MEKORYUK, ALASKA —Samaritan’s Purse is building a new church for the Alaskan village of Mekoryuk on remote Nunivak Island, Alaska.

Franklin Graham – President and CEO, Samaritan’s Purse:

We’re in Mekoryuk, Nunivak Island. This is out in the Bering Sea off the western coast of Alaska. Very poor community. And Samaritan’s Purse, every year we choose one community to build a church. And it just transforms the community. When they started, this whole site had, I don’t know, about eight feet of snow on it. They had to take a big bulldozer and push the snow off so they could start putting the foundation in.

This is a great community, good people here. So I’m thankful for the volunteers that come from all over the United States to help us. We couldn’t do it without these volunteers. They work long days under tough conditions. Got this up in five weeks, and in 15 weeks it’s going to be finished. So we’ve got another 10 weeks to go, and then we’ll have the dedication. I believe in this rural part of Alaska. Rural part of Alaska is really suffering. The higher fuel prices make it so much more difficult for people to live in these rural areas, and so they just need help. So we’re here to help the church.

Samaritan’s Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan’s Purse has helped meet the needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ. The organization serves the Church worldwide to promote the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Samaritan’s Purse International Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) program is committed to meeting the critical needs of victims of war, poverty, famine, disease, and natural disaster. We stand ready to respond at a moment’s notice whenever and wherever disaster strikes. The DART specializes in providing water, food, shelter, and medical care while sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.

CONTACT: Kaitlyn Lahm, news@samaritan.org

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