A couple gives thanks for a new home from Samaritan’s Purse and celebrates God's provision as communities continue to rebuild after Hurricane Helene.
The mountains of North Carolina still bear the scars of Hurricane Helene more than a year later. The bare forests of winter make the scars more visible. Downed trees, cratered mountainsides, and homes tattered or still buried in the debris flows and flooding of October 2024.
Scott and Meta stand outside their new home, grateful for a fresh start after Hurricane Helene destroyed everything they had planned for retirement.
That’s when Scott and Meta lost their home, in the blink of an eye, to a landslide. It had been their plan for retirement. They’d intended to spend the rest of their lives there and then it was all gone in an instant.
And the landslide didn’t just demolish their house. It also rendered the property unsuitable for any chance of rebuilding. After months of searching, though, Scott and Meta were able to find a new property and Samaritan’s Purse started helping them rebuild.
The remains of Scott and Meta’s former home still lie in the woods, a stark reminder of the landslide that took everything in an instant.
“God made a way where we didn’t see the way,” said Luther Harrison, Vice President of U.S. Rebuild at Samaritan’s Purse. “Now here we are today, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, with their friends and family celebrating a new home. There is no greater time to dedicate a home.”
Clinging to Faith When All Feels Lost
As Scott and Meta were handed their keys, a Samaritan’s Purse staff member pointed out how they serve as a reminder of God’s provision. The ridges represent the peaks and valleys we walk through in life. The flat edge represents Jesus, the unwavering foundation in our lives.
Family, friends, volunteers, and staff celebrate the couple’s new home and thank God for His provision.
Scott and Meta shared how God has strengthened their faith and encouraged them, reminding them through Proverbs that even our best laid plans can’t compete with what the Lord has in store: “A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).
As the couple joined family and friends on a tour of their new home, they praised God for how He has provided for them over the last year.
The first sounds to fill the home are of laughter and fellowship in celebration of God’s faithfulness.
“When you think you’ve lost everything you worked years for, all gone in one fell swoop, and now it’s all restored, it’s overwhelming,” Meta said. Scott added: “Always have hope. Always have faith. We kept our faith because it’s all we had.”
Building a Christmas to Remember
Rebuild volunteers from all over the country worked tirelessly for months in the region—through holidays, logistical challenges, and weather delays—for the opportunity to welcome home residents like Scott and Meta just in time for Christmas. For their home alone, more than 100 volunteers dedicated their time and labor to pour their love into the couple’s house.
A picture book assembled by the team shows some of the scores of volunteers who helped build the home.
Luther Harrison says this is the secret ingredient of Samaritan’s Purse.
“This home will last them for many years to come while they’re here on this earth,” he said. “It’s built on a cornerstone that will hold this foundation and that foundation is Jesus Christ. So, we give a gift this year to them, but look at the gift Christ gave to us. He came to this earth and He paid a price for us. It’s a free gift, just like this house is a free gift to this family.”
Samaritan’s Purse U.S. Rebuild Vice President Luther Harrison greets Scott and Meta as friends and volunteers gather to celebrate what God has rebuilt after loss.
For more than a year, Scott and Meta would drive past the remnants of the home they lost, still lying flattened in the woods where Helene left it. It was a regular reminder of everything they’d lost. Now, though, they are grateful to God for the hope at the end of that story. As they celebrate the new roof over their heads, they also give thanks to God for their eternal home with Him. No Christmas gift—not even a new home—can compare with the ultimate gift of their Savior.
“To think back about the whole process and everything that God put in place to have it happen. It is truly a miracle,” Meta said. “It’s the best Christmas ever. We are blessed.”
As their home is dedicated, it is lifted up in prayer by the the team and loved ones.
