by Rev. Dorothy S. Boulware
With the unprecedented wildfires in Los Angeles killing dozens of people and burning thousands of homes, survivors are facing the reality of grieving and rebuilding. It’s a reality that residents of Asheville, North Carolina, know all too well.
It’s been nearly four months since Hurricane Helene ravaged the region, and residents are still recuperating from its effects.
People were without electricity and water, and many had to abandon their homes, at least temporarily. While much of that has been corrected, many residents are still without whatever comfort they had before the hurricane. Faith leaders in the community say that in spite of the passage of time, there are still great needs to be filled.
“People weren’t able to work because so many businesses were closed. Some never reopened,” says Bishop A. Kaycee Lewis, senior pastor of The Refreshing Center of Asheville. She says the biggest hit to the community was the temporary loss of the Biltmore Hotel, arguably the largest employer in that area.
Most of her members “toughed it out and stayed in Asheville,” Lewis says. But “a handful” relocated to Charlotte. “They keep in touch, but they’re not returning.”
It took about a month after the hurricane before The Refreshing Center had service with electricity again. What helped, though, is that the church is a member of Kingdom Fellowship Covenant Ministries — more than 123 churches, ministries, and small businesses led by Archbishop Ralph Dennis.
“Our mission is to train, equip, empower, and mobilize every Saint into their ministry,” Dennis says, “and this is a great example of just that. We’re happy to help everyone who has a need.”
Elder Antonio Fallston’s description of his arrival in Asheville to help with the weekly online teaching, Apostolic Encounter, was heartbreaking.
“As we got closer, it looked a lot worse than we’d seen on the news. We saw that what had been beautiful places had now been destroyed. We saw trucks turned over. We saw trees down on houses and on cars. The water was so high. It was so bad it was so high. It’s likely to be two months before people can actually get around,” Fallston said.
“I don’t know how we would have made it without our member churches who immediately saw to our needs for food, water, clothing, and so much more,” Lewis says.
Lewis shared her experience of hearing the Lord tell her to store water at least a year before the hurricane ravaged their town. “If I hadn’t done that, we wouldn’t have had any water until people could reach us,” she says.
Dennis says some people still need places to live, and others need jobs because some businesses have not reopened. And a small segment is still waiting for remuneration from FEMA, while others might have been turned down because their paperwork was not completed correctly.
Some congregation members also have post-traumatic stress that flares up when the weather is bad.
“They are still experiencing a PTS effect when there’s even the hint of a strong storm or rain, so I hold sessions so they can talk about it and express their fears and their recovery,” Lewis says.
Source: Seattle Medium
