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MADISON
Asheville Citizen Times
MARS HILL - While Mars Hill was far less impacted by Tropical Storm Helene compared to Marshall and Hot Springs, it didn't stop community residents from jumping into service with the same urgency as those coordinating relief efforts in the other two Madison townships.
The News-Record & Sentinel visited with community members at Mars Hill Baptist Church Oct. 3-4, where, thanks to a StarLink, residents gathered on the lawn to check their emails or to work remotely, potentially due to their offices being destroyed in Helene's flooding.
On Oct. 6, for Mars Hill Baptist Church's Sunday services, children enjoyed a return to some semblance of normal, as they played in a bouncy house.
But the reality of dealing with the juxtaposition of the devastation in two of the county's three towns, and the significantly less destruction in Mars Hill was an idea that the Mars Hill residents at Mars Hill Baptist Church were very conscious of.
Reckoning with the damage in Madison County
Bethany Wyatt works for Buncombe County Schools but stepped in to help the church while Buncombe County Schools weren't in session.
According to Wyatt and other Mars Hill residents assisting in the relief efforts, they've had to wrestle with the reality of Mars Hill being mostly unimpacted, particularly in comparison to the drastic devastation in downtown Marshall and downtown Hot Springs.
"We are no heroes, we're doing easy work," Wyatt said. "We got off very, very lucky, and if we can bless somebody with a hot meal or a hug, that's the easy work. There are so many people that are out there on the frontlines taking care of things and coming together as a community, as the mountains have."
But they didn't let it slow them down in their community service.
Elaine Edwards, of Marshall, volunteered with the church in the week following Helene. Edwards is a magistrate with Madison County Sheriff's Office.
Edwards said she felt people were "spared" in order to give back to their communities in need.
"We are doing what He would have us to do," Edwards said. "We are to be servants. Everyone is a neighbor. It doesn't matter if you live next door to me, or if you live 500 miles away, you're my neighbor. If you have a need, then I am compelled to have to try to help you with that need."
"As a Christian, we are compelled to do what we can to help others," Wyatt said. "Our hearts are heavy for those that we can't help, and that we can't get to. So, we're willing to do whatever we need to do. We just want to be here to help Madison and the other counties in any small way we can. People are just needing that human interaction right now."
Edward "Gunny" Green has joined with Pastors Craig Goforth and Earl Smith in helping to cook and deliver meals post-Helene.
Nonprofit organization Mercy Chefs was providing as many as 800 hot meals a day for residents. Green helped coordinate the hot meals, and Bill Welsch with the Lord's Harvest used his truck and trailer to pick up and deliver meals in and out of county.
Founded in 2006, Mercy Chefs serves hot, chef-prepared meals to those in greatest need — whether in disaster recovery or daily hardship, according to its website.
"This is the easy part," Green said. "I don't have to muck out my house or look for another one, or figure out where my clothes or my personal belongings are. All of our stuff is OK, which gives us the opportunity to do this."
Like Edwards, he said he felt God was calling on Mars Hill residents to help their fellow community members.
"I feel like God spared this spot right here because he knew we could help him," Green said. "That's what we've been doing. We just help him. We've sent food out to every place we can get to. I've sent food out to Hot Springs, Marshall, Barnardsville, Spruce Pine, Mars Hill, Swannanoa and Burnsville."
Wyatt said people and organizations from throughout the country have called the church to ask how they can help. Others have just shown up.
"Yesterday it was Eastern Carolina, today it was Indiana," Wyatt said.
According to the church team, community members from throughout WNC and East Tennessee have also brought food in for church members to cook.
The church also offered free Wi-Fi for residents and visitors, which was a hot commodity, particularly in the first seven days following Helene's destruction.
Young people's commitment to service
Wyatt said she's been overwhelmed by the response from Mars Hill University students.
But for Wyatt, WNC and East Tennessee youths are also being given an opportunity to learn about a commitment to community service in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene.
"My poor 13-year-old has been on the grill for days," Wyatt joked of her son Hudson.
"Our kids are coming along with us and they're working along right beside us, because they need to remember this. It's good fellowship. They need to learn. But it's hard on them, too."
According to Wyatt, the church planned to transition more to cleanup efforts, as Pastor Tommy Justus has been in the Rollins community of Marshall
As so many WNC residents have stated throughout the response to Helene, characteristics that in the past have divided residents seem way less important now, as the goal of serving our fellow community members rises to the forefront.
"Regardless of where they live and their political affiliation, it's been great to have everybody focus, regardless of who they are," Wyatt said. "In a time of crisis, that's what you have to do, is put that aside, and just be there for the people.
"We're blessed to be able to do it here, and as long as the need arises, we will find it. This isn't a thing that we're going to do for a couple days. This is what this church does."