Asheville

Lately, I’ve been seeing people posting things on social media, complaining about the traffic in town because of a holiday lights thing we have going on, people driving too fast, fireworks that woke up THEIR ENTIRE FAMILY, their internet sucks, and coyotes are roaming through the backyard. Usually, I ignore these posts and I don’t let them get to me. However, after spending time in western North Carolina recently, where Hurricane Helene caused such devastation, I just want to shake these people.

I don’t know why I have been so drawn to that place, to help the people in the wake of that disaster. I felt the same with the fires in Lahaina, in Hawaii. The difference was that it was going to be much easier for me to get to North Carolina than to Hawaii. Marc and I had already planned a trip in December to visit Samantha and Dylan, so we decided to extend it and drive to Asheville.

 After staying with Sam and Dylan for a few days, we drove three hours west. We had signed up with two different organizations to volunteer; Samaritan’s Purse  and Valley Strong Disaster Relief.  The hub for Samaritan’s Purse was housed at the Billy Graham Training Center in Asheville. After checking in, we had a short orientation on what we could potentially be doing. Some of the tasks were debris cleanup, mud out, and rebuilding. Things I heard were mold, respirators, toxins, spiders and snakes hiding in brush piles, and bears (they had had several encounters with bears). I didn’t know what we would experience, but it was a bit unsettling to hear all of this. We were given the address and told we would meet our team there (we were the afternoon shift, they had already been onsite since 8am).

 The home we were assigned was in Black Mountain and it was literally on the side of a mountain. The road we traveled to get there was like nothing I had seen before. Well, maybe in the movies. These are mountain people. And this is where we saw the devastation. Winding roads up the mountain, washed out in some places, temporary stop lights in place as there is no way you could see oncoming vehicles on the sharp turns. We passed random rows of mailboxes, at least 15, but we could see no driveways or houses. I have no idea whether they were washed away or just tucked somewhere into the mountain. I wanted to stop to take pictures, but the driving was a bit harrowing, it’s not like there were places to pull off to look at the scenery. It also felt like an invasion of privacy, taking photos of someone’s devastation.

When we arrived, our team was busy doing yard cleanup. The homeowner was a single woman, living alone. A lot of what she needed to be done, we were not able to do because of downed powerlines. Marc was put to work and was able to fix a screen door and a few other things. I felt helpless, as there were definitely too many workers, not enough jobs. Marc suggested I offer the homeowner reflexology. This had not even crossed my mind, but I thought, “Why not?” So I knocked on her door and asked her if she would be interested in receiving reflexology. “Really?” she replied as she looked at me in disbelief. I explained what it was and she accepted my offer. We sat at her kitchen table, her feet in my lap. Listening to chainsaws, leaf blowers and hammers banging, I worked on her feet. As I began to work, I explained the many benefits of reflexology. She said she had been feeling very anxious the last couple of days (never mind weeks) and didn’t know why. She was tired and hadn’t been able to sleep. I continued working on her feet and what usually happens, happened. She stopped talking, her eyes closed and she drifted off. Sitting straight up in a kitchen chair. Eventually, the noise stopped and I knew the work outside was done. I finished her session, she opened her eyes and smiled. I have never felt such an intense connection with someone after working on them. She hugged me tightly and thanked me. A reminder to me that we all need human touch.

When Samaritan’s Purse completes a job, they present the homeowner with a bible signed by the team, and everyone comes together in prayer. As we stood in a circle, holding hands and praying, I was overcome with such emotion. These people were doing this day after day, offering assistance to the residents who were affected by this storm. God is good.

 We drove back down the mountain, back to Asheville to check into our hotel, only to find I did not have my wallet! Back to the Billy Graham Training Center, as we couldn’t reach anyone by phone. Luckily it was only a mile up the road. And there it was, my wallet, right where I left it in the auditorium where we had our orientation. Now it’s getting late and we are hungry. I had picked our hotel because of its proximity to the training center and also because it had a restaurant, knowing we would probably not be up for more driving. Upon checking in, we discovered it was only open for breakfast due to the hurricane. What? Of course! There were no other restaurants around us. The bridge that connects this area to downtown Asheville was destroyed in the flooding, so we had to get back on the highway. The closest place we found open was a Mexican restaurant, Beer & Tacos. It looked like a 50’s diner. But I will say the food was excellent! The margarita I had was pretty good too 😉

The next morning, we went downstairs for breakfast. It was a buffet, but we did have a server, Christine, who brought us coffee and juice. We were the only guests so we began chatting. I asked her if she was there during the storm and she didn’t need any prodding to share her story. She told us she had never experienced anything like that before in her life, and hopes never to again. All that was predicted was rain. Having lived in Charleston for years, she’s been through hurricanes. This was different, she said. The rain just kept coming. Hurricanes usually break up when they hit the mountains. She lives only a few minutes from the hotel, just across the bridge that is no longer there (it now it takes her 20-30 minutes to get to work). The day the bridge washed out, she had just driven across it to get to work. She watched it wash away. I can’t even imagine what that must have felt like. The amount of water it takes to do that kind of damage. She told us later that she believes the dam was opened intentionally. Had the dam broken, she said, the devastation could have been so much worse. I can’t even imagine this. As it was, entire towns were destroyed. Horrible, if true. Could people have been warned? Evacuated before all the flooding? Only God knows.

The hotel, a Holiday Inn, is located up on a hill. At the bottom of the hill is another hotel. All of those guests were evacuated to the Holiday Inn because of flooding. There was nowhere for them to go. Roads were blocked everywhere from water, trees, debris. They had no running water for FOUR weeks. Christine’s grown children lived in another town. She had no word from them for THREE weeks. When she finally reconnected with her daughter, after all that time, Christine said she fell to her knees, thanking God. Her children had thought she was dead because of where her home was located. By the grace of God, her home was untouched. In the short time we spent talking to her, it was clear that she is a nurturer, a caretaker, and also a fighter. She has been spending her time taking care of everyone at the hotel, delivering supplies to and helping those in need, constantly on the go, never resting.

On our way back to our room, I noticed a sign on the wall next to the elevator.

 I believe in the sun,

even when it is not shining.

I believe in love,

even when I cannot feel it.

I believe in God,

even when He is silent.

(Written on a cellar wall during the holocaust)

 I can’t think of anything more appropriate than those words, or the timing of us seeing them. That was an emotional start to our day, for sure. I am so grateful for the time we spent with Christine, and hearing her story.

Our next stop was Siverado’s, a local bar and outdoor music venue located in Black Mountain. Silverado’s is the home for Valley Strong Disaster Relief. They operate a distribution center, offering a drive-through service for families to pick up essential supplies and also provide outreach to help with rebuilding. Marc is a good sport; I had signed us up to wrap Christmas presents. As we were able to take the back road there, it was only a 10-minute drive. However, on that short drive, we saw massive piles of debris, damaged and destroyed homes, overturned vehicles still covered in mud, and closed businesses that had been flooded. And one thing that really stood out to me, spray-painted words that said Mountain Lives Matter.

We almost drove right past Silverado’s. You wouldn’t have noticed it if you weren’t looking for it. Seeing only a few cars in the parking lot out front, we parked and went inside, thinking we were super early. There were mounds of supplies, jam-packed everywhere you looked, some tables and a bar. We told the woman behind the bar that we were there to volunteer. She directed us out a side door and we wound our way through a maze of STUFF (I have no other word for it). We emerged out back, a huge area with an outdoor stage (filled with supplies), ez ups, trailers, a couple of shed-like buildings, and a very large white tent. And a whole lot of people! At first glance, it did not look it, but they were extremely well organized. They had been doing this for almost three months. Food, water, toiletries, camping supplies, kitchen items, medical equipment; you name it, they had a place for it.

We discovered that we had to move our vehicle from the front of the building to the volunteer lot, a short walk down the street. This lot was filled with cars, pickup trucks and campers, which explained the amount of people! Once back we were pointed to the big white tent. There was a line of people waiting to get inside; these were parents who were there to “shop” for Christmas presents. We walked into the tent and could hear music playing. Ironically, it was the song “Do They Know It’s Christmas”. The space was filled with tables, which held so many toys, books, and games. So much, it was like Santa’s workshop! And all donated. We were directed to a corner of the tent with 10 other people and given brief instructions. Families were assigned a number, given reusable shopping bags, and shopped. They then brought their gifts over to us, where we wrapped them, wrote the family number on stickers for each gift, and put them in boxes. The families would return the next day for a big Christmas party they were hosting and would be able to take the wrapped gifts home for Christmas day. There was no charge for this, just sign up, show up and shop. Truly amazing. I believe there were 80 families. We wrapped A LOT of presents! We were only there for 3 ½ hours as we had to get on the road and head home (I wanted to stay)! As we were finishing up, we were told to go inside the bar and grab lunch before leaving. We didn’t even notice this as we came through in the morning, but there were a couple of tables filled with food; sandwiches, a big pot of chili, and more. Several coolers filled with water, tea, and soda.  All for the volunteers. All donated.

After lunch, we inquired about how to drop off the donations we had brought. We walked to the car and then drove back. There are two lanes when you drive out back, one for donation drop-offs and one for residents to pick up supplies. Everyone is directed where to go and it all runs very smoothly. They have runners going back and forth between cars and supplies. We dropped off the donations we had received from people back home. Some donated money to us, and we were able to order three heaters off of their Amazon wish list. We figured that would be time better spent than shopping and trying to decide what to purchase.

It was a quick 24 hours. We worked with two very different organizations: Samaritan’s Purse, a global organization with significant financial resources, and Valley Strong, a local organization run by community members who rely on the charity and time of generous volunteers. Both are doing God’s work. I feel truly blessed to have witnessed such a strong sense of community and outreach. Depending on where life takes me these next few months, I would love to go back. If you ever get a chance to experience something like this, I say DO IT! And for those complaining about Christmas lights and coyotes, I say BE GRATEFUL.

Update: I saw on Facebook that Valley Strong had to open late yesterday as they did not have enough volunteers. This is the first time this has happened since they began.

Valley Strong’s donation and Amazon wish list https://www.valleystrongdisasterrelief.org/what-do-we-need

 Samaritan’s Purse https://www.samaritanspurse.org/disaster/hurricane-helene/