Well, Tuesday (May 6) was a very busy day. Fifteen of us left at 6 in the morning and arrived at 1pm in Elizabeth City, NC. We met a woman at a gas station in the area who stopped us and shared her testimony of how the NCBM Disaster Relief teams meant so much to her when the tornadoes went through about 3 years ago. She lost her mother and spent months in critical condition. She praised those who give of their time to go and help those in need. We praised the Lord with her, and had a time of prayer. A Dick Britt said, "This is what it's all about."
We had a quick lunch (hot dog, beans, chips, etc) and then went to our first assignment. It was a lady named Mrs. Abernathy whose house and property was heavily damaged. Across the road diagonally from her there were many homes damaged or destroyed. We cut down 20 trees and cleared a lot of debris from the back yard of her home. As I had time to talk with her, she shared her concerns about finances and that she doesn't bounce back as quickly as she did in her youth. She shared how she had been through 2 other tornadoes, and that her home had burned completely to the ground. each time she was resilient and bounced back. This time, her home is very badly damaged as well as sheds on her property. The trees we cut down were 50 years old - her father planted each one. The day the tornado came, she and her brother and son were standing looking out the front storm door when the tornado came from the back of the house. they were thrown to the floor, but miraculously unhurt. She was very thankful for all that people were doing for them. we were privileged to pray with her and to leave her with a Bible signed by all of the team.
We came back to a nice fried chicken dinner (must be Baptists) and the time to rest and get ready for another day of work tomorrow. If the Internet holds out - I will let you know about Wednesday tomorrow. Keep praying for the folks impacted by these storms, and for those of us who are ministering to them.
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