Soon after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck in Turkey and Syria on February 6, Samaritan's Purse flew a hospital, medical personnel, and other staff to Turkey to begin mending wounds.
"The devastation has been immense, including damage to the infrastructure of the hospital system here," reports Samaritan's Purse spokeswoman Melanie Wubs, who is in Ankara. "We are here on the ministry of health to set up and run our emergency field hospital to be able to provide acute care services here in the Antakya region," which is the biblical Antioch.
She also describes the situation as one that would make people in America appreciate their 9-5 jobs.
"We are seeing patients who have suffered initial injuries in the earthquake -- broken bones, wounds -- and also dealing with just regular healthcare issues here now that there's no hospital system for them to come to," Wubs details. "The staff are holding up. I'm not going to lie; it's been very challenging. The days are long, the nights are very, very cold, and they're working tirelessly around the clock to take care of the people here."
She is asking that people pray primarily for the victims of the earthquake and also for the staff as the long hours wear on them.
