HAMMOND, LA — Team Patriot members with Samaritan’s Purse are serving homeowners in Louisiana whose properties were damaged by Hurricane Ida by removing debris, cutting up downed trees, and tarping roofs. They are also ministering to and encouraging their fellow veterans who are working alongside of them.

Eric Marcengill – Samaritan’s Purse:

My name is Eric Marcengill, one of the response managers for Team Patriot, and we are here in Hammond, Louisiana. Hurricane Ida came through and really made a mess here– a lot of fallen trees, a lot of damage to some houses. So Samaritan’s Purse, along with Team Patriot, we are here to clean up the tree damage. We’re here to help clean the house if it received any damage from the hurricane. We can give a little relief to these homeowners and ease their burden of initial shock of, “What do I do? How do I put this back together?”

Tom Jackson – Homeowner:

Just getting here the next day was a major feat– you having to climb over, and under, and through trees. Starting on this, it was just too big of a project, too overwhelming to even start on it. Without y’all coming in and helping, with y’all here it gave me at least motivation to come help and see what we could get done.

Eric Marcengill:

Team Patriot is made up of Operation Heal Our Patriots alumni. We have team members come from all over the country to come in and serve. The ministry inside Team Patriot takes place within the team as much as it does team to homeowners. So we kind of have a double ministry here where we get to minister to each other as a team. If somebody’s struggling, if somebody needs prayer, we get to fill that need, and we get to do the same thing with the homeowners. We get to pray with them. We get to love on them. We get to share the Gospel with them as they are struggling, and it’s been real great.

Volunteer:

We ask, God in Heaven, that You would walk with him, and walk with his family, his daughter. Watch over them and be with them.

Tom Jackson:

Sure appreciate Samaritan’s Purse, and all the veterans, and the people that have come out and helped on this project. I can’t thank them enough.

Eric Marcengill:

It’s been a joy to see so many people come to Christ since we’ve been out here. To date, we have 25 salvations in this side alone, in just over four weeks. It’s been a real blessing for me and for my wife to be a part of it and just grow.

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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