A MASSIVE AIRLIFT & AN ARMY OF ORANGE RUSH TO THE FRONTLINES

Querido amigo,

In the weeks following Hurricane Helene, the "whomp-whomp-whomp" of helicopters echoed across the mountains of western North Carolina, reassuring desperate survivors that help and hope were on the way.

Four National Guard Chinooks, three ex-Army Blackhawks, and several private helicopters organized by Samaritan's Purse made 358 flights into 17 mountainous counties in North Carolina and Tennessee, landing at churches, schools, and fire stations to deliver tons of emergency supplies to people stranded by washed-out roads. This became the largest civilian airlift in U.S. history.

From the day Helene passed, we also had boots on the ground, including an army of orange-shirted volunteers—nearly 30,000 in just the first month—who cut trees, shoveled mud, tarped roofs, and prayed with survivors. Now that roads are opening up, we're trucking in tons of supplies. Snow has already fallen in these mountains, and residents will need our help to endure the winter.

Many are living in houses that lack heat or lights, and some have been told it may be four to 12 months before their electricity is restored. Without power to run well pumps, most of these families lack running water.

Samaritan's Purse has already given out 3,800 generators, 5,700 heaters, 13,000 blankets, and thousands of warm coats. I've flown with some of these helicopter missions, and the scope of the devastation in the mountains where I grew up is heartbreaking.

Yancey County is typical of the places that need our help. The highest mountains in eastern America funneled unimaginable floods and landslides into valley settlements.

Among the 11 lives lost in Yancey County were four members of a family from Ukraine who had fled the fighting in their homeland and found a peaceful homesite on the banks of the Toe River, in a valley that was deluged with 31 inches of rain. Anna Wiebe watched helplessly as the river swallowed up a trailer housing her bedridden mother, sister, brother-in-law, and 13-year-old nephew. Then the floods surged into her hillside home and forced her family to flee to higher ground. "It just wouldn't stop," she said.

When they went looking for her mother's trailer, nothing remained. "We cried ourselves to sleep that night," she said. Chaplains working alongside Samaritan's Purse comforted Anna as our volunteers cleaned out her house to get it ready for reconstruction.

Another valley called Little Creek became a raging river that washed out roads, bridges, and power lines. After the storm, homes along Little Creek were accessible only by a muddy homemade road that neighbors built with tractors. Samaritan's Purse brought in nine relief flights (including six deliveries by twin-rotor Army Chinooks that can carry over 10 tons). Residents estimated they needed about 50 generators, and we airlifted 52 because of the way they are packed four to a pallet. And that's exactly how many Little Creek needed! "That's God's hand on this little community," said Victoria Hensley, who coordinated relief efforts in the valley.

Stacey Randolph's house was uninhabitable after the flood, and he is living in a friend's cabin that has no power. He was thankful to receive a generator and a heater from Samaritan's Purse. "God is at work," he said. "He's on the job."

In another washed-out valley, Katrina Fox described the ordeal of living in the dark, being cut off from her job and extended family, caring for frightened children. "This is the absolute closest thing to a living hell that I have ever experienced," she said. Yet she has not lost faith: "Through it all, God is so good!"

She has seen Samaritan's Purse airlifts meet specific needs in her neighborhood—a generator for her home, vital medical supplies, satellite communications to connect Big Creek with the outside world, and a 4x4 vehicle to reach those who remain stranded. When Christians longed for a place to worship, Samaritan's Purse sent a tent to Big Creek Freewill Baptist Church to replace their flood-damaged sanctuary.

"We're a small community with a big faith," Katrina's husband, Mike, said. The church has become the heart of the community, serving neighbors who need help. Children who have been taught the parable of the Good Samaritan "are seeing the actual story come to life," said Nicole Robinson, the wife of a pastor in Big Creek.

One father described how he and his sons watched from a vehicle as their home was swept away. In the midst of the danger, he shared the Gospel with his youngest son, who prayed to receive Jesus as his Savior. "The storm took everything," the father said, "but my son found Christ." He'll never forget the day he was born again!