YANCEY COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY HOMETOWN) — Though it’s something many carry in their hearts and minds, churches are a tangible example of faith.
The Laurel Branch Baptist Church in Yancey County, North Carolina, has been standing in Pensacola for the last 130 years, until Hurricane Helene shook its foundation.
“Forty-eight a year, for 37 years,” counted Ray Strickland. “Plus Wednesday nights and Sunday nights, so it’s been a lot.”
Ray cannot count the number of sermons or speeches he’s given at the church. Before he retired, he was pastor there for 37 years. The church was his second home for his family and his wife, Susan.
“Her goal in life was to make everybody she met smile, laugh, tell them a joke- that kind of thing,” said Ray.
Susan and faith have been constants in Ray’s life.
“You may not believe in miracles, but I am a miracle. I may not look like a miracle- I’m a miracle,” said Ray.
On the morning of September 27, 2024, Ray was walking outside of his home with Susan. They were keeping an eye on the creek by their house. The water had come up higher than they’d ever seen.
“As I looked up, I saw this big wall coming at us. It was probably 15 feet high- logs and rocks,” remembered Ray.
Ray said he grabbed Susan and they ran into their home when the mudslide hit.
“I was being thrown around, and I remembered hollering,” said Ray. “Susan called out to me. She was about three feet behind me. She called my name, I called out to her but no answer. I called out (again), no answer, and a couple more times- no answer.”
“The way she called my name was with fear and terror and maybe pain,” said Ray. “So, I knew something was going on. I was pretty sure she was dead.”
Susan was killed and Ray thought, this was it.
“As I looked up and I moved things from me, boards and pictures and things- I saw a hole of light. I crawled up through that ceiling,” said Ray.
Their home was crushed and pushed 100 yards off the foundation. Ray survived with only a few scrapes and burns.
“Wow. All of that is Jesus; that’s not just circumstances. How many circumstances can you have?” said Ray.
He said he knows where Susan is.
“She wanted to see Jesus. She’s where she wants to be; for me, that’s comfort,” said Ray.
Six months after Helene, their little white church is being rebuilt.
“A lot of special people,” said Ray. “So, that’s the good part. These people are going to build it back and it’ll be here for years.”
We don’t know why we lost so many and so much- those answers may never be found. However, what is there- and what can be found- is faith.
“There’s life here. There’s faith here. There’s love.”
