A St. Paul UMC Mission report from Pastor Cassie:
This month a team from St. Paul went on a mission trip to Augusta to help people still recovering from the damage of Hurricane Helene in 2024. Our team worked in the home of a young woman named Elise. She had been living there with her father when the hurricane struck.
Elise said it sounded like a freight train on the night of the storm last September. During the storm, a branch from a nearby tree fell on their roof. It was a small branch and because of the roof’s slope, difficult to see from the ground. At first it appeared to have caused no damage.
But the branch had punctured the roof and remained there for nine months. Every time it rained, water seeped into the house. Eventually the leak spread damage through half the home, affecting both floors. Elise and her father were living in a space quickly deteriorating around them, but they had limited resources and Elise’s father was seriously ill.
Two months ago, Elise came home from school to find that her father had passed away. At 20 years old, Elise was on her own.
She applied for help through UMCOR, and the long process of restoring half her house began: repairing the roof, tearing out water-damaged walls, installing new drywall, laying new flooring, painting, and completing trim work. While we were there, the St. Paul UMC mission team mudded and sanded the drywall and painted the home’s rooms. The following week, another group arrived to put new flooring in.
Elise, now a young homeowner and nursing student, impressed all of us with her bright personality, gratitude, and resilience. We were deeply moved by her strength of spirit and grateful for the opportunity to support her.
Elise is a remarkable young woman. It was a joy to meet her and help rebuild her home. We look forward to seeing the final photos once her home renovations are finished!
