Packing Shoebox Gifts After Hurricane Helene

The community of Spruce Pine, North Carolina, was devastated by Hurricane Helene, but the First Baptist Church in town saw opportunity in the wake of the storm. Even now, weeks after the disaster hit, the church continues to welcome those in need with open arms. Pastor Rocky Branch has been at the church every day since the disaster, ministering to families who have lost everything. They are feeding the community hundreds of meals daily, the sanctuary is packed with relief supplies, and in the middle of all this, they still committed to pack Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts.

“The interesting thing about the church is it's the only building that sits idle except twice a week. Full space, seats with nobody in it. The most unused property in the world is a sanctuary of a church. So, what better place to use than to bring them into the house of God and give them bread—physical and spiritual.”—Pastor Rocky Branch

Pastor Rocky’s wife, Janice, recently started a women's Bible study about surrendering, and after one session, Hurricane Helene hit. Janice was living what she thought was a surrendered life. But a day after the storm, she recalls seeing people come in who had suffered greatly and lost everything. The Lord reminded her in that moment that she would need to fully surrender to Him.

“I remember [God] saying, ‘You're not going to be teaching behind a desk. You're going to live it. You're in it. You're going to surrender all and you're going to learn how to surrender to Me.’”—Janice Branch

Pastor Rocky talked about clinging to Scripture as he helped his community. The joy of the Lord is his strength. Amid all that the church has been doing, it would be easy for the congregation to pause on Operation Christmas Child this year, but Pastor Rocky felt that it was more important this season than ever. In desperate, hopeless situations, if we give and shift our focus off of ourselves, God can meet our needs.

Spruce Pine First Baptist Church is the longest running drop-off location in the High Country of North Carolina. Cynthia Wilson, who has faithfully and prayerfully packed shoeboxes for decades, leads the effort for their church. She talked about the outpouring of volunteers as they packed shoeboxes. It has been an unexpected gift to her. Kristy Graham got to join their team in packing Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.

“I know God takes care of everything that you need, and He's provided.”—Cynthia Wilson

Please pray for Spruce Pine First Baptist Church and all of Western North Carolina as recovery continues in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Pray for the ministry of Operation Christmas Child, that millions of children would come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. If you’d like to keep up to date with more stories from On the Ground, please visit samaritanspurse.org.