Letter from Franklin Graham

Dear Friend,

AS I WRITE THIS, THE WORLD IS CELEBRATING THE RELEASE OF THE LAST ISRAELI HOSTAGES as part of a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel. The historic peace plan is also great news for nearly 2 million suffering people in Gaza. But even as fighting stops, there is a long road ahead to recovery as most of the Gaza Strip lies in ruins. Hospitals, markets, and houses all must be rebuilt.

Samaritan’s Purse will continue to provide much-needed food and medical help. Since late July, we’ve sent 12 relief flights—five via our DC-8 and seven via our 757—to the Middle East with over 200 tons of ready-to-use supplemental nutrition pouches. More relief flights are on their way. We’ve already given out more than 1 million packets of vitamin-rich, peanut-based food. By focusing our distributions on women, this helps ensure the food reaches vulnerable children. We give each woman ready-to-eat packets, which help provide critical nutrients and calories for them and their children for several days.

It is heartbreaking to see the despair in these women’s faces and hear the urgency in their voices as thousands line up at each distribution. They are grateful for what they receive, but the need is still great. Many children are malnourished, and many go to bed hungry.

Our first-aid care teams set up at each of the food distributions with equipment and medicines. We are treating infections, injuries, chronic disease, and heat-related illness as temperatures soar to 100 degrees. So far, we have treated 1,400 patients; some we see multiple times.

Our teams ask patients if we can pray for them in Jesus’ Name, and it’s encouraging that so many welcome these prayers. One staffer recently prayed for a young boy who was seriously ill and, in Canada, he would have been admitted to an ICU. The next day the team rejoiced as the boy returned and seemed to have improved greatly.

Samaritan’s Purse has also just flown over 500 household tents (pictured above right) for families. We have dozens of staff members in the region right now. With the ceasefire, we hope for additional opportunities to provide even more relief in the days to come.

Within Israel, we continue to help build community centers and emergency medical stations that can serve as places of safety, shelter, and healing. Communities are still recovering from the brutal violence of the Hamas attacks two years ago.

Please pray for our work in Gaza and Israel. This is still a complex situation that requires wisdom and protection from God. We want to go forward “filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Colossians 1:9).

Shoeboxes Open Doors

Every year, during this season, Canadians pack Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts around the country. Why? It’s all about Jesus!

These prayerfully packed, gift-filled boxes open doors for evangelism across the world. Our partners hold child-friendly, fun, and engaging outreach events where they sing, hand out shoeboxes, and present the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ using colorful materials and resources provided by Samaritan’s Purse. Children and their parents hear how God sent His Son to die for our sins on the cross and then rise again to give us new life.

Samnang (pictured below) in Cambodia heard this message as she received her shoebox four years ago. She trusted Christ, and now the 17-year-old has a passion to tell others in her community about the Lord. Samnang and her family live in a city next to a trash heap where clouds of flies rise from the piles of garbage. Children play with their friends in the mess or scurry around in search of plastic and metal to sell. It’s near this area that Samnang leads The Greatest Journey ® discipleship course for boys and girls who have received Operation Christmas Child gifts.

In a small, tin-walled room, Samnang has created a class full of love and peace, despite the violence, disease, and chaos outside. As someone from the neighborhood, she can relate to the children in a special way, understanding both their pain and their hopes. Her dream is to be an evangelist. “I want to be able to have my own ministry one day and really help these kids,” she said. “I see this as a starting point.” As you pack your shoeboxes, don’t forget that God is at work right where you live. My own church hosted a packing party where a visitor—a homeless man—came and struck up a conversation with one of the members. The man started coming to church regularly and saw the love of Christ in action. The church helped him find a job and provided him a car to get to work. He has now dedicated his life to serving the Lord and was recently baptized. You never know who God will bring in your path. We need to be faithful to share the Good News. “Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). Thank you for your support of this ministry. May God bless you.

Sincerely,

Franklin Graham