Families in Savannah are trusting God in the aftermath of a devastating storm.
Eva was determined to make it home to her children and her mother, even if it meant boating down the flooded streets of their neighborhood in Savannah, Georgia. She and her husband, Gregory, had been in New York to attend the funeral of Gregory’s brother when neighbors began sending them updates about threatening floodwaters.
They were shocked, as everything seemed just fine when they left. Tropical Storm Debby had come and gone—they thought they were in the clear. But Debby had dumped a lot of rain, and in the days following its initial strike, the Ogeechee River had slowly and silently been rising until it eventually overflowed its banks.
The couple arrived home from New York about 2 a.m. and were anxious to check on their family and home. So, they met one of Gregory’s friends in a nearby grocery store parking lot where they left their car and got into his boat.
Volunteers haul waterlogged carpet, insulation, and drywall into a dumpster outside of Eva’s home.
“We didn’t even know how to use the thing,” Eva said. “The motor didn’t work and we only had one paddle. We came floating up the street. We could only see the very top of the stop sign,” she said as she pointed to the end of the road.
They found the children and Eva’s mom upstairs, above the flooding, and they were safe and well. The family had to use the boat for the next few days to get around town as they waited for the water to recede. The floodwaters had been gone less than 24 hours when a Samaritan’s Purse assessment team was on their doorstep.
Eva connects with a Samaritan’s Purse volunteer while a team worked to clean up her home.
“I had just been reading a post on Facebook about Samaritan’s Purse. Within five minutes after that, you knocked on the door. I didn’t even get a chance to call for help. I thought, ‘Praise God!’”
The entire lower level of the home where most of the bedrooms were located had flooded. Samaritan’s Purse volunteers worked hard for two days and removed damaged furniture, personal belongings, drywall, and flooring.
“Who knows how long all of that would have sat there before we could have gotten to it,” Eva said. “You can only do things but so fast, but then the mold sets in.”
Eva said that while the storm has caused many emotions that often “come in waves,” the Samaritan’s Purse volunteers gave her hope to know that “there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”
New Life in Christ
The flood isn’t the only trial to come Eva’s way in recent months. She’s struggled with a hip replacement, degenerative bone disease, and other health issues as well as the challenge of finding a new job after retiring from 20 years in the Army. Gregory is also retired from the Army.
“The kids are so used to seeing me sick. But they also see me still doing what I have to do,” she said.
We praise God that Eva and Gregory can now rely on God’s strength to get them through tough times. They both prayed to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior through the witness and testimony of our volunteers and Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains.
Eva prayed with Billy Graham Rapid Response team chaplains to receive Christ as her Lord and Savior.
“Sometimes you have angels that just come knocking on your door and tell you how to be saved. We were blessed,” Eva said. “We opened our hearts and minds to something new.”
A Fresh Start
In a neighborhood only a few minutes away from Eva’s, Samaritan’s Purse teams spread out and served hurting homeowners who had also been waiting for days for water to recede.
Dipyanti and her husband, Hardik, didn’t want to leave their home. “We evacuated my in-laws and my son first to a hotel so they could stay safe. My husband and I stayed to try and save whatever we could from the house. We moved things to the top floor and put sandbags everywhere,” she said.
A volunteer brings damaged belongings from the home of Dipyanti and Hardik to the driveway.
They kept waiting for the water to stop threatening their neighborhood—but it didn’t. The couple decided to join their family at the hotel, but they left in such a haste that they only grabbed a few clothing items.
The next day, they desperately needed to return home to gather important items such as medications. A neighbor loaned them a kayak so they could get back and forth from the hotel. “It was heartbreaking,” Dipyanti said when she realized the water was still high enough that they couldn’t use the car.
They came home to find water covering the home’s first level, and snakes and dead fish in the driveway.
Samaritan’s Purse teams hauled many wheelbarrows full of debris to the curb in Savannah, Georgia.
Dipyanti knew it was important for her to be a calming presence and support for her husband, as he has high blood pressure and heart arrhythmia that is aggravated by stress. But she also knew that it would be difficult to do all the work required in their home once they were able to safely return from the hotel.
She was thrilled when she learned that Samaritan’s Purse volunteers were going to come to their house and remove waterlogged personal belongings, carpet, flooring, and drywall. They also sprayed to prevent mold growth.
“I felt relieved,” she said. “I don’t know them—but they are here helping us. I really want to thank all the people who helped us in this situation.”
Every homeowner we serve receives a Bible signed by all the volunteers who worked on their home. When our team gave the Bible to Dipyanti and Hardik, they shared the eternal hope of Jesus Christ.
Dipyanti and Hardik receive a Bible signed by the Samaritan’s Purse volunteers who worked on their home.
When the team leader asked if they wanted to pray and receive salvation, Hardik smiled and immediately said yes.
Both Hardik and Dipyanti asked Jesus to be their Lord and Savior. Although neither has ever read the Bible, they said that will soon change.
“We’re going to read it,” Hardik said. “We’re definitely going to read it.”
