Samaritan’s Purse volunteers provide physical, spiritual aid to flood victims in Jesus’ name.
We praise God for the opportunities to serve in providing physical and spiritual help, in Jesus’ name, to flood victims in eastern Ontario and western Quebec.
After the Ottawa River spilled its banks in late April, donations from Canadians like you enabled us to move two of our specially equipped Disaster Relief Unit tractor trailers to the region.
Through these units, we trained, equipped and assigned more than 250 volunteers to remove mud, damaged furniture and water-soaked drywall, then sanitize the flooded areas to prevent mould. By the time our work was completed June 14, more than 70 homes in Ottawa/Gatineau and almost 60 in Quebec’s Hudson-Rigaud area had been cleaned.
In one instance, volunteers worked to clean-up a large, flood-damaged home for 10 days. When the homeowner witnessed the work and met a Rapid Response Team chaplain from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, God began to work on her heart.
By the time the work was finally completed, the woman (who had a Buddhist background) decided to accept Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.
“We now see why this whole process took so long—it was God’s timing to enable this dear lady to come into His fold,” said Mae Joudry, who helped to coordinate volunteers. A total of seven people made faith commitments through the flood relief work.
We were blessed with two strong partners who welcomed a Disaster Relief Unit on their property and supplied us with electricity and Internet: Metropolitan Baptist Church in Nepean and Hudson Community Baptist Church.
The latter has decided to become a Samaritan’s Purse Lighthouse Church, meaning it will be available for use as a staging area, and as a source of volunteers, for future Samaritan’s Purse Canadian disaster responses. (For more information on becoming a Lighthouse Church, please call 1-800-663-6500.)
Please pray for the new believers in Ontario and Quebec, that they would attend churches and be discipled “so that Christ may dwell in [their] hearts through faith” (Ephesians 3:17, ESV). And please continue to financially support Samaritan’s Purse so that you can make an eternal difference in the lives of other disaster victims.
