CityView Magazine

6 | October 2018 A P U B L I S H E R ' S N O T E A bout the only nice thing that results from a hurricane is the kindness that is extended to people in need by those who can help. Our household was the grateful beneficiary of an extremely kind act aer Hurricane Florence. ankfully, we didn't have the damage that we had with Hurricane Matthew two years ago, but water did get into our basement. Aer the storm, some members and supporters of Fayetteville Academy's soccer team came over and helped us vacuum out the water and clean up. ey were Connor Sisk, Will Pryzgoda and his father Craig, and Coach Andrew McCarthy and his daughter Kelsey. Craig Pryzgoda, an engineer, saw me trying to put the wheels on my new generator and he jumped right in to help. He had the wheels on in 15 minutes. It would have taken me an hour. I tried to pay them for their help but they refused. ese are the same kids who cook hamburgers and hot dogs for the homeless in downtown Fayetteville every Friday. What a blessing they are! I have heard tell of other acts of kindness aer the storm. An elderly couple at my church had a lot of debris and downed limbs in their yard. Two young men who gave only their first names showed up and cleaned their yard completely. e men wouldn't accept any payment. e couple think the men were young soldiers from Fort Bragg. I heard about linemen from Mississippi who stopped in Roseboro when they saw a cardboard sign tacked to a telephone pole, pointing out a side street that lacked power. It was four days aer the storm and the street, which has elderly residents, wasn't due to have its power restored for several more days. e Mississippi linemen spent several hours working and restored the power. e man who posted the sign (and who had power at his own house) said the linemen had "huge hearts." Meanwhile, our church is a member of the PCA – the Presbyterian Church of America. e PCA is sending a team of unpaid volunteers to Fayetteville to help church members and their friends and family with the cleanup. Christians have a heart for this type of work because they do it in Christ's name (read our faith column in this issue about that very same subject). One of the Christian organizations that shows up everywhere is Samaritan's Purse, run by Billy Graham's son Franklin. ere is an exciting story that revolves around Kyle Glasgow, who taught my oldest grandson, Marshall III, how to play tennis. Kyle and his fiancée Krystal had planned to get married in Wilmington the weekend that Florence hit. Naturally, the wedding was canceled and they ended up volunteering with Samaritan's Purse. During a project, they learned another volunteer was a pastor. Taking a break from roof repairs, he performed a spur-of-the-moment wedding ceremony for them. Acts of kindness are not restricted to Christian organizations. Many groups of people, such as volunteer firemen, civic clubs and school groups, as well as kind-hearted individuals and neighbors, have stepped up to help out in communities that saw lots of damage. Without them, the disaster would have been much worse. Praise God for them. Our household is prepared for the next storm, which we pray is not anytime soon. I am worn out from the ordeal and getting too old to do all this stuff. But the kind actions of the Fayetteville Academy soccer group helped us get through. ank you. Random Acts of Kindness

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