Just a few days before visitors from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Synod of South Atlantic, the Presbytery of Tampa Bay, together with the Executive Director and Stated Clerk of the General Assembly for the interim unified agency, the Rev. Jihyun Oh, arrived at Maximo Presbyterian Church in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Thursday, “this place looked awful,” said the church’s pastor, the Rev. Bobby Musengwa.
A spirit of solidarity and hope was evident throughout a prayer service hosted by the Synod of South Atlantic last weekend to comfort those trying to rebound from recent storms — particularly Hurricane Helene and its more recent cousin, Milton — and to lift up those assisting survivors.
It has been over a month since Hurricane Ian wreaked havoc across the Caribbean, Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. But for those living in the wake of the storm, the challenges continue.
As Kathy Broyard of the Florida Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Network (FLAPDAN) travels through Fort Myers, one of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Ian, she is moved by the magnitude of the destruction.
