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Samaritan’s Purse volunteers have seen their share of disasters, and now they’re helping those in central Texas who were devastated by last weekend’s floods. These volunteers are aiding locals clean up the mess and heal with faith.
“Samaritan’s Purse is here to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ in order to come and help people clean up their yards, clean up their homes,” Jason Kimak, Senior Director of North American Ministries for Samaritan’s Purse, told Fox News Digital. “We have volunteers come from all over the country and also locally because they want to help people recover from what’s happened around here. They also want to be a comfort and encouragement for them as well.”
Volunteers with Samaritan’s Purse help people in central Texas after a devastating flood. (Fox News Digital/Rachel Wolf)
FAITH BRINGS LIGHT TO DEVASTATED TEXAS TOWN AFTER DEADLY FLOODING DISASTER
The group’s devotion to prayer is evident in its tradition of praying with volunteers before sending them out to do the hard work on the ground. Samaritan’s Purse volunteers in Texas have been cleaning mud, clearing out areas full of debris and listening to survivors’ stories.
“As we I’ve gone out down to some of the neighborhoods and the homes and talked with some of families and just hearing some of stories. Yesterday, I was with a lady who, four in the morning they’re woken up from water coming into their home and people yelling and screaming outside because the water was coming all through the neighborhood,” Kimak said.
Tony and Renee Slack, a couple who have been volunteering with Samaritan’s Purse for three years, were thrilled to bring flood victims relief and bring them closer to God. They were helping a homeowner in the area with what Renee called a “full mud-out,” which entails cleaning mud off the floors, taking out carpeting and cutting sheetrock, among other things.
Volunteers with Samaritan’s Purse pray before heading out to help Texans in need. (Fox News Digital/Rachel Wolf)
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“We want to make sure that they know we’re there to serve them. And we come in the name of Jesus. We come to make sure they know that there are people out there thinking of them, praying for them and that God does love them, and that is our main mission,” Renee told Fox News Digital.
“It’s strange that people think that we’re here just to do disaster work, clean up, and that’s not the mission. It’s the mission to speak the gospel of Jesus Christ. We spread hope because so many of these people are just hopeless,” Tony said. He noted that Samaritan’s Purse volunteers encounter people who believe in Jesus, those who don’t and some who have “not been in the Word.”
Samaritan’s Purse volunteers pray at a work site in central Texas. (Fox News Digital/Rachel Wolf)
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More than 90 people volunteered with Samaritan’s Purse in Texas on Wednesday.
The devastating flood, which occurred on Friday morning when excessive rain caused the Guadalupe River to rise nearly 30 feet in 45 minutes, killed more than 100 people. Many remain missing as the search and rescue teams continue their work.