Samaritan's Purse to Pakistan: Showing Christ's Love in Tangible Fashion
by Allie Martin
November 2, 2005
(AgapePress) - - A Christian ministry is helping those left homeless during harsh winter conditions in the aftermath of last month's earthquake in Asia. Last week a Boeing 747 cargo jet took off from Charlotte, North Carolina, loaded with 120 tons of emergency supplies. The airlift, a project of Samaritan's Purse, was bound for Pakistan, where a major earthquake hit early last month killing more than 50,000 and leaving millions homeless. The plane carried enough rolls of weatherproof plastic to shelter 24,000 families, medicine and hospital equipment, hundreds of wheelchairs, and tons of blankets.
Gary Lumdstrom with Samaritan's Purse says some of those supplies are already being delivered. "We actually had a distribution team that was up in the Balakat area that was distributing goods that had been on the aircraft," the ministry spokesman shares. "In addition to that, the medical equipment that came in will be disbursed out to these two Christian hospitals."
Lumdstrom explains that his organization and other Christian relief agencies, when responding to a disaster, are coming in the name of Jesus and to share His love -- and for no other reason. "[We're] not manipulating a situation, not taking advantage of people in an inappropriate way when they're facing a desperate time of need," he says.
According to Lundstrom, when Christian relief workers come alongside of disaster victims and offer help without strings attached, they are often asked why they are doing that. Their answer? "We say it's because of the love of Christ and the love of God that is in us that compels us to reach out to you -- [and] their hearts are touched," he says.
Lumdstrom says there will be pressing needs for shelter and essentials in Pakistan, even though the story has faded from the national and international news services.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
