Lord Willing and the Creek Don't Rise
Written By: Nathan Brown
From the Current Journey Magazine Summer 2025
‘Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.’ Grandparents at High Country Caregivers often tell their grandchildren this when they plan an activity with the agency. On Sept. 26, the creeks, rivers, and streams did indeed rise; the wind gusts reached up to 90 mph for 12 hours. Homes floated away, entire roads, bridges, and communities were wiped off the map and best-laid plans changed forever. Hurricane Helene had arrived in the mountains.
For Jacob Willis, Executive Director of High Country Caregivers, a nonprofit agency that supports and advocates for children being raised by grandparents and other family members, the aftermath of Hurricane Helene was a time of fear. “The phones were down,” he said. “Nobody had cell service, roads were washed away, and we had no clue how our 280 families were doing.” When he found out his staff was okay, Willis had them start calling every family in the program. “We got ahold of 90 percent of our families, but there were 25 families who we just couldn’t reach by phone or email, so we went out looking for them,” Willis said. “We found them all within 10 days of the hurricane.”
This wasn’t an easy task for this agency, and everyone on staff got involved, including members of the HCC board, like former Head Coach of Appalachian State University, Jerry Moore, 85, headed out on broken roads covered in debris, trees, power lines and more in a borrowed truck to try to deliver some much needed goods to families.
“I had seen poverty and destruction growing up in Texas,” Moore said. “But I had never seen anything like this.” At one house, Willis and Moore came across one of the grandmothers they support digging through mud caked clothing to try and salvage something for her granddaughter to wear. She was crying and told Moore she just did not know what to do. He asked to pray with her, and she agreed.
“Lord, I know this is bad. But I also know that you’ve done this to help her get a better place to live…,” Moore prayed. The scripture says that the lord’s eyes are upon the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer. Indeed, the answers to their prayers for deliverance began almost immediately for HCC and the families who were suffering. Two days later, money began to be donated to purchase new homes for her and four other families who lost their homes and all their belongings during the storm. As of April, three houses have been purchased or donated, and HCC is trying to raise money to purchase a fourth house.
AT ONE HOUSE, WILLIS AND MOORE CAME ACROSS ONE OF THE GRANDMOTHERS THEY SUPPORT DIGGING THROUGH MUD CAKED CLOTHING TO TRY AND SALVAGE SOMETHING FOR HER GRANDDAUGHTER TO WEAR. SHE WAS CRYING AND TOLD MOORE SHE JUST DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO. HE ASKED TO PRAY WITH HER, AND SHE AGREED.
“It was just an incredible sight to see how the community and this country have rallied together to help us,” Willis said. “I’ve never seen such generosity from friends and strangers as we have received.”
Other churches, individuals, and aid agencies also provided HCC with clothing, food, more than eighty generators, hundreds of heaters, and survival gear to pass out. Still other churches, like South River Baptist Church and Pastor Scott Townsell heard about HCC from one of their volunteers in Statesville and reached out to provide donations of food, clothing, and other goods initially.
“We got to know Jacob and learned a little bit about the mission,” said Townsell. “We told him to reach out if he ever needed help and a few weeks later, he did.”
High Country Caregivers purchased two mobile homes and needed help renovating them for a couple of their families.
“I did vet those guys,” said Townsell. “The first time I went on (HCC’s) website, I thought ‘What is this?’ I wanted to make sure they fit well with our mission.”
Townsell said he quickly realized that HCC is fulfilling the mission God calls all his followers to undertake. “Psalm 68 verse five says ‘God is a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.’ The folks at High Country Caregivers represent the pure mission of what our religion calls us to do. They are protecting and serving widows and orphans.”
For the past 16 weeks, Townsell and his team of volunteers have renovated two singlewide trailers, underpinned and built decks for three new mobile homes. He and his crew donated their labor and expertise to the projects. Townsell earned a degree in building technology. He worked for many years in construction prior to being called to the ministry, but the reason HCC’s community outreach has been so meaningful to him is he is a kinship caregiver himself.
“My heart is in helping with my hands. I can build, so I minister to people through the talents God gave me,” Townsell said. “But my wife and I also adopted a relative. I can’t imagine being a grandparent and bringing in my grandchild to provide them with love and protect them and then lose the only possession I have to provide that protection: my home.”
Paul and Marie Russo, owners of Bocca Bistro in Boone, were other unsung heroes and supporters of HCC’s mission. They reached out to HCC after the storm and have continued to provide fresh and frozen meats to all HCC kinship families for the past 6 months. Thus far, they have donated more than 8,000 pounds of chicken, turkey, and ground beef to families in six counties. Paul Russo visited the most affected areas of the High Country to help give out meat and came back changed from what he saw in Mitchell and Yancey Counties.
“He was moved by what he saw,” said Maria Russo. “He took videos and sent them back to our staff to see. There’s a lot of damage here in Boone, but he said to me, “I just can’t believe what I’m seeing here.’”
After Paul Russo’s visit to the most affected areas of the High Country, he collaborated with his vendors and food industry partners to consistently provide 1,000 pounds of food per week to the families of High Country Caregivers. Willis said that each family receives at least twenty pounds of chicken and ten pounds of beef or precooked meat.
“We worked with our food vendors (Sysco of Charlotte) and Harris Teeter to donate the food,” Marie Russo said. “We’ve done things with (High Country Caregivers) before and the partnership just fit. We’ve given them turkeys for thanksgiving, made dinners and supported other events.”
“WE GOT TO KNOW JACOB AND LEARNED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE MISSION,” SAID TOWNSELL. “WE TOLD HIM TO REACH OUT IF HE EVER NEEDED HELP AND A FEW WEEKS LATER, HE DID.”
The Lord is indeed good in all things, even when the creeks rise. High Country Caregivers volunteers and staff did not allow the tragedy of Hurricane Helene and its aftermath to define their mission. Coach Moore often says. “Always do more than what is expected.” This often quoted phrase has been put into action countless times as staff have driven into the countryside to replace homes, deliver food, furniture, kerosene, and clothing to their families who were in desperate need. And they will continue to go far beyond what their job titles require to help kinship families in the High Country come through this tragedy.
High Country Caregivers is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advocacy and support for kinship families and their children. For more information about their services, visit www.highcountrycaregivers.org or call (828)832-6366.
