Each morning, long before daybreak, Nadia* would travel to the local market to sell tea and coffee to bleary-eyed residents just waking up in her town in southern Sudan. She had to rise quite early so she could finish her business before her school started. Though she’s now a mother of three, she was hungry…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Traveling Toward Peace
Ibraheem Alsaad didn’t want to leave his home in Syria. He and his wife, Nisreen, were teachers at the local primary school. But when ISIS surrounded their town, the school closed, and they lost their jobs. They suffered for eight months as ISIS cut off their access to electricity and then to food. Finally, their home…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Warm Winter Clothing Distributed to Vulnerable Families in Armenia
For decades Armenia and Azerbaijan have battled over a portion of land known as Nagorno-Karabakh. In September, the conflict erupted again, and the two nations broke into a violent war. The pocket of land, which is located within the borders of Azerbaijan, was home to ethnic Armenians. The war prompted people to flee—causing them to…
Health & Medical Ministries
Hearts Healed, Lives Changed
In Mongolia, Enkhsaruul turned blue whenever she cried, one of the signs that she had a congenital heart defect. Her condition made her a candidate for cardiac surgery through the Samaritan’s Purse Children’s Heart Project. After being accepted into our program, she and her mom, Boloroo, traveled to Grand Cayman in 2022 when Enkhsaruul was…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Franklin Graham Travels to Colombia to Support Work with Venezuelan Migrants
NOTE: This article reflects the situation in Colombia/Venezuela as of Franklin Graham’s trip in Oct. 2018. For more recent information, go to our Colombia relief landing page and see other updated articles listed there. As Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham walked the Simón Bolívar International Bridge in Cúcuta, Colombia on Monday, he was moved by…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Southeast Church Among First to Welcome an Afghan Family
The children run to greet them with a slew of hugs and smiles before they even get the door open all the way. They’re so excited to welcome the team and to see what surprises the day will bring. They might share a meal together, go to the grocery store, visit the park, or shop…
Health & Medical Ministries
A Bond of Brothers
It was a parent’s worst nightmare. Tatiana and Beymar had three boys with congenital heart defects and spent years on edge, worried that their sons’ lives could be cut short at any moment. The hole in Edriel’s heart was discovered during a medical screening when he was just 2 years old. They were alarmed, of…
Celebrating Freedom in Jesus Christ in Alaska
Wednesday, June 19, 2024. It’s a day that Ruth Szymansky will never forget. A few days prior, Ruth and her husband, Matt, a retired Marine Master Gunnery Sergeant, arrived at Samaritan Lodge Alaska for Week 4 of the Operation Heal Our Patriots summer season. Ruth applied to the program after stumbling across a mention of…
Car Auction to Help Military Couples
North Carolina businessman and car collector George Shinn is auctioning off a 700-plus-horsepower Stryker Ford Mustang muscle car, custom painted with the stars and stripes. Shinn, a friend and supporter of Samaritan’s Purse, first announced the July 25-27 car auction during the 2024 Operation Heal Our Patriots reunion in Orlando earlier this year. “This weekend,…
Discipleship, Education & Training
Military Couple Begins New Life in Christ During Alaska Retreat
“How is dad?” the children inquired when their mother picked them up from school. Her answer was important, because it determined how the twin boys entered the house. Would they smile and say hello to their dad? Or would they keep their heads down and slip in unnoticed? Debbie Gonzalez tried hard to shield her…
