Restoring Hearts and Homes in the Path of Disaster

by Linda McMillian

NORTH FULTON, GA —They wear distinctive yellow shirts and deliver strength, comfort, friendship, empathy, and hands willing to do the hard physical work required to help restore normalcy for others in times of great disruption.

Recently more than 200 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Roswell Georgia Stake (diocese), outfitted in “Helping Hands” shirts, left the safety, comfort, and peace of their own homes and spent over 2,500 hours restoring the houses of strangers on the east coast after the recent destructive hurricanes. Those natural disasters came and went, leaving behind a wake of physical devastation and emotional catastrophe for many.

Armed with chainsaws, rakes, ladders, and tarps the small army of men and women drove 6 hours to reach those in need.

The elderly and disadvantaged represented the largest contingency of storm victims helped during this trip.

The teams of workers were assisted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints missionaries serving in nearby areas. The heavy physical work included cutting up and removing fallen trees, tarping roofs, and general debris removal.

Perhaps the most important salvage work that took place was the restoration of hope and comfort in the hearts of those affected by the storms.

Storm victims often shared their experiences with those working to help them.

Church member Aaron Bartlett reported, “Our first visit was undoubtedly inspired by the Hand of God. We arrived to fulfill a work order and the family who was home said that we were mistaken as they had never requested any help. A little discouraged we asked them if they knew anyone who needed help and they said 'well it looks like Amy could use some help next door.'

“We walked over and saw that a huge tree had fallen on Amy's backyard and was leaning over the top of her house as well. We knocked on the door and she seemed surprised but we offered our help nonetheless. She was ecstatic. We worked hard and after a few hours finished up hauling the remnants of the tree out to the side of the street.

“Amy was so grateful she had no words for us, just tears of gratitude. She also said 'this was a huge answer to my prayers.'"

Volunteer Mark Hillam shared another story told to him. “I spoke with one homeowner, an older woman. None of her trees came down, but her neighbor's tree came down into her yard and we were working there. We cleaned up two big trees and then debated doing the third tree that was down over the fence.

“The men decided to go ask the neighbor if they would allow us to come into their yard to cut up the top of the tree that had fallen into their yard. The elderly woman told me that we were such a blessing to her. She felt that God had provided for her through our service.

“She told me that after other storms she had been scammed by dishonest people who took her money and never did the clean up work. She is quite old and no longer physically able to do this kind of hard physical work.

“She thanked us for giving up our time and coming out to help them recover… She expressed such sincere appreciation for our service.”

Established in 1998, the Helping Hands program (See more: Helping Hands) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints worldwide helps those affected by natural disasters and other emergencies. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers have donated millions of hours of service to those in need.

The volunteers also partner with government and nonprofit organizations to support and improve the communities where they live. The effort receives resources from the Church Humanitarian Services, and the individual projects are coordinated by local Church leaders.

The Helping Hands program reflects the desire of Latter-Day Saints to follow the example of Jesus Christ by serving others.

Church Apostle, Jeffrey R. Holland expressed it this way:

“May we give the God and Father of us all a helping hand with His staggering task of answering prayers, providing comfort, drying tears, and strengthening feeble knees. If we will do that, we will be more like the true disciples of Christ we are meant to be.”