Crisis & Disaster Response
Hurricane Helene: Rebuilding Lives One Year Later
Hurricane Helene Rebuilding Lives One Year Later Recovery continues across western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee as Samaritan's Purse helps families rebuild after the devastating storm. When Benny Messer watched floodwaters sweep away his Waynesville, North Carolina, home last September, he couldn't imagine starting over. He and his wife, Keeva, had lived at the same…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Love Arrives After the Storm
Among the ruined items Michael Dixon pulled out of his dresser—soaked certificates, destroyed books, precious photos—he discovered a small keychain. Holding it up to the sunlight streaming through his window, a smile crept onto his face. “Sevierville. 1991. Howard’s restaurant. Our honeymoon,” he said, gazing at the two-inch photo of him and his wife, Nancy,…
New Home Brings Peace and Comfort to Elderly Couple
When Hurricane Helene ripped through western North Carolina, it brought down a massive tree that crashed through the roof of Hala Kahili’s home in Swannanoa. Relentless rain poured through the damaged ceiling, and mold quickly spread, making the home unlivable. When Hala learned that Samaritan’s Purse would provide her and her husband with a new…
God’s Blessings in Hendersonville
Nearly four months have passed since Nancy Velazquez experienced the unimaginable—a deadly and catastrophic hurricane in the mountains. Nancy was away from her home the September morning that Hurricane Helene caused deadly flooding that swept through her community in Hendersonville, North Carolina. When she finally returned to her neighborhood, disbelief overcame her. She’d lost nearly…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Gifting Vehicles to Hurricane Helene Survivors
“It’s all yours! Congratulations, sir!” James Roberts could hardly believe the words spoken to him by an employee of Hendrick Automotive Group. Thanks to Samaritan’s Purse partnership with the Charlotte auto dealer, a 2024 Toyota Tacoma crew cab 4 x 4 is now his. It was just three months ago that the Marshall, North Carolina,…
Samaritan’s Purse Dedicates First Home in Hurricane Helene Rebuild
In the same front yard where Hurricane Helene’s floodwaters tore through their quiet western North Carolina neighborhood, Benny and Keeva Messer stood on June 2 praising God for a brand-new home built in Jesus’ Name, from the foundation below to the shingles above. “Today we are going to celebrate and rejoice,” said Luther Harrison, vice…
Crisis & Disaster Response
An Orange Wave of Help Arrives for Swannanoa
Steve struggled to keep his pickup truck driving straight on a road he couldn’t see. When the evacuation alert had sounded just minutes earlier, he had woken his 15-year-old son Aiden, and the pair had dashed out of their house. Now they were fighting to find safety as the flooding caused by Hurricane Helene swallowed…
Crisis & Disaster Response
From a House to a Home
Waightstill and Dawn Avery neared the end of a challenging year after losing a precious family member when Hurricane Helene ripped through their community in Newland, North Carolina. Christmas tree farmers and construction workers by trade, the couple not only lost all of the contents of their home to four feet of mud and rainwater,…
Crisis & Disaster Response
Edward Graham Dedicates Brand-New Bridge Rebuilt After Hurricane Helene
As Steve and Sharon Breitenstein watched the Watauga River rise in front of their home, higher than they’d seen in their time there, one thing was on their minds: Would the bridge hold? It had served as the only vehicle access on and off the property since Steve’s father built it in 1966. It was…
Crisis & Disaster Response
More Mobile Homes Dedicated in Post-Helene Asheville
One mobile home park in Asheville is undergoing a bit of a facelift. Hurricane Helene ravaged the community last fall, leaving some homes unlivable. But that pain was relieved in part earlier this month when Samaritan’s Purse provided two brand-new mobile homes to families who have lived here for years. Renee Hensley’s house was the…
