The Hurricane and God’s Goodness

Well that was not the morning I was expecting! I want to get this story to you now before I forget things.

Hurricane Helen was a little closer to us than was predicted. This morning we were woken up before our alarms to move up to the dining deck because we were concerned about tree branches falling on our cabins. We took the things we wanted for the morning and tromped up to the dining hall. It was pouring rain and muddy. We kept getting flood alerts and weather alerts on our phones, but it seemed safer to stay where we were. We spent the morning in the dining hall eating fruit loops, playing cards, taking naps, praying and singing. All the while we watched the water at the back of the building rise, and a waterfall run down the back rockery and stairs.

I was by the front door when we heard a loud CRACK and a rumble and Mitch yelled “GET OUT”. We all ran for the door, as there was an explosion of wood and glass and a big crash. Somehow by the grace of God we all made it out of that door as the entire other half of the building was smashed to bits. A large tree and the cabin uphill of the dining hall had slid down in a mudslide colliding with the building we were in. We stood on the porch in shock as water started to rise and a river of mud and debris swept down and into the cabins we had been sleeping in that morning. GOD IS SO GOOD TO US, He protected us. We all clambered from the porch away from the wreckage and up towards the vans, all alive, all there, all shaken.

By the vans we didn’t know what to do. The wind was blowing hard and the rain was dumping, and the flash flood was still raging.
This was a moment where I was so humbled. There was nothing to do except pray. We started singing worship and hugging each other and shivering in the rain and crying. We couldn’t move because the newly placed river now separated us from the road.

By the grace of God two of the men that had been doing ministry with us were there. After about an hour of standing on top of the hill and praying the storm began to calm. The men were able to set up a rope across the river that we held on to as we waded across two by two through the current, mud and debris to the other side where a van waited.

God had His hand over us and delivered us safely, into the van and up to the Black Mountain Home for Children Youth and Families. Soaking wet, covered in mud, they welcomed us in and gave us food and clothes and showers and a place to hide from the rain.

The storm is over now, there is blue sky peeking out. We will probably be stuck here for a bit because everything is flooded, but we have everything we need and are well taken care of. I am so full of joy and peace. God had us in His hands the whole way. I fully believe that the safest place for me to be is right where God has called me. This is where God called me to, so even if my body didn’t feel safe in the moment, deep inside I knew that I was no closer to danger than in my bed at home.

This is team bonding if I ever saw it, and now that we have this adventure under our belts I think it will prepare us to face so much more in the future and serve others who have been through natural disaster better.

Please be praying for everybody who has been hit by this hurricane, that they would find peace and safety. Also please be praying for my squad as we recover and rest, that there would be abounding peace, joy, and opportunities for us to be the hands and feet of Jesus, serving where we can. God is good!

Love you all so much!
-Rosella