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On Thursday, Oct. 6, Franklin Graham personally joined Samaritan’s Purse volunteers to assist with hurricane Ian relief efforts.
Graham met and prayed with many survivors of the hurricane, and helped usher in the Lord’s peace and comfort during this trying time for many still recovering from the ordeal.
“Hurricane Ian just destroyed this area,” Graham says. “But Samaritan’s Purse is here to help…and we’re doing it all in Jesus’ name. We want every homeowner to know that God loves them and hasn’t forgotten them.”
The president of Samaritan’s Purse was inundated with stories of survival in the face of certain death, including one family who was trapped in their attic for 12 hours due to the rapid flooding.
“I met with Kay, a recent widow, and her daughter Shelley and her son-in-law Scott,” Graham says. “Water came up so fast in their home that they had to go up into their attic to escape the floodwaters. It was so scary for them and they lost most everything they own. To see their furniture being hauled out to the street to be thrown away is heartbreaking.”
This type of scenario was not uncommon among the many survivors that Graham and Samaritan’s Purse volunteers encountered.
Even in the midst of losing everything, there was a spirit of thankfulness from the people that Graham and the volunteers were serving. Not only for the grace, love and hope that they were demonstrating to the people, but for the Lord carrying them through the literal storm.
Michael Massey and Elaine Seeley are two residents in the area Graham and Samaritan’s Purse were working in, and both weathered the storm in their homes. Each of their homes suffered major, which volunteers were hard at work fixing when Graham arrived.
“These are just wonderful people,” Michael says, praising the workers. “I would never have been able to fix this myself. They are a godsend.”
“I prayed through the storm,” Elaine says. “I didn’t know how I was going to clean all of this up and get my roof fixed. But God knew and He sent this orange army to help me.”
In the face of destruction, Graham and Samaritan’s Purse jump at the opportunity to share the love of Christ and help people in practical, real matters just as Jesus did when feeding those who were hungry and healing those who were ill.
To learn more about the work Samaritan’s Purse does across the world you can visit their website at www.samaritanspurse.org. {eoa}
James Lasher is a Copy Editor for Charisma Media.
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