A timely reminder from the Samaritan’s Purse Ministry Department.

“The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’ So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place” (Mark 6:30-32, NIV).

The apostles succumbed to the stress of overwork even while doing the most important work of their lives.

Are today’s Christians faring any better? Hardly. Balancing the demands of work, church, and family can make our lives a virtual pressure cooker of stress.

The ubiquitous mobile device enables us to carry a year’s worth of appointments, to-do lists and obligations in our shirt pockets.

To our grandparents, a “social network” involved strolls through the neighborhood, maybe being invited up for lemonade, and a seat on the neighbor’s porch swing. Now it’s about “Tweets” and “Facebooking” while sitting alone at the computer.

As if the breakneck pace of modern life weren’t enough, we are nightly bombarded with images of political turmoil, roiling financial markets, and natural disasters—all beamed into our living rooms in high definition.

Where can we turn for relief? To every overworked, tired, stressed-out, angst-ridden, careworn Christian struggling to cope in this fast-paced world, Christ gently calls as He did to the apostles, “Come with me to a quiet place.”

If you’re thinking as you read this “That’s me,” try punching this appointment into your smart phone: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29, NIV).

Stephen and Della Bergen (pictured above with their son, Josh) are a special couple volunteering with Samaritan’s Purse in Joplin. They told their story to Karina Petersen.

Stephen and Della Bergen did the only thing they could when the powerful tornado hit Joplin, Missouri, a month ago. They got on their knees. The couple lives in Carthage, about 10 minutes from the path of the storm. They attend Forest Park Baptist Church, less than a mile from the path of the destructive storm.

“Please Lord,” they prayed, “help the victims of this terrible tragedy. And show us how to help.”

The next day, they got to work. And they haven’t stopped since.

“I haven’t been able to turn myself away,” said Stephen, who runs a painting company in Carthage. “Someday I have to go back to my job. The Lord’s been really faithful for the last 31 days. An electric bill was due, and someone left cash in the front seat of my car.”

Della was well aware of Samaritan’s Purse through her role as a key volunteer with Operation Christmas Child. She helped set up a meeting with church leadership and SP disaster relief staff.

“God’s the one that did everything,” Della said. “He used me.”

Forest Park became our base camp, and Stephen and Della quickly assumed leadership roles.




Stephen’s day starts early, when he runs the projector and sound for our first volunteer orientation session. He then leads a group into the field, helping storm victims by removing debris, cleaning yards, and looking for precious belongings amid the ruins of destroyed homes.

He started out leading teams of young people.

“Della and I have six kids,” he said. “We were youth pastors for years. I just kind of went back to that.”

Soon, other people who weren’t comfortable working with chainsaws or heavy equipment joined in. Stephen recently had a team of 70.

“I’ve started finding that if you have teams that show up that are here for two or three days, you find those natural leaders and kind of delegate,” he said.




Della began working in the SP command post, taking work orders, recruiting volunteers, making copies, doing whatever was necessary. She now works inside the church lobby, registering volunteers.

“I need to sign in volunteers so they can go out and help those homeowners, survivors,” she said.

Stephen and Della have worked every day since SP rolled into town. Well, almost. Della did miss one, when she was too sick to come in.

There have been challenges.

“Other than just being tired, my body wanting to give out, this is an emotional roller coaster,” Della said.

Yet they keep going.

“It’s just the people,” Della said. “I feel so sorry for them. Heartbroken. We need to be there for them and show them that God loves them and cares about them. They need us. God needs us to be His hands and His feet.

“We love God, therefore we love His people. That’s what we’re called to do.”

Our Cambodia office reports on a woman who volunteers with the school feeding project.

Thery lives in Andong Tmar, a small and very poor village near the Thai border in northwestern Cambodia. Although she is a widow she does not live alone. Several of her daughters are still at home with her and she is surrounded by many of her grandchildren.

As we sit in the shade of her home under a thatched roof, Thery tells us she did not come from a poor family. Her father was a doctor. But when she was a young girl the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia and she did not have the opportunity to continue going to school. Her father tried to teach her at home, but it wasn’t long before he too died after being sent the “Killing Fields.”

Thery continued to try to learn by studying pieces of paper she would find here and there, but it was not long before the young people in her village were forced to become soldiers. “They gave us uniforms and guns and told us to fight,” she said.

Toward the end of the civil war that ensued after the defeat of Pol Pot, Thery and her husband heard the new government was giving away land in Banteay Meanchey, the province along the Thai border, and they decided to move. They received a large piece of land and hoped to start a new and better life. That was in 1997, almost 15 years ago.

Her dreams were dashed when Thery’s husband began drinking. To support his habit, he slowly sold off small sections of their once large piece of land until they had nothing left. He died three years ago, and the village leader had compassion on Thery and gave her a small plot of land to live on.

She had little to look forward to until Samaritan’s Purse came to the village to start a project to feed school children. The program gives them the nutrition they need to focus on their studies, and takes a burden from their parents.

Thery very much wanted to be involved in helping. “I was very willing in my heart to help because the children are so poor,” she said.

She began working with our staff to learn basic bookkeeping. Over the past year and a half she has learned how to understand and work with numbers and now keeps good records of the food that is stored for the project. She said she loves working on the project.

We thank the Lord for this project that supplies breakfast for over 3,000 children each morning and also provides the opportunity for a woman like Thery to have a small job she is proud of and enables her to give back to her community.

Christian artist Matthew West, a good friend of Samaritan’s Purse who has delivered shoe boxes in Colombia and Panama and promoted Operation Christmas Child through his tours, is helping draw attention to our work with tornado victims in the United States through a new music video.

Matthew explains on his blog:

"Here's a brand new video for “Strong Enough.” We partnered with our friends at Samaritan's Purse to make this after seeing the devastation that the recent series of storms have left people facing. Many people are standing at the foot of their own impossible mountain and left to pick up the pieces of what used to be their home, of what used to be their town.

My prayer for this video is that it can serve as an encouragement to all who have been impacted by these storms—as well as a call to action to everyone in a position to help and make a difference.

The need is still very real and I urge you to get involved in some way."

Watch the video below.