Welcome to the Friday Five! Every Friday we share our top five articles, stories, and quotes for you to read and share with your friends and church families.

Would you consider making a Hurricane Helene relief donation to Samaritan’s Purse here?

1. nc values: hurricane helene relief efforts

As many of you are aware, the Western part of our beloved state got decimated by Hurricane Helene. Helene tore through the mountains, dumping extreme rainfall unheard of in over 100 years. The results led to flash flooding and mud slides that have wiped out homes, businesses, and many other familiar places. The flooding also caused people to lose their lives, and hundreds of people are still missing.  We should all be in prayer for our neighbors in Western North Carolina, pleading with our mighty God to help them find their loved ones and provide for their needs!

It is truly a catastrophe, as the images and stories coming out of the area attest to the wide swath of destruction.

As power and access slowly returns, and new stories and images come to light, many of you are wondering how you can help your neighbors. We wanted to provide you with a couple resources.

Here are 3 ways you can help: https://ncvalues.org/hurricane-helene-relief-efforts/

2. watch: rev. franklin graham on hurricane helene recovery efforts

“I’m so proud of North Carolina—this is neighbor helping neighbor. We aren’t waiting for the government to come save us. I’m just so thankful for the thousands of volunteers who are responding to the hurt that Hurricane Helene has caused in Jesus’ Name.”

Watch: https://x.com/Franklin_Graham/status/1841603129101746512

3. north state journal: search for survivors continues after helene

“The devastation was especially bad in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where at least 40 people died in and around the city of Asheville, a tourism haven known for its art galleries, breweries and outdoor activities.

Just outside the city, in the small community of Swannanoa, receding floodwaters revealed cars stacked on top of others and trailer homes that had floated away during the storm. Roads were pockmarked with sinkholes and caked with mud and debris.

Exhausted emergency crews worked around the clock to clear roads, restore power and phone service, and reach those still stranded by the storm, which killed at least 139 people in six states. Nearly half of the deaths were in North Carolina, while dozens of others were in South Carolina and Georgia.

Search and rescue crews from all levels of government were deployed throughout western North Carolina. Federal agencies, aid groups and volunteers worked to deliver supplies by air, truck and even mule train.”

Read more: https://nsjonline.com/article/2024/10/search-for-survivors-continues-after-helene/

4. carolina journal: the uplifting human response to the hell of helene

“If you’re reading this from within North Carolina, you already know that western North Carolina is in a world of hurt; you know that Hurricane Helene, after having made landfall in Florida as a major hurricane, traveled north to Appalachia and devastated these communities with flash floods; and, you know that, as more footage emerges from some of the worst hit areas, the ‘biblical’ adjective is perfectly appropriately.

What you don’t know is how these communities, these people, will ever recover. But then, in glimmers, you’ll started to notice something that feels miraculous and familiar all at once — the uplifting human response to overcome.”

Read more: https://www.carolinajournal.com/opinion/the-uplifting-human-response-to-the-hell-of-helene/

5. carolina journal: ncsbe forging ahead with wnc voting process after helene

“Voters affected by Helene can go to ncsbe.gov/helene, which will be updated with the latest information. Brinson Bell also announced Tuesday that NCSBE is deploying special emergency kits to county election boards in Watauga Mitchell, Yancy, and Haywood counties. The kits contain clean laptops, cell phones, and Wi-Fi devices so that boards can have cellular internet service.

Even with the voter registration deadline of Oct. 11 fast approaching and the beginning of early voting on Oct. 17, Brinson Bell assured media that voting issues aren’t a big concern, as Election Day is weeks away and they’ve experienced similar weather events in the past.”

Read more: https://www.carolinajournal.com/ncsbe-forging-ahead-with-wnc-voting-process-after-helene/

weekly prayer: western north carolina

LORD, we pray for our neighbors in Western North Carolina! They have experienced unspeakable calamity.

In moments such as these—where we are stripped of our things and threatened of our lives—our dependence on You is most great. In the moments where the flood waters rise, where the wind roars, and where the foundations  shake, we cry out to You in sobered desperation. And You hear us, oh merciful and tender-hearted LORD.

Father, You promise us peace in the midst of life’s storm, and a peace beyond understanding You provide.

Like our neighbors, we too find natural disasters to be things beyond understanding. So loaded with tragedy, which weighs our hearts heavily.

Yet especially for moments such as these, You alone are a refuge whose foundation stands firmer than all the stars.

Help us help our neighbor, oh Prince of Peace. Help us bring them peace.

“God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,

though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,” (Ps 46:1-2)

Amen