God at Work in Saipan and Tinian

Water, shelter, and medicine are among the vital supplies Samaritan’s Purse has provided thousands of families on the distant Pacific islands of Saipan and Tinian over the last two weeks following the year’s most powerful cyclone.

As we work in Jesus’ Name, weary islanders are hearing and responding to the Gospel.

Over the course of three days in mid-April, Super Typhoon Sinlaku wreaked havoc on the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory in the western Pacific. Trees were flattened, roofs blew off their frames, and the entire power grid collapsed—leaving the islands in darkness with no flowing water.

Immediately after the storm cleared, Samaritan’s Purse sent three airlifts via our 767 aircraft to Saipan with two water desalination machines, tons of shelter supplies, a mobile medical clinic, and many more relief items. Dozens of disaster specialists on the ground are hard at work, partnering with the local church to help meet the most pressing needs on the islands in the typhoon’s aftermath.

A Huge Amount of Love Arrives on Tiny Islands

In two-weeks’ time, we’ve distributed over 6,500 tarps, nearly 6,000 solar lights, 500 mosquito nets, and nearly 15,000 jerry cans on the islands of Saipan and Tinian. To help restore electricity for the most vulnerable, we’ve provided 203 generators for those with chronic illnesses who depend heavily on electricity to take care of themselves.

The work is ongoing as our teams continue to distribute the airlifted items to households across the two islands.

Our mobile medical teams have ventured to displacement shelters at local schools and churches to meet vital medical needs to those who lost everything in the storm. We’ve set up three clinic restart modules—two on Saipan and one on Tinian—to support local medical facilities damaged in the storm.

At our outpatient clinic, Samaritan’s Purse doctors and nurses have treated over 600 patients who come in sick, wounded, or to replace lost medicine. Many arrive at our clinic in physical pain, with a deep hurt in their heart.

“A lot of times when they arrive, they are asking themselves, ‘Why, God?’ And they think He’s forgotten them,” said Christine Dominic, a triage nurse at our clinic. “But we get to be here to tell them that He is right here with them; we tell them that they aren’t forgotten but remembered by us and God.”

Living Water Flows

Amid our multifaceted response, clean water has been the largest need. At two sites along the beach, Samaritan’s Purse teams set up desalination systems that convert thousands of gallons of ocean water each day into pure drinking water. Long lines form from sunup to sundown every day as families flock to our water taps for water to cook, clean, and drink. We’ve produced over 96,000 gallons of water so far.

But every one of these families will grow thirsty again. That’s why chaplains from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association share the Gospel of Jesus Christ—the Living Water—with these islanders at our water points, but also at our medical clinic and distribution sites. We praise God that 23 people have accepted Christ as Saviour in the past few days!