Disaster relief

UPDATES

WEEK OF: january 12th -18th

NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS: 22

TEAMS WHO CAME AND WHERE FROM: 

Saddleback Church team from CALIFORNIA
Russ and Carol from GEORGIA
Krisie Reinig and family from SOUTH CAROLINA

PROJECT PROGRESS MADE:

STACY JOHNSON: Stacy’s home was officially marked off as FINISHED this week!! Yay! The saddleback team finished up the trim work and buttoned up any final tasks. On Wednesday morning the last bit of debris was hauled off by the Saddleback team. Stacy and her husband are so grateful and are now able to focus on welcoming their baby home soon. 

NAYLOR HOME: Naylor home in Barnardsville, repairing wood flooring, finishing some drywall and repairing a concrete wall in their barn as well as filling in a concrete block wall in their cottage. Kitchen cabinet designs have been finalized by Fearless and will be sent down soon. Wood flooring is set to be provided by Fearless next week and they will furnish the cost to hire skilled labor to install the flooring. Once flooring is in, cabinets can be installed in the farmhouse and they can move in. They are getting close! 

MR. CAUSEY: Jay from the Saddleback team is helping us get started building piers in the cellar at Mr. Causey’s and shore up the beams which is our next step in getting the home dried out and ready to begin rebuilding. We also are contacting the county this week to see if there are any elevation regulations in place before we can begin at Mr. Causey’s. We have made contact with a surveyor who is ready to come take elevation measurements if needed. 

JOY OVERTURF: A portion of the Saddleback team worked on repairing and replacing the chain link fencing at Joy’s. They also worked on the interior of the home. Mostly buttoning up small projects that have already been started, put on outlet covers, paint, door handles etc. 

DISTRIBUTION HELP: Saddleback teams helped with supply organization and distribution at Bee Log School and also at Big Ivy Community Center. They were able to take several heaters as well as full gas cans to Big Ivy in Barnardsville. The Saddleback team made a God ordained connection with a woman at Bee Log named Kisha Phillips, who has suffered greatly due to the hurricane. 

KISHA PHILLIPS: Four people from the Saddleback team as well as Russ and Carol from Georgia went to evaluate the job at Kisha’s house. There is mold in a bedroom and bathroom due to roof damage. They also have a porch that is falling down and may need to be replaced. We would love to help them get in a safe, dry home. 

GOD STORIES: 

1. Kisha Philips: Meeting Kisha Philips at Bee Log school was certainly a divine appointment. The team was there working on supply organization and Kisha and her daughter came in. Kisha’s sister Michelle was washed away in the floods on September 27th. Kisha’s four year old daughter Noel Grace has retinal cancer and has already lost one eye due to the cancer. It was communicated that they have active mold in their home so we sent a team to assess the work and start on the job. It really is the most amazing people that God is leading us to and it is so heartbreaking every time you realize what they've walked through. At  the same time, we’re watching God send the right people to help at exactly the right time to help us. Sometimes before we ever knew a need was there, God has already sent someone to help be the solution. 

2. Russ and Carol Newman: A retired couple from Georgia coming to serve met our team by chance at Bee Log on Tuesday. Seeing that Bee log was closed the following day, they came to serve with our teams for Wednesday! We had planned to send them to a different distribution site, But in sharing with them about Keisha and her needs for a porch rebuild and mold help, we discovered they were the perfect ones to help! Russ is a carpenter, and they have also done many muck out jobs with Samaritan's purse, so they understood what needed to be done and joined the team! Such a God story of Him orchestrating details we couldn’t even know were there. 

WEEK OF: january 6th -11th

NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS: 3

TEAMS WHO CAME AND WHERE FROM: 
Steve Gooch of “Ground Zero Grace” and team from GEORGIA
Rob Kallgren from SOUTH CAROLINA

PROJECT PROGRESS MADE:

WOODWARD HOME: Progress was made at the Woodward house this week. Doors finally came in! Several doors were installed and paneling and trim work were continued. Robert and Rob worked on this along with the Ground Zero Grace team from Georgia. 

MR. CAUSEY: Progress was made in planning work at Mr. Causey’s home in Green  Mountain. We heard good news that his cellar can be shored up with beams to allow for a strong foundation to rebuild upon. We also found out that the black ceiling in question was NOT mold. This was a huge answer to prayer and will allow rebuilding efforts at Mr. Causey’s to begin in a timely manner.  Rob was even able to visit with Ralph, Mr. Causey’s son at the nursing home in Marion!

APRIL KUMMERLE: Rob Kallgren and April Knight went to evaluate April Kummerle’s home in Barnardsville for the possibility of rebuilding. The home damage has already been cleared mostly and floors ripped out. Rob determined that the foundation damage is NOT too  extensive to be repaired! A surveyor who will come evaluate the Kummerle home as well as Michael Cooper and Mr. Causey to ensure all three homes can be repaired as is and will not have to be raised.

WEEK OF: December 22nd -January 5: Closed for the holidays

WEEK OF: December 15th -21st

NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS: 9

TEAMS WHO CAME AND WHERE FROM:

 Rob Kallgren and David Foster from Charleston, SOUTH CAROLINA (15th-21st)
Mari Fisher from Charleston, SOUTH CAROLINA (16th-18th)
Rob Lee and friend from CONNECTICUT (16th-22nd)
Brad and Laura Thomas from TENNESSEE (20th-22nd)
Bret and Brenna Rankin from SOUTH CAROLINA (23rd-24th)

WHAT PROJECTS WERE WORKED ON:

WOODWARD HOME: More progress made at the Woodward home led by Rob Kallgren. They worked on trim and doors are on order (funded by the Gathering church donations). Doors have been ordered locally and will be installed. 

Mari Fisher came and was our kitchen hospitality host for the week she did a great job serving meals and making everyone feel at home. 
Bret and Brenna Rankin, friends of Rob Kallgren came from SC to work at the Woodwards! Brenna is a college student majoring in construction science and eager to use her skills to bless others in need. 

WELL VISITS: Rob Lee and his team are return volunteers from October, while here they worked at the Woodward home but also were able to reconnect with previous families they served earlier this fall and supply them with needed items like propane, water and warm weather clothes. 

MEAT DELIVERY: Phillip Raines came from Virginia to deliver a large load of meat to families in need! This is a beautiful effort of his community in the Shenandoah Valley to offer their gifts to families in  need. 

GOD STORIES: 

We are discovering through our relief work that families and individuals who were already living at risk and in great need pre-hurricane have had their needs magnified post hurricane. It’s hard to see the desperate situations people are living in and realize many were already living this desperately previously. It is sobering to say the least. And yet in the moment, a need is a need and even being able to supply a poor family with propane to heat their trailer is a worthy task whether or not their need was directly created through the hurricane.

We’ve recently connected with a man named Kenny and his family. They are living in great need and although they were without power and water for a month, due to the hurricane they did not have major hurricane damage. However, it became evident that they live in poverty and have for some time. In my first conversation he shared that they were heating their entire trailer with one space heater, and he had been denied an additional heater from some local supply hubs. It’s not clear as to why this was, but many locals living up in the hills describe the aid hub situation as, “they take care of their own and if you don’t know the right people you may not be helped”. I’m not saying this is everywhere or universal but I heard this from Kenny and from a few other locals. We were able to supply Kenny and his family with two additional space heaters and some propane. We’ve met up with him a few times since our initial meeting to deliver food and basic supplies as needed. Kenny has a special place in my heart as does his family. 

WEEK OF: December 8th -14th

NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS: 5

TEAMS WHO CAME AND WHERE FROM:
Rob Kallgren and David Foster from Charleston and Columbia, SOUTH CAROLINA
Nick Haase and Todd from OHIO
Philip Raines from VIRGINIA

PROJECT PROGRESS MADE

WOODWARD HOME: Major progress was made on the Woodward home this week! They got the kitchen cabinets put together. They did some major organization so that they could assemble cabinets. Much paneling was installed and they finished laying floors. 

SCOUTING: Nick Haase (a return volunteer) and Todd went and did some scouting up in Burnsville and Little Creek making further connections with two different families they connected with on a previous visit. Both of these families need renovation work on their home due to flooding and hurricane damage. These will go on the board as future projects. They also worked with Rob and David at the Woodward home. 

MR. CAUSEY: The cellar had some muck out work done by Nick, Todd and Phillip Raines. The jury is still out as to whether the foundation is stable enough to be rebuilt after having them muck out and find dirt floor and some questionable support beams. Also a potential further mold problem in the upstairs (this is not for sure, but being investigated). WEEK OF: December 1st -7th

NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS: 18

TEAMS WHO CAME AND WHERE FROM:
Rob Kallgren and David Foster from SOUTH CAROLINA
Team from (Clayton Baptist Church) GEORGIA
Robert McCleod from Wadmalaw Island, SOUTH CAROLINA

WEEK OF: December 1st -7th

PROJECT PROGRESS MADE

WOODWARD HOME: Major progress was made on the Woodward home this week! They got the kitchen cabinets installed and countertops too! The counter tops were funded by Gathering Church donations made to Hurricane Helene relief fund. Thank you for your generosity!  

STACY AND LUKE HOME: The Clayton team finished up the Johnson Home drywall job and got a coat of primer on the walls. These were the few final things requested by the homeowner. This is a big win and a project considered “finished” on the job board. 

NAYLOR HOME: A portion of the Clayton team continued the drywall work at the two Naylor homes to keep the project moving until Luis and his team comes. 

APRIL KUMMERLE’S HOME: This is a home that was flooded in Barnardsville we have had a few teams at in the past in partnership with the Asheville Dream Center, initially cleaning out the home of belongings and debris in the yard. They Clayton team began ripping out drywall and the flooring. After this week her home was put on pause as she got a notification of the flood plane changing and she must have her property surveyed to see if it needs to be raised up to the new code or if it must be rebuilt completely. This home would be a hopeful option for a future Fearless Works Home Project. 

KNEPP PROPERTY: The Clayton team took the heavy machinery and chainsaws to the Knepp property to make some good progress on the many trees down. They made some good progress here and there is still more tree work to be done.

HEAVY MACHINERY: Clayton Georgia team brough heavy machinery and filled a sink hole for an elderly couple in Green Mountain. They also did some land moving work in Barnardsville. This team graded space in the Knights driveway to have a level spot for the camper that will house volunteers. 

GOD STORIES

1. Seacoast Church donated a camper to house volunteers at the Knight home . This is such a blessing as it has been SO cold recently and the bunkhouse construction at the Knight property is still waiting on county permits.

2. Robert Knight connected with a man in Green Mountain, Shane Hamilton who owns a company with heavy machinery and has offered to grade the land for the bunkhouse. This is such a God thing and another step closer to the bunkhouse getting started.

WEEK OF:  November 24th-30th

NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS: 13

TEAMS WHO CAME AND WHERE FROM:
(Thanksgiving week. Teams were small)

Benjamin Toy and Seacoast Men’s Hike team from Charleston, SOUTH CAROLINA 

PROJECT PROGRESS MADE

WOODWARD HOUSE: Major progress was made on the Woodward home this week! The Seacoast team worked here all week!  They got the kitchen cabinets put together. They did some major organization so that they could assemble cabinets. Much paneling was installed and they got finished laying floors.

WEEK OF: November 17th-23rd

NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS: 32

TEAMS WHO CAME AND WHERE FROM:
Sharon Ferguson and team from MISSISSIPPI
Jordan Parker  and Oscar Rodriguez (Revolve Church) SOUTH CAROLINA
Taylor and team from (Hope Church) SOUTH CAROLINA
Rob Kallgren from Charleston, SOUTH CAROLINA
Bridge Church team from IOWA
Tyler Rominger and team from MICHIGAN
Cheryl MacKinnon and team from CALIFORNIA (Saddleback Church)

PROJECT PROGRESS MADE

WOODWARD HOUSE :  Beginning of the week, Jordan Parker and Oscar Rodriguez came in Sunday evening and they stayed three days. They worked on replacing tile for the woodstove hearth and also some electrical work. They were amazing. Very skilled and willing to do whatever. At the end of the week, Rob Kallgren came up and  has really stepped up to help lead the efforts at the Woodward House. This week we purchased flooring for the home with donations from the Gathering Church donors, YAY! Teams continued to make progress on the Woodward house!

SCOUTING: Sharon Ferguson and team from Mississippi including several veterans spent time helping with the Woodward house as well as scouting areas of need in the Green Mountain, Pensacola and Burnsville areas.  They made several deliveries of supplies they brought with them. 

MR. CAUSEY/HEAVY MACHINERY: The Iowa team came and they were awesome. Scott Sloan had a skid steer and dump trailer. They did lots of debri clean up work at Mr. Causey’s clearing debri from the yard and taking loads to the dump.

NAYLOR HOME: progress was made for the Naylor’s running electrical and finishing dry wall by the Tyler Rominger team. The Naylors are so close! Luis’ team of skilled labor from Fearless Works organization plan to come and finish both their farm house and their cottage beginning of the year. 

GOD STORIES

1. WOOD STOVE TILE: Jordan and Oscar arrived sunday night and we were discussing the Woodward house over dinner. Jordan is a contractor and Oscar works with him. We had told them they would probably be doing some framing work. This week it was set to get VERY cold in the area, they were calling for snow. Sunday morning I got a text from Melanie Ethridge concerned about getting the Woodwards woodstove back in and functional. The team earlier that weekend had finally removed the woodstove so the wet/moldy subfloor underneath could be removed and replaced. She said “we have to get their woodstove back in before the snow”, and was frantically trying to figure out how to get to town to do it, while not being super skilled in this area (it had been years since she had done tile she said). As I shared this new found need with Jordan and Oscar over the dinner table they chuckled…. It just so happened that Oscar is a professional custom tile installer. The next day they went to the Woodwards and started the tile job! And praise God, the next team got the woodstove back and installed by Thursday before the snow came. Only God! :)

2. KITCHEN CABINETS: Scott Sloan from the Bridge Church came into town at just the right time when we needed to calculate and order kitchen cabinets for the Woodwards. We knew he was coming into town with heavy machinery and a dump trailer ready to help. We had no idea he would be able to help with cabinets. Turns out, He is not only a custom cabinet maker but he had a program on his computer that could calculate exactly what’s needed! The next hour Robert got a text from a friend and he said a man in his congregation had felt God lead him to donate kitchen cabinets to a family in need and did we know of anyone who needed any? Just in the nick of time, God lined up all this in such a miraculous way!

WEEK OF: November 10th-16th

NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS: 21

TEAMS WHO CAME AND WHERE FROM: 
Courtney Collins and team from OHIO
Joshua Love from Lexington, SOUTH CAROLINA
Jason Kilby and team from KENTUCKY
Melanie Ethridge and team from TENNESSEE
Rob Kallgren from Charleston, SOUTH CAROLINA
Dillon and Nick Beiring from Charleston, SOUTH CAROLINA

PROJECT PROGRESS MADE

OHIO FARMERS: A group of Farmers from Ohio with heavy machinery came down and served Monday through thursday. They brought a skid steer and mini excavator. They served in various areas of Green Mountain, Barnardsville and Burnsville. We didn't even know they were farmers until they got here but God would have it that many of the places they served were at FARMS in Barnardsville! They made great connections with a farmer named Dillon Lunsford (This is a family we've sent teams to previously and he was grateful for more help!) They cleared debri and helped repair fencing. They also did work at two other farms in Barnardsville who were SO grateful for the help! On Tuesday-Wednesday they were in Green Mountain grading some land and installing a culvert pipe for a man who's house washed away, David Kiester. *culvert pipe was sourced through donations given through the Gathering Church! They also spread some gravel for Jack's Creek Presbyterian Church and did another job for an elderly couple they met along the way. Lastly they helped clear and load debri in a dump trailer at Mr. Causey's house. These guys were LEGENDS!

JOSHUA LOVE FROM LEXINGTON: Joshua was awesome! He stayed on site. He is a GC who came up solo for a day and half mostly to scout work but also do some work while here. He brought his dump trailer which was used at Mr. Causey's. He also did some plumbing work at the Woodward house in Green Mountain! This was a God story for sure as we didn't know he even had those skills. I had just heard that day that we needed a plumber ASAP at the River house to finish up what the previous team hadn't finished. Joshua was able to keep that job moving and "just happened" to even have the plumbing tools in his truck when he normally wouldn't * God at work again! Joshua plans to bring a team of skilled labor up soon! 

KENTUCKY CREW FROM JASON KILBY: This is a return crew from a few weeks back. Jason Kilby, a pastor friend of Robbie Foreman of Together Church has now sent a team down for a second weekend! These guys were AMAZING! They worked like crazy at the Woodward House, finally finishing all the demo work (with the homeowners still living in the home this has been difficult as we've worked around them). 

MELANIE ETHRIDGE AND TEAM FROM KNOXVILLE, TN: Melanie and her team have been very involved at the Woodward house since day one coming to help almost weekly. Her team brought in LVP flooring for the home and started installing. They also helped finish demo work. 

ROB KALLGREN FROM CHARLESTON, SC: Rob did the dirtiest job this weekend!! Rob is a return helper for a third time now! He stayed at the Hallelujah House. On Friday he went to Stacy's house to get eyes on to build a supply list for drywall/insulation install and take measurements etc. Then Rob continued the plumbing work at the River House. As the family is still living in the home, he had the messy job of hooking up active plumbing under the house so that this family finally can have a fully functioning bathroom! He is amazing.  He plans to come back as needed. 

DILLON AND NICK BEIRING and RUSSELL: Dillon, Nick and Russell are here many weekends and at this point run their own missions and just camp out at the house.  They've set up several yurts funded through donations from their community around town and make supply drops to families in need while they are here. Dillon is also an attorney who's helping families with FEMA literacy and submitting appeals as needed to help the families get the coverage they need. (He has done this specifically for Randy and Lucinda at the River House).

BEHIND THE SCENES: Robert and April had more meetings and conversations with Dream Center staff, Luis of Fearless Works, World Vision Reps and Mosaic church out of California regarding working together and streamlining the long term rebuild efforts in WNC. World Vision will be a big source of building supplies moving forward. Mosaic is helping with warehouse space where building supplies can be dropped and stored. We are hoping to streamline the intake form across organizations for houses we will rebuild as well as finalizing contracts for all Fearless Home Rebuilds. Saddleback has donated Industrial dehumidifiers that will be here this week PRAISE! and we will start the moisture remediation process on Mr. Causey's home hopefully at the end of this week! The other two homes of the first three are dry and ready. They are waiting on the online catalogue of finishes from Luis to look through and we will then meet with them to sign contracts and begin a supply order with Luis. The Fearless Works project has felt slow to start, but we believe it will be incredible once we get it rolling!

October 8, 2024

Over the last several days, we have been assessing the church and community needs as we move in Phase 2 of our relief efforts. Today we will be helping clean and prepare some water systems to create sustainable water options in Swannanoa. We are in the process of build teams who can help with tree cleaning, home repairs, etc.

North of Asheville: We are continuing our efforts in the more cut off communities, by resourcing them with supplies, helping them getting them get access to roads, and clean up their homes and business’.

October 5, 2024

Yesterday, we were able to serve the community with food, water, and baby supplies along with help several families with clean up at their homes. If you need assistance with clean up or supplies, please text “ASSISTANCE” to 828-492-2272.

SUPPLY DONATION UPDATE: At this time, we are taking a pause on supply donations. The needs are shifting from immediate physical needs to clean up so we will update once we have a better idea of what is needed.

SERVING: We have partnered with Mercy Chefs who is providing 11,000 hot meals day and are in need of daily volunteers. Volunteers must be at least 15 years old. Sign up to serve at: https://mercychefs.volunteerhub.com/vv2/lp/Ashevilleserve

NORTH OF ASHEVILLE: A small team is working in Burnsville today to help clear trees.

October 4, 2024

MILLS RIVER: We are hosting a drive-thru supply distribution of water, food, and diapers starting at 12pm until it’s gone at 4078 on Haywood Rd. Volunteers are asked to arrive by 11am.

NORTH OF ASHEVILLE: Pastor Robert and April are continuing to do an incredible job of making connections with locals in our smaller mountain communities to help resource them with supplies. Please be in prayer for the right connections to be formed so we are able to continue to meet the needs of those in the area.

• Spruce Pine: We have partnered with Eyes of Faith Church and are supplying them to reach the smaller communities around them.

• Barnardsville: We are helping a family clean out and doing work to help them salvage their home today.

• Continuing to help people cut down trees and repair driveways so they can get out.