In 48 Hours in NC, Amish Build 12 Houses

And my Girl in a Wheelchair Poem

The miracle of tens of thousands of Americans providing water, food, tools, housing, medicines, and other life sustaining goods to those in Appalachia impacted by Hurricane Helene is a remarkable demonstration of Yankee human love, caring, and generosity.

Although tragically the federal, state, and local governments have failed catastrophically to provide those goods, thank God the American spirit is still alive to stand in the gap.

The most recent example of this remarkable American generosity are from my ancestors on my Dad’s side, the Amish, whereby 62 Pennsylvania's Amish community constructed 12 small homes in 48 hours for the hurricane victims of Boone, N.C.. The project was entirely funded by donations from the Amish community.

Matt Van Swol @matt_vanswol Follow #BREAKING: FEMA has officially confirmed that out of the 26 families that were told they would receive a temporary home before Christmas... ...only 3 families received one. You read that right. THREE.

A spokesperson for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, apologized Wednesday in response to a question from WBTV about why the agency failed to deliver dozens of travel trailers and manufactured homes to North Carolina residents displaced by Hurricane Helene.

Our questions came after a FEMA spokesperson told WBTV the week of Thanksgiving that the agency would deliver a total of 103 temporary travel trailers and manufactured homes to families in North Carolina by the end of that week. At the time, FEMA had delivered 27 homes.

By Wednesday, Dec. 4, FEMA had still only delivered 46 homes -- well short of the number of promised temporary homes.

WBTV learned that more than 500 families have been approved for a FEMA travel trailer or manufactured home in the wake of Helene. The agency’s slow deployment of the homes means hundreds of families are weathering the snow and freezing temperatures currently hitting the North Carolina mountains.

Girl in a Wheelchair

I see a little girl

In a wheelchair

And Jesus-like,

I want to say

To her gently

“Arise and walk!”

And disappear

Before she or her family

Can thank me

But I am not Jesus.

I am only a very flawed man

Who has seen enough of life

To know beautiful little girls

Are confined to wheelchairs

And other beautiful little girls

Die of cancer

Or in car accidents

And in house fires.

Life is like that

Happiness and tenderness

Leave as the Spring laugh

But tragedy

Lurks like terrorists

In the background

Denying too much joy

Always remember

The violin also

Plays loud and joyously

In the background

God’s music in rhythm for you

Appears even in a wheelchair

And children’s cancer wards

Celebrate the child

Recognize the crippled

Or cancer condition.

But sing Creation’s praise

Despite the endless drumbeat

Of horror and death

LIFE, LIFE, LIFE continues

Repeated

Like a heartbeat

To the gift of life

And life eternal

A symphony of sound,

Harmony and flesh

Life is here

Life is present

Life demands your time

Because the grave waits

Quiet and certain

In the distance

Little girls in wheelchairs

And in cancer wards

Ask not your pity or praise

But your everyday

Because they have never known

Everyday like you

But you

Being you

Being not confined

To a wheelchair

Or cancer ward

Look up

Look up

Look up

Even when the pain

Is accidently present

In every pore

Enjoy the current laughter,

The baby newborn’s demands

And the violin concert

That screams to you again

You must love

You must give

You must hope

Jesus-like, and here is the mystery,

Even though you are not Him.