The hands and feet of Jesus are on display in Wisconsin as hundreds of Samaritan’s Purse volunteers help families recover after a powerful EF-3 tornado tore through the Appleton area, leaving damaged homes, uprooted trees and devastated neighborhoods.
According to The Christian Post, the North Carolina-based ministry has mobilized approximately 750 volunteers from at least 23 states to assist with cleanup efforts while also offering prayer and Gospel-centered encouragement to those affected.
Among those receiving help is Navy veteran Don Wilson of Menasha, whose home suffered extensive damage when several trees crashed onto it during the storm.
After Samaritan’s Purse volunteers helped clear the destruction, Wilson described their service as “living proof that God exists.”
The ministry is also serving families who narrowly escaped tragedy. Samaritan’s Purse Vice President of North American Disaster Relief Jason Kimak told The Christian Post that one homeowner, Carla Williamson, was trapped in her basement for several hours after the tornado “literally picked the house up and slammed it down off of its foundation.”
Although her home will have to be demolished, Kimak said Williamson’s family “is so grateful that she’s still alive.”
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The ministry has already received about 160 requests for assistance and expects to remain in the region for days, or even weeks, as volunteers continue removing trees, clearing debris and helping homeowners begin the difficult process of rebuilding.
But Samaritan’s Purse says its mission extends beyond physical recovery.
Working alongside chaplains from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, volunteers are spending time with survivors, listening to their stories, praying with them and sharing the Gospel.
“They’re there … just to listen to their story, to pray with them and then to share the Gospel with the family that we’re working with,” Kimak said.
In the aftermath of disaster, the destruction is often impossible to ignore. Yet the compassion shown by believers who willingly travel across the country to serve strangers reminds us that God’s love is often seen most clearly through His people. As homes are cleared and lives begin to be rebuilt, Samaritan’s Purse volunteers are demonstrating the hope, kindness and sacrificial love that Christ calls us to show to those in need.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
