“I didn’t expect to feel as fulfilled as I did,” says Autumn, a camper from Charlotte, North Carolina. “I thought I’d be exhausted, but I wanted to keep going and keep interacting in the community. I felt so connected to the work we were doing.”
The work Autumn and the group from Advent Lutheran Church were doing was serving through this summer’s Lutheran Disaster Response program. The group stayed at Lutheridge for the week and spent several of their days working with various organizations in the Asheville area who serve those affected by last fall’s disaster.
Throughout the week, the group had to adjust their expectations of what a week of disaster response work would be. “I thought we’d be building houses and picking up debris,” says Bryant, another camper in the group. “Instead, we did a lot of food preparation. That taught me that in a disaster area some people need shelter, but other people need food and comfort.” Bryant and other members of the group especially liked serving at Blunt Kitchen, a feeding ministry in Swannanoa that began right after the storm. “Seeing how that ministry started there because that’s the place there was a need, and then being able to help with the community meal there was great,” Bryant shares.
“Coming to a disaster area, I expected for people to be unhappy,” admits Deloris, one of the adult leaders in the group. “But everywhere we went there was so much joy. Everyone was so welcoming and appreciative that we showed up. As volunteers, we weren’t just an extra task for them to do that day.”
Autumn says that through disaster response work she learned a lot about vulnerability. “Throughout the week, I saw people be vulnerable in so many different ways. Working with Interfaith Assistance Ministry in Hendersonville helped me see there are different forms of vulnerability. It takes a lot of courage to go to a place like that and ask for help with food, or clothes, or budgeting. It was really powerful for me to see people from that point of view.”
Deloris sees how the experiences the group had are important for the youth and for their whole congregation. “We do a lot of outreach in our congregation,” Deloris says, “but coming here and seeing the damage from storms and seeing where the high water mark was from the flood made it more real. Meeting people and hearing their stories really made a difference for our group.”
Pastor Ward from Advent was also moved by the opportunity to share the experiences of the week with younger members of his congregation. “To be together doing this work is powerful,” Ward says. “Being able to be shoulder to shoulder with our youth and being the hands and feet of Jesus in this place – it was beautiful.”
Thank you for your gifts to NovusWay which support this summer’s disaster response programs in places where hope and help are making a difference in the lives of God’s people.
