11/12/2025
NORTH CAROLINA:
In all of our time spent with Hurricane Helene relief over the last year, we've only heard one person say that they are GLAD this happened to them!
What?! How?!
*James 1:2-4: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything".
*Romans 5:3-5: "Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."
-Homeowner Michael told us that he had been a lukewarm follower of Christ, but after losing everything in his home except for his guitar and mandolin (a specific prayer of his while he watched the waters overtake his home, while watching from the ridge above), he realized that all one really has, is the Lord. Michael was so JOYFUL about the race set before him, as he tackles all that it will take to make his home livable again. He even offered to grab his tools and help US fix our truck instead of working on his projects... we thanked him, reminded him that of all the things that had happened along that river, our truck issue was the LEAST concerning, and after getting the lay of the land and hearing his story, got to work!
Michael was such a testament to God's grace and provision, even in the middle of a horrible event. One of the things he shared with us was that after giving up on rescuing his guitar and mandolin from the rising water, and being unable to get the bedroom door to open to where they were located, he knew he had to get out ASAP. Like anyone would think, he thought he'd just open up a window and climb out, but as he told his story, he laid out a horrific realization... the pressure of the water all around and filling his home had caused just enough movement in the bones of the house so that nothing was square anymore, thus nothing would open. 😳 He tried every window and door, to no avail, until the last window in the kitchen opened, and he was able to scramble up the ridge behind his house. He spoke of watching a 3 acre parcel of land with 60 foot sycamore trees go floating down river, until it churned under at a footbridge site, as well as his neighbors 10,000 square foot shop float upriver towards him, as the center current was so strong that it created a back current, until that, too, churned under and disappeared. He watched his other neighbor's home float away leaving only the chimney, never to be seen again, including the neighbor, Lenny, who was inside.
I can't even imagine.
But here stands Michael... joyful, prayerful, thankful.
Lord, help me to learn from Michael's example! 🙏
Renegade Ministry ✦ Short-Term Support ✦ Long-Term Impact
