Houston church helps with Hurricane Florence relief efforts

An area hit hard by a hurricane last year is helping southeastern North Carolina recover from the recent onslaught of Hurricane Florence.

Pilgrim Lutheran Church in Houston sent food, water, toiletries and more to Wilmington’s Messiah Lutheran Church to be distributed to those in need. Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston in 2017, tying a record with $125 billion in damages, mostly because of historic flooding.

Floods have caused significant trouble in our area as well after Florence, and the water has not receded in many spots. Thirty-two people in North Carolina have died as a result of the storm.

Wendy Elliott said helping others with assistance from those hit by Harvey was special.

“It’s amazing to be able to give back,” Messiah member Wendy Elliott said. “Our community has been spared and blessed in many ways and we are just so grateful to be able to help out.”

People in need of supplies arrived at Messiah at 10:30 Sunday morning, but after only a few hours, supplies ran out.

The church is hoping to stock up on supplies again soon.

“As you can see, there’s a lot of people that are in need,” Elliott said of the turnout Sunday. “There’s a lot of people that have been affected and our hearts go out to them.”

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