Youth Mission Trip--Hurricane Helene Relief

In June of 2025, I experienced a life changing week. I, along with other Northbrook Student youth members, Reverend McDaniel, our parents, and community members, journeyed to Western North Carolina on a mission trip to provide Hurricane Helene Relief.
 
Praying Pelican Missions helped to connect us with specific needs in the area. We stayed at the Mary B. Mullen Bible Camp in Lake Lure, NC. This camp is a wonderful place that has opened up its doors to mission groups looking to help rebuild Western, NC.  The Cumming First United Methodist Church youth group also stayed at the camp. We slept in the dorms and ate breakfast at camp. During the day the majority of people left camp to do mission work in the community, and each evening we all came back to camp to eat dinner together and then gathered in worship. Some of our work included: yard work and painting at the Bible Camp, food distribution, and demolition.
 
I worked mostly at Mullen Bible Camp painting their office building. It was hard work being out in the sun all day, but I loved it! I found a little frog friend in the process and named him “Mr. Gorgeous”! Another day I went to the Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry, (ABCCM) a food and clothing distribution center, in the Asheville, NC area. There we received a list, and we filled boxes according to what was on the list. We put the boxes on pallets and stacked them like Jenga. We worked hard and fast and due to our competitive nature, we were proud to learn that our church completed more boxes than the group that was there from the day before! Those food boxes were given to community members in need. The other people from Northbrook worked the week at a home in Old Fort, NC that had been flooded from the hurricane. They performed backbreaking work to help gut the home for it to be remodeled and mold free so the family could move back in.
 
At the end of each day both churches met in the pavilion at the camp for worship. We sang worship songs, discussed our work, and talked about how we saw God in our day. Hearing the stories of the devastation and people in need made me feel really grateful for everything I have.
 
We got one day off our mission work duties, so our Northbrook group went river tubing in Marion, NC. It was so much fun! We also stopped for some sweet treats from Pelican’s Snoballs!
 
Over the course of this week, I learned to be adaptable, creative, and come to love the Lord and his people even more!  I formed lifelong bonds with youth members, was grateful my mom was there for support, and loved how we all came together to help those in need. This mission trip was especially meaningful since I was born in North Carolina and most of my family lives in Western North Carolina!
 
I feel blessed to be a part of a church that gives back. God was there!

Blessings to all,
Macy Millon
Youth Ministry