A Samaritan’s Purse team helped a family grieving over loved ones from Ukraine who fled war and then lost their lives when Hurricane Helene washed away their home.
Nothing remained where her sister’s home once stood. No furniture, clothes, or kitchen dishes. Anna Wiebe and her husband, Ryan, stood in silence as they stared at the expanse of water that now consumed the family’s property. Neither knew what to say.
“I was numb and in disbelief. I couldn’t believe that this was happening,” she said.
“I told Ryan that they were gone. We cried ourselves to sleep that night.”
Only a few hours earlier, Anna had called her sister, Anastasia, who lived down the street. Everyone in her sister’s home was safe and sound. But now, all evidence of their existence had been swept away by the raging rapids of Hurricane Helene.
Unexpected Tragedy Strikes
Anna’s sister, mother, brother-in-law, and nephew fled the war in Ukraine two years ago and settled near Anna, Ryan, and their two teenage sons in Burnsville, North Carolina.
A Samaritan’s Purse team helped this mourning family recover belongings and remove ruined wood from their home.
Anna, who moved from Ukraine to the United States about 25 years ago, was relieved that her extended family was able to escape the war-torn country. She thought they would be safe in the beautiful and serene mountains of western North Carolina, and having them close meant that Anna could help her sister care for their mother who was sick and homebound.
On the day of the storm, about 6:30 in the morning, Anna told Anastasia she couldn’t come over to help with their mother because the river had already spilled its banks and was covering the road. Anna and Ryan’s home had never flooded, not even in the basement, and they expected the rains to soon cease—but they didn’t.
Dozens of volunteers showed up at the Wiebes’ home to help them gather belongings and remove debris from their home.
“It got worse and worse. Before we knew it, water was coming in our house,” Anna said. “I kept thinking about my Ukrainian family. I tried to call them but the phones had stopped working.”
Anna and Ryan hastily threw some things in backpacks, like wallets and important documents, and got their children out of the house and to higher ground. There was no time to lose. “We went through the woods. Trees were laying everywhere and they were falling around us,” Anna said.
They made it to Ryan’s mother’s house not far away. The boys stayed there while Ryan and Anna returned to look for Anastasia and her family. “When we went, we couldn’t see their roof or anything,” Anna said. All was water.
The Wiebes, with their two sons, and volunteers gather after their work.
They returned again later in the day, once the river had started receding and the winds had calmed. “I already knew the house would not be there,” Anna said. “I knew they were gone.”
Volunteers Offer Help, Hope
As the Wiebes grieved for Anna’s Ukrainian family, they still had to be strong for their boys, and they still had to deal with things at their house, which had taken a terrible beating during the storm.
Samaritan's Purse volunteers helped the grieving Wiebe family clean out their home and recover precious items covered in mud.
“It was like an avalanche of water came in one side of the house and went out the other. I had steps leading up here to the porch, but now I have a different entrance,” Ryan said as he showed a team of Samaritan’s Purse volunteers the gaping hole where a wall had once stood.
VOLUNTEER IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA
Ryan and Anna were relieved and grateful when our team arrived to help them in Jesus’ Name.
“This is awesome. The work the volunteers are doing is not easy,” Anna said. “I’m overwhelmed with the tragedy, but I’m also overwhelmed with the support of people.”
The river found channels through their home, first ripping off the porch then punching through side windows and walls.
Our team demonstrated God’s love to the family as they worked hard on different tasks. They filled bucket after bucket with thick mud that coated a back room. They removed damaged furniture and personal belongings and used skid steers to clear yard debris.
“A lot of hands doing the work make it lighter,” Ryan said.
Volunteers operated heavy equipment to clear debris from the yard.
With compassion and tenderness, our team carefully washed household items that the family wanted to try and salvage. They spread out the items on tarps in the yard for them to sort through because they knew it wasn’t just “stuff;” their belongings represented family memories.
“That was my dad’s,” Ryan said as he saw a volunteer washing a coffee mug that had belonged to his dad.
“She can replant that,” he said, smiling at Anna as a volunteer brought out a small plant that had survived.
Anna was delighted when she saw a team member dusting off a framed picture that her mother had cross-stitched.
Volunteers search for precious valuables that were salvageable after the floodwaters left layers of mud, some many feet thick, in homes along the South Toe.
With her Ukrainian family now gone, these mementos are even more precious.
As Ryan and Anna press forward, they were encouraged by both our volunteers and Rapid Response Team chaplains who prayed with them. They also received a study Bible in a special presentation following completion of the day’s work.
Please pray for the Wiebe family as they grieve the loss of their loved ones. Continue praying for the many families devastated by Hurricane Helene as they try to move forward. Please pray for our Samaritan’s Purse teams serving across western North Carolina.
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).
A volunteer works carefully to remove parts of a damaged wall.
