Dear Friends,
As the year draws to a close, we give thanks to our heavenly Father for all the great things He has done through our ministries.
Through your faithful partnership with us, “Helping in Jesus Name”, we stand with those in crisis and to provide food, water, education, livelihood training, and more to communities in crisis in Australia and around the world.
This year in the rural village of Pailin in Cambodia’s far north, we opened our 48th school which will enable 400 children to access quality education. Next year, we look forward to celebrating the opening of our 49th and 50th schools in disadvantaged areas of Cambodia!
Throughout 2024 our office has answered the call to meet the needs of those suffering from conflict and natural disaster. In Israel, we contributed towards a fleet of ambulances to replace those destroyed in the October 2023 terrorist attacks. Our teams worked to provide supplies, shelter, and medical care to suffering Palestinians displaced in Gaza and the West Bank. Locally, we continue to work with partners providing support to refugee families from Gaza who have been resettled in Australia.
In Sudan, we rushed truckloads of emergency food before the wet season rendered roadways inaccessible. We also provided critical assistance to communities in Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, the US and Brazil following storms, floods and landslides
Back home, our staff and volunteers served flood-affected communities in New South Wales’ Illawarra region assisting homeowners and distributing clean-up kits. In Queensland’s Gold Coast we returned to the region to help residents still recovering from the 2023 Christmas storms. Samaritan’s Purse volunteers and Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains restored hope as they removed debris and helped prepare homeowners for the upcoming bushfire season.
We praise God for over 200,000 Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts that were packed by dedicated individuals and families. These tangible expressions of God’s love will begin their journey to their destination countries all over the world. Please pray that the Lord will open the hearts of the boys and girls who will receive them and take part in our discipleship program, The Greatest Journey, to learn more about following Jesus and sharing Him with their family and friends.
I am deeply grateful for your prayers and support for Samaritan’s Purse as we follow His leading to meet urgent needs and share the hope found only in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. From our family to yours, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, and we look forward to partnering with you again next year.
P.S. – Our Christmas Gift Catalogue is still open to enable you to consider a gift to bring real change to those in need. Maybe you could share it with friends or those you know who might be interested.
God bless,
Mark Bennett
Executive Director
Samaritan’s Purse Australia/New Zealand