Waverly, TN is a quiet town of 4100 people.  It has a picturesque downtown — the kind of place you'd love to explore on a vacation.  It has a beautiful creek that runs right through the center of town called Trace Creek.  On the morning of August 21st, Waverly experienced torrential rain. Almost instantly, what was going to be a beautiful summer morning became a horrendous nightmare.  A few miles upstream from Waverly is a railroad trestle that highway 70 runs next to. With 17 inches of rain failling in a very short time, the trestle plugged up with debris and formed a levee and a small lake behind the elevated train tracks.  As the water raged, eventually the levee broke and the water rose fast and furious.  One homeowner's security footage showed a 10-minute video in which the water went from ground level to 4 feet with cars floating by.  

Tragically, 20 people perished during this flood; thankfully, many more were rescued by the heroic acts of friends, family, neighbors and first responders.  One resident told us, "I got in my 20 foot bass boat, fired up the 225 horse outboard, drove down highway 70, and rescued my friends!"

There were two Hope Force Reservist leaders on the ground conducting assessments the day after the flood, and the following day we had a dozen local Reservists who began mucking out homes.  Within days, team members converged from across the country, serving Waverly flood survivors for two weeks — providing much needed relief and emotional and spiritual care to those overwhelmed by their situation. 

Over the course of this deployment, we learned that in a small town like Waverly, everyone will have a personal story.  Everyone knew someone who had passed away or had some type of dramatic rescue as the waters rose so fast and furious.  

Hope Force teams assisted survivors by doing the hard and dirty work of flood remediation. HFI Reservists removed drywall, insulation, flooring and cabinets as needed to allow the homes to dry out — helping to prevent further mold growth that is prevalent in warm and humid environments.

As Hope Force was winding down our deployment, we met a homeonwner named Barry whose story captured our hearts.  As we came back to Waverly a few weeks later, we met another couple named Randy and Joanna who shared that they have no idea how they would be able to put things back together in their home.  

HFI is looking for volunteers to join us who have significant construction experience and a willingness to serve others; in particular, those with carpentry, electrical and plumbing skills. Work will entail insulating, minor framing repairs, repairing drywall, painting and laying plank flooring.

Dates:

• Electrical and Plumbing - October 18-23rd
• Insulation and Drywall - October 24-30th
• Cabinets, Doors, and Trim - October 31- November 5th

 

To read more of Randy's story, click here

To read more of Barry's story, click here

If you are interested, please contact Connie at deployment@hopeforce.org for more details.

We are also trying to raise the necessary funds to help Barry and his family, and Randy and Joanna get their homes put back together and liveable once again.  We ask you to prayerfully consider giving towards these wondeful families

Come join us though working, praying, or giving as we take steps to serve these families who have been through so much!