OUT OF THE ASH IN JASPER

Letter from Franklin Graham

Dear Friend,

One-third of Jasper, Alberta, was destroyed last summer when wildfires tore through the national park. Residents told us the flames burned so hot that trees exploded and rocketed burning wood a kilometer ahead of the fire and into the community.

Samaritan’s Purse Canada quickly set up an evacuation center in British Columbia as 5,000 residents and 20,000 Jasper National Park visitors fled down a single road to safety.

In the months since the inferno, hundreds of families still struggle to rebuild their lives. “Emotionally and physically, a lot of people are very tired, including our own group,” said Pastor Roy, our local church partner. “Our community has been wounded.”

We’ve deployed disaster recovery specialists to work with Pastor Roy and the other believers in Jasper. They have tirelessly served their community since the fire, but the road to recovery is long and often takes years. “Everybody has been kind of stretched to the limit,” Pastor Roy told us. We want to encourage and support the believers so they do "not grow weary while doing good" (Galatians 6:9). We are working together to help Jasperites in Jesus’ Name.

One of the first steps took place a few weeks ago as displaced residents moved from hotels to temporary housing. We partnered with Pastor Roy’s church to offer moving services and provide home essential kits. The kits contain kitchen, bath, and bedroom items that families need to restart in their new homes. Many of these items are unavailable in Jasper since the town’s hardware store was destroyed in the wildfire.

“It takes so much stress off,” shared Melissa, a mother of two, who the team moved and provided with a kit. “Now, I can focus on making this feel like a home when my kids get back from school.” I invite you to read her story below.

In all we do, we want to show the residents of Jasper that God loves them. While the community is surrounded by the beauty of Canada’s Rocky Mountains, most people do not know the Lord who created them. Will you join us in praying for opportunities to point people to Him and share the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ?

As God’s Word says, "I will raise my eyes to the mountains; from where will my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth" (Psalm 121:1-2, NASB). Thank you for your generosity and prayers that make this work possible. May God richly bless you.

Sincerely,

Franklin Graham

Melissa’s Story: Hope to Start Again

Melissa will never forget July 22, 2024. The Jasper, Alberta, resident and mother of two had just returned from camping. “I was sitting after being away, and I got a message from my friend: ‘You realize we’re getting evacuated, right?’”

Surprised, Melissa looked online to see an evacuation warning as wildfires had formed to the north and south of her community. Twenty minutes later, the warning became an order.

Melissa scrambled to pack a bag before joining an endless column of vehicles that jammed the only open highway. Thankfully, Melissa’s children were away visiting grandparents.

The next weeks were agonizing as she and 5,000 other Jasperites learned that the fire had reached their town. Melissa’s home survived the flames but was so water-damaged and moldy, it was uninhabitable. “We’ve been living in a hotel that’s locally owned for the last six months,” she said.

Melissa learned in February that she was eligible for temporary government housing on the outskirts of town. But without a vehicle, she had no way of moving, and her friends who would normally help were away. “Then, I met Mike from Samaritan’s Purse,” she said, “and he was like, ‘OK, what do you need?’”

Mike, one of our disaster recovery specialists, coordinated with Pastor Roy and his church to arrange for a team of young adults to move Melissa and her children. “It was incredible, just incredibly touching,” Melissa said.

The team also had an opportunity to pray with Melissa and other families. “We recognize that a lot of people in Jasper are not at all religious,” Pastor Roy said. “I just prayed a prayer of asking provision for them physically, emotionally, spiritually, in all the things that they would need. And I prayed a prayer of blessing over their home.

“My prayer is that through practical expressions of love in whatever ways we have and will have to serve our community, they will see Jesus in us.”

We also gave Melissa a home essential kit—one of 100 packed for Jasper residents at our Calgary warehouse. The kit contains bedsheets, dishes, a bath mat, a kettle, and many other items families need to start over. “To be gifted things like those basics so that when we check out of the hotel, we’re set up here and we can get started again is—I actually don’t really have words. Thank you,” Melissa said.

Please pray for Melissa and many others who face a long road to recovery. We are helping more displaced families move this month. Your prayers and support are critical to walk with them and share the hope of Jesus Christ.

Fighting Hunger in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

News out of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is horrific. In February, 70 Christians were beheaded in a church—killed by Islamic terrorists. This violence is not isolated. Over two decades, millions of people have died as rebel groups run rampant in the country’s east.

These atrocities take place against a backdrop of desperate poverty across the nation. The DRC continually ranks near the bottom of the world for access to food, safe water, and other essentials.

Samaritan’s Purse is working with local churches to meet these urgent needs and create ways for people to "love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" and "love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37, 39).

“We are praying so that God will help people know Jesus, because if they know Jesus, they will have peace,” shared Pastor John, one of our partners. In his area, Samaritan’s Purse set up several community-based farms.

Instead of farming individually, as is common, villagers help one another and share resources. Congolese farmers often lack the resources to purchase quality seeds and tools or properly tend their fields. The result is poor crops that lead to more poverty.

A community farm helps the village come together to solve some of these challenges. Prayer and support like yours help supply tools and seeds, while Samaritan’s Purse agriculture trainers teach inexpensive, natural techniques to improve the quality and quantity of crops. The villagers also help each other through savings groups.

Mama Augu, a mother of nine, has experienced the blessing from her community’s farm: “Life is not easy, but the project taught me how to use the land. After harvest, I will have income to help myself and my family and help the children go to school. We are grateful to God because He loves us and sent people to help us.”

*Name and photos changed and country withheld for security.