year-old Emmaus Vanderbilt owns Silver Fox Productions, a video production company located in North Carolina.  His wife, Hannah, owns and operates her own cleaning company, Joyful Cleaning. From the beginning, they made tithing a priority.  
 
Emmaus said, “I credit that to my parents. They've always modeled that for me. God just gets the first 10%.”
 
Hannah feels the same. She said, “ I want to honor God as best as I can. And so, from that first job when I was 14, ever since, I've just always tithed 10% of what I made. And it’s just been a habit I’m joyful to do.”
 
Emmaus has learned valuable lessons about finances. At 18, his income had grown to six figures as a startup video business shooting destination weddings.
 
“I believe there were certain times in my life when I slipped. And I said this is something I’ve been able to do. Look what I did,” said Emmaus. “And I won't never say that I totally cut God out of the equation. Because I still tithe on it. I thank the Lord for it. But what I realized was that no, the Lord was the one who put the breath in my lungs this morning. The Lord was the one who provided these opportunities. And God has just allowed me to manage this money, this video project.”
 
When Covid hit in 2020 Emmaus experienced God’s faithfulness as his business weathered the storm. 
 
He said, “Some people, they were, they were dropping by 50% of their weddings, 60% of their shoots. And just the Lord continued providing even whenever a few weddings canceled, we still had 85 90% still hire us and for the 10% that had to cancel. We had local government organizations reach out and ask us to film videos for them. Different corporate groups.  We never went without. I totally attribute tithing to the fact that we stayed safe during that storm.”
 
Soon after he met and married Hannah in 2021, she became co-owner of the production company and in 2022 she started her in-home cleaning business. The couple then got serious about debt. She had school loans and they both had car payments which in all totaled $90,000. They began paying it off working long hours, tithing the whole time and their businesses thrived.
 
Hannah said, “There's no other no other answer, but the Lord did that. We're having a month where we're having less weddings, but more cleaning clients. So, it's all, it all balances out. And the only answer for it is, God, He's the one providing it.”
 
Today, they are debt free. Looking back on all God has accomplished this year the couple is grateful for their two businesses growing at a rate of 40% and many more opportunities awaiting them.
 
Emmaus said, “And whenever we don’t have debt, don’t have payments, we have more money to invest, save, and ultimately give and be more generous.”
 
Emmaus and Hannah say it all starts with generosity.
 
“The Lord provided for us. And, it says in Malachi three 10, the only time in the Bible that we can test God in something. Yeah. And it's tithes and offerings. And God just completely overflowed our storehouses,” said Emmaus.
 
Hannah said, “I say when you give 10% that God's going to bless you because you're obeying Him and you're doing what His word says.”

Growing up, the Yang twins were always sick.

Their mother explains, “They often caught colds and had fevers, so we took them to a small clinic to get injections and medicine.”

Their father adds, “We fed them nutritious foods to make their bodies strong and thought they’d get better as they got older.”

Yet, they only got worse. And one day, Xin collapsed while the boys were playing basketball.

“He was sweating, and his face was white,” his brother recalls. “He put his hand over his heart and was panting the whole way home.  He said, ‘I’m afraid.  I don't want to die.’”

“His words filled me with terror,” Mrs. Yang shares.  “So, I borrowed money from a neighbor and took Xin to the hospital right away.”

Doctors discovered that Xin had a large hole in his heart that had been growing since he was a baby.  When they checked his brother’s heart, they found the same thing.

Mrs. Yang says, “My boys’ health got worse and worse. They could barely walk.  My sons asked me, ‘Mom, will we die if we don't have the surgery?’”

“We had to stay home and read or watch TV or just sleep,” Xin shares.  “I was so sad.  My brother read me stories about Superman.  He said, ‘Brother, you’re my hero. You’re going to recover!’”

His twin adds, “When I was sick, Xin told me we’d get through it together.”

The couple was poor and couldn’t afford surgery. Then, a friend told them about Operation Blessing, and you made it possible for both boys to get operations.
 
“Now they’re energetic and they never get tired,” exclaims Mr. Yang.

 “Once we played basketball from two-o-clock to ten,” says Xin’s twin.

Xin adds, “My classmates say I'm like a new person.”

“My boys are healed,” concludes Mrs. Yang. “We are happy from the bottom of our hearts.  I really appreciate the Operation Blessing donors for helping us. We don't know what we would’ve done without you.”

Robyn and Nicholas Sanchez love spending quality time with their boys. Robyn says her greatest joy is simply being a mom.

Robyn says, “What's important to me is that I'm able to be around my children and feel that I'm there as a mom.”

After they married, Robyn and Nicholas committed to regularly give to their church and tithe. Robyn’s occupation as a social worker and caretaker, and Nicholas’s job as an exterminator provided them with financial stability to take care of all their needs. That is until taxes on their two-bedroom home went up 10% making it difficult for them to afford.

Robyn recalls, “They were already almost $11,800. There was no extra for any kind of extracurricular, any kind of fun or anything like that. So things were really tight.”

So after five months of increases, they made the decision to move their family from New Jersey to Florida in hopes of a better financial life. The Sanchez’s had to trust that their home would sell.

Robyn shares, “We were scared, but we left it in God's hands hoping that we would find a buyer that was able to pay those kind of taxes.”

To their surprise, their home soon sold for double what they expected, allowing them to comfortably purchase in Florida. Robyn quickly found new employment, however, Nicholas struggled to find work. Even with their newly reduced cost of living, it was challenging to make it on one income.

Robyn says, “It absolutely was disastrous. So the dream is falling apart. We're watching it fall. I would pray daily and just cry. Dear God, this is exactly what I would say every day. Please remove me from this situation if it's your will.”

They continued to tithe through three months of uncertainty.
Robyn shares, “Tithing is super important. Obedience is how you see his goodness. Faith and tithing, I believe is the breeding ground for miracles.”

Nicholas couldn’t find work, so they decided to relocate a second time to Pennsylvania. Fortunately, they were able to sell the Florida home to a developer.

Robyn recalls, “And she offered me $50,000 over the asking. I was like, my God, how could I ever thank you?”

Robyn and Nicholas found jobs and were happy they could support their family on two incomes. The Sanchezs continued to be faithful to God with their tithes. In 2020, Robyn began watching the 700 Club during covid and started giving regularly to the ministry in 2022.

Robyn shares, “When I watched the 700 Club, you can see the emotions in the people, when they're sharing their testimonies. When Gordon is praying and saying, right now I see somebody at home with a muscular degenerative disease or with an eye issue or with a heart issue. It's so pinpointed and so exact that I felt compelled that I have to give. Blessings are not always financial. Sometimes it’ll be a health blessing, a job blessing, but you’ll get a blessing back.”

Today, Robyn is a regional manager for a home healthcare agency. Her salary increased by more than 40%. She also routinely earns random bonuses, up to $1,000. Robyn believes everyone should give because God blesses the giver.

Robyn says, “Trust that when you give you just let go. Fully let go. Show God that you have some faith because His word says it takes a mustard seed and that faith is going to be rewarded right on time.”

Magdalena lives with her husband and two children in a rural community in Mexico. Steady work is hard to find there. As a result, Magdalena has not been able to buy nutritious food to feed her family.

“In a really good month, my husband makes about $150 as a carpenter,” explained Magdalena. “That’s barely enough for our family of four. Most months he doesn’t earn that. Some days food is scarce or very poor quality."
     
Eight-year-old Yamileth said they sometimes go to bed hungry.

“My belly hurt,” said Yamileth. “We ate tortillas with mayonnaise and salt. Sometimes mom didn’t eat. I felt sad and went to my bed hungry.”

With a few dollars saved, Magdalena bought some chickens to raise and sell. But it was hard for her to keep things going.

“It was a failure,” explained Magdalena. “Although I put in a lot of effort into raising them, the hens got ill and some of them died. I tried this a few different times but always it failed.”

Things got so tight financially that Magdalena’s husband moved to another Mexican state to find work.

“It was hard for all of when he was away,” said Magdalena. “Then he got sick and had to come home. I didn't know how we would find money to pay for food and other expenses.”

Operation Blessing invited Magdalena to take part in a chicken Project. First, training was provided on how to raise and sell the chickens and eggs. Then, she was given everything, including 65 hens, to start the business.

“I carefully followed what I learned and my hens are healthy and productive,” shared Magdalena. “Even my neighbors could see that my chickens are doing great.”

Everyday, Magdalena and her children collect lots of eggs. Her Family eats some and sell the extras to neighbors or at a nearby market.

“Every time, I am more surprised because we collect more eggs, and it brings me a lot of joy,” explained Yamileth.

“I used to wake up stressed, trying to figure out what we would eat that day, or how to make ends meet,” said Magdalena. “Now I get up happy, I make breakfast for my children, and I feed the hens. Thank you, Operation Blessing.”