FT MYERS, FL — Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham travelled to Lee County, Florida, on Thursday, October 6, where Hurricane Ian took dead aim last week and pummeled the Fort Myers area as a Category 4 storm. More than 100 people were killed, and at least hundreds of homes were either ripped apart or flooded.

One resident described it as a “tsunami of mud and water” that came rushing down neighborhood streets and crashed through doors and windows filling houses with several feet of water.

Scott Dolloff – Homeowner:

When the water started rising in the house, which came in faster than we could get out, we had to go into the attic. And my mother-in-law, and my wife, and I spent the night in the opening of the attic, just watching the water come up and then finally receding.

It’s really hard for us to be able to even stand here and look at the devastation. In my lifetime of being 65 years old, I’ve seen so many times on the news people talk about devastation, and we watched it thinking, “Oh my God. That happened to those people”, never expecting it to happen to us.

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

The need is incredible. So many people have lost hope. They’ve lost their homes, they lost their livelihood. They lost almost everything they own. And I’m just grateful for the men and women who come and volunteer, and go into these communities, and help families, and help people recover after these storms.

Father, we just ask that You just comfort them. And, Father, we pray that they’ll sense Your presence. And, Father, we thank You for Your Son Jesus Christ, who took our sins and died on the cross.

Scott:

It’s fantastic to have your organization come into the neighborhood, help us all out. There’s no way myself, as one person ,could do it, to go in and tear drywall out, and lift floors out. I praise the Lord that you guys are here to help us.

Franklin:

With each family we help, we want them to know that God loves them, that God hasn’t forgotten them, God hasn’t turned His back on them, that God cares. And so we come in the Name of Jesus Christ. We want to be His hands, His feet, His voice in these communities, in these times of disaster like we see here.

So if you’d like to be a part of helping in south Florida, just go to our website samaritanspurse.org, and you’ll find information on how you can be a part of this team of going to these communities in Jesus’ Name.

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: Gabrielle Bouquet, news@samaritan.org

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