Christy(far right) & Volunteers in Bucksport
Students filling sandbags
Flood destruction
Christy and her volunteers gut the homes, taking out flooring, drywall and baseboards and insulation. They then use fans and dehumidifiers, and when it’s completely dry, everything is sprayed with a special chemical to kill mold. Finally, the rebuilding can begin. “Unless you drive into these areas, get in there, wear the masks, smell the stench, you just don’t know. Flood cleanout is one of the dirtiest, nastiest jobs.”
I asked Christy why people stay in flood prone areas like Rosewood. “They’re stuck. They don’t have enough money to move. Most families have lower incomes, and what can they do?
grant from Lowes Home Improvement that will continue to fund waiting flood assistance applications. The public can donate through Impact Ministries or Waccamaw Community Foundation.
Christy’s church is not doing the traditional shoebox ministry this year, rather, they are giving Christmas to eight families in Rosewood affected by flooding. If you’d like to help, please contact Christy at 843-457-4791 or contact Impact Ministries at www.impactmb.org.
Even with a few grants, most families won’t have enough to pay for everything. Having the work done by volunteers helps stretch every penny. “People have been generous – Sherwin Williams is offering Many rural areas were left completely without help after the water discounted paint, and we have a warehouse full of donated furniture. If receded. Bucksport, a community on Hwy 701 between Georgetown and you’d like to upgrade, contact us and we will pick up your items.” Conway, is in the middle of nowhere and no teams were there working. “We went to Bucksport after a call went out for help. There are quite a few From a young age, Christy wanted to be a pastor. Her grandparents on families that flooded, and a church needs the entire sanctuary gutted and both sides were missionaries, and her dad was actually born in Nigeria rebuilt.” Christy went on to tell me that her team spent a week helping while his parents were working there. While attending seminary in Fort the one family. “We walked into a gas station, and I had on my Impact Worth, Texas, Christy met her husband, Kevin, who is currently working Ministries shirt. Someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked for help. for the City of Myrtle Beach, but is still very involved in working with Her husband is an amputee, and she has no one helping her. The next the church. week we were able to get a team in there to help. We have teams from As we finished our chat, this incredible woman told me, “As horrific and other states also – from Florida, Texas, Alabama, and Virginia. Some of horrible as this has been, watching the community come together has these people helped in Matthew, and some were here on vacation and been amazing – churches, schools, neighbors, businesses, city officials – asked to volunteer.” all working together. It has brought our community together. I’ve done Christy stressed that there is still a great need for assistance for displaced a lot of mission work, but I’ve never seen people come together on this families. “We need money, of course, and gently used furniture, building scale. It’s been wonderful watching the giving, the working together, supplies, appliances, kitchen cabinets, drywall…most anything that goes and the boundaries taken down, regardless of religion, race or whatever into a home.” The Waccamaw Community Foundation is waiting on a differences we may have.”
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