As Hurricane Florence dropped record levels of rain on the Carolinas in September 2018, Dean and Katie French found themselves rescued from their home by the National Guard. Fortunately, they were invited by friends from Seacoast’s Conway Campus to stay with them for however long was needed.
The hurricane left behind three feet of standing water in the first level of Dean and Katie’s home. Wondering how they would pay for something so catastrophic, with no insurance—since their house wasn’t even in a flood zone—the couple put off some needed surgeries. After a month, they returned to live on the second floor, saving whatever money they could with the intention of restoring their home, little by little.
THE CALL
Then Deborah Sadr of Seacoast Conway called with unbelievable news: Seacoast wanted to help pay for the repairs to the house. Teams from Seacoast and Christ In Action soon arrived to begin the renovation and help find a trustworthy contractor.
“We really have no family anywhere near, and so the church kind of becomes our family,” Dean said.
BODY OF CHRIST
In addition to gutting damaged homes, teams at Seacoast Conway made an impact on the community in several ways during this time of disaster. The church building served as a supply distribution center, and volunteers and staff handed out water and snacks to people stuck in traffic for hours once the evacuation order was lifted.
“All my life I’ve heard of the body of Christ, that’s the body of Christ,” Katie said of her church family. “I don’t know what people do without God’s love.”
