"A little ingenuity, a little engineering and a lot of sweat has both homes above flood level!"

Helen and Darrell watched outside their window as the river overflowed its banks and began to run underneath their manufactured home. When the waters reached their door, they knew it was time to get to higher ground. They grabbed their three children and drove out of the hollow to wait it out. Meanwhile next door, Helen’s brother Kelly, his wife Bridgette and their three children were running out of their manufactured home to get to safety as well. Their home sat a little higher, but not high enough.

When the families returned to their homes, they were devastated at what they found. Kelly and Bridgette’s home was completely open on one side where flood waters had taken off an addition. The floors had gaping holes. The porches were completely gone. Water had ruined all of their belongings. Kelly and Bridgette moved their family into HUD housing. Kelly was determined to rebuild his home.

Helen and Darrell’s home had taken on eight feet of water. All of their belongings were gone, including their cabinets and their furniture, and there were gaping holes in the floors. Helen and Darrell chose to stay in their home despite the fact it was not structurally sound and had holes that invited snakes and other vermin to take up residence with them. They lived in one room, sleeping on the one bed and the couch they had received from Red Cross Emergency Services.

Although both homes were a total loss in terms of disaster, neither family would concede to scrapping them. It was impossible to find affordable manufactured homes that could replace what they had, and they were determined to rebuild right there on the land that belonged to their family on the river. Against our initial better judgment, we took the challenge to help them rebuild warm, safe and dry housing for their families.

And so volunteer groups came and helped to tear out the old and put in new. Ditches were dug to update electricity and septic systems. Both families pitched in the best they could and have worked hard to bring their homes back to life.

But to simply rebuild those homes and not mitigate against future flooding would be unjust. We knew we had to raise them up but were told it would cost $1,000 per foot. We choked, knowing that was simply not feasible. Ah — but it was not impossible! Teams of volunteers helped to raise the mobile homes by using pump jacks and lifting the homes one cinder block at a time. A little ingenuity, a little engineering and a lot of sweat has both homes above flood level!

With a handful more groups on the schedule for the fall, WVMAW plans to have the homes insulated and underpinned in time for winter.

When one group bought Helen a brand new refrigerator to replace the small used one she had, she cried. She said she never knew people could be so good to them when they didn’t deserve it. By many acts such as this, both families have gotten a glimpse of what God’s grace looks like — a gift we could never deserve.