Hands, Feet, and Heart:
Rebuilding Lives After Hurricane Helene
Written by: Dennis Ritter of Trinity, Kutztown
On Saturday, March 15, 2025, 7 members of the congregation and 2 community members left Trinity's parking lot to travel to western North Carolina to help with the region's recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Helene last fall. The congregation's mission team partnered with Lutheran Disaster Response Carolinas and stayed at Camp Lutheridge in Arden, NC.
Our team worked with the Housing Assistance Corp., a local organization that is similar in the work it does to Habitat for Humanity. However, in light of the damage caused by Hurricane Helene, it has begun to work with families to rebuild their homes and lives. Luke, from HAC, was our supervisor and provided valuable support for our team as we helped Anne and Frank, a mixed race, senior couple, be able to return to their home that had been damaged when 2 trees fell on it nearly injuring and/or killing them. They were currently living in a trailer situated on their front lawn.
When we arrived the exterior largely had been repaired, so it was our task to restore a powder room, 2 bedrooms, a screened-in porch, replace the rear rain gutter system and clean up debris from around the house. The team worked diligently and its members took time to listen to Anne and Frank's stories, not only of their harrowing escape during the storm, but also of their lives and the challenges they have faced and are facing. Currently, Frank is battling stage 4 Lymphoma.
In addition to helping Anne and Frank rebuild their home and their lives, on our final day in western NC, a small group went to remove brush from another home damaged in the storm and the other members of our team went to look at a ceiling repair. Unfortunately that group was unable to fix the ceiling due the unexpected discovery of electrical heating wires in the ceiling of the home.
The team returned home from its mission trip tired but lifted up in spirit at having been able to be the hands, feet and heart of God for individuals who had suffered so much.
As we looked back on our experience, the scale of devastation became even more real to us.
We saw so much damage and destruction. Not only was the region hit with Hurricane Helene's high winds and rain, but prior to its arrival the area received 10 or more inches of rain that caused extensive flooding. Our LDR Carolinas liaison, Amy, told us at our welcome briefing that the area had never experienced anything like it before and residents were totally unprepared for what occurred.
She reminded us that what happened there was not an act of God but an act of nature and that God has been present with the residents there before, through and after the storm, as God is with us all the time. Finally, she reminded us that even in the midst of all of the destruction that still remained and the lives still in upheaval we were on Holy Ground, blessed by God's presence, grace and love.
God was present in our daily work, interactions with the people we encountered there and through our growth as a team and its members many gifts and willingness to do what was needed. We also experienced God's presence in our devotional times at the beginning and closing of each day, the personal sharing that took place in those times and around the table as we ate, talked and laughed together.
For those of us who were able to participate it strengthened our faith and helped us to think differently about how and where God is at work in the midst of disasters. For some in our group this was the 30th such trip that they have been on.
In the end, this mission trip was a living testament to what it means to love, heal, and engage like Jesus. The team didn’t just rebuild homes; we helped rebuild lives, offering hope and compassion to a couple who had been through so much. The experience was not just about physical labor but also about the spiritual transformation that comes from serving others in the name of Christ.
Thank you, Trinity, for your story
Trinity, Kutztown
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