In Matthew 10:42, Jesus tells us, “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” This week, we lived out these words in a powerful way. Through your generosity, we provided water to those impacted by Hurricane Helene, not only meeting a physical need but sharing Christ’s love. Every bottle, every case, every drop was a gift in His name.
We delivered 60,000 pounds of water to the Asheville area, distributed in just four days. Your swift action helped alleviate suffering and meet real needs. This could happen only because of the combined efforts of our community. Scott Knowles and Robert Skaff generously donated trucks, covering the gas to transport the water. Many of you who couldn’t donate water contributed funds, enabling us to rent a U-Haul when the amount exceeded our capacity. Special thanks to Jennifer, Joy, Lisa, Scott V., and Scott K. for helping with delivery.
The support we received from others was amazing. Rabbi Knight from Temple Beth El called on Monday and asked if we could help transport water they had collected. Their sister synagogue in Asheville was in desperate need after trees and flooding left homes without power and water. We said yes, and they came to help load trucks. Rasheed, who owns a transport company, heard about the partnership and offered a semi and driver to transport 14 pallets. “This is a gift from the Muslim community,” he said. In a world so often divided, this interfaith collaboration was a beautiful example of love and cooperation.
Our first caravan, made up of a semi, a donated truck, and a trailer from the Western North Carolina Disaster Response team, set out at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. Good Morning America even filmed a segment as we loaded water and followed us up the mountain to document the delivery.
We arrived at Covenant Community UMC in Asheville, a distribution hub for the United Methodist Church, where people were already lined up. As we pulled in, they cheered. Volunteers worked for over an hour to unload the water, and I overheard conversations in both English and Spanish as everyone pitched in.
While we were there, a muddy minivan pulled up. Rev. Andrea McCumber from Montmorenci UMC in nearby Candler told us that their food pantry was wiped out by the storm, and with the local water supply out for four weeks, her community had no access to clean water. She had opened and distributed everything her church had, trusting they’d find a way to restock. “This is wonderful,” she said. “This is exactly what we need. We have water! We have food!”
For the next four weeks, we need your continued support to keep this relief effort strong. Please contribute to our disaster fund, help with supply runs, or simply give. Your gift will make a real difference to this community in need.
When giving, select “Disaster Aid” from the dropdown menu.
On the Ground: Stories from the field
Rabbi Meiri at Congregation Beth HaTephila was almost in shock. The hill under her home had given way when a retaining wall collapsed in the rain. Her home is OK right now but needs immediate repair work to shore up that hill. And she’s not alone. She said her whole congregation is without power and water. Every third house has a fallen tree on it. She said to receive, in the midst of that, a gift of water from the Jewish community in Charlotte, carried by Myers Park UMC, was a huge blessing. She kept calling us angels and thanking us for our work. One of the most touching moments was when she shared about her own home (near the end of our time), and I asked if we could pray for her. All of us—Jewish and Christian—prayed for the community, for the rabbi, and for God’s comfort, strength, and provision.
Rev. Andrea McCumber, who serves at Montmorenci UMC in Candler outside of Asheville, expressed feeling incredibly isolated and helpless, saying that nobody had come out that way to help. She said all grocery stores are closed, and gas is out. Her husband, Jeff, is also clergy. They just got some power back, but cell service is spotty, and they have no water. Water isn’t expected for a long time. Her church is known in the community for their food pantry and a weekly free meal. They already emptied their food pantry and gave out all they had. She said they definitely weren’t prepared to be hit like this.
Taking water to Congregation Beth HaTephila: As we drove through the neighborhood, people saw the water in the truck bed and called out to us. We had our windows down, and we heard and stopped. There were two guys, and they just took one case. They could have had two, but they wanted to make sure their neighbors got what they needed. We passed others and started asking if they needed water. If they had some, they didn’t take more. We said, “God bless you,” and they said, “God bless you for what you are doing. We are so grateful.”
While we were there, at least two families came up asking for help. This was not distribution time; they just needed it. We gave them water right off our truck as we unloaded it. People know this is the place to go and show up.
UMAR, our community partner serving adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, wanted to help with our disaster relief efforts. On Tuesday morning, they unloaded a car full of water to be sent to affected areas.
Robert Skaff saw me counting rows of water, trying to figure out how much we had. He was dropping off water at the time and asked me what I was doing. I explained, and he said, “Do you need another truck?” I told him I didn’t know. He went away, worked on it, and said, “Here is the truck. It’s ready to go tomorrow with a driver and gas if you need it.” And it sure was, and we did!
Gary Morgan and his wife, Charlotte, filled their pickup with nonperishable food and supplies and personally took it up to the Montmorenci UMC church food pantry. The pastor, Rev. Andrea McCumber, has to drive into town once a day to get cell service. It’s interesting how life is when your GPS doesn’t work (it doesn’t up there because of no service), and your phones don’t connect. You go back to how it was so many years ago. I’d forgotten how it was, but Asheville is bringing it back.