On Sunday, July 27, 2025, a mission team of 16 from Prince George Winyah (PGW) in Georgetown and Christ the King Church (CtK) in Pawleys Island, arrived at the High Pastures Christian Retreat Center in Burnsville, NC, to spend a week serving those devastated by Hurricane Helene.
Thanks to arrangements made through Anglican Relief and Development, we joined others from Virginia and Michigan working under the direction of two individuals from the Fuller Center for Housing Disaster ReBuilders. A group of 24 in all, we ranged in age from 17-82.
The volunteers were split into teams and sent to different job sites. One team went to a home owned by a young lady named Jennifer. She woke the night of the storm to no electricity, the sound of pouring rain, and her two dogs and a cat on her bed. She got out of bed and found she was up to her knees in water. Not thinking clearly, she went to her front door and opened it. The water came rushing in. (Keep in mind, she is at least 50 feet higher than the river at the bottom of her street!) She tried to hold the door shut, but the force of the water was more than she could handle. Suddenly, she heard a loud whooshing sound, and the door slammed. Jennifer was able to escape by climbing out a window. She swam through water up to her neck, pulled herself up the mountain, and walked for miles before finding a neighbor on higher ground.
Now, Jennifer is living in a camper and a tent at the bottom of the hill where her barn used to be. It took five months before anyone was even willing to help her start to rebuild her home. She has no insurance. Her house is still completely gutted, and the work has come to a standstill because there aren’t enough plumbers and electricians to do all of the work that is needed. And, her second winter is just around the corner. Our group helped with many jobs to help rebuild her house. To be honest, possibly the most important thing we did was to sit and listen to Jennifer tell her story. She definitely needed someone to listen while she talked and cried.
Groups also worked at other sites, completing various tasks. Some included working on a French drain, drilling to find a water source, installing a water heater and shower, installing electrical outlets and insulation, painting, planting, and organizing the distribution center. At one work site, the younger group befriended Mrs. Riddle, her special needs daughter, and the five-year-old son of one of the hired workers who spoke little English. Friendships were established, and the daughter is still in contact with some of our team.
Sharon, the volunteer coordinator for Fuller, had been living in a tiny room for months. Some of the group decided to pamper Sharon one day. The team organized and cleaned Sharon’s living space so she would have a place to work and shelves to store her personal items. We also organized the on-site storage shed. By the time the group was finished, all of the tools and equipment were sorted and placed, by category, on new shelving, and they had built a charging station for all the rechargeable power tools.
Each evening, Banks Wise (Student Minister at CtK) led a devotion, and Brett Kucera (Youth Minister at PGW) and Mary Darby Moore (from CtK) led the group in worship. It was absolutely amazing to listen to the youngest of those in our group talk about Jesus and sing His praises every day!
By Marie Ahlert, Christ the King, Pawleys Island
This article was originally published in the Fall 2025 Jubilate Deo.
