Appalachia 2025 Mission Update #3

Hello there, my name is Tayt Thomas, I'm one of the leaders on this mission trip, along with Austin Shanley.

This week we have been in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. For the most part, we've been staying at Spruce Pine Presbyterian Church . 

A lot happened this week! We started our work with Western North Carolina Disaster Ministries, who help rebuild and repair homes that have been damaged by hurricanes and floods. Me, Paul, and Adam went to work on one house setting in vinyl flooring. The water level in that house had reached almost seven feet. The owners of the home had been out of town receiving cancer treatment when the flood happened.

Micah, CJ, and Jamie were at another house cleaning debris from underneath, digging paths for drainage, and replacing the trailer's siding. The homeowner, a young mother, described flood water coming down the mountain and crashing in waves against their windows, carrying all kinds of debris, even propane tanks. They were not able to use the roads, which had washed away, for weeks after. 

Peri, Austin, Caleb, and Earl were helping put in insulation and replace flooring in another house. Here's a quote from Earl about his experience there:

"The house that we’ve been working on has surely been interesting. Something that I took away from the experience there is that the owner has felt the impact of the destruction of the flood. This was clear from the way the owner talked about the destruction, as well as seeing firsthand the water line in the house where the water reached and washed away so many things. Austin and I were in charge of replacing the flooded floors in the house, and though it took a while to learn how, we got to learn a valuable skill. More importantly, we got to know some incredible people while at the house, as well!"

We’ve normally eaten breakfast by ourselves over the past two weeks, but this week First Baptist Spruce Pine provided breakfast for volunteers, so for all days except Friday we were eating with other volunteers who were working that week. After that, we would meet up at Spruce Pine UMC to determine where we were needed that day.

It was an interesting experience to be working alongside other volunteers. Most of them were older, experienced, and retired. There were a couple of guys at our worksite named John and Louis, who became de facto leaders of what we were doing at the house. At other worksites, there were other people, like Gary, Dan, and Joe. We had a great time working alongside them, bonding with them, listening to stories about their lives, and praying for each other. 

This Saturday we took a rest day. It was also Micah’s birthday, one of our mission team members. We let him decide (within reason) what we would do that day, so we ended up going to the annual Alien Festival in Spruce Pine and to Western Sizzlin for dinner.

This mission trip so far has been characterized by the people we've met, especially those older volunteers working alongside us. It has been a blessing to pray for each other and for them to mentor us. They also have reiterated how encouraging our presence has been for them. This trip has also been characterized by hospitality, with people from the different communities we’ve been to coming in to serve us through home-cooked meals and provide for our housing needs. We have all seen a great deal of grief- or at least some feeling of loss- from almost everyone living here, and most of the country's attention has turned away from this area. But despite this, it’s clear from the consistent aid and hope of the volunteers coming in that God has not abandoned these people. As one of the church leaders we met this week put it- we are helping deliver hope to people. Though the landscape has changed and will not return to the way it was before in any of our lifetimes, God still cares for and sees the people who remember the way things used to be. 

With one more week to go and as we process all the things we've learned and seen, we are excited to see what else God will do in and through us!