Stories that Bring Us to Prayer

Our international teams in eight cities around the world bring our mission to life. They walk “hand-in-hand” with people living in settlements next to garbage dumps, not just helping them break out of poverty but also sharing their stories to keep us all connected.

Every week, our team members record notes from about 60 one-on-one conversations they have with our Samaritan scholars and their family members. These notes range from victorious to heartbreaking, and include everything in between.

In just the last few weeks, I read about:

• Absalat, 21, in Ethiopia, who learned recently that she was born with an undetected hole in her heart and desperately needed a surgery her family couldn’t possibly afford.
• Nancy, 16, in Kenya, who is being targeted by a gang of sexual predators tormenting girls in her community.
• Sarandi, 15, in Jamaica, who just discovered the kidney pain that she has been struggling with is being caused by a cancerous tumor.
• Tena, 19, whose landlord removed the roof and the doors off of the room they had been living in to demand a rent payment twice as high as the one they were paying.

“We don’t fall asleep. There are burglars lurking outside. It has been so scary, even to walk past the area during the daytime,” said an exhausted Tena, with tears.

Tena with her guardian last week.

When there are funds to help, we do. Absalat is getting that much-needed surgery, thanks to a board member who stepped in to help.

Other times, we can’t fix everything. Circumstances often seem overwhelming. In those moments, I’m reminded of what I can do.

In the Bible, when the early church faced extreme hardships, including Peter’s imprisonment before his miraculous escape (Acts 12), they gathered to pray. 

In that spirit, I’m inviting you to join our international team leaders and me for 15 minutes every Tuesday morning at 8:00 Eastern Time to connect, give thanks, and pray for our scholars.

If you would like to join us, email communications@intsam.org and I’ll send you a calendar invitation. 

This invitation is open to any friend of International Samaritan who would like to join us at any time. It does not need to be this Tuesday or every Tuesday. But if you would like to join us in corporate prayer, I would love to give you an opportunity to do so. 

Joining us for prayer is one more way you can walk hand-in-hand with our scholarship students and their families, even from a distance.

Mike Tenbusch, President

Mike joined International Samaritan in 2018 after two decades of leading social change in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan. He’s a University of Michigan Law grad. He and his wife, Maritza, are the authors of A Better Life: 8 Life Changing Habits to Enjoy the Greatest Adventure on Earth. 

International Samaritan is a Christ-centered organization built on Catholic Social Teaching. Our mission is to walk hand-in-hand with people who live and work in the garbage dumps of developing nations to help them break out of poverty.

We support students with education from kindergarten through college, and we’re currently supporting nearly 1,000 scholars in Central America, the Caribbean, and East Africa.

Would your church or school group like to partner with us? Learn about our Learn, Serve, Grow program.

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