Sharing God's Love in Word and Deed
In the midst of Hurricane Helene, Barbara Douglas had to evacuate when four feet of water swept through her home in Spruce Pine.
Within a few weeks, volunteers had her home mudded out and began the process of removing everything so the rebuild could begin. New walls and flooring. New electrical and plumbing work. Everything was replaced. But one of the things Barbara said she’ll remember the most is that “someone took the time to simply sit down with me, to hear my story and then they cried with me.”
Everyone has a place in the reconstruction process. This summer, students with Deep Impact served at several of Baptists on Mission’s rebuild centers. Each week, all across western North Carolina, hundreds of volunteers continue helping families restore their homes and lives.
Ever since Hurricane Sandy in 2012, teams from Ebenezer Baptist Church in Charlotte have answered the call of serving through disaster response. Recently, a group of first-time volunteers got their first taste of being on mission when they signed up to work at the Spruce Pine Rebuild Center. It turned out to be an experience that will stay with them for a long time. Here’s a sampling of what some of the volunteers had to say afterward.
“Once you get started and you see the things you thought you’d never be able to do. With a little guidance, you find out you can do it. And even if you can only do a little bit, your little bit helps the whole project.”
— Mary and Maurice Cottman
“We’re here to give back hope, to encourage and just to give them a kind word and let them know that they’re not by themselves. So if you’re 16 to 100, if you can move, if you can smile, if you have breath, you can serve.”
— Deborah Hayes
“I’ve done other church work, but this is my first mission trip. It’s been rejuvenating and it’s been so rewarding because I like to give back.”
— Regina Echols
“God wants us to help the poor, the weak and unfortunate, and I think that’s the least we can do. Everyone should at least do it once because once you start, you’ll never want to stop. Once you get your hands and your feet dirty and help others, I guarantee it’ll be a life changing experience.”
— Keith Hagins
“This is my first experience with construction, and I’ve learned how to do different things. It’s always good to give back, to know you’re making an impact. It makes you feel good to be able to make a difference in someone else’s life.”
— Monique Myers
“You can spend your time, efforts and the gifts that God has given you to do a lot of things, but there’s nothing better than being the hands and feet of Jesus and helping someone else.”
— Maurice Cottman