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Hi Lisa,
When I traveled to northwestern North Carolina, the sights and the sounds—even the smells—were just absolutely overwhelming. I’ve been doing this for 21 years—but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a complex emergency. The communications systems were non-functioning and other basic infrastructure of roads, water, and electric systems collapsed. The extreme topography made transportation challenging with many washed out bridges. Amid all this, people were lending a hand to help their neighbors the best they could.
We were called in and invited in by the local community to help open the roads with skid steers and chainsaws. But 95% of our work is the long-term recovery—and that will require many hands, working with all their might.
I want to share with you a glimpse of the hands I saw in North Carolina where Hurricane Helene dumped 20-30 inches of rain in the already-soaked mountainside.
I held a woman’s hand and prayed with her as she recounted her harrowing experience of losing her 20-year-old son in a motorcycle accident the night before the storm hit. She and her husband were stranded and had trouble communicating the news to their relatives. Tear stained hands.
I siphoned gas out of my large fuel tank and gave a couple some precious gas to continue their trip (shortage of gas is often the second disaster after a major storm). Noxious-smelling hands.
These hands (and fingers!) typed many a message alerting the outside world of our needs and progress as volunteers arrived to begin clearing debris from the road and provide critical access. These hands at times were thrown to the sky in exasperation numerous times, only to observe God at work.
I am reminded of the verse: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.”
—Ecclesiastes 9:10
May we be encouraged to continue to do God’s work.
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