Ohio DR Stands Up Site After West Virginia Floods

Mike and Angie are Jared’s neighbors. They live on a dead-end street next to Sugartree Creek in Williamson, West Virginia. Normally the nearby creek is about eight feet wide and a foot deep.

But on February 19, 2025, torrential rains caused the river to swell out of its 15-foot bank and spill over another seven feet where it swallowed up homes on Goodman Drive.

Both families lost everything in their homes to the flood waters including their kitchens, photos, furniture, family Bibles, plus so much more. The only thing they could do was clean up and haul all their belongings to the street so they could be taken to the local dump.

Ohio Disaster Relief served these families and many others in Williamson with recovery efforts. West Virginia Disaster Relief called and asked if we would stand up a recovery site there. A request for help is normal since we frequently help each other when a large storm hits.

However, this time it was different. We were asked to stand-up the site on our own. Ohio DR has never operated a full site outside of Ohio before. The request meant that we would operate and fund it on our own.

We agreed and set up our site at East Williamson Baptist Church. Standing up a site requires a feeding unit, shower unit, logistics unit, Incident Management Team, chaplains, assessors, and recovery teams to do the work.

Teams from Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois responded to our site. During the two-week deployment, Ohio DR spent approximately $5,000 for site expenses. The investment was well worth it.

Because we were in Williamson, we had the opportunity to serve Mike, Angie, and Jared. These neighbors already profess Jesus Christ as Lord and the way they handled the flood recovery was very different from the non-believers we met.

For example, on the night of the flood, Mike had to take his 78-year-old mother-in-law, who has dementia, to the neighbor’s house by boat. Instead of being angry about it, Mike praised the Lord that there was a boat to use.  

During the first week of the deployment, Ohio DR had five chaplains in the field. Tom McCullough served on his first deployment as a DR chaplain. However, Tom isn’t a beginner in chaplain ministry since he previously served as a prison chaplain.

While out with an Ohio team led by Roger Davis from Ebenezer Baptist Church, Logan, Tom had the opportunity to meet Dave. Dave came by the house where the team was working and Chaplain Tom shared who Jesus is.

After a long conversation, Dave gave his life to Christ. After they prayed, Dave said he needed to call his mom.

“She will be excited,” he said.  

Then Dave decided to go tell his friend about Jesus, and off he went.

Going into the aftermath of a disaster to serve people who have lost so much is how we serve. But it’s the stories of Dave, Mike, Angie, and Jared that motivate us to prepare for the next deployment.

Believers were encouraged and helped. Dave is now a believer and on a mission to tell others.

All this because Christ first loved us and we want to share Christ with others. Thank you, Ohio Baptists, for the Ray Roberts State Missions Offering, Cooperative Program giving and individuals who support the work of Ohio Disaster Relief.