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SPRUCE PINE, N.C.—Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Disaster Relief volunteers on the morning of Oct. 5 headed for Spruce Pine, a historic riverfront town of 2,000 hit hard by Hurricane Helene.
The hurricane wiped out Spruce Pine’s water treatment plant, leaving sludge-filled streets, ruined businesses, and collapsed buildings in its wake.
On a normal day, the trip from the Nashville area, halfway between Texas and North Carolina, where volunteers were guests of Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief, would have taken a few hours. Instead, the journey grew to seven hours, involving travel on four interstate highways, three state highways, and multiple narrow roads as the 26-volunteer caravan—including a mass-feeding trailer, two bunkhouses, a command post, and shower and refrigeration units—motored on, greeted by the Smoky Mountains as mist rose in nearby fields and forests.
“Not long after we turned south and entered North Carolina, the lush, beautiful countryside began to be punctuated by evidence of devastation,” said Wally Leyerle, SBTC DR associate and team leader.
A blessing to see how the Lord provides
The DR team had another problem: With Spruce Pine’s water treatment facility gone, it needed bottled water delivered to the parking lot where it would set up operations off Highway 226 South.
An SBTC DR volunteer and her husband pulling a refrigeration trailer paused at a roadside rest stop shortly after learning that a vendor could not supply sufficient bottled water until the middle of the following week. As the volunteer got out of the tow vehicle, a truck driver approached. He had seen the SBTC DR logo on the refrigeration unit and asked what the couple was going to do.
“During the conversation, she mentioned our need for bottled water,” Leyerle said, adding that the truck driver thanked them for serving the community before departing in his rig.
“About 20 minutes after our volunteers arrived at the disaster site and began setting up, that truck driver showed up in an 18-wheeler, delivered 20,000 bottles of water from his employer, and left,” Leyerle said. “It’s always a blessing to see how the Lord provides.”
Pilot program
SBTC DR volunteers are following a new Southern Baptist Disaster Relief model being piloted during the Helene response. Feeding teams are preparing 3,000-5,000 meals daily in Spruce Pine, placing the hot food in clamshell containers, and handing the meals directly to survivors in a drive-through operation.
The advantages of the drive-through system are many.
“Our contacts with survivors are off the charts,” said Scottie Stice, SBTC DR director. “We ask, ‘Can we pray with you?’ If the answer is yes, the door opens for spiritual conversations. If the answer is no, we simply greet them warmly, hand them the needed meals, and they drive away. We don’t force the issue.”
Stice said many locals have tearfully thanked volunteers, sharing with them that the hot meal they received was their first in 11 days.
“God is with us. We couldn’t do this without the support of our Southern Baptist churches,” he noted, explaining the partnership also includes Send Relief and corporate entities. “Always, our primary support is Southern Baptist churches that contribute.”
Also responding to Hurricane Helene, SBTC DR feeding volunteers deployed to Live Oak, Fla., in support of the Salvation Army, where they prepared 32,201 meals distributed to survivors and first responders and nearly 800 meals for DR workers. SBTC DR volunteers provided shower and laundry service, too—contributing more than 1,900 total hours before the Live Oak deployment ended Oct. 6. An SBTC DR shower unit set up operations in Blackshear, Ga., on Oct. 8 where volunteers remain as needed.
Earlier in the month, volunteers ended a deployment to Morgan City, La., following Hurricane Francine, contributing 670 volunteer hours to complete chainsaw jobs and debris removal.
The busy hurricane season that started with Beryl in early July continues into the fall.
“We’re getting lots of opportunities to serve,” Stice said. “We just want to be the hands and feet of Jesus. … Our greatest need is for volunteers. We are short-handed in North Carolina and Georgia right now and the needs are great.”
He added that Hurricane Milton intensified to a Category 5 storm on Monday, Oct. 7, and is projected to make landfall on Wednesday, Oct. 9. Like other DR leaders, Stice said SBTC DR is monitoring the progress of the latest storm and preparing resources to assist.
To donate to Hurricane Helene relief efforts, visit sbtexas.com/disaster-relief/donate.
