In the aftermath of Typhoon Sinlaku, Samaritan’s Purse reminds one mother in Saipan of God’s faithfulness.
The day before the eye of the super typhoon passed over the island of Saipan, Temara gathered her two sons and hurried to her father’s house for protection.
In the chaos of grabbing valuables and packing the car to leave, Temara stopped, placed her hands on the doorframe, and prayed that God would protect their home—and bring them safely back.
“I asked God for His protection, His guidance, and His strength,” she said. “He kept us safe.”
Temara prayed for God to save her and her children as Typhoon Sinalaku hit her island community. He saved them, and gave the mother of two a newfound perspective of peace and gratitude.
From Tuesday through Thursday, April 14-16, Typhoon Sinlaku slammed Saipan and neighboring islands, unleashing 180 mph winds and torrential rain across the area. But by Sunday, Samaritan’s Purse was there to help in Jesus’ Name.
Immediately after the storm cleared, we responded to the Northern Mariana Islands in the western Pacific, where Temara calls home. We sent our 767 aircraft three times, packed with tons of relief supplies and equipment to support recovery efforts.
Reeling from the Damage
Born and raised on Saipan, Temara had endured many dangerous storms but none like this. Her husband was away for military training, leaving her to care for their two young sons alone.
“I was in disbelief,” Temara said about the three days she spent sheltered as the storm battered her island home. “My mind was trying to grasp exactly what happened. There were a million things running through my mind—I didn’t know what I needed to do first.”
The typhoon whirled through the Northern Mariana Islands for three days, ripping apart anything that wasn’t built of concrete. Parts of Temara’s house were no exception.
Friday and Saturday were overwhelming as Temara began piecing her life back together. Like most homes on Saipan, her house is built of concrete, but her roof and flooring are wood. The cyclone’s wind and rain tore apart the roof, crashed through the glass windowpanes, and flooded both floors of the house. Electricity and running water were knocked out across the island.
“When I saw my home and walked in, immediately my heart sank because I realized that this house wasn’t going to be livable for us,” she said. “As I left, I was still in shock.”
God Working Amid Chaos
On Sunday morning, she received a call from Samaritan’s Purse.
Temara received a generator, five mosquito nets, tarp, blankets, and solar lights for her family.
“It was God working in the midst of chaos,” Temara said of Samaritans’ Purse. “What does all this provision tell you about God’s character? He’s in control of everything, even when we don’t understand. There were tears of joy and a big sigh of relief just because the past week had been extremely difficult for me … He never leaves us, and He never forsakes us.”
Our 767 completed three airlifts to the battered islands, carrying tarp, solar lights, generators, mosquito nets, water desalination machines, and more to help islanders recover in Jesus’ Name.
On the two largest islands, Saipan and Tinian, we have distributed thousands of relief supplies and set up water desalination systems to provide clean water. We have mobile medical teams roving the islands, caring for those injured in the storm and others suffering from chronic illnesses. We also quickly set up and staffed a clinic near the central hospital, which was damaged during the storm, to provide free medical care to patients.
With each person we help, the Gospel is shared and God is glorified.
Holding On to a Firm Foundation
The supplies Temara received from Samaritan’s Purse formed a bridge to something greater the Lord was teaching her.
“If there is one thing I know it’s that I’m not held by my own strength,” the mother said. “It’s been challenging, but God has reminded me that He is here. He’s always been here. God is good even when things aren’t.”
Raised in the church, Temara knew about God, but it wasn’t until recently that she truly trusted Him with everything she had. This past Easter Sunday, she and her husband were baptized. Weeks later, the storm upended her life, yet God provided a reminder that He remains in control.
“When everything happened with Samaritan’s Purse, I was saying, ‘Glory be to God,’ because He’s working; He’s working through you,” she said.
The first Sunday after the storm, her church gathered for worship even as the island lay in ruins. There, her Savior reminded her of His love and comfort. One song especially stood out: “A Firm Foundation.”
Christ is my firm foundation
The rock on which I stand
When everything around me is shaken
I’ve never been more glad
That I put my faith in Jesus
Because He’s never let me down
He’s faithful through generations
Oh, so why would He fail now?
He won’t
He won’t
He won’t fail
Hope Emerges
“The winds were louder than my thoughts,” Temara recalls of the storm as she sits in the doorway of her hollowed-out home nearly two weeks after it struck her peaceful island.
The lower level of the house still drains with water days after wind-driven rain crashed through the glass windowpanes. She walks to her backyard, where splintered trunks and twisted branches are all that remain of her garden.
The towering breadfruit trees she watched grow as a child now lie on the ground uprooted. Nearby, pineapple shrubs are ripped apart, and a sole papaya tree stands stripped of its leaves. She had been days away from harvesting its fruit, she mentions as she gazes at what’s left of the tree.
“It was God’s way of reminding us that we’re blessed. It will grow again, and it will bear fruit for us next season,” Temara says, her pain giving way to hope.
Temara is certain that God put Samaritan’s Purse in her path to show her that she is loved and not forgotten.
Pray for Temara and her island community as the long road to recover begins. Pray that Samaritan’s Purse teams still working in the Northern Mariana Islands would continue to share the Gospel with conviction, and that many islanders would put their trust in Jesus Christ.
