Samaritan’s Purse volunteers shine God’s love to hurting homeowners ravaged by Hurricane Helene in Buncombe County, North Carolina.
Among the ruined items Michael Dixon pulled out of his dresser—soaked certificates, destroyed books, precious photos—he discovered a small keychain. Holding it up to the sunlight streaming through his window, a smile crept onto his face.
“Sevierville. 1991. Howard’s restaurant. Our honeymoon,” he said, gazing at the two-inch photo of him and his wife, Nancy, sealed in plastic and unscathed by Helene’s wrath.
He tossed it into a small box of keepsakes. This box didn’t fill quickly, but the three trash bags to his right overflowed as he scoured his bedroom. Once treasured items mingled with mold and mud, discarded alongside the heap of furniture on the curb.
“When each room is emptied, a part of your heart is emptied,” he said.
Michael Dixon, far left, picks through the few valuables in his bedroom that endured Hurricane Helene.
Everyone along this avenue in Swannanoa, North Carolina, saw floodwaters rise above their gutters when Hurricane Helene unleashed torrential rain that overflowed the nearby river. The Dixons fled when water was only knee-high. They went to an apartment complex on higher ground, but could not fathom the damage that would soon occur.
“We grabbed the dog and cat and left,” Nancy explained. “But we didn’t grab anything else because we knew we’d be back home soon.”
Fifteen minutes later, she received a photo of their home submerged in water from a neighbor stranded on the roof.
This photo provided by the Dixons shows their home, the left rooftop, underwater. Their neighbors across the street were rescued shortly after capturing this picture.
When Michael returned a day later, reality set in.
“Disbelief,” Michael said about the first time he saw his home after the storm. “When we woke up and left at three o’clock that morning, we didn’t know that was the last time we’d be in this house.” He grabbed Nancy as she began to cry. “She’s an immaculate housekeeper, and now here’s everything in a pile of trash.”
Help Arrives in Orange
As they tried to sort through the pieces of their lives, the Dixons were met by a sea of orange at their front door. A group of young men from a church near Clemson, South Carolina; a man from Texas; a local family; friends of the Dixons; and others donned orange shirts as Samaritan’s Purse volunteers.
These strangers united together to help the Dixons clear out their ruined furniture while also helping preserve valuable items. They also shoveled out the cake of mud in the home and removed soiled drywall and flooring.
Volunteers carefully remove belongings from the Dixons' home. They have lived in this house since they moved to Swannanoa shortly after their marriage over 30 years ago.
“It means everything,” Michael said of the volunteers. “They didn’t have to do this. They could have stayed home”—he pushed his finger into his chest as tears started to well—”but they chose to help me.”
Michael loved everything about his community. As deputy sheriff for 12 years, these streets were his.
“These are my people. These are my streets,” he said. “And now my neighbors are gone. I know they’re safe, but I’ll never live next to them again. It’s gone.”
Still, Samaritan’s Purse provided the Dixons with unexpected hope amid the storm, presenting them with a special Billy Graham Study Bible and praying over them together.
Samaritan’s Purse volunteers gathered around the Dixons after work on their home was finished, providing prayer and encouragement for the long road to recovery ahead.
Providing Water and Spreading Hope
Across the road and down a way—among the billowing dust and ravaged businesses—the Samaritan’s Purse water filtration system stands as a beacon of hope and relief for weary homeowners across Buncombe County.
As it pumps out 50,000 liters of clean water daily, Wayne Fowler, a Samaritan’s Purse DART member and a Billy Graham Rapid Response chaplain, combines his ministries to reach each individual as he mans the station.
“This is the village water hole, and people need the Gospel,” said Fowler, leaning over to fill a jug for a young mom. He carried the water to her trunk, prayed for her, and said goodbye with a hug as she wept. “The need is overwhelming,” he said as he grabbed an empty jug for the next person in line.
Fowler, left, prays with an individual at the Samaritan’s Purse water filtration site in Swannanoa, North Carolina.
Pray for the millions of families still reeling from Hurricane Helene. As our six-site response continues throughout the Southeast (three in North Carolina, two in Florida, and one in Georgia), pray that our volunteers would show the love and hope of Jesus Christ to hurting homeowners. Samaritan’s Purse also has active storm responses to Hurricanes Francine (Louisiana) and Milton (Florida), one site each. More than 1,300 homeowners have been helped so far between these eight relief bases as of Oct. 14.
We have also coordinated a massive airlift relief response in the wake of Hurricane Helene, completing more than 200 helicopter and fixed-wing missions to deliver emergency supplies in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Through the skies, we have delivered food, water, fuel, generators, heaters, solar lights, blankets, and Starlink systems to rural fire stations, churches, and communities cut off by the storm. Samaritan’s Purse is also delivering relief to remote areas by vehicle. Finally, our overall Helene response has included supplying oxygen to those without power and providing water to those in need.
Members of Radiant Church in Arden, North Carolina, pack food and essential supplies such as blankets and solar lights provided by Samaritan's Purse to distribute to residents of Buncombe County and surrounding areas affected by Helene's destruction.
The need is great, but our God is greater; He is working in wonderful ways. We praise the Lord that, through these eight responses, we have seen 145 people come to faith in Jesus Christ as of Oct. 14.
