NC Baptist Follows God’s Prompting After Hurricane Helene

GARNER, N.C. — When Randy Hall and wife Kim walked into First Baptist Church of Garner in early 2025, it didn’t seem like an extraordinary Sunday. That is, until Randy sensed the Holy Spirit moving.

He knew of the devastation in western North Carolina’s mountains after Hurricane Helene. Now he had “strange feelings,” the kind that previously had prompted him to go on mission trips or disaster relief work.

“I need to go,” he told Kim just before the service started.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I’ve got to go help those people in the mountains,” Randy replied. “The Lord is telling me I need to help. Some way, somehow.”

“You’re not young anymore,” said Kim, whose husband was about to turn 64.

Her comment didn’t diminish his enthusiasm. Especially when longtime friend Randy England – both are members of the Exchange Club, a 115-year-old community service organization — alerted Hall to specific needs.

A resident of McMinnville, Tenn., England had hoped to offer help in his state, but got deterred by red tape.

“They weren’t letting outside, unvetted groups help,” Hall said. “If you weren’t with the Red Cross or other recognized agency, they didn’t want help.”

England found a niche, though. He drew inspiration from a video on the Appalachian Man YouTube channel, which told of mountain folks living in tents or campers after the remnants of Helene walloped the region.

A farmer in Waynesville had opened up his land to campers and trailers to give displaced residents a place to stay. They also needed food.

“I looked at Kim and said, ‘I told you I needed to go,’” Hall recalled. “Once you listen, the Lord starts to say things. …

“At the next Exchange Club meeting, I asked if members would donate money to help my wife and I to buy canned goods to take on our trip.”

Still, small voice

Although it took years, the semi-retired carpenter learned to listen to the still, soft voice that urged him to visit the mountains. The first time took place in high school, when he and then-girlfriend Kim went to watch a basketball tournament.

At halftime, a church group made a Gospel presentation and invited anyone who wanted to talk to meet them in the hallway.

“I literally felt like I couldn’t sit still at the top of those bleachers,” Hall said. “Once I stood up, I started walking down the bleachers and wound up in the hallway talking to those people.”

Twenty years would pass before Hall accepted an invitation to follow Christ. “I have a thick head,” he said.

However, after his conversion, Hall responded more quickly. Over the years, these spiritual stirrings happened so many times Kim dubbed their trips “Hall Adventures.”

The first came a year after they joined First Baptist Garner in suburban Raleigh. Hall and his oldest son joined Baptist Men for a mudout 75 miles east of Raleigh.

The small town of Princeville had been inundated by floodwaters after a hurricane. When Hall discovered a church group planned to travel there, he impulsively decided to join them.

“That weekend, I guess the Lord beat me in the head hard enough to make me go,” Randy said. “So I put rakes, shovels, and a wheelbarrow in the back of the pickup and took off.”

At the first house the Halls visited, water had risen above the ceiling. With the front door jammed, a team member broke a window to get in and clear a path to the door. Then the volunteers ripped out sheetrock and stripped the walls, leaving only bare studs.

The next adventure took them to Honduras. A dozen members and the pastor of First Baptist went to help build a church, lead Bible studies, and preach.

The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks took place while they were there, and Hall almost didn’t make it home.

Grassroots Initiative

Last year’s mission began with Randy England’s plan to deliver food and other supplies to the makeshift campground near Waynesville. From their local Exchange Club and others in the area, they collected $1,800 to buy supplies. Plus, boxes of blankets and crocheted hats.

When they met the Englands in Waynesville, the Tennesseans brought along canned food, 100 20-pound propane tanks, two new gas ranges, and numerous articles of clothing and toys.

At the campground nicknamed “Haven on the Hill,” the group set up two 10-by-10 canopy tents and opened a covered box trailer to grill pancakes and sausage.

In addition to serving breakfast to about 70 people, the Englands left behind the box trailer, which had custom shelving to hold canned and boxed food.

But that wasn’t all. As word circulated, donations helped acquire a second box trailer, which they gave to a ministry in the region. The trailer is outfitted with two refrigerators, a chest freezer, and shelving. It also has wiring for interior lighting and a plug-in port for power.

The wealth of food and supplies delivered to the rural community stirred little media coverage or widespread recognition, but it brought a huge return for organizers.

“It just strengthens my faith,” Hall reflected. “It makes me feel good that I know I can still hear the Lord. When He’s motivating me, I don’t ignore those inputs anymore. Many times I pray, ‘Lord, cleanse this vessel so I can be of service.’”