On our trip to North Carolina last week, we got more than we bargained for...
We arrived Friday night and spent the evening with Mitchell's family and a few of his friends, outrunning the storm that came through Nashville earlier that day. Saturday afternoon was spent making shrimp & grits for the 300 people that were expected to attend Mitchell's friend's wedding, which was at 5:30pm. It was originally planned to be outside, but with the bad weather moving east, they moved it inside a church at the last minute.
The reception was held in a banquet hall in Windsor, NC and lasted till 11pm or so. Not far into the reception, the sky began to turn dark and the wind was picking up. Next came the rain, which poured from all directions. We could literally see clouds in the sky swirling and changing colors, and it was unlike anything I'd ever seen. The temperatures dropped significantly and people made their way to the doors to see what was going on, half of them on the phone, some of them in tears.
The news spread like wildfire. "Tornadoes were spotted." "They confirmed on the radio that 2 touched down." "They're in Askewville."
Braxton, the man who sang in the wedding ceremony got a phone call in the reception. His house was destroyed. If he and Mindy weren't at the reception, they'd be 2 more dead. Similar phone calls were made and received all night.
In the morning, the devastation became a reality, and it hit harder than the hangovers we all had. People were missing, unaccounted for, later declared deceased- killed in and by the tornadoes. It's still unsure about how many actually touched down, but we heard that there were a conformed 5 cells counted on the news.
Driving through Askewville the next morning, it was hard to hide the pain I felt for these poor people who lost everything. Mitchell's mother was already up and at the Assembly of God where they were starting to collect donations and hand out necessary items to needy families affected by the storms.
The donated items flowed in freely, without any hesitation by all kinds of organisations. Food Lion and Piggly Wiggly donated hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of food and toiletries. Churches from all over sent volunteers. Mitchell and I volunteered our time to cook and hand-deliver food to victims, volunteers, and workers throughout Bertie County. We sat down and patted out over 300 hamburger steaks and I prepared enough instant potatoes to feed an army. The next morning, we woke up and started cooking spaghetti at 8am. It took us almost 4 hours to cook enough food for everyone using only a standard stove top and 4 huge pots in Mitchell's dad's hunting cabin.
I've never seen people come together the way those people did in Askewville. Strangers went out of their way to care for others. "What can I get you? What do you need?" Everywhere, there were handwritten fliers offering free childcare and laundering services, out of people's homes who were not affected. There was not a single person not involved in some way to help make it easier on those less fortunate. Even some children wanted to help with anything they could. Little girls colored pictures of flowers and smiley faced suns to give away.
The gymnasium was packed with food items and resting people. The walls were lined with coolers, filled with bottled water and soda and Gatorade for anyone and everyone to take a drink from. The bleachers had hundreds of canned foods stacked and lined up, with truckloads more being donated seemingly every hour.
Once we had all the food cooked, it was sent to "the ladies." The ladies were lined up on either side of 3 buffet tables where they worked like a meticulous assembly line. Their mission was to feed the hungry, filling Styrofoam boxes with equal parts food and love. Two women scooped spaghetti, two more scooped "snaps," one more threw in a roll or two, and the last couple of women stacked the boxes. On the other side of the room, a table of older women Saran-wrapped small plates of sliced cakes and pies to send out. From there, the boxes were loaded in the back of Mitchell's truck with a few coolers packed full of drinks. We literally lost count of how many people we fed over those three days and nights. It was well into the hundreds.
Driving through all the devastation made me cry. It hurt us watching women picking articles of clothing out of trees, seeing men carrying unrecognizable pieces of houses- people's homes- to throw into piles by the street, watching children tip-toeing around broken glass and toys... It was a lot to see and too much for me to take in at once. These people had lost everything in just a scary split second.
We heard countless stories from many residents of Bertie County. Some stories were of loss and suffering, while others told of miracles and survivors. Everyone, however, was hopeful. Even in all the devastation and destruction caused by the storms, people didn't have time to cry. They were lending helping hands to those affected, and likewise, those who had lost everything but their lives still carried on.
Thanks to all the caring people of Bertie County, they will continue to do so to get past this hard time they've been handed. They will rebuild. They will stay together as a community, and continue to grow closer to those who are doing so much to ease the pain. The faith of those in Bertie County is so strong and will be their greatest strength through all of this.
The total count of those who lost their lives is 12. May God be with their families at this time of need. May their families find the strength they undoubtedly will require to simply wake up every morning to push forward.
This "vacation" was life-changing for me, and I wouldn't trade my experiences volunteering in Askewville, North Carolina for the prettiest day at the beach.
1 cup crushed ice
