We are providing campers to aid families displaced by Hurricane Helene as our rebuild program ramps up.
Howard and Lisa Ray’s mobile home was torn from its fastenings as several inches of water turned into a raging torrent in a matter of minutes, when Hurricane Helene swept through their Yancey County property in late September. Everything went by in a flash. Their home was bobbing through newly-formed rapids, and they surged forward more than 400 yards amid trees, boulders, and large propane tanks, some of which exploded.
Our staff encourage the Rays as they welcome them to their new home.
Next, they were pulled through a fissure in the wall and found themselves gripping barbed wire near a river bank, desperately holding onto anything that would keep them from being washed away. They then crawled to land exhausted but miraculously alive.
Howard was well-acquainted with swift water rescues as an emergency first responder but had never experienced it as a victim and survivor. And he’d certainly never seen anything so violent as the storm that left him and Lisa fighting for their lives.
“Everything we’d worked for was swept away in seconds,” said Howard, who’d spent the hours before watching the water rise. “I’m a firefighter so I was checking the roads for flood areas. Checking on neighbors.”
Samaritan’s Purse has been working in Yancey and surrounding counties since Hurricane Helene churned through western North Carolina and parts of east Tennessee, causing cataclysmic flood damage in southern Appalachia. Our relief efforts have now transitioned into a long-term rebuild program helping families move into homes again.
On New Year’s Eve we provided the Rays with a camper large enough to live in for many months as they await their home to be replaced. We will provide hundreds of manufactured and stick-built homes as part of our rebuild program in the region. The program will also include home repairs.
We praise God that the Rays and a number of other families will begin the new year in warm mobile homes they can call their own. The Rays said they thank God for protecting them and that their children were safe and dry spending the night at friends’ homes when the storm hit.
It would be five days before all the family was reunited. The couple lost family and friends to the flooding. Howard and Lisa said the outpouring of love from churches and volunteers has been overwhelming.
“It’s been a blessing. All you guys have been a blessing,” Howard said. “I’ve seen a lot of orange shirts, blue shirts, everything. You guys are doing an amazing job. That’s for sure. A really amazing job. We’ve seen God at work. We know He’s got it all worked out.”
The Rays now will have a place of their own as they await a new home to be built on their property.
Lisa described the incredible generosity of God’s people to provide for her family.
“My kids won’t need any new clothes for a long time,” she said. “Through our church and all the donations we’ve had everything we need. God has been faithful. He’s been really, really faithful.”
Samaritan’s Purse responded after Hurricane Helene ravaged across a broad expanse from Florida to Georgia and into the mountains of western North Carolina and far eastern Tennessee. Many communities were decimated by flooding and landslides.
For weeks after the storm, we coordinated hundreds of relief flights by helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft to assist cut-off communities in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. We also used ground transportation to deliver critically needed items, including generators, cold weather clothing, and other items. During our multi-county relief response in the fall, thousands of volunteers helped clean out homes in the region. More than 350 residents received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior during conversations with Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains and our volunteers. North American Ministries teams and Disaster Assistance Response Teams continue to work in Buncombe County relief efforts as well as the surrounding areas.
As our rebuild efforts ramp up, we will also assist area churches with repair and the rebuilding of their properties.
Please continue to pray for this suffering and grieving region that God would work in hearts and families. As they continue to recover from Hurricane Helene, we pray they would build on a firm foundation in Jesus Christ.
