27 Years Later, Operation Hope Is Still Expanding To Serve the Poor.

What God is doing in Indian River County.

Jesse and Jann Zermeno are always smiling. They both have a look a contentment in spite of the countless hours they spend gathering food to distribute to over 4000 people twice a month, preparing for special days of celebration giveaways for families. This Mother’s Day will be special. The recent addition of their thrift store started because people had household items they wanted to donate. Their 18 acre five building property complex in Fellsmere was a donation. More on that in the video! Their story is truly a miracle work constantly in progress. Mr. Zermeno likes to say, “God just brings us the opportunity to minister and care for the people. I am happy.”

Mr. Zermeno grew up in Mexico City. In his childhood, his parents sent him to a Catholic monastery for schooling. He remembers with fascination how the nuns always lived simply, preparing food for the less fortunate, organizing supplies, and the many duties associated with the discipline of scheduled service to their community. He was a good student, he once aspired to be a doctor, yet, he chose business instead. Today, both of his daughters are in the medical profession.

Working for the phone company to pay his way through college, he graduated in 1974 from the Institute of Technology - Mexico City with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. The phone company in Mexico sent Mr. Zermeno to the states to study English, paying his way. He went to Chicago, and soon took a part-time job. He became a waiter in a Mexican restaurant where he met Jann who was a Chicago native that spoke fluent Spanish having studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain. She graduated from UCF with an elementary teaching degree. By 1976, they were married. 

The young couple returned to Mr. Zermeno’s homeland. However, in Mexico the economy fell significantly and they returned to the USA. By then, they had three children named Jessie, Jeanette, and Jackie.  The family found themselves in Melbourne, FL at Jann’s parents. Mr. Zermeno worked hard and then purchased a business installing carpet. Soon, they purchased their first family home in the Eau Gaullie section which they still own today. He says, “I had a lot of great clients on the beach and we were very successful.” 

Then, his purpose changed when a friend brought him to Fellsmere to meet some people. The people he met were the migrant workers, living in the camps out in the woods. Suddenly his heart was gripped by God and he began collecting food and clothing, spending his weekends distributing food. He leaned on what the nuns taught him at a young age. He would store the food in his home, trucking it down to Fellsmere from Melbourne. Every week, the poor kept coming. Jesse, Jann and the kids kept serving the poor every Saturday. The newspaper wrote a story and soon a man called and gave him a vacant house temporarily to store more food and clothing. Then one day, while feeding the poor, the mayor of Fellsmere called and offered him the vacant firehouse to store the supply of food, clothing and sundries for the migrants. 

Operation Hope had moved to Fellsmere. There is so much more to this story. Jesse Zermeno shares it in this short testimony given last week at Sebastian Christian Church. The story of all the miracles are too numerous to write today. When the Sunshine Journal visited Operation Hope 2 weeks ago, Jesse and Jann were celebrating their 48th year of marriage, content in what God is doing. 

LINK: Operation Hope - Fellsmere, FL