Helene Relief Phase 2: Rebuild Lives, Restore Hope

After a natural disaster, the damage that lingers longest isn’t always visible.

Sometimes, it's the quiet grief of a disrupted routine.
The anxiety that settles in a child’s body.
The tree that keeps standing, day after day, just outside the window—reminding a family of what could have been.

Mark and Rosanna live in Black Mountain with their son, who has Down Syndrome.

When Hurricane Helene roared through their neighborhood, they waited out the storm with bated breath. Trees snapped and crashed around them. One particularly large oak toppled just outside their son’s bedroom.

Though their house was miraculously spared, the emotional impact was not.

That tree became a monument to the fear they all felt—and for their son, a visual reminder that his world was no longer safe. After a while, they kept the curtain closed.

He didn’t need to see that every day.

Then came a volunteer team from Rock Laramie.

They had no idea what this home had endured. But they came ready—to serve, to bless, to bring the Kingdom into a place of weariness. Chainsaws roared, yard tools moved in rhythm, and the once-overwhelming damage began to disappear.

It was practical work. Necessary work. But it was also sacred.

When the last branches were cleared and the yard was finally clean, Rosanna walked to the window. She pulled back the curtain.

And her son smiled.

Not just a polite smile—but a pure, clapping, joy-filled smile that lit up the room.

He saw peace. He saw restoration.
He saw that someone had come. That someone had cared.

That smile?
That’s why we do this.

Because disaster relief is never just about cleanup.
It’s about communion. About joy. About showing up and revealing the heart of God in places people thought they’d been forgotten.

And we need you to keep going.

Pray for more doors to open and more families to be reached.
Give so we can keep bringing teams and supplies to where they’re needed most.
Go—because someone needs your presence to pull back their curtain and see hope again.

Let’s bring the Kingdom into the chaos—together.