Volunteers Cross State Lines to Help Repair Del Rio Church Damaged by Flood Helen

DEL RIO, Tenn. (WVLT) – In the small town of Del Rio, Tenn., a centuries-old church is being rebuilt with some help after devastating flooding from Hurricane Helen.

Only a few thousand people live in the city. It is located along the French Broad River, which on that Friday in September reached record levels and dumped it and debris right into the Del Rio Baptist Church.

Robert Heck lives in Beebe, north of Newport. He said his neighborhood was affected by the flooding, but the damage in Del Rio is on a different level.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “It didn’t affect me. I was lucky and decided that there is always someone worse off than me and I should help where I can.”

His response was to go out and get to work helping those in need. He said he hopes to inspire others to reach out to their neighbors.

“Once one person volunteers, then three people, then 10 people, and it goes on,” Heck said.

It was possible to inspire. Kevin Bryant is no neighbor from East Tennessee; he and his church group call Springdale, Arkansas home. He said it was not difficult for Mercy and Grace Cathedral to decide on the trip to Del Rio.

“At home it is something like a village church. So to come here and help another country church is a perfect fit for us,” Bryant said.

After hiking across the state, the group worked to dismantle broken floorboards and distribute essential items.

“We planned and spent about two weeks collecting supplies from Northwest Arkansas, from the community and from businesses,” Bryant said. “We loaded up the van and the church bus.”

The group spent days in an unfamiliar place, literally in a disaster zone, but they helped with a smile.

“I feel sadness in my heart when I see something like this, but to see God’s people and just everybody coming together and working together and doing it; it puts a smile on my face,” said another volunteer, Blake Bilderback.

Chris Nichols said the group is leaving not just with the knowledge that they have done a good deed, but with a message for others.

“Please don’t forget these people,” Nichols said. “Three months from now it will be a second thought to everyone else in what I would call the real world. Don’t forget these people.”

Now the group has returned home. As for Del Rio Baptist Church, it plans to hold Sunday services in the church parking lot until the cleanup is complete.