Storm Update

Difficulty in the Storm
Shortly after 4 a.m. on the day Hurricane Helene moved through the area, Pastor John was awoken by the winds and rain. Strong Life had let some folks gather under their pavilion, but there were too many out in the woods in a dangerous situation under potentially falling trees. The storm was unfortunately worse than expected, and contingency plans weren’t enacted for the homeless.

With the help of the Kindness Project, Pastor John spent all morning in the storm getting homeless out of the woods and to Strong Life. The day wasn’t over, and neither was the storm. A falling tree struck a transformer, creating a dangerous situation and power outage at Strong Life. We were left with only our emergency lighting to get through the day.

A generator was brought in and a hot meal cooked for the homeless. Large fans had to run for hours to dry out our day center from all the drenched folks that spilled in from the storm. Our local homeless community was blessed not to have lost any lives. A tree fell on one of our friends in his tent trapping him inside. He was able to call emergency responders to get him out and he was thankfully unharmed.

A Wonderful Unity
Locally, we were just beginning to recover from the initial challenges caused by the storm when we started hearing about the incredible devastation in Western North Carolina. We quickly joined forces with other agencies to assist in relief efforts by delivering truckloads of supplies to the mountains and to Hickory Airport.

Strong Life was happy to share our resources with local agencies to help people during this crisis. We provided everything from food and water to generators and flashlights. We've received numerous testimonies about seemingly random phone calls for supplies that were desperately needed at just the right moment. It was inspiring to witness unity among people, as they put aside their differences to help others in need. On off days at the Rescue Mission, Pastor John has taken teams to assist those who have been devastated by the storm. We ask for continued prayers for them as they travel weekly for these day trips.  

We know one thing for sure God is with us in the midst of life's storms! They can be difficult to weather and to understand but God will bring healing and restoration. We have faith in this and continue to pray for all involved in relief efforts and for our local community to not grow weary. It has been a blessing to see faith in action this past month and we look forward to a brighter future as we remember such a dark day.