God’s Love Showed Up: Hurricane Helene

The Samaritan's Purse community was directly impacted by Hurricane Helene—many are still picking up the pieces. During Samaritan’s Purse staff devotions, Jordan Roten and her mother-in-law, Monnie, shared a powerful testimony of survival. Their homes are less than a mile from Samaritan's Purse headquarters, and when the floodwaters came, they trusted in Jesus. Franklin Graham introduced devotions on this morning, and gave God the glory for the people the army of orange has been able to serve.

“God has given us a position. He's given us people, volunteers, the finances. It’s just been incredible. But some of the people we've been able to help are our neighbors. I mean, when I say neighbors, literally, down the street, neighbors.”—Franklin Graham

Jordan and her family have had ties with Samaritan's Purse for years, but after this disaster, they got to see the ministry in a different light. They were recipients of North American Ministries, and through this, experienced God's love in new ways.

The difference between normal flooding and life-threatening flooding on the Roten property happened in a matter of a half hour. As things became increasingly unsafe, the families realized they needed to evacuate. Jordan watched the waters rush in and trees fall around them as they fled. All they could do was pray.

“And so, we just hit our knees and prayed and said, ‘Lord, this one's yours. This is completely out of our control. There is nothing we can do but turn to you.’ And so, we prayed on the ground that whole time and they were able to evacuate every member of the family, one at a time across the yard.”—Jordan Roten

When the families returned to assess the damage, there was water everywhere. But, in the lowest part of the house, a fort that the children had made and prayed over was completely dry. Jordan knew in that moment that the Lord would have protected her family if they had not been able to evacuate.

Jordan and Monnie talk about what it was like to see Samaritan’s Purse volunteers—many of whom were coworkers and friends—pour across their bridge to help in the days after the storm. Monnie remembers breaking down upon seeing the volunteers.

“I was crying because love showed up. God's love literally showed up in my yard.”—Monnie Roten

Pray that God would continue to call and equip the right volunteers to serve those impacted by Hurricane Helene. If you’d like to keep up to date with more stories from On the Ground, please visit samaritanspurse.org.