Beyond The Flood...What now??

It amazes me how people press on beyond the hardships of life. This recent flood has certainly taken it's toll on sooooo many, here in the Nashville area. But what now?? We at Ordinary Hero, thanks to many of you who have donated your belongings, time and money, are striving to help the flood victims that we have come in contact with to try to put their lives back together. I say lives, and not just homes, because, as you will see by watching this video, so many have the storms of life to deal with and not just the flood. It is simply AMAZING to me to see how God has hand picked several Ordinary Heroes who have stepped up to help the victims, to not only help with their flood needs, but make lasting friendships that prove to help with their storms in life as well. Had it not been for the flood, I would not have been in East Nashville checking on one family, then look over and see a Grandmother with her grandsons by themselves trying to clear their house alone. I went over, met them, thus sent other Ordinary Heroes down to inquire about her and help her, and the next thing I know we are all meeting up at the park to play with her grandsons, they are now picking them up each week for youth group, have brought them to church, given one of them a birthday party, supplied clothes, meals, and we have seen to it that her home is getting the proper repairs. You see, one family decided to invest in the lives of these four children who are being cared for by their Grandmother alone with no one else in their lives right now. For the first time in years they have people telling them how valuable they are and taking time to spend with them. AND THIS IS JUST ONE STORY of how God has brought good out of the flood. I have personal testimony from the family that is helping that I will post soon.

My goal is to connect each flood victim with an Ordinary Hero who will walk beside them and see that their needs are met during this overwhelming time in their life. You will also see in the video a single mom who shows us her home that has been destroyed and she also lost her job. I have connected her with a family to help her. This family that decided to help her had a birthday party for their daughter. Their daughter decided she wanted to collect money for these flood victims they were now helping instead of getting presents. This 10 year old little girl, alone, collected $75 from her party to be able to give to this family. What a wonderful way to get their daughter involved by letting her feel like she has done something to help. This single mom will need a lot of help during this time.

You will also see another flood victim that I met when she came into our donation center. After talking with her I found out that she is a young widow who lost all the belongings she was saving for her children when they got older of their father. She said they are sleeping on an air mattress and that is it in their temporary apartment. We have some furniture items for her. We are taking donations for more. I currently have a family that I am going to connect her with to give her moral support right now. We are checking on her home as well to see what types of repairs are needed.

I ran into all these people as a result of the flood, but I never would have had any idea of their personal stories. Every person has their own story. Every person needs someone to walk beside them. God works ALL things together for good.

We are still taking donations of furniture items and money to be used on home repairs for all the victims that we have come across. Contact me at kelly@ordinaryhero.org if you feel led to help any of these families that have been affected by the flood.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO and go to the direct link.

(silence the music at the bottom of this page to watch the video here)

Ordinary Hero~Beyond the Nashville Flood from Kelly Putty on Vimeo.