One year after Helene, a Vilas, North Carolina, man is grateful to be gifted a home built by Samaritan’s Purse.
Joe Sherwood had never experienced a disaster like Hurricane Helene, which ripped up his hometown of Vilas, North Carolina –a small town tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The powerful storm left the home he had built over five decades earlier in ruins.
Volunteers, friends, and family gathered for the dedication of Sherwood’s new home.
What began as a peaceful morning playing checkers on his iPad turned into chaos as a landslide barreled down a mountain and crashed into his house. The torrent of mud launched a piano through his bedroom wall, pinning him under the debris. For nearly three hours, Joe waited and prayed until he was rescued by his son and volunteer firefighters who pulled him to safety.
While he may have lost all of his material possessions, God still had a plan.
Exactly one year after the storm raged through western North Carolina, Joe sat on the back porch of his newly constructed home, gifted to him by Samaritan’s Purse. Located just yards away from where his original house once stood, Joe couldn’t help but smile as he was handed the keys at a heartfelt dedication ceremony.
This is the room where Sherwood was sheltering as Helene tore through the mountains. Remnants of a piano and other belongings are all that remained after Helene destroyed his home.
“I’ve been blessed beyond measure…Why me, Lord?” Joe has repeatedly asked since being told he would receive a free, brand-new home. “But that’s what He wanted, and that’s what Samaritan’s Purse wanted to do for me, and I’ll forever be grateful.”
Surrounded by his children, grandchildren, friends, and Samaritan’s Purse volunteers, Joe was also given a framed itemized bill with the words “PAID IN FULL” stamped in red. The plaque is a visible reminder of his faith in Jesus Christ.
“That’s just like our sins,” Joe said. “They were paid in full when Jesus went on the cross.”
A House Built on Rock
The property where Joe’s new home stands carries some ancestral history. He grew up in that very neighborhood, and his sister and son still live up the street. Throughout the construction process, Joe’s children and grandchildren served alongside our volunteers, painting the bright blue walls–a color Joe had picked out himself. Watching his family members pitch in to build his new home was a full-circle moment.
Sherwood expresses his gratitude to the group gathered during a special event welcoming him home.
Alison Moretz, Joe’s daughter, was greatly encouraged by each individual who showed up in an orange shirt to serve, helping in Jesus’ Name. In past years, she has followed the work of Samaritan’s Purse and has participated in Operation Christmas Child. She expressed her gratitude for the help her father has received.
“We never dreamed that we would be on this side of it…in our own hometown,” Alison said. “There’s no words. We are just so grateful that so many have come and given up their time. They’re the hands and feet of Jesus.”
During the construction process, volunteers spent time writing Bible verses on the beams and the white walls in Joe’s basement. These Scriptures sketched into his foundation are a reminder that Christ is our firm foundation. “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock” (Matthew 7:24-25).
Rebuild volunteers and staff celebrated Joe Sherwood’s new home, joined by friends and families gathered in his new space.
Joe was also presented with a signed Billy Graham Training Center Bible, a journal full of encouraging notes from volunteers, and a photo album full of pictures from the construction process.
“It almost makes you want to cry,” Joe said. “And I don’t mean crying for being sorrowful. Just happy tears.”
As Joe looked on at his bright new home, he reflected on how his experience over the last year has now inspired him to help others in need.
“I’ve never had anything like this happen,” he said. “When people are so helpful and so caring…it’s awesome. And I’d like to be more like that.”
As western North Carolina continues to recover from the devastating hurricane last September, please keep those who were impacted and our teams who are responding in your prayers.
Read a recent overview of our response to Hurricane Helene.
Joe Sherwood’s new home in Vilas, North Carolina, is one of numerous homes to be rebuilt by Samaritan’s Purse in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
