Bring Kingdom into chaos. Help rebuild Jamaica.

On the night of September 26, 2024, Stephen and his family were given about fifteen minutes.

Fifteen minutes to gather what they could carry.
Fifteen minutes to decide what mattered most.
Fifteen minutes before the river changed everything.

Just north of their home in Old Fort, the river overflowed its banks and sent a surge of water toward their neighborhood. At first, the danger felt distant. Then the water crossed their threshold.

It crept across the floors, climbed past their ankles, and kept rising until nearly three feet of water filled their home.

Outside was worse. The yard was waist deep. The night was dark. The current was strong.

They escaped through a window, searching for higher ground, when the moment turned terrifying. Stephen’s mother was pinned between a fence and a refrigerator that had broken loose and was being driven by the current.

For a moment, time stood still.

Then Stephen’s son reacted. With clarity and courage, he freed her.

Soaked and shaken, the family stood together in the darkness. That was when Stephen’s mother saw it, a single light glowing on a hillside.

They began walking toward it.

Step by careful step, through rushing water, they moved toward the only sign of safety they could see. Eventually they reached higher ground.

When they returned days later, the devastation was overwhelming. Thick mud coated every room. Electrical outlets had been submerged. Furniture was ruined. Walls were stained. The house felt unrecognizable.

Weeks passed. Then months.

Eventually, our team met Stephen and assessed the damage. And then something steady began to happen. Teams started showing up.

Mudding.
Sanding.
Painting.

Day after day.

At first, Stephen carried the heaviness of loss in his face. You could see it in his eyes. Exhaustion. Uncertainty. The weight of what had been taken.

Today, Stephen’s home is fully restored.

The floors are finished.
The walls are painted.
The heaviness we once saw is gone.

Hope has returned.

When you walk through Stephen’s home now, it feels like home again. Light fills the rooms. There is peace in the space. Dignity has been restored along with drywall and floors.

This is why we do this work.

But Stephen is not the only story in Western North Carolina.

There are still 150 families whose homes look like his once did. Homes mid-process. Homes waiting. Homes where restoration has begun but is not yet finished.

Stephen’s story is complete.

The mission is not.

What made his restoration possible was not chance. It was leadership, prepared teams, housing, meals, tools, and coordination. Restoration inside a home happens because restoration is organized around it.

That is the season we are in now.

We are strengthening leaders. Sustaining teams. Building the operational backbone that allows volunteers to serve families with excellence and dignity.

There are 150 families still waiting for their turning point.

Stephen is home.

We intend to stay until they are too.