#hurricanehelene

Yesterday was hard, Friends.

The adrenaline rush of the hurricane is slowing down, and our residents are finally starting to respond emotionally to the disaster that struck us last week. When I was at the Fire Department for our daily community meeting, several people came up to me in tears, not knowing how to process their new reality.

I led our community, volunteers, and first responders in prayer. I reminded us to be kind to ourselves and compassionate with one another. I reminded us that w…

New-to-Me Apocalypse Experiences

(As I learn to navigate the post-hurricane reality we are living here in our small rural community in Western North Carolina - Not in order of importance):

• Eating bear and chicken stew lovingly made by Jean, the wife of our neighbor Robert, who is a hog and wild game hunter
• Hitching a ride to our checkpoint so I could get WiFi access in a dirty banana Jeep Wrangler with a 12-inch lift, and 40-inch tires - so high off the ground I had to be lifted into it, dr…

This is the message I shared today at our daily community meeting. I hope this is helpful to you if you have also been impacted by the hurricane:

My name is Emma Churchman and I’m a Trauma Chaplain.

I want to take a few minutes to speak with you all about what we have just been through as a community.

Regardless of what you have been through over the past 5 days you have experienced a traumatic event.

Maybe your home or your property was damaged. Maybe a neighbor or a loved one you know is s…

Hurricane Helene was catastrophic for residents of Western North Carolina.

We are living in an Apocalypse.

We are safe. Our home did not sustain damage. We have dozens of trees down on our property and road, as well as multiple landslides.

We live on top of a mountain and are without power or internet. We are rationing propane usage for our generator. At this time we still have food and can access our well water when we run the generator.

I have no phone, email or FB access. I hiked 5 miles …