Two years ago, when Clay Herd was pastor of Licking River Baptist Church in Salyersville, flooding paralyzed the community.
Then, an angel on wheels from a church in Hendersonville, N.C., rolled up to the church loaded with water and other desperately needed supplies. Herd did not even know the pastor at the time.
Herd said, “He was a friend of a friend. I used to be at Trenton Baptist Church in Todd County and the pastor there now was good friends with that guy. We connected through that avenue. He called us the next day and showed up.”
That gesture was not forgotten. And now it’s Herd’s opportunity to return the favor.
Hendersonville is in western North Carolina where Hurricane Helene has created havoc with massive flooding. The death toll in the area is rising daily. Shaws Creek Baptist Church is where the pastor who brought the supplies to Licking River serves.
So, Herd and some volunteers looked up routes to Hendersonville so they can deliver emergency supplies and a little hope. The route is about a six-hour journey and not through typical roadways since many are impassable. Also, they are taking pickup trucks instead of a trailer because of the fragile state of the infrastructure.
Herd said, “We are coming with ways to minister to the community much like they did for us. We want to prop up these churches. We don’t know if we will be successful. I don’t know if we can make it fully there but we’re going to try.”