As our volunteers serve in Valdosta, Georgia, a couple receives eternal life amid Hurricane Helene’s distress.
Winds roared through Scott’s quiet neighborhood in the heart of Valdosta, Georgia, as Hurricane Helene pushed north past Florida and into the Peach State. In the dark night sky, the towering pines overhead crashed down onto his house, bursting through the ceiling as he and his wife, Terri, huddled in the bathroom.
Their home and property were crisscrossed by trees, some of which came down on their roof during Hurricane Helene.
“If you look around, many more people should be dead,” Scott said staring at the 150-foot tree that punctured his roof. On that night over a week ago, Scott rushed outside his house to check on his neighbors: next door, Andre had a tree through his rear bedroom; another fell into Victoria’s living room down the street; and a block over, more pines crashed down on homes.
Valdosta was unrecognizable the morning of Sept. 27 after Helene wreaked havoc on the town. Thousands of trees crushed homes, businesses, and power lines. Roads were impassable and vital infrastructure was down.
“I didn’t know these kinds of people existed.”
Still, Samaritan’s Purse orange-shirted volunteers arrived in Scott’s community just days later. They prayed, and then got to work clearing the scattered debris on the property—putting chainsaws to the fallen trees and tarping damaged roofs.
Large timbers seated in rain-softened soil threatened homes in Valdosta as powerful winds whipped through the area.
“I’ve never seen anything like this; I didn’t know these kinds of people existed,” Terri said about the Samaritan’s Purse volunteers.
However, something was still missing for the couple. They too wanted to experience the love and joy they saw in our volunteers. Guided by chaplains from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Scott and Terri broke down in tears and accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior as they sat on their porch.
“I felt so much relief when we were done praying,” Terri said. “We knew God was watching us on that night, because we were not too far away where the tree fell.” With a large grin, Scott added: “I’m really happy.”
Samaritan’s Purse continues its six-site response to Hurricane Helene’s devastation. We are working in North Carolina, far eastern Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. Volunteer today to serve as the hands and feet of Jesus Christ.
Scott and Terri prayed to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior during our time working on their home.
