By Betsie Campion Smith, project coordinator for the Egbe Hospital Revitilization Project in Nigeria

Approximately 8,000 gallons of water is needed daily to provide water to Egbe Hospital, the Nurses Training School, Midwifery School and the George Campion Academy.



Egbe has two large reservoirs and three bore holes. Although the reservoirs are full, they are a mile away, so getting the water to the compound is a major problem. Only one of the bore holes is functioning, and reservoir one has been leaking for many years.



As the dry season comes to an end, there is an increased sense of urgency to fix the reservoir, starting by draining it to expose the walls so the cracks can be fixed.





Hundreds of volunteers from the Egbe churches, Egbe Concern Group, and local schools, have been arriving daily to clear the brush, dig trenches, and remove the clay muck under Samaritan’s Purse program manager Mark Anderson’s supervision. Their incredible show of support is a testimony to the people of Egbe of their generosity and strong desire to see the hospital revitalized.



Once the walls are repaired, the filtration and pumping system will be addressed. In the meantime, two 500-gallon tanks have been installed on the compound to supply the missionary homes.



Although it is a huge project, once completed, the reservoirs that have been used for almost 50 years will continue to supply as much water as needed to the compound year-round.

By Samaritan's Purse project staff in Cambodia.

Samrith Thon went to sleep hungry many nights after her husband died in 1982, leaving her and their five children without any income.

“My family has had a hard life for a long time,” she said. “When my husband died, we did not have enough food, so we had to eat wild potatoes mixed with rice. I was unable to earn an income, so I had to go to sleep hungry each night under a leaky roof.”

Her life changed when Samaritan's Purse introduced the Seeds of Hope agriculture program in her village of Kae Mony in 2009.

Church members in each village were selected to help fight the battle of hunger and poverty. They would receive training and other assistance, and pass on their knowledge to their neighbors. Thon was one of the people in Kae Mony who joined the church committee in the hopes of improving her life and the lives of others in her community.

She attended the technical training, and was given materials to start a home garden, chicken coop, and pig pen. Thon has worked very hard since she received these resources. She is committed to applying the knowledge she received from training to her day-to-day farming practices.

Now she can provide food for her family year-round, and earn a stable income from selling her vegetables. She can afford to send her children to school and provide them with the supplies they need for their education. Thon is even able to to save some money towards the construction of a new house.

“All of the villagers would like to join with me to express my deep thanks to Samaritan’s Purse and the local church, which has helped change our lives,” Thon said. “Please continue to help other villages.”

By Simon Gonzalez, Samaritan's Purse web editor.

I have a terrible confession to make.

Working at a Christian ministry should give me a sense of purpose, of fulfillment, of gratitude that God has given me a job where I can use the gifts He’s bestowed to serve Him.

Paul’s words to the Colossians should be words to live by. “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

But sometimes—OK, frequently—I forget. Those moments come when I fail to fix my eyes on Jesus, and lose that sense of purpose and gratitude.

One of those moments happened yesterday morning. It was before church, and there was an issue with a story on the website. The word filtered through that a photo might need to be changed. I’m sure there were good reasons for it, reasons of safety and security. But rather than “work heartily as for the Lord” I chose to complain.

Yet another weekend without a full day off, yet another Sunday with something to do. I shared my thoughts with Hope, a good friend and co-worker, hoping to invite a guest to my pity party. Instead, she replied with an email saturated with wisdom. It included a photo of the boy pictured above, and these words:

“Maybe this is cheesy, but remember that you're working on Sunday for this kid. You're changing the photo to protect him. You wrote the story yesterday so that we won't be the only ones who know he's starving. It's personal to him and to his dad holding him. What you're doing on your laptop this Sunday morning is a personal act of help to this family.”

The reply moved me to tears. Clearly, God had used Hope to tell me exactly what I needed to hear.

This ministry takes its very existence from the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus told the story when asked to define the neighbor we’re supposed to love as ourselves. At the end of the parable, Jesus said to go and do likewise.

I’ll never meet the boy and his dad in the Nuba Mountains, but they are my neighbors, the ones I’m called to love. I can’t bandage their wounds, or take them to an inn where they will be cared for, but maybe posting a story will call attention to their plight and move someone to take action.

I’ll be printing out Hope’s email, and putting it on the cubicle wall. That boy and his dad should be a great reminder to me, to everyone at Samaritan's Purse, and to all who pray and donate, of why we do it. The work matters—to God, to the people in the Nuba Mountains, and to everyone touched by this ministry. Even on a weekend.

By Mari Carmen Gomez, evangelism team staff member in Honduras.

“Alive and Thrive” is a new program Samaritan’s Purse-Honduras started in January. The program aims to teach teenage mothers how to raise healthy babies by promoting breastfeeding. The new moms receive reminder text messages and are encouraged to attend breastfeeding clubs.

Recently, the Alive and Thrive team was on the way to work at the Leonardo Martinez Hospital. A pregnant girl approached the car to clean the window in order to try to make some money. One of the ladies gave her a cookie and a Gospel tract, which they keep in the car for evangelism activities.

The girl was in shock when the team gave her the gift, even before she had started to clean the windshield. She said that people had never given her anything without her having to do something in return.

About a week later she was at the hospital, having given birth. She saw our team when they were in the postpartum depression ward, recruiting new mothers for the breastfeeding project.

The Samaritan’s Purse staff did not remember her, but the girl clearly remembered them. She told them that she could not read the tract they gave her, but was thankful for the cookie and for their graciousness to her.

Maria del Carmen began to share the Gospel with the teenage mother, explaining how much she was loved by God and how Jesus gave His life that she might have forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life. They also were able to talk to her about breastfeeding her baby, and how it is the best food for her child.

That day, the young mother trusted in Christ for her salvation. We are extremely thankful for the opportunities to witness to these young women in need, and to show them the love of Jesus.