Hurricane Helene: short term mission to North Carolina

My middle son, Keenan, and I traveled to North Carolina in October to help with Hurricane Helene recover efforts. We went on this short term mission trip through an organization called, Reach Global, which is the crisis response group within EFCA's international missionary program. We were based in the town of Hendersonville, just south of Asheville, an area that was hit pretty hard.

We got to work on a crew with men from south Texas, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. There were retirees, salesmen, pastors, engineers and students in our group... We cleared trees with chainsaws, gutted basements, hauled junk and moved furniture...and there’s so much more to do. We barely made dent in the devastation, but we did make an impact with the people.

Indeed, the most meaningful work we did was the time we spent engaging with the people. Hearing their stories, showing compassion and praying with them. They were so thankful to receive help. And we were blessed to be there to help.

One thing that I learned..flood recovery is now a full time job for these people. Life will not return to anything close to normal for a long time. Many families are homeless. Living out of cars and hotels. Trying to figure out insurance. The process will take months. And these are the lucky ones.

We heard horror stories about what happened, and what's happening in the mountains. Please keep all these people in your prayers. They are so easily forgotten, even by people who live nearby. Stores and schools are open. Football practice is happening. Church services are on time. Average folk are going on with their lives, naturally, even as their neighbors are struggling.

We arrived in NC with a carload of blankets and food donated by our church in Indianapolis. That stuff was added to mountains of other donations being received daily. Hendersonville Presbyterian has become a rescue distribution center. And not just HPC, many other churches are involved in relief efforts.

The local church is working hard to provide supplies and food, but biggest group of church volunteers are retired people who don’t always have the energy and strength to sustain long term efforts. They need more able bodies, but few have enough slack in their schedules to take time off from work or caring for their own families.

Please note it's not too late for you to join the efforts. If you can make time, then you can serve. Reach Global will be on site for one to two years in Asheville, and has other sites in other states too. And they all need volunteers to come help with the recovery work. So grab your kids or co-workers and plan a trip.

In contrast to the devastation we saw in town, the drive home through the mountains was glorious. Deep blue skies, radiant fall foliage shimmering in the spotlight of the sun. God’s creation is majestic and awe inspiring...but then we'd descend into a valley and see a small town wiped out by floods. Such a paradox.

Finally, I have to say how special it was to see my 20 year old son jump into the situation and work / serve. I’m so proud of him. And we had 18 hours (down and back) in the car to talk like adults, and play music, etc. It was a right of passage. A coming of age moment. I hope to go back down with my other boys maybe later this year or early 2025.

If you'd like to learn more, or sign up to go, here's a link: https://lnkd.in/gptrQzcg (https://lnkd.in/gptrQzcg)