Samaritan's Purse Teams

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Helping Hands, Listening Ears

The earth buckling and the house swaying, 13-year-old Nicole ran from her home amid the deafening noise of the earthquake, the roof caving in behind her. She could hear the cries of her neighbors, trapped under piles of rocks and rubble. They were yelling for help but no one came, says Nicole, and by the next day, their cries had ceased.

Young Nicole is one of thousands impacted by the deadly earthquake that struck Peru in August. Hundreds were killed and thousands left homeless and without resources. Samaritan’s Purse responded with emergency aid, including shelter materials, blankets, food and other vital supplies, working directly with partners, the local Church, and municipal and civil defence authorities.

As Peruvians moved from a relief to a recovery stage, Samaritan’s Purse deployed three Relief Teams of hard-working, compassionate volunteers. The teams traveled to Peru in groups of 15, helping clean rubble of schools and churches, and showing gentle compassion to those coping with fresh memories of the disaster.

Little Nicole shared her tragic story with Relief Team member Darryl Elliott as they sat on a bench in the devastated community of San Clemente. “She just wanted someone to talk to and someone to hear what happened to her,” explained Darryl. “I never asked her about the earthquake.”

The conversation was an epiphany for Darryl. “I realized why we (were in Peru). . . Not to move rubble or to tear down walls rather to listen and show the people of San Clemente that there is someone who cares.”

Agents of Action

Brent Davis, Samaritan’s Purse Teams Coordinator, says each Relief Team played an important role in the communities they visited. “Our major role was as a catalyst – Peruvians are industrious, hard-working people, but the clean-up work is overwhelming – tiring and depressing,” said Brent. “We were able to infuse energy into the community as we were working and getting dirty beside them.

“It was incredible how our teams were able to be agents of action for the community – we’d be working and be joined by 20 or so people. We were inspiring them to continue to clean up and rebuild.”

As the Relief Teams worked, they experienced the warm, heartfelt gratitude of the Peruvian community – not only for the much-needed emergency relief, but also the continued clean-up work of the volunteer Teams. It was humbling for the team.

“Everywhere we went in the community, people had signs hung on their homes or above their doors, saying “Gracias, Samaritan’s Purse.”

To read more about Samaritan’s Purse emergency relief in Peru, click here.

Ways You Can Help
Pray Please pray for all of the Samaritan’s Purse Teams that are at work around the world – for lasting relationships to be built and the Name of Jesus Christ to be glorified.		Give Your gifts support the work of Samaritan’s Purse and our teams around the world as we meet people’s needs. Donate Here.