Life.Church and Partners Respond to COVID-19 in Italy

Serving Italy through Samaritan’s Purse Mobile Hospital

Overview

Life.Church checked in with Kelly Sites, a nursing supervisor for Samaritan’s Purse, to hear how the ministry’s mobile field hospital is caring for COVID-19 patients in northern Italy. Kelly described the grim on-the-ground reality, the hospital’s unique capabilities, and the critical role Life.Church generosity and ongoing prayer play in sustaining the work.

Context

• COVID-19 has overwhelmed Italy’s public health system; entire hospitals have been converted to COVID care.
• Samaritan’s Purse answered an official call for help and deployed its world-class mobile hospital.
• Life.Church is one of the organization’s global relief partners.

Themes

1. What the Team Found on Arrival

• Landed around 7 p.m.; roads were empty—“like a ghost town.”
• Local staff exhausted and understaffed; many healthcare workers infected.

2. Field Hospital Capacity & Care

• 20 tents housing 68 patient beds.
• 10 ICU beds equipped with ventilators—meeting a major shortage.
• Staff of about 30 medical professionals working 24/7.
• Story: A local clinic with 96 COVID patients had only two healthy staff left; Samaritan’s Purse treated the sick nurse and doctor—yesterday the nurse was well enough to walk home.

3. Why and How Samaritan’s Purse Deploys

• Three triggers:
  1. Formal invitation or “cry for help” from the affected country.
  2. Specific requests from the World Health Organization.
  3. A need so great it overwhelms the local system.

4. Ministry Beyond Medicine

• Continuous presence allows staff to “share hope and pray” with patients.
• On-site pastors offer Bibles to anyone interested.

5. Partnership with Life.Church

• Financial and prayer support from Life.Church enables rapid deployment.
• Kelly: “We cannot do this without you, so we’re a team.”

6. How the Church Family Can Help

• Primary request: prayer for patients, medical team, and the people of Italy.
• Ongoing challenge: continue “to be the church where you are—find ways to reach out.”

Key Truths

• Strategic partnership lets local churches make a global impact during crises.
• Meeting physical needs opens doors for spiritual hope.
• Prayer is essential support for frontline workers and patients.
• The Body of Christ functions best when each part—local or global—serves together.

Response

• Pray daily for Italian patients, healthcare workers, and communities.
• Lift up strength, protection, and endurance for the Samaritan’s Purse team.
• Keep giving generously so relief efforts can launch quickly.
• Look for concrete ways to serve people in your own city during the pandemic.

Closing

Life.Church reminded viewers that their generosity is actively saving lives and pointing people to Christ far beyond their own cities. By standing with partners like Samaritan’s Purse, the church is fulfilling its mission “to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ,” even on the frontlines of Italy’s hardest-hit regions.

Resources

• Samaritan’s Purse (mobile field hospital and global relief partner)