More than 300 families helped after Hurricane Fiona.
As Samaritan’s Purse volunteers clean up flooded or storm-damaged homes and properties, they often experience the joy of having homeowners thank them—many times with tears—for their vital work.
But this was different.
Overwhelmed with Gratitude
Joyce*, a Prince Edward Island resident whose property was among hundreds damaged by Hurricane Fiona, actually drove to Cornerstone Baptist Church—where the Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Relief Unit tractor trailer was located—just to thank us for the cleanup work volunteers did for her.
She couldn’t be around when the work was being done, but “when she got home, Joyce was overwhelmed with awe and gratitude for the work done and the care and concern with which it was done,” said Tammy Suitor, who led the Samaritan’s Purse team during its two-month hurricane deployment in PEI.
“Joyce said she had very high expectations, which were blown out of the water with the attention to detail and care taken to clean up her property. She told us she just had to come and say a special thank you!”
“Like a Gift from God”
Percy, another island resident, returned home to overwhelming destruction after the hurricane. He tried to clean up, but it was too much for any one person. When our volunteer team arrived at his property, he told them, “You showed up, literally, like a gift from God.”
As the team cleared dozens of trees that choked his driveway and a massive, fallen linden tree from his family’s longtime home, it was like a weight lifted from his shoulders with each branch that was removed. At the end of the job, Percy received a Bible signed by every team member.
“Words alone cannot express how grateful we are,” he and his wife wrote in a note to the team. “Thank you for the beautiful Bible. May God be with us all.”
Percy celebrates his cleared driveway. “Words alone cannot express how grateful we are,” he said.
Thank You
By the time our deployment finished in late November 2022, more than 250 volunteers, equipped and led by Samaritan’s Purse team leads, cleaned up more than 330 hurricane-damaged homes and properties. In each case, we offered the homeowners a Bible signed by all the people who worked on their property and offered to pray with them. Through the response, 27 people responded to the Gospel in repentance and faith.
We thank God for partnership like yours during this response. As our teams and equipment stand ready to respond again wherever disasters strike in Canada, your prayers and support make it possible to bring help and hope in Jesus’ Name to Canadians in crisis.
*Name changed to protect privacy
