Eastern Kentucky - March 2025

In February, Ryan and Sarah went to Southeastern Kentucky to help respond to flooding. This area had previously flooded in 2022, with loss of life due to flash flooding. As devastating as it is to have flooding again, there was no loss of life this time due to the flooding happening at a slower rate.

It was a very interesting trip as this was not a full rapid-response, more like a heavy response (smaller sized group). We were the assessors and the crew at the same time. Some homes were simply not there anymore or were not where Google said they were.

The image above is a reminder that flood water is not all just water. It contains trash, plant matter, sewage, and even dead animals. Yes, we do find the occasional dead animal, but this trailer was special. Eight- yes eight! - dead cats were found under this trailer. Yeah, it was a doozy, and that is why we wear hazmat suits, gloves and safety mask to protect ourselves.

Another home had a mudslide that was really close to the house, but thankfully did not hit it nor did the carport collapse. We helped by taking the trees that had slid down with the mudslide off the top of the mudslide. The homeowner had a neighbor who was helping to remove the dirt that had fallen off the side of the hill during the mudslide. It was an interesting challenge to not get your entire boot swallowed by the mudslide while pulling limbs off the downed trees. The dirt in the mudslide was still quite saturated when we arrived which was about a week after the flood.

An amazing thing that happened during our time at Big Creek Missions was that other people who had served with Big Creek Missions came to help! There were two women from Michigan, a group of five men from Alabama, another group from Indiana, and a couple from South Carolina. It was nice to share with others what we do and show them first-hand how we do. Big Creek Missions was very gracious to host us again (they hosted Eight Days of Hope in 2022), and they have a very important mission going on right in the heart of impoverished Kentucky. Here is their website and we would highly recommend that you go check them out! https://www.bigcreekmissions.com/