Hurting homeowners find eternal hope and joy in the wake of winter storm.
Millions of people across the U.S. had their lives upended last week as a monster storm dumped snow, sleet, and freezing rain.
Talitha Finnie, a resident of Oxford, Mississippi, hunkered down at home alongside her husband and their six children while the storm rolled through during the night. As they tried to sleep, it battered their house and the surrounding trees.
“We were at home. I slept through it. My husband didn’t. He woke up around 3:00 that morning,” she said, pointing toward the trees that buckled under the weight of ice. “He said he just kept hearing all the trees snapping and heard that branch over there snap and land on top of the house, which is where the three babies sleep.”
Everyone in the family was safe, but their yard needed attention as large branches and debris lay strewn about.
Deploying to Areas of Greatest Need
Samaritan’s Purse teams quickly deployed to Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee once roads were clear enough to drive.
Volunteers are busy in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee clearing trees and debris and serving homeowners in Jesus’ Name.
“The road was still treacherous with thick ice and snow. Power lines were down. Trees were over roads and on homes,” said Jamie Keoshian, program manager for North American Disaster Relief in Oxford, Mississippi.
VOLUNTEER TO HELP AFTER MASSIVE WINTER STORM
On Friday, Jan. 30, our volunteers started in Oxford and other communities across three states, helping homeowners in Jesus’ Name to remove fallen trees and debris from houses and properties.
The Lord Is Knocking
Talitha’s family received help after her husband connected with a Samaritan’s Purse site leader as our volunteers were helping one of their neighbors. The next day a team was at their door ready to serve.
Talitha received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior during conversations with the team working at her house.
“I cannot believe anyone would be out here in this weather, but you guys are awesome,” Talitha said. “You guys came out and, despite this 19-degree weather, you cleared everything, cut everything down, and put it on the side of the road for us. Thank you, guys.”
The Lord continued to soften Talitha’s heart as the volunteers worked at her home. After the job was done, the team gathered around Talitha on her front porch and one of the volunteers felt the pull of the Holy Spirit to share with her the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Talitha repented and believed, receiving Him in her heart. Her new joy was apparent. She couldn’t stop smiling and laughing as she hugged all the volunteers around her–now her brothers and sisters in Christ. She said that from the moment our volunteers arrived at her home, she experienced God’s presence more than she had since was a child. She felt it radiating from the team and knocking at her own heart.
Volunteers have been serving in multiple communities from four locations in three states.
“You gave me my Bible and asked me if I wanted to accept the Lord into my life. And I did. You guys prayed over me and my family, and I thank you guys for that. Now I can just lay my burdens down and present them before the Lord. I can actually just leave them there and not pick them back up. Just keep doing what you’re doing. I mean, you may not see it now, you may not see it every day, but you guys do change lives.”
We give God all the glory for what only He can do!
Making a Way
Just down the road from Talitha, Darron Jeffries’ wife and three little girls slept through the onslaught, but for Darron it was also a restless night.
“At one point you could hear a lot of trees just breaking. I guess they would call it exploding trees,” he explained. “When I got up the next morning, I looked outside and I saw ice everywhere with trees fallen and all lines down. I’m like, man, how are we going get through this?”
Hundreds of volunteers have joined the clean-up efforts in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Louisiana.
Darron was amazed by how quickly after the storm the work started.
“When I saw everybody come together doing these things, it was a great moment,” he said.
Darron and his family were among the first homeowners Samaritan’s Purse helped. After working several hours in the freezing temperatures of that winter afternoon, our volunteers bundled in layers of orange gear and gathered around Darron and his family to present them with a Bible.
The weight of ice and snow toppled large trees in southeastern communities.
When one of the volunteers explained how God’s Word can speak to every aspect of our lives, Darron shook his head in agreement, saying, “Amen”— thankful for the work that was completed by our team.
“Well, you know, I’ve always been close to God,” he said. “This storm just shows that He will make a way for you.”
Please continue to pray for suffering families and our teams serving them in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee.
“The thickest parts of the ice destruction had Oxford, Mississippi, at its epicenter,” said Les Newson, the lead pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church, which is serving as our response base there.
Pastor Newson and his congregation see the disaster as an opportunity to help their neighbors.
“When we woke up on Sunday morning with the city completely covered in ice, and we still had power, still had water, and still had heat, it did not take us more than 30 seconds to realize the Lord had called us to help,” he explained.
You too can serve in Oxford or at any of our ice storm response bases, see spvolunteer.org for more details.
