Sharing God's Love in Word and Deed
There’s a sound echoing across the mountains of western North Carolina these days. The sound of hammers, backhoes, nail guns and saws. It’s the unmistakable sound of hope after the storm.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene it quickly became apparent that a long-term rebuilding effort would be needed, much like in eastern North Carolina, where three rebuild centers were established after Hurricane Florence in 2018.
Throughout western North Carolina, Baptists on Mission is breathing new life into several facilities throughout the region: a retired elementary school, two closed retirement centers, and a former roofing company.
When God opened the door to purchase and renovate the former Deyton Elementary School in Spruce Pine, it proved to be an ideal location for a rebuild center. Housing and feeding up to 200 volunteers, the center allows teams to work across multiple counties as we continue restoring existing homes and begin building
new houses for families whose property was too damaged to repair.
Having grown up in Spruce Pine, Sid and Linda Pitman understand the situation first hand.
“We need your help,” Linda said. “People here are way over their heads and need someone to come alongside and lend a hand. This is a wonderful opportunity to be Jesus to people.”
Projects at all the rebuild centers range from small repairs to complete rehabs, which includes tearing out flooring, removing water-damaged sheetrock, and replacing electrical and plumbing systems.
When more than 8 feet of water rushed through their home, the thought of where to even start could have been overwhelming for Stephanie McCellan and her family. But over the next few months, disaster relief volunteers and coworkers from her husband’s office restored everything, including the new kitchen she had always dreamt of.
One of Stephanie’s favorite spaces in her home is a “wall of gratitude.” She can tell you stories about each photograph and the volunteers, many of whom made multiple trips to help them rebuild their lives. Teams came from Colorado. A couple drove three days from Wyoming. And there were all of those people in yellow shirts.
“You know, when I think about those yellow shirts, they’re people who are willing to literally get down on their hands and knees, to do God’s work in the grossest of situations,” Stephanie said. “My house, smelling like all the things that it smelled like, and they still went inside.”
She remembers one volunteer in particular. “Mr. Tom stood by my side especially on that first day when we were hauling everything out, because he knew I’d need someone to lean on.”
Reflecting on Psalm 51, Stephanie said, “David asked God to ‘restore unto me the joy of my salvation.’ And you know, God can do that for us. He restored our physical home, but He also restored our spirit.”
After handing over the family construction business to their children, Cal and Robin Petticrew signed on to oversee day-to-day operations at the East Flat Rock Rebuild Center. As with all the other centers, East Flat Rock continues restoring homes damaged by the storm and preparing to begin construction on new ones.
When Hurricane Helene finally moved out of North Carolina, June Frazier’s entire neighborhood was under water. The only visible parts were rooftops. She was temporarily living out of state when Lewis Price, rebuild coordinator at the center, called to say Baptists on Mission could repair her home.
Over the next few months, volunteer teams replaced flooring, cabinets, insulation and sheetrock. Over emails and texts, Lewis and June discussed paint colors and other options. They used photographs to restore the home as closely as possible to its original design.
Six months later, June returned to North Carolina — back to the home she loves and to a new chapter. “The joy for me was to be able to see her walk in this house and just become flooded with emotion,” Lewis said.
June couldn’t believe it, standing in her newly refurbished kitchen. “How do you thank total strangers that you’ve never met, who gave up so much of their lives to come help?” June said. “Where do I even begin?”
In Burnsville, a former assisted living facility has been transformed into a rebuild center overseen by Keith Ashe and his team.
God shows up every day in Burnsville, from providing an architect who offered his services free of charge right when they needed it, to supplies arriving just in time so they continue to restore existing structures.
Now volunteers in Burnsville have started building two brand new homes.
“We’re rebuilding a community,” Keith said. “I want to be where God is working, and I experience it every day, whether it’s through the homeowners or through the volunteers.”
Materials to refurbish existing homes and build new structures from the ground up are being provided through financial assistance from the N.C. state legislature, foundations, churches and individuals.
With more than 73,000 homes damaged in western North Carolina by Helene, the needs can appear overwhelming. But with God’s help and the ongoing work of volunteers, we will continue restoring stability and returning families to their homes.
Over the next few years, we’ll need carpenters, licensed electricians, plumbers and other skilled laborers, but we also need volunteers willing to do whatever is needed.