Most of you don't know that my family and I have ties to Western North Carolina. My step-dad is from Charlotte but had family in Lake Lure. As kids we were in and out of Western North Carolina, our favorite places to visit were Black Mountain and Asheville. In 1992 my parents bought a camp ground in Marion, NC and I (Anne) went to high school there. My high school job as a trail guide with horses was in Spruce Pine and later I worked for Linville Caverns. I attended college in Boone, NC at Appalachian State University (where my sweet husband and I met). This summer we visited all of those places with my parents and kids--we said it was a "once in a lifetime" opportunity, we didn't realize at the time how true that statement was. This last week has been very difficult to watch as we have seen the devastation left by heavy rains and winds from Hurricane Helene. The campground that my parents owned on Lake James was flooded when the lake rose 15 feet--It's likely that my basement bedroom in the house flooded but it's difficult to get reports from the area. There are still 1000 people listed on the missing person's reports for McDowell county. We saw footage from Boone and both of the first floor apartments where my husband lived in college were flooded. We continue to get reports that grieve our family and also reports of kindness that lift our hearts.
We would like to encourage anyone who has the means and feels led to donate toward relief efforts. I won't tell you where to donate, that is a personal choice for you and your family, but I will tell you that our family is donating through Samaritan's Purse https://www.samaritanspurse.org I know them to be a reliable and honorable organization that has vast experience in disaster relief. They are also based in Boone, NC and they have a network that is already established in the area to work through. They are also supporting disaster relief in Tennessee, Florida and Georgia as well. We'd also like to ask for your prayers for the region. This will not be a fast process. The mountains are dense and many areas are hard to access. We pray that the residents would know that God has not forgotten them and that they would see tangible evidence of this through the actions of people reaching out and the presence of His Spirit.
Thank you. May God bless you and keep you.
Love,
Anne
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