Families reeling from deadly floods in Kentucky find solace in God’s love and hope for the future through Samaritan’s Purse volunteer teams.
The strewn debris and trash still hanging from the barren trees in Brandt Justice’s backyard stand as stark reminders of how high the waters rose when floods ravaged his small Kentucky community last week. In the early hours of Feb. 16, the small tributary behind his home suddenly swelled and climbed to the tips of the trees.
Samaritan’s Purse volunteers have been hard at work in Pikeville, Kentucky, and the surrounding area after flood water damaged many homes.
By the time Brandt grabbed his two daughters and his elderly father, their street was underwater. Emergency responders came soon after to evacuate them by boat. Though thankful for his family’s safety, all Brandt’s cherished memories of his late mother—whose belongings were kept in the basement—seemed to vanish as the rescue boat sped away.
“She’s in a better place—I know that, but all I could think about was her when we had to leave,” said Brandt, who lost his mother to breast cancer in November 2022. She held him together during hard times in his life, and eventually led him to receive Jesus Christ as his Savior in 2015. “My mom was the backbone, the lifeblood, of our family,” he said.
Torrential rain deluged eastern Kentucky and neighboring states that night, triggering deadly floods that caused catastrophic damage. Pikeville, a hard-working, coal-mining town in the east corner of the state, saw water crest at 47 feet along the Levisa Fork riverbank. The storm claimed 12 lives in Kentucky, and thousands of residents, including the Justices, were stranded and in need of rescue.
Responding in Jesus’ Name
Within days, Samaritan’s Purse arrived at the door of the Justices’ flooded home with an army of volunteers ready to help in Jesus’ Name.
Volunteers are hard at work in Kentucky removing waterlogged belongings from homes.
As our volunteer team worked to remove soiled furniture from the home, Brandt came across his mother’s 1968 drum majorette jacket from high school and photos he thought were surely lost in the flood. Since his mother’s passing over two years ago, Brandt has taken care of his elderly father, Gary, who suffers from dementia, while also raising his two young daughters. The floods only amplified the daily pressure and stress he feels, but through our volunteers, Brandt was reminded of the God who saved him 10 years ago and of his mother’s encouragement from Scripture to keep “fighting the good fight” (1 Timothy 6:12).
One by one, Brandt visited each volunteer to say thank you.
“I had to tell them how amazing they are,” Brandt said. “It’s unbelievable the love we have felt.”
Samaritan’s Purse volunteers, along with chaplains from the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, are working in Jesus’ Name to set homeowners in flood-stricken eastern Kentucky on the path to recovery and to share God’s love with them. Our teams are working in Pikeville and surrounding communities (including Williamson, West Virginia) to remove ruined furniture and drywall, clean out mud and debris from inside homes, and salvage personal belongings as they serve as the hands and feet of Jesus Christ in these trying times.
“It’s truly special to have Samaritan’s Purse here in Pikeville,” said Pastor Keenan Darby, a pastor at First Baptist Pikeville, our base of operations while serving in the region. The church has long packed shoebox gifts through our child evangelism project, Operation Christmas Child, but now are grateful to host us even amid such a disaster.
“We live in an area that is largely lost, and many of those who do proclaim Christ do not regularly live out their faith,” Pastor Darby continued. “So having Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham team is not only meeting the physical need but now the spiritual need that was here before the floods. This helps equip the churches for even more Gospel opportunities.”
“He Will Hold Me Fast”
Samaritan’s Purse volunteers gathered at First Baptist Pikeville this past Sunday morning before going out to serve the community, but one important individual was missing in the sanctuary that day. Pamela Mullins has been a member at First Baptist for years and even helps her sister lead the church in its annual packing of Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts.
Volunteers are working out of our base of operations at First Baptist Church of Pikeville.
But because of a recent hip replacement surgery, Pamela Mullins couldn’t physically attend church services this past week. Still, she praised God from her home—even with a flooded basement.
Through tears, she sang the modern hymn “He Will Hold Me Fast” along with the congregation.
When I fear my faith will fail,
Christ will hold me fast.
Pamela never that thought she would need Samaritan’s Purse orange-shirted volunteers at her own home, but later that afternoon, more tears streamed down her face as our team gathered to pray with her after clearing out her basement. Through the unprecedented storm, she has learned that He will hold her fast.
“I can feel God’s presence here and I feel so blessed,” she said through tears. “Samaritan’s Purse has been the greatest blessing ever. The love; the help; it’s just been amazing.”
Please prayerfully consider being a volunteer with Samaritan’s Purse as the hands and feet of Jesus to weary homeowners in Kentucky, or California, where our wildfire response continues. The need is great, but our God is greater.
Teams are volunteering in Jesus’ Name, taking every opportunity to minister to and pray with hurting families in the wake of the flood.
