H7 Story: Serving Our Neighbors
Where do you begin when this largest natural disaster any of us have ever witnessed rolls through your community?
You begin with serving one house at a time.
For Many FCC’ers, the days immediately following the 2024 flood meant driving to Longview Ranch where they could get organized and fan out to help neighboring houses. Longview itself had some property damage, but their buildings were not affected, and therefore the majority of the work took place outside of their property.
The first day that the call for volunteers went out over 60 people arrived to help this area which was one of the harder hit areas in Greene County.. The group was full of neighbors, Longview alumni, and churches including First Christian Church and the Greeneville and Morristown Arrowhead campuses.
You begin with serving one house at a time.
For Many FCC’ers, the days immediately following the 2024 flood meant driving to Longview Ranch where they could get organized and fan out to help neighboring houses. Longview itself had some property damage, but their buildings were not affected, and therefore the majority of the work took place outside of their property.
The first day that the call for volunteers went out over 60 people arrived to help this area which was one of the harder hit areas in Greene County.. The group was full of neighbors, Longview alumni, and churches including First Christian Church and the Greeneville and Morristown Arrowhead campuses.
Longview Ranch’s Executive Director, Matthew Nasekos, led the troops, dividing volunteers into around five teams to tackle projects throughout the day. Jobs included: clearing mud, pumping out water, checking fence lines, cutting and hauling trees, and helping people who lost their homes.
Matthew went on to share more when he said, “They also helped a business owner who lost their business, brought in heavy equipment and cleared a road, hauled debris, hauled water, hauled trash, operated a tractor, skid steer, and mini excavator, shared lots of laughs, played in a lot of mud, comforted those that loss so much, cared for those in tears, prayed, shared God’s Words of comfort, shared food, and jumped in the pond to clean up because no one has running water!! What a day and what an incredible way to serve your neighbors!”
Matthew went on to share more when he said, “They also helped a business owner who lost their business, brought in heavy equipment and cleared a road, hauled debris, hauled water, hauled trash, operated a tractor, skid steer, and mini excavator, shared lots of laughs, played in a lot of mud, comforted those that loss so much, cared for those in tears, prayed, shared God’s Words of comfort, shared food, and jumped in the pond to clean up because no one has running water!! What a day and what an incredible way to serve your neighbors!”
By Day 3, the teams had moved an estimated 700,000 pounds of mud! And the youth group from FCC joined the forces to help. This was a day where families found joy in serving together while also sharing some tears, laughs, and mud slinging. One of those volunteers was 14-year-old freshman, Lily Shrader who came with her dad, Daniel, and younger brother, Hosea. “Helping at Longview, seeing the destruction, and digging through mud that never seemed to end, was difficult physically and emotionally. But, ultimately, God was working there. Seeing the people of all ages and backgrounds coming together to support each other and our community made it all worthwhile. This, I believe, is one of the most powerful examples of loving our neighbor.”
On Day 8, Matthew wrote the following passage full of hard and beautiful encouragement:
"As I pull these boots up for another day of walking through mud, I rejoice over how much there is to be thankful for. I am thankful for our great and awesome God. I am thankful for my family that is joyfully serving alongside. I am thankful for the Longview team and interns that demonstrate the love of Jesus and beautiful hospitality. I am thankful for all the people that have showed up every single day to help those that are hurting, confused, have lost, are overwhelmed, are wondering what tomorrow holds. I’m thankful for those that have shown up just to give an encouraging smile. I’m thankful for those that have driven hours to say I don’t have much but I can give this. I’m thankful for those that have shown up and said I can’t haul mud, but I can take these food boxes and find people to give them to. I’m thankful for the three camps that have given and served. I’m thankful for the wisdom and advice that has been given. I’m thankful for FCC Greene and Arrowhead that has been such an amazing support and has sent so many people to help. I’m thankful for my pastors. I’m thankful for so many churches coming out of the Tri-Cities area and Knoxville. I’m thankful for the friend of Longview that drove 13 hours, rented a skid steer and has been pushing mud and hauling trees for days. I’m thankful for the lady that called and simply said you don’t know who I am, but I’ve got hay coming to feed your horses and your neighbors’ cows. I’m thankful for the prayers. I’m thankful for the donations to Longview so the work may go on. I’m thankful for the water. I’m thankful for the fuel. I’m thankful for the people that have brought food to serve the people that are serving. I’m thankful for the smiles and laughter. I’m thankful to hear hope in the words of those that have lost their homes. I’m thankful for our neighbors. I’m thankful for mud boots. I’m thankful for coffee. I’m thankful for my God - for in him all things hold together.
"As I pull these boots up for another day of walking through mud, I rejoice over how much there is to be thankful for. I am thankful for our great and awesome God. I am thankful for my family that is joyfully serving alongside. I am thankful for the Longview team and interns that demonstrate the love of Jesus and beautiful hospitality. I am thankful for all the people that have showed up every single day to help those that are hurting, confused, have lost, are overwhelmed, are wondering what tomorrow holds. I’m thankful for those that have shown up just to give an encouraging smile. I’m thankful for those that have driven hours to say I don’t have much but I can give this. I’m thankful for those that have shown up and said I can’t haul mud, but I can take these food boxes and find people to give them to. I’m thankful for the three camps that have given and served. I’m thankful for the wisdom and advice that has been given. I’m thankful for FCC Greene and Arrowhead that has been such an amazing support and has sent so many people to help. I’m thankful for my pastors. I’m thankful for so many churches coming out of the Tri-Cities area and Knoxville. I’m thankful for the friend of Longview that drove 13 hours, rented a skid steer and has been pushing mud and hauling trees for days. I’m thankful for the lady that called and simply said you don’t know who I am, but I’ve got hay coming to feed your horses and your neighbors’ cows. I’m thankful for the prayers. I’m thankful for the donations to Longview so the work may go on. I’m thankful for the water. I’m thankful for the fuel. I’m thankful for the people that have brought food to serve the people that are serving. I’m thankful for the smiles and laughter. I’m thankful to hear hope in the words of those that have lost their homes. I’m thankful for our neighbors. I’m thankful for mud boots. I’m thankful for coffee. I’m thankful for my God - for in him all things hold together.
On Day 9, the over 100 volunteers included the Orebank Volunteer Fire Department who was doing so much good in the aftermath of this story. “The work ahead can seem insurmountable,” Matthew explained, “and we’ve been told that some things can’t be done. Yet, bucket by bucket and tree by tree, hope grows . . . because all of you keep showing up. People are working. People are praying. People are giving. And churches, communities, and families are bringing food.”
Specifically, during the aftermath of this story the 15-100 daily volunteers helped with:
Specifically, during the aftermath of this story the 15-100 daily volunteers helped with:
- four neighboring homes that were devastated but not completely destroyed. These homes were dug out and prepped for rebuilding.
- seven properties on which the home was completely washed away received property clearing. Mud was removed and trees were moved away to prepare for rebuilding.
- a number of properties that were undamaged on the interior but needed some TLC to help fix up the exterior.
- a campground with RV’s a few miles from Longview that was completely wiped away. Those residents were living in their cars because they had nowhere else to go. Volunteers provided tents, heaters, and warm clothes to these families. They helped dig through the mud to retrieve what could be saved from their possessions. (Before they could even begin, it took days of digging through the trees to get into the campground. David Widmaier’s team worked tirelessly to get that cleared so the Longview teams could begin the other work.)
While all of this help was incredibly beneficial, Matthew also reminded us that the most significant emphasis is always sharing the Gospel and the hope of Jesus with not just the families they are helping but also the volunteers from all over Greene County and other areas. In addition to Matthew, FCC’ers Tessa Gourley and Isaac Nasekos help in sharing a devotion with the volunteers from God’s Word every morning before they begin.
If you are interested in being a part of the ongoing work at Longview, please contact: Matthew at 601-668-0563. The teams are still meeting every morning (Monday-Saturday) at 9:30 and 12:30 at Longview. They are split up and sent to different locations. This will continue until November 1st, and at that point, they will reassess the need.
If you are interested in being a part of the ongoing work at Longview, please contact: Matthew at 601-668-0563. The teams are still meeting every morning (Monday-Saturday) at 9:30 and 12:30 at Longview. They are split up and sent to different locations. This will continue until November 1st, and at that point, they will reassess the need.