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Many of our readers know our dear friends, Kevin O’Connell and his wife, Julie. They are alive and well. Both radio professionals by trade, Kevin is the voice talent on our CDs and he and Julie have served as our audio recording team at our Bible conferences for decades. Like myself, they had also been planning to be at the Conference in Minneapolis which commences with early arrivals today.
Some years ago, Kevin and Julie moved from north Georgia to Burnsville, NC, which is about an hour’s drive north of me. Burnsville and the surrounding rural areas were also very heavily hit by Hurricane Helene.
I met with them yesterday as they had errands in Asheville. They are still without power and running water and internet service. Once trees were cleared from their gravel road winding up the mountain they have been able to get in and out and get to nearby friends for showers and other supplies.
While they have long been prepared for emergencies and thus have wood and propane for heat and cooking, non-potable gravity water for toilets, adequate stores of non-perishable food, please pray that the essential services be restored for them soon.
In checking in with them this morning, they were joyful to report numerous anecdotes of people helping people in Christian love. Julie’s friends from social media have thus far sent them over $9,000 to distribute to those whose houses were destroyed or who lost their jobs and are in dire need.
The donors almost universally are of the attitude that they don’t trust the big charities like Red Cross, United Way—and above all, they do not trust FEMA—but they sent it to Kevin and Julie because they know they can trust them to get it to real people, true victims who are in desperate need.
Julie said they have already distributed over $3k and shared several stories with me of the plight of those recipients. We could post many pages of their experiences from Helene’s aftermath, but alas, for time. It would make you weep with joy over the way people come together!
Please continue to remember us all in your prayers, and above all, that this unprecedented disaster in WNC—which in a mere 36 hours has changed the geological features of WNC—that this catastrophe will cause not only us who are directly impacted by Helene, but that it will help America as a whole to awaken and turn back to God.
He is the One who controls the storms—regardless of whether or not He used modern “Nebuchadnezzars” (the cabal) to direct the storms—it’s still all in the plan and control of Yahweh Almighty!
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