Janice has been shedding a lot of tears since last Friday.
Her longtime friend and neighbor, Cheryl, was killed as Hurricane Helene ravaged their mountain town of Boone, North Carolina, last week.
“She had no way of getting out,” said Janice, weeping as she recounted that horrific day. BG-RRT chaplains Ruth Stout-Miller and Mona Sadler listened empathetically.
The two chaplains have deployed with over 50 others across the Southeast, ministering to some of the hardest-hit areas of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
The women stood on Janice’s front porch as she looked over the edge to the creek several feet below. Days earlier, the creek had nearly reached the porch.
Janice—along with her fiancé Jeff, her daughter, and 2-year-old grandson—had been preparing to evacuate their home on Friday, quickly carrying some of their belongings to the car.
She was worried about Cheryl next door and beckoned to her neighbor.
“I was trying to tell her to crawl out the window and come to the car with us,” Janice explained.
Cheryl was more than a neighbor; she was a close friend known for baking cupcakes and having squirt gun fights with Janice’s grandson out the window.
Janice watched in horror as two large trees fell on Cheryl’s house and rushing water carried her porch and footbridge downstream. A third tree crushed and dislodged the home from its foundation.
“Her whole house starts going forward, then it twisted and started coming our way,” she said.
Blocked in by Cheryl’s roof, Janice’s family was later rescued by emergency crews.
She’s lived in the bustling town for 12 years and seen the creek rise many times—but never like this. Heartbroken over the loss of her friend, Janice has had little time to mourn over her own home, which will likely be condemned due to flood damage.
Sitting in a dark living room without power, chaplains Ruth and Mona prayed for Janice and her family.
“Lord, I pray that You would comfort their hearts as they have lost a dear friend in an unimaginable situation,” Ruth prayed. She hugged Janice who shed more tears.
“Prayers are getting me through,” she told the chaplains through sobs.
Raising Another Ebenezer Stone
In the 50-plus years Monnie Roten has lived in her Boone home, she has never seen anything as bad as what she saw last Friday.
Within 30 minutes, Goshen Creek overflowed—hiding her entire yard beneath several feet of water that seeped into her home.
Chaplains Mona and Ruth stood on her back porch, which was under water a couple of days earlier. The back steps had been washed away.
Monnie processed the events of the last few days, standing away from the musty air in her home as Samaritan’s Purse volunteers worked to pull rotting plywood out.
She thought she could wait out the storm with her son, daughter-in-law, and young grandchildren in her home. Then they heard a terrifying thump.
The neighbor’s propane tank had floated into her yard and hit something, spewing propane everywhere.
The family quickly escaped, carrying the children and 74-year-old Monnie through the dangerous rushing water in the yard.
She showed chaplains pictures and videos taken of her family evacuating.
“That used to be my picture window, and this used to be my living room,” she said as she invited Mona and Ruth into her torn-up home.
“What’s your greatest need moving forward?” Mona asked, pulling out a notepad to write down how she can pray.
“Prayer,” she answered, putting her hands over her face as she began to weep. “All the people who have prayed with me and hugged me—I can’t tell you what it’s meant.”
After Monnie shared her faith in Jesus Christ, the chaplains encouraged her to keep clinging to Him for hope, rest, and peace.
Monnie opened up to them about one of her most precious belongings: her ‘Ebenezer’ stones.
She explained that each time God brought her family through a storm in life, she would add a stone to her yard as a reminder of His faithfulness. (See 1 Samuel 7:12.)
“It’s still there,” she said, a smile on her face as she pointed outside.
As chainsaws buzzed and people hammered on the wall inside, Mona and Ruth held Monnie’s hand and thanked God for His deliverance.
Before the chaplains left Monnie’s home, Mona asked, “Have you put your new stone up yet?”
Please continue to pray for those who have lost loved ones and homes, those who face food and water shortages, and for the chaplains who are there to offer compassionate care.
