Peggy: 0:10

Hello and welcome to Next Door Gospel. I am your host Peggy Griffith and today's episode is something that is very near and dear to my heart. In 1997, I found myself in the middle of a disaster zone when a devastating flood ripped through my hometown in northern Kentucky. It was a difficult time there were the helpers, as Mr Rogers always said, those that ran towards the crisis and the devastation to help those impacted by providing shelter, supplies, meals, and even a shoulder to cry on. And those were the volunteers that came from the Red Cross. So today we have a very special guest who embodies the spirit of humanitarian service. She is a dedicated Red Cross volunteer, who has been deployed to numerous disaster zones, including the recent Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. So I'd like to welcome Patty Flowers. Thank you for being here.

Patty Flowers: 1:14

Oh, Peggy, thank you for having me. I'm delighted to be here.

Peggy: 1:18

Let's start at the beginning. Tell us about your experience with the Red Cross over the years and how you became inspired to become a Red Cross volunteer. Okay.

Patty Flowers: 1:48

Red Cross, and all of a sudden I was, like, transported back to my grandmother's house, because my grandmother had, wrapped bandages, rolled bandages out of her old, aprons and dresses and slips, for the Red Cross, and, My grandmother was my inspiration for who I am today. I'm so much like her, including this old chin right here. That's her. But she was the one that always took care of people. She fed the homeless out of her kitchen. She took care of the single female teachers that couldn't live on their own back in the twenties and thirties. She gave them a room to live and fed them. She played the. Organ at church. I mean, it was just, she was just one of those people. And as soon as I heard Red Cross, I thought, Oh, I need to pursue this. And so I did. And, you know, for nine years, I was the regional, chief executive officer for the state of Wisconsin. Wonderful, wonderful role. And then I retired and I immediately became a volunteer. So that's how it all. Happened.

Peggy: 2:56

It all came back full circle and it sounds like, that spiritual calling is something that was rooted in you from your grandmother's experience.

Patty Flowers: 3:06

She is the one, and I love both of my grandparents, all my grandparents, but both of my grandmothers were just amazing women, very different in their own way, but they also felt that I could do no wrong, and anything I wanted to do was perfectly fine. They gave me that self confidence, and I watched her and. I knew that's just what I wanted to do. I wanted to be like her. And so, a lot of what I've done in my life, being on a school board, many different boards, committees, going in, into the feeding kitchens and helping get a meal prepared, things like that, that, that's her. It's totally me channeling her, which is, A wonderful thing.

Peggy: 3:48

So fascinating. And before we dive into your recent experience, with Hurricane Helene, walk us a little bit through what a typical deployment looks like for a Red Cross volunteer.

Patty Flowers: 4:01

Well, there is no such thing as a typical deployment. That's what I'll say right off the top. Every disaster is different. and the differences is where they happen. So it could be the geography of the area. The amount of area that it covers, whether it's a huge amount of geography, or if it's a small, smaller piece, flooding is very different than, any of the others, the wildfires, the things like that, flooding goes on forever and they end up with mold and things like that afterwards. So it's not, even if your house seems to be okay, it can turn into not okay. So that's the first thing that I'd love people to know is there is no disaster that I can point to that is the same exact thing. The only thing I would say is the same is that you get out of it, what you put into it and then some, to me. I get paid back twice as much as I give to it.

Peggy: 4:57

Wow, that is inspiring. Take us through those first few days after Hurricane Helene hit and what the scene was like when you arrived.

Patty Flowers: 5:09

So everyone has to realize that it's a, it's almost always a hurry up and wait, when you get to a disaster. It, each one is so different, but there, we've got multiple people coming in from all over the country. They have to get checked in, they have to get sent to the right place, and sometimes you go there and you're not, they're not ready for you. So sometimes you just, it's the best thing to remember is that it's okay if you have to wait, you'll get busy pretty soon and then you'll be sorry that you don't have a little waiting time. But when I arrived in, in North Carolina, I had to go to Charlotte, first because I couldn't get into Asheville, which is where we needed to be. The airport was closed the day that I flew out. And so I went to Charlotte, which was a little strange because Charlotte didn't get very Bad, they didn't get hit very hard. And so as we were traveling around, it was almost like business as usual. Coffee shops were open. The hotels were open. We had internet access, all this stuff. but we knew we needed to be in Asheville because that was like the center where, everything from there happened, and hit so hard. So it was about three days later that I actually did drive up to Asheville with another Red Crosser and It was, it's hard to even describe because I started to see the damage almost immediately on the side of the road. Trees were down everywhere and people had come along. And I thought it was like, county workers came along and cut the trees right at the edge of the road so that you could get through. Well, no, it was that it was the community people that came out with their chainsaws and they moved the trees enough to allow all the vehicles to get through. I had to stop for gas before I got to Asheville and there was a layer of sand everywhere, when I was able to pull into this one gas station and get up to the pump, I stepped out and it was a good half inch of sand all over the place. They didn't have water, they had electricity, and they had, generators that were allowing them to pump the gas. But that was my first clue. Okay, something's a little different here. but once I got into Asheville, the first thing that struck me was the amount of helicopters overhead. all I saw and heard were helicopters worrying above me. And that was because We had over eight counties that got hit really, really hard, big geographies in those counties, and the helicopters were searching for people. They were looking into the mountains. We were in the western part of North Carolina. Don't forget that. They don't get hurricanes. It's, it is not like a normal thing for them to be anticipating like Houston or Miami. And so for them, they were all, you know, walking around almost shell shocked that this had occurred, but they had also had a ton of rain before the hurricane hit. So the ground was already saturated and mudslides, over 1700 mudslides happened in those counties, and this is really rural areas, and again, people were just stuck because they couldn't get up the hills to get out of there if they were still alive. It was. Monumental. It was almost, um, it almost took me over into this. What do I do? How do I even start? Um, but then I did. I just said, okay, I got to get going. I got to do my job. I got to, contribute to this and. The more I did that, the more I realized I'm helping and my little piece of what I'm doing is multiplied by, seven, eight hundred people on the ground that are trying to do similar things and get people safe, get them a place with a roof over their heads, food, water, and just. A hug. That's some of the biggest things that we do.

Peggy: 9:12

Hello, everyone. It's like an angel wrapping around you when you find yourself utterly devastated. And I think for those who are listening to this podcast and maybe remembering, the news stories from Hurricane Helene, you may remember, video shots and pictures, satellite images from space

Patty Flowers: 9:36

Right.

Peggy: 9:37

showed the course of the hurricane and how it moved. And the how, like all the forces that came together and it literally exploded

Patty Flowers: 9:49

Right.

Peggy: 9:49

western part of North Carolina. You could see it happen on the map and having come from my own roots in Appalachia, I understand mountains and I understand hollers.

Patty Flowers: 10:05

Yep.

Peggy: 10:07

The mudslide experience and the helicopters going around just since chills up my spine, because I know that there are people that are probably still not found.

Patty Flowers: 10:22

That's true. That's true. There are people that didn't make it that were found, but I believe last time I checked there were still almost a hundred that had not been found. And are not accounted for. And that part makes it so difficult. the executive director in, of the Red Cross in Asheville lost a dear friend in the hurricane, and I just attached myself to her so many times. I'd see her in the morning and we'd, we'd just hug. And I would just say, how are you today? What's today like? And at each day she got a little bit stronger. And of course she was in the middle of it too, trying to do everything that she needed to do at the same time, grieving while her home had been hit, although not as bad, thank goodness, they were juggling so many things. and the other piece to this is that this is. This is Western North Carolina in the mountains. They don't get hurricanes. So, emergency managers and mayors and all of these people, community leaders, they didn't know what to do. They hadn't been practicing for a hurricane like they do in the big cities on the Gulf and on the Atlantic Ocean side. Even North Carolina on the Atlantic side, they've had their hurricanes. And so we had to start from scratch, pretty much teaching all of them what to do at the same time as us trying to get where we needed to be. It really is, this one in particular struck me so hard because the ones that live in the hollers, they've been there for sometimes four decades, five decades. It was their great, great grandfather that started that land and they don't want to leave it. And so they stayed in homes that. were damaged so much, but they weren't going to leave their home or they put up a tent. And so we ended up giving out things that we're not used to giving out, like a tent with a stove. They're called hot tents, and they're made to be very safe so that you can have a wood burning stove in the middle of the tent and sleep anywhere up to eight people, safely. So we started delivering things like that and generators and you name it. It was things that were very different, but that's why every disaster is different and the needs are different. The California wildfires going on right now, their needs are very different than the ones that we saw in North Carolina. And we have to adapt to that as the Red Cross. And do what the people need. Oh, I could talk about this for days and days. So I'm going to try not to take up all of your time.

Peggy: 12:58

I, understand completely. And you talked a little bit about, how this was so different and how this was different. from other deployments you've experienced. And I know before we started recording, you had mentioned a story to me about, something else that was very different, about this deployment and that, as you had mentioned, people who are staying on their property and they're living in tents and there's a creature in those mountains. That also is looking for some food and things and so you found yourself having to outsource some other materials you weren't used to having to supply. Tell me about that.

Patty Flowers: 13:43

yes. Uh, there are black bears in those hills, and, and the locals are wonderful because they all, they just said to people like me, who are like bears. Oh my goodness. And they're like, oh, they're black bears. Don't worry. And I'm like, no, sorry. I don't care what color they are. They're a bear. Well, they were hungry too. And some of their feeding grounds had been affected. And so we saw them actually in Asheville. I was staying in a, in a trailer in the parking lot. So that's where I slept, for the first. Oh, week and a half, I think. And it was fine, but I had to leave the trailer to go to the restroom trailer, because we didn't have any water in Ashville. And so they had to bring it in for us. Well, if you go out in the middle of the night, you know, the one thing I don't want to encounter, just so you know, is a black bear and they're right there in the neighborhood. They're right there. And so people live. Near these bears. Well, we got a request, several requests from fire departments saying we need bear proof containers for food and I was like, oh, didn't even think of that. But if you're in a tent and your food is not in a bear proof container, you're in deep. Trouble because the bears are gonna come and find it, and if it's close to you, you could get hurt. And so we certainly didn't want that. So we ended up sourcing two different sizes of bear proof food containers. Two, two semi-truck came in full of these containers and we got them out to mostly the fire departments and they were, putting them outside of their fire department, building, and letting people come and get them, so they could stay where they wanted to be. but I, I I get it. It's your home. It's, it's where you're comfortable. So we, we met them where they were. How's that?

Peggy: 15:37

And that's exactly where the gospel shows up, is right where you are. And speaking of that in, in moments of those devastation, how do you maintain your spiritual strength when you're faced with people who are just experiencing the absolute worst moments of their lives?

Patty Flowers: 15:57

You know, there is a section, a group of volunteers called staff health and they actually look out for us. That's what their whole thing is for. We have a group that, that deals with our clients and their health, but we also have a group that works just for with us. And so they're constantly watching for us. They have positive messages and all of our daily, reports that go out, our disaster mental health volunteers who are amazing people come and just. And say, How are you doing? And, then I, I'm like, can I have a hug? And I just get the biggest bear hug from these people. And sometimes it's these men that are the big burly guys, and you least expect it, but they give the best hugs ever. You know, that energized me enough to just keep going. And, but. Even more so, when a client tells you how thankful they are for you and hugs you. I can be up for 48 hours in a row and do what I need to do based on that because I know what I'm doing is making a difference. And that's the kind of thing that it fills my buckets there's one story and it was not Hurricane Helene. It was in Houston. I was walking through one of our largest shelters and I was there to do a whole different job. I wasn't, I wasn't assigned to the shelter, but I had to get there to actually to help, Welcome a congressman who is visiting, you know, one of the, one of our VIP visitors, we call them. And this lady saw me with my Red Cross shirt on. I had my insignia showing and she said, can I ask you a question? And I said, of course. And she said, I heard that we're going to get 300 from the Red Cross. And I heard that it, we might be, it might be happening, but I don't know if it really is. And I said, well, actually, I happen to know that it's going to be turned on today and you're going to get 400, not 300. And she said, Oh, really? And I said, yes, really? I've just been in meetings and I know. It's happening this afternoon, so I said, stay tuned, it will happen. And she just looked at me and she said, Oh, thank you. She said, I just want to go and get some flowers and place them on my baby's grave. And that just, I mean, I can feel the dagger in my heart right now. I can just feel it going in. She's, She had a miscarriage three days before the hurricane hit and she had to bury her baby. And she wanted to go and put some flowers. Well, it was all I could do not to find out where that grave was and go put some flowers on it. and I knew I had to keep going with my focus. But she was so grateful and she said, can I hug you? And I said, of course, and we had the best. I, I think I've told that story a lot because it was one that just affected me so much. She wasn't looking for, some clothing for herself. She wasn't looking for anything big. She just wanted flowers for her baby's grave. And she probably. went to Walmart and got the flowers and put them on the grave and it probably made her feel so much better. That's the kind of thing that just, again, it feels, it fills my heart. It fills my bucket. I can just, I was, I was almost walking on air after that because I was there for a purpose and I knew my life is blessed. And that's. All I needed. Yeah. Yeah.

Peggy: 19:41

Were there, in addition to this, other moments or situations where you just felt some sort of divine intervention, some unexplainable way that things came together? Is there a particular story that you would share that stands out to you? Okay.

Patty Flowers: 20:15

anything about, but I, I've answered when I'm on a disaster, I answer every phone call and I answered and it was this lady in the community. I, to this day, I don't know how she found my number. Our numbers are not out there for the public. We give them to certain people to say here, call me back on my number. But it is not something that anybody can just find. She was in the community and she noticed these three trailer parks. There were a lot of trailer parks in the Asheville area in particular, but in South Carolina as well. But these three trailer parks had tons of kids, lots of families. And she said, well, I've been feeding, As much as I can, my friends and I made 250 sandwiches, and we ran out before we got through the first trailer park, and she said, I just really need someone to help feed this area. And I said, well, of course, of course you do. And can you tell me exactly where they are? And what she said next was, well, the kids Rely on two of their meals a day from school, and they hadn't been in school since the previous Thursday when the hurricane hit, and it had been at least, yeah, exactly. It had been at least five days since they had been in school. And so everyone, when they saw these ladies giving out the sandwiches, they just surrounded their cars and they were thrilled to get what they could. Well, I worked with her and found out exactly where these places were. And I put in an order for feeding three times a day. We went out with snacks, water, uh, cold lunches, hot meals at night. Um, we gave out some shelf stable meals, which, you know, are the kind that you don't have to do much with. And if you don't have electricity, you don't have to worry about that. And they didn't, um, She and I put it all together and we started feeding with no end date because we didn't know at that point when it, when they wouldn't need us anymore. I, again, how did she get my phone number and know that I could help her? And that was part of my job. Actually, what I was doing was taking requests for feeding or for shelters or for supplies and sending them to the right place to get them done. I, I literally felt chills. And, figured, oh, this was so meant to be, and something intervened there, some divine intervention happened that caused us to be able to get together quickly and help Before more of a disaster struck these poor people with hunger and, maybe medication issues, we sent a health services person in the truck with them so that they could assess if there were any needs for asthma or diabetes, you know, heart drugs, things like that. Um, it, that one in particular, I. I feel very strongly that something was looking out and putting us together.

Peggy: 23:25

And that is so powerful. And these are the stories we don't get to hear about on the news very often.

Patty Flowers: 23:31

Right.

Peggy: 23:32

and it's important that people know how those things work. And as you've gone through this experience, how has your faith evolved through this work, or has it challenged your relationship with God?

Patty Flowers: 23:49

I remain full of faith. After every disaster, I come back filled. I'm exhausted. Don't get me wrong. I am always exhausted because we work long days and we are supposed to have a day off every seven days, which I try very hard to do because you do need that. But I realized that. We can get through anything, and when I used to work for the Red Cross, the one thing that kept me up at night Was what if the Red Cross wasn't here? How in the world would people get through these disasters if we weren't here? And that's what kept me so driven and focused to stay on track to Raise as much money as we could to get as many volunteers as we could. So honestly, I will have to say I remain very full of faith and I can do anything Because I've got this whole sisterhood and brotherhood called the American Red Cross that's out there with me and we will get the job done. We will be there and we will stay there until it's, we're not needed.

Peggy: 24:53

That is so amazing. Looking back at your journey, what has surprised you the most about this calling with the Red Cross?

Patty Flowers: 25:06

You know, I can't say I've been surprised. By too many things. But the thing that does surprise me is how many disasters we have now, how large they are, how unusual they are. and you know, whether you believe in climate change or not, something's occurring that we used to have a big disaster and then we'd have a downtime of several months and then another one and a downtime. And of course, we take care of home fires as well. And those are ongoing throughout the year. I don't think I'm surprised by much. I guess it's the only thing I will say is that what our volunteers will do and how much they will offer. And I'm one of them now, so I can say that as much. It Is very surprising at times, but there are a lot of people that dedicate a great amount of time to helping other people in this world. And, I think that's one of the key messages I like to remember because, I never knew how much it was before I started at Red Cross. And now I see it every single day And it, and it continues to make me awfully happy that we have that many people, the helpers as you call them, they're there.

Peggy: 26:20

And they're on the ground and they're helping one hug at a time.

Patty Flowers: 26:25

One hug at a time, and we'll get through it. We can do anything. Mm

Peggy: 26:31

Wow. So we're coming to the end of our time together. But I have one final question. What is your message to someone who might be listening and be wrestling with a call to serve in some way or to serve in this type of capacity? What would your message be to them?

Patty Flowers: 26:51

I'm gonna do the old Nike saying, just do it. And the reason I say that, just do it. I can't tell you how much it fills my bucket to do these kind of things. And I always have told volunteers when I was an employee, I did it, and I still do to this day. Do what makes you happy. If you're not enjoying what you do, stop doing it and look for a different avenue because we have so many different choices of things that you can do to help others. It'll make you realize how blessed your life really is when you help others that are going through such horrifying times. It makes you feel good. And so I, I think that you make friends. you will have friends from all over the country because you all come together to help out at the same time. You got to be prepared for the hardships at the same time. It was like I said, I was sleeping in a trailer for a while and it was fine. Please don't get me wrong. I was grateful to have a bed and we could close the door and, hope that the black bears weren't going to come after us, but, Sometimes, yeah, sometimes the hardships really are there, so be prepared for it, know that you might have to wait for a little while before you get your assignment, but just do it. It is so rewarding in the long run. I can't tell people enough how much it makes a difference in your life when you dedicate some time to this.

Peggy: 28:20

Wow. Thank you, Patty, so much for sharing your story with us today. As I mentioned, this is something that's very near and dear. to my heart, my own experiences with the Red Cross, on the receiving end of it. And so. My heart is just overflowing at getting this opportunity to share with the world the work that you've done and that demonstrates the goodness that's in this world and the goodness in action, even when it feels like things are hopeless. So thank you so much. For being here today.

Patty Flowers: 28:57

Oh, it's my pleasure that you asked me to do this, and I hope I didn't talk too much because I can do this for hours at a time.

Peggy: 29:07

Well, your enthusiasm is evident and your great passion and love is evident and I couldn't be more grateful to be sharing this, the story and to our listeners, if you're interested in learning more about becoming a Red Cross volunteer, You can visit redcross.org/volunteer, and I will put a link to this in the show notes when I published the episode but i'd like to thank all of you for joining us in this episode of next door gospel and until next time Remember that god can use each of us to make a difference in ways that we may never have imagined So may the lord bless you and keep you and the lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you The lord turn his face towards you and give you peace Amen