As flooding of epic proportions engulfed several Midwestern states a few weeks ago, Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Relief Teams rushed into the heart of the inundated region to help hundreds of families recover.

Like many of you, I watched on television as engorged rivers in Iowa and the upper Midwest overran their banks, pouring down city streets and swamping neighborhoods. The deluge steadily moved downstream to the Mississippi River, causing billions of dollars worth of damage throughout the stricken region.

Within days, four of our Disaster Relief Units—tractor-trailers stocked with emergency supplies and equipment—were on the scene in hard-hit areas of Iowa, Wisconsin, and Indiana. Our staff and volunteers—many of them from local churches—soon were working long, hard days to clean out the thick mud and debris that the floodwaters had deposited.

The United States has been battered by natural disasters this year, especially tornadoes. Even though 2008 is only half done, the National Weather Service estimates that we’re on track to break the record for the number of twisters in a year. With six months to go, 1635 have been reported, compared with 1093 all last year. Worse yet, there have been more of the strongest tornadoes—over 50 twisters with winds between 136 and 200 mph.

It’s shaping up to be a busy year for our U.S. Disaster Relief Teams, who have already helped hundreds of homeowners in eight states from Virginia to Missouri. Not only have we brought immediate physical help to overwhelmed families, but our teams have also ministered to their spiritual needs, praying with them and sharing the hope of Jesus Christ.

Whether Samaritan’s Purse is responding to critical needs here in the United States or overseas, our goal is to work together with local churches to build up the Body of Christ. We come alongside these congregations and furnish the resources they need to bring help and hope to their communities. What a blessing it is to see all that the Lord has accomplished through our partnership with local churches and through the prayers and support of compassionate people like you. As God’s Word says, “From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:16, NIV).

Thank you for all you do in service to Christ. May God bless you.

Sincerely,

President
Samaritan's Purse

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