Love Your Neighbors

Samaritan’s Purse is one of the first to respond in the aftermath of any natural disaster, whether a typhoon in Vietnam, an earthquake in Haiti, flooding in the Philippines, a tornado in Arkansas, wildfires in California, or a hurricane in Florida.

It’s been in the DNA of the North Carolina-based nonprofit relief organization since it was founded in 1970. It stands ready to respond with help and hope whenever and wherever disaster strikes with food, water, shelter, medical aid, and other assistance to people in crisis.

In addition to the physical aid, Samaritan’s Purse offers spiritual hope. The faith-based organization takes its inspiration from the parable of the Good Samaritan in the gospel of Luke. “Helping in Jesus’ name” is its motivation. Volunteers are asked to be the hands and feet of Christ to those in need.

When Hurricane Helene neared Florida as a dangerous Category 4 storm in late September, the organization’s U.S. Disaster Relief arm began to mobilize. Disaster relief units — tractor-trailer units equipped with tools and supplies — were readied, and a call went out to volunteers.

It’s a process that’s been perfected over hundreds of natural catastrophes over the years, including in 2018 when Samaritan’s Purse sent staff and volunteers to Wilmington in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence.

This response, though, proved to be different.

Helene made landfall in the Big Bend area of the Florida Gulf Coast, but a great deal of its fury was felt in the mountains of Western North Carolina. There the hurricane became a 1,000-year storm.

More than 30 inches of rain fell in some communities, causing historic rates of flooding. Homes were damaged or washed away, bridges were destroyed, and roads were washed out. Strong winds damaged property and blew trees and power lines down across the region. Mudslides swept away everything in their paths. Lives were lost.

The Samaritan’s Purse international headquarters is in the North Carolina mountains, in the town of Boone. This time, help would be delivered not to people half a world or half a country away, but to neighbors.

“Samaritan’s Purse responds to help with storms and crises around the world every day, but now the storm has hit in our own backyard,” Samaritan’s Purse president Franklin Graham said in a Facebook post.

The town and surrounding communities sustained considerable damage with toppled trees, flooding, road damage, and a lack of power and water. From its church base at Alliance Bible Fellowship in Boone, Samaritan’s Purse began helping in Watauga County, neighboring Ashe and Avery counties, and in nearby eastern Tennessee.

The organization set up two additional bases in North Carolina, one outside Asheville in Buncombe County, and in Burnsville to serve Mitchell and Yancy counties, along with sites in Florida and in Georgia.

Volunteers came in droves from neighboring states and from around the country, traveling at their own expense, knowing they would receive no material reward but driven to help those in need. They helped homeowners recover from the storm by cutting up and hauling off downed trees, removing debris, tarping damaged roofs, and performing “mud outs” — getting muck and water-damaged items out of flooded homes and businesses.

“This is awesome. The work the volunteers are doing is not easy,” said a homeowner. “I’m overwhelmed with the tragedy, but I’m also overwhelmed with the support of people.”

Samaritan’s Purse also airlifted critical supplies, including food, water, generators, heaters, and blankets, to communities isolated by destroyed roads, downed trees, and unimaginable flooding.

“We are thankful to God for bringing all of these people and groups together to help those who have been devastated by Helene,” Graham said. “We’re thankful that we can respond and help in Jesus’ name.”

Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan when asked, “Who is my neighbor?” A man, he said, helplessly lay at the side of the road after being robbed and beaten. A priest and a Levite passed by, but a Samaritan, a member of a race despised by the Jews of the day, had compassion and stopped to help.

His interrogator conceded that the Samaritan, the one who showed mercy, was a neighbor to the man. Jesus replied, “You go, and do likewise.”

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Samaritan’s Purse responded as it always does, offering mercy and neighborly love. But this time, the neighbors lived much closer to home.

In addition to U.S. disaster relief, the organization works around the world to provide clean water, to battle food insecurity, and to meet medical needs.

One of the organization’s most popular programs is Operation Christmas Child. People fill shoeboxes with toys, school supplies, and personal care items. Samaritan’s Purse collects the boxes — millions every year — and distributes them to children around the world.

Collection week is over for 2024, but it’s still possible to participate. Samaritan’s Purse offers an option on its website to build a box online, allowing donors to virtually pack a shoebox that will become a Christmas gift for a child living in poverty.