Good Samaritan Moe – Samaritan’s Purse Deployment, Part 2

And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27) 

While the Peace Corps may say theirs is the toughest job you’ll ever love, I beg to differ. I think that description belongs to Samaritan’s Purse (SP) work.

A little over a week ago, I had the privilege of suiting up, with a few others, to enter a muddy crawl space in 90-degree temps to cut plastic and extract water-soaked subfloor insulation from a storm-damaged home. Additional team members cut and removed drywall above me to gut a house of damage caused by #HurricaneIan. I loved every moment of it! The blessings were unquantifiable.   

On my first official service day, our team was deployed to a hard-hit mobile home park in Fort Myers, FL. Several members of my team had begun working in the home the day before I arrived. We hoped to complete the water-damaged extraction that morning and move to assist another needy homeowner in the afternoon. While I had seen many debris piles along the roads, this was my first chance to walk around and talk to those who had lived through the storm.   

As a relational person, I was encouraged to hear SP leaders tell us to seize every opportunity to remind homeowners and neighbors that God loves them and sent us to help. While I wanted to do the physical work, I was even more excited about being given a directive to share our Creator’s love. That’s why I’m here, I thought. Send me! It didn’t take long for God to place my first connection opportunity before me.  

While preparing to enter the crawl space, I looked over to an adjoining property and spotted a shirtless man brushing his hair while standing outside his home. I waved to him and was greeted by a friendly “Happy Monday” in return. That was enough of an invitation to walk over and introduce myself.   

Moe lived in the concrete garage of a connected mobile home. All around us stood piles of debris – along with a 4.5-foot carved bear. After introducing myself and learning Moe’s name, I commented that I loved his bear. Moe told me it wasn’t his. “It floated here,” he said, smiling.   

“What?” I replied incredulously. “Really? Were you here when the storm hit?”   

Over the next ten minutes, Moe told me his story.   

Everyone thought the storm was going to Tampa, as that’s what all the forecasts predicted. Moe had lived through minor flooding three times before, he explained. He wasn’t worried. The most his home had ever flooded previously was 18-inches. He’d be fine. He wasn’t concerned. He told me he was a veteran and had lived through worse situations.   

And then the waters came.   

When the storm surge reached Moe’s waist, he knew he needed to get himself, his cat, and his neighbors, Bo and Buck, to higher ground. The only thing higher was their landlord’s, Keith’s, mobile home with a crawl space beneath it and steps leading up. Up is good when the waters are rising. The house he was referring to is the one our team was working on.   

Moe wrapped his cat in a towel “to keep him from clawing me to death,” placed him on his shoulder, and forced his way through the increasing current to Keith’s home. After seeing his kitty safe inside, Moe returned for Bo and Buck.   

“Bo was okay,” Moe explained, “but Buck had a heart condition and weighed about 240-lbs. He told us he couldn’t make it and said we should just leave him. I wasn’t going to do that.”   

Moe tried placing his kayak’s life vest on Buck, but it wouldn’t fit. Not one to give up easily, he decided to check a boat sitting on a trailer near Keith’s home for something else to help. He found a towline inside, grabbed it, and returned for Buck.   

“Bo and I tied the rope around Buck, then pushed our way through the current and back to Keith’s house,” Moe explained. “The current was strong by then, but we were able to pull him through.”   

Moe showed me the water line in his home. The brackish floodwaters rose to 7.5-feet high – more than enough to drown cars, animals, and people – which it did.

“You saved his life,” I told Moe. “You were a true Good Samaritan.”

I asked my new friend if he knew the parable that Jesus told.   

“I may have heard it back when I sang in the choir as a youngster,” Moe laughed. “Now I’m sure you need to get back to work.”   

Sensing his desire to end our discussion, I told my new friend that we would be happy to help him if he needed us. He declined, showing me how he’d already gutted his home. I returned to my project but couldn’t stop thinking about Moe’s story.   

After our lunch break, I spotted Moe again and rushed back to speak to him. “I want to make sure you know the story of the Good Samaritan,” I implored. “Let me tell it to you.”   

Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’  

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”  

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”  

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

(Luke 10:30-37)

After paraphrasing Jesus’ parable, I explained to Moe that he, like the Good Samaritan in the story, showed great love and compassion to his neighbor – refusing to let anything happen to him and risking his own life to save Buck.   

“Like Samaritan’s Purse,” I explained as I pointed to my shirt, “God had a purpose for you being where you were at the right time to help your neighbors. God saved you so you could save others. You are a real ‘Good Samaritan,’ and I know God has great things in store for you!”   

Moe and I chatted a while longer, and when the SP chaplains arrived later, I sent them over to talk to him further. While Moe didn’t make a confession of faith during our time together, there’s no telling what seeds we planted in his heart and mind that God may convert into his eventual salvation story.   

I spoke to other neighbors that day and learned more about the trauma this community faced. A couple sitting across the street from where we worked didn’t own the house where they were sitting. Their home was destroyed. They were only resting on the porch, watching and waiting for us to complete the work in Keith’s home so they could sleep inside that night. Although we had gutted the house of its flooring, cabinetry, interior doors, and drywall up to 4-feet high, Keith’s elevated property was the only one around that still had a bed, running water, and a flushable toilet.

This couple had been living in their car with their large dog for 11 days since the storm hit. They told me they couldn’t wait to sleep in a bed again. Although I never met Keith, I know that he, too, had proved himself a Good Samaritan – not just to Moe, Bob, and Buck during the storm, but also to this husband and wife during their time of need in the weeks thereafter.

The relief work performed by Samaritan’s Purse volunteers saves homeowners tens of thousands of dollars after natural disasters. More importantly, every homeowner is loved and assisted by volunteers who are passionate about God and dedicated to His service.

Upon completion of all demolition work, homeowners receive a unique leatherbound Samaritan’s Purse copy of the Holy Scripture. We pray over homeowners when we arrive, holding hands and asking God to safeguard all those volunteering in His service.

We pray again at our work’s completion, presenting the Bible to the homeowners that God allowed us to assist. All volunteers sign this gift before the presentation – leaving a lasting reminder of God’s blessings and provision from all those whose hands served Christ in service of these homes.

This 365-degree approach doesn’t just tell homeowners they are loved. SP’s work demonstrates Christ’s love in action through the hands and feet of volunteers from all over the country. This service has the incredible power to encourage those who desperately need hope to move forward. My Good Samaritan, Moe, made a life-changing difference to his neighbors, Bo and Buck. Keith was doing the same. And by following God’s direction, He allowed me to share love, compassion, and grace with a hurting community for His glory.

All it takes is a willing heart to make an eternal difference in the world. We are surrounded by neighbors who need to feel Christ’s love. I can’t wait to do so again!  

Join Good Samaritan Moe and Samaritan’s Purse and contribute to this God-ordained work by following this link. I can attest firsthand to the difference this group is making by bringing help and hope to those in need.