Samaritan’s Purse North American Ministries and Disaster Assistance Response Teams are providing food and water to residents of Acapulco, Mexico, in the wake of a Category 5 hurricane.
“I walked into the end of the world. That’s what it felt like. I was just paralyzed,” Pastor Hassan Villegas of Acapulco said. “Hope was drained out of me. I was overwhelmed. I didn’t know where to start.”
Pastor Hassan Villegas was overwhelmed by the storm, but holds onto hope that God will work in the city of Acapulco.
Pastor Villegas is one of the hundreds of thousands of residents who survived the Oct. 25 storm, which was the strongest hurricane to ever strike the eastern Pacific. Devasted by all the destruction and downed telephone poles and power lines, Villegas said, “We didn’t even know where to sleep. … When I heard Samaritan’s Purse was coming down, you have no idea the relief it gave me.”
View more of our work in Acapulco in the video above.
Providing Relief in Jesus’ Name
Samaritan’s Purse is coming to the aid of church leaders like Pastor Villegas to help them minister to the people of Acapulco in their time of deep need. Today, our third airlift left for Acapulco with 19 tons of additional relief supplies on board our 757 aircraft, including roofing supplies, clear tarps, and household water filters and buckets. Combined with the two previous airlifts, we’ve provided more than 68 tons of relief items to the people of Acapulco.
In partnership with 15 local churches—many of whom had previously worked with us to distribute Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes—we’ve already distributed more than 10 tons of food to over 30,000 people. These hot meals and food parcels containing rice, beans, and canned tuna come with the message of God’s love.
Samaritan’s Purse staff work at cutting tarp to distribute to the residents of Acapulco.
We’ve also set up the first five of eight planned water treatment systems (four large, four small) that will supply water for up to 60,000 people per day. So far, more than 15,000 residents of Acapulco have received 20,000 gallons of clean, fresh drinking water. As these survivors come to the water points for the precious resource, Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains are available to point them to source of Living Water, Jesus Christ.
In addition, we’ve also handed out over 1,600 tarps, 2,800 solar lights, and 3,000 household water filters.
“We want the people of Mexico to know that they are not alone and God loves them.”
-Franklin Graham
“This storm took everyone by surprise when it quickly picked up strength and struck the coast of Mexico as a Category 5 storm. It left thousands of families in desperate need of basic necessities like food, water, and shelter. … We want the people of Mexico to know that they are not alone and God loves them,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse. “We are deeply grateful for the assistance of Mexico’s Secretary of National Defense, Gen. Sandoval, the Mexican government and the Mexican military, which has been instrumental in unloading and transporting these relief goods to get them into the hands of those who are hurting most.”
This relief is helping Pastor Villegas and others find courage for what God is doing in their city. “We want to give Acapulco back its glory—that Acapulco would be heard of again not so much because of the beaches, but because the Lord is doing something. We want people to hear of Jesus Christ moving in Acapulco.”
Please pray for leaders like Pastor Villegas and their congregations as they seek to point the people of Acapulco to Christ during this difficult time. Pray also for Samaritan’s Purse teams as we serve them in Jesus’ Name.
A resident is Acapulco is grateful for the tarp and the bucket she received from Samaritan’s Purse.
Note: This article was originally published on Nov. 9 and updated Nov. 10.
