In partnership with Gen. Dick Cody, we provided turkeys and fixings to families still digging out after Hurricane Helene.
Felicia Honeycutt was miles from home at work when the worst of Hurricane Helene hit her community. It took three days for her to get home where she cares for an ailing husband in the Big Creek community of Yancey County, North Carolina.
Samaritan’s Purse staffer Aaron Ashoff gathers with a family after they receive a meal.
As residents enter Thanksgiving, now, more than two months into an ongoing recovery for the region, they are still uncertain how soon life will return to normal. Felicia was one of the hundreds of residents helped by Samaritan’s Purse as we delivered water, food, and generators to the area.
Felicia said she’s very thankful, even though her community is still struggling.
“This Thanksgiving I’m just thankful to be alive,” Felicia said. “And I’m thankful for family and having them all together. I’m going to have them all this year. Usually there’s one that doesn’t make it. But we’re going to have them all this year, so I’m thankful for that.”
In the days after the storm, Samaritan’s Purse conducted multiple airlifts to Big Creek and the surrounding area delivering water, food, generators, medical supplies, and satellite communication. U.S. Army General Dick Cody joined in on these operations piloting his own aircraft to help with the transport.
Gen. Cody partnered with Samaritan’s Purse this week as well, providing Thanksgiving meals to a number of families in the Big Creek area. Our teams distributed the meals out of Big Creek Freewill Baptist Church, a local congregation that we provided with a large tent so the congregation could continue to meet. Their building experienced catastrophic flooding. Residents who came for the meals also asked for prayer.
Samaritan’s Purse teams also brought meals to homes.
Blessed After the Storm
Rick Wilson, a lifelong resident of Big Creek and a deacon at the church, said the storm brought the community closer together.
“Working together has been really good for the community,” Rick said. “It’s just amazing how good they worked together.”
Rick said all that Samaritan’s Purse has done reminds him their community, cut off during the storm, hasn’t been forgotten. This includes the Thanksgiving meals donated by Gen. Cody.
From Rick’s home next to the church, he watched the airlifts come in, and this included several of General Cody’s flights.
“He was amazing. Some kind of a gentleman there,” he said. “It’s just been a big help to the community. It’s just a blessing and a big help to the whole community. People couldn’t get out. We didn’t have any way out, you know? We couldn’t get anywhere. If we hadn’t had [airlifts], it would have been bad.”
Many residents came to Big Creek Freewill Baptist Church to receive meals from Samaritan’s Purse.
Veronica Willis, another member of the church, told her hurricane story as she received turkey, rolls, sides, and pies for her family. She was 33 days without power and caring for a husband with heart problems.
She said Samaritan’s Purse supplies were critical to make it through, including the winter clothing recently delivered to the area.
“That was absolutely wonderful,” she said. “We were digging into those coats like it was Christmas time. It was amazing. I’ve never seen so much outpouring of love.”
Veronica said she was just about to go buy a turkey and start preparing her family’s meal for Thursday. The turkey dinner couldn’t have come at a better time.
“This is just an added blessing,” she said.
Samaritan’s Purse continues to work in the affected region, deploying volunteers into communities to clean out homes and property damaged in the storm. Please continue to pray for the still-hurting families facing many difficult days ahead.
