God is showing up

David finally got to ride his bike home. If this sounds like a normal activity for an elementary schooler, it’s a miracle for him. He survived, along with his parents and sister, Jones, as Hurricane Helene destroyed their house around them the night of Sept. 27, 2024.

As Helene howled through their small town of Douglas, Georgia, Amanda and Jay Davis put youth football helmets on their children’s heads. When a massive pine tree cleaved the house in half all the way from roof to ground, the family covered themselves with a mattress—and, led by their young daughter, prayed.

On March 16—nearly a year and a half later—their new home was dedicated on the same land that had been in Jay’s family for generations. The Davis family stood side-by-side, and hand-in-hand in prayer, with the volunteers who built it. From Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) and Northern Ohio Assisting Hands (NOAH), a group that operates under the MDS umbrella, the volunteers partnered with The Hope Initiative, a long-term disaster recovery organization, to make sure people in Douglas weren’t forgotten.

All those present at the dedication saw the helmet young David was wearing that terrifying night. It has a deep crack down the center. As Jay Davis watched his children run to check out their new rooms, he said they can turn their eyes toward the future. “We are so grateful to everybody—to see how excited my kids are,” he said. “This is their home. This is where they grew up—they’re so glad to be back.”

Lisa Mathews, executive director of The Hope Initiative, said the family is an example of how God takes the seemingly impossible—and makes it possible.

“God’s just showing up—and showing off—here in Douglas,” she said.

MDS Writer- Susan Kim