Wrightsville Beach Baptist Church lends a hand to a family in Maple Hill still suffering from Florence

MAPLE HILL, NC (WWAY) — Imagine having a house in your family for six generations and seeing it damaged or destroyed in a natural disaster, twice.

Nancy Schultz and Brian Mott’s family had to do that after Matthew and Florence in Maple Hill, and they both agree that this is not a house you can just give up on.

“My whole life I was raised and told how important this home was,” Schultz said. “Both of my parents died in this house.”

“It’s been a generational family home,” Mott added.

But in the eyes of FEMA, the family doesn’t technically own the home because they bought the house from a family member, meaning they weren’t eligible for aid, and had to pay for all the initial damages out of pocket.

All hurricanes have a few things in common, such a being destructive and dangerous to anyone in their paths, but no two hurricanes are exactly alike.

“Matthew sucked, but Florence hurt,” Shultz said.

The repairs from Matthew were not fun, but Florence took not fun to a whole new level.

“You don’t realize how long it takes to dry a house, what it entails to have to tear it out and fix it. I walked away from Matthew, but I have to rebuild for Florence,” Shultz explained.

That’s where Pastor John McIntyre and Wrightsville Beach Baptist Church come in.

“They’re just kind of stuck,” McIntyre said. “So we said ‘hey! We’ll come help.’ It’s just a neat opportunity to continue to love on people. We’re all about helping and showing the love of Christ and we don’t ask for anything in return we just do it for fun and for free.”

Shultz and Mott are very grateful for the time and effort that Wrightsville Beach Baptist Church has put into getting them back on their feet.

If you would like to make a donation of any kind to help the church continue to help those impacted by natural disasters free of charge please visit their website.