Many college students are ready to take a break as soon as school is over. They go to the beach to relax and unwind, or head home to hang out with friends.

Not Kurt Morton and Jenny Nieder. As soon as the spring semester ended at Allegheny College of Maryland, they drove to Nashville to help people struggling in the aftermath of the devastating floods.

Samaritan’s Purse sent two Disaster Relief Units to the Nashville area when heavy rains caused extreme flash flooding in early May. We set up at sites south and northeast of the city, and our staff and volunteers began cleaning out mud-soaked houses so that they could be repaired.

Kurt, 21, and Jenny, 25, were among the first volunteers to arrive. They stayed for almost three weeks.

“We were looking at things we could do,” Kurt said. “We just wanted to come down and help wherever we could.”

Kurt has worked with Samaritan’s Purse before. He volunteered during our Hurricane Katrina response while he was still in high school. It didn’t take long to convince his friend that they should go to Nashville.

“He said you’re going to love it,” Jenny said. “He was right.”

The days were long and the work was hard, but Jenny enjoyed every minute.

“I just feel so much in touch with God and so peaceful,” she said. “I just feel His love, and when He speaks I hear clearly.”

They spent their time working up and down a street in what had been rumored to be a bad area before the flood. But as our teams helped people in the Name of Christ, they watched the neighborhood change.

“At first people stayed inside and didn’t come out,” Kurt said. “As they watched us work they got more friendly and asked us what we were doing.”

At least four people in the neighborhood came to faith in Christ. Others rededicated their lives to God.

“Instead of just hearing, they got to see us be the hands and feet of Jesus,” Kurt said. “I heard people say, ‘These are real Christians’ because they see us doing something and showing love.”
One house they worked on belonged to a couple named John and Mary. It wasn’t easy for some homeowners to see their ruined belongings carried outside and piled in a heap on the sidewalk, ready to be hauled away, but Miss Mary turned it into a time of thanksgiving.

“She stood there and raised her hands and said ‘I praise you Lord. I praise you.’ It was my favorite moment by far,” Jenny said. “She said I lost stuff, but other people lost family and friends. I’ve been blessed.”

John and Mary had to evacuate when the waters rose, and couldn’t return for two weeks. They said they would not have been able to cope without the help from Samaritan’s Purse.

“The enemy comes in like a flood, but Samaritan’s Purse came in and fought against it,” Mary said. “My home had a lot of damage. I lost a lot of furniture and memorabilia. You realize what is important in life. People being saved. I can’t stop smiling because it is so evident to see how close the Lord’s presence is here. He is working in a mighty way through Samaritan’s Purse.”

Mary has a special appreciation for the volunteers who worked on her home.

“They were God’s hands and feet,” she said. “I was overwhelmed by their cheerful, willing spirits. Words can’t express how wonderful they were. You would never know they were working so hard because they act so cheerful and are so willing to serve. They are giving people hope again in so many ways.”

Seeing the gratitude of homeowners like John and Mary is one reason volunteers work with Samaritan’s Purse on their vacations and days off—time when they could be doing something “fun.”

“You just get so much out of it,” Kurt said. “You’re helping them, but you’re building your relationship with God.”

Kurt and Jenny both are studying to be teachers, not only to work with young people but so they can have their summers free for missions work. The experience in Nashville reinforced those plans.

“It’s so hard to leave,” Jenny said. “We are exhausted, really tired. But when we drive out of here it’s not going to be the same. I’m going to miss it.”

Over 1,000 volunteers have worked with us to help over 200 families so far. Please pray that God will give them strength as we continue to work in the Nashville area.

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Samaritan's Purse , United States , DR Extranet , U.S. Disaster Relief , Called to Serve