Miracles in the Storm

I’ve been staring at this screen for a while, unsure of where to begin. I pray the Lord guides my words—words that reflect His goodness, faithfulness, and constant presence. These past few days have been really tough, but God has already been working on my heart in incredible ways. He has given me so much peace and comfort, and I’m so thankful for how He’s shown up through it all. As I write this, I’m filled with gratitude and awe. My hope is that this blog brings you a fresh revelation of God’s character and reminds you of just how good He truly is—because He is so worth it.

My squad was staying in Black Mountain, NC, for a week, working on various ministry projects. On the morning of September 27th, we were woken up at 8 a.m. by our lodging host, who was banging on our cabin door, telling us we needed to relocate to a different building on-site. They were concerned about the trees surrounding the cabin and wanted to move us to a safer area away from them.

Despite the unusual start, the day was mostly normal. The power was out due to the heavy rain, but we still planned to go ahead with our usual activities: squad worship, a teaching session, team time, and just enjoying time together. At one point, I was watching the rain pour down the mountain in the side room with some friends (video below).

As we watched the rain pour down, we definitely noticed how much was coming down. Even with it beating against the building, we thought everything was fine since the water seemed to be flowing under the deck. But suddenly, my sock was wet, and when I looked down, I saw water starting to come inside.

After that, we gathered in the other room for a group meeting, where they reassured us that we were in the safest place possible. Our leaders advised us to avoid that flooded room unless we needed to use the bathroom, which was in the same area.

We broke off for some free time in the morning. Some people were playing Uno, others were sitting and chatting. A few friends and I were lying on the floor, trying to catch a quick nap. Not even five minutes later, I jumped up at the sound of my friend Mitch’s voice. At first, there was hesitation in his tone, but it quickly escalated to full-blown panic. He said something like, “Oh no, guys, a tree is coming. We’ve got to go… Oh shoot, we need to go NOW.”

As soon as I heard his voice, I lifted my head, and suddenly, the scariest noise I’ve ever heard came crashing down on us. It was a mix of glass shattering, trees snapping, and wood splintering. I looked up and saw the ceiling collapsing, and the walls being destroyed. Our building had been hit by a landslide. The landslide had already taken out a cabin before crashing into ours, along with a tree falling on top of the roof.

As the sound of destruction echoed through the building, I jumped up, leaving everything behind, and sprinted for my life. It was absolute chaos—a moment I remember clearly, though I now realize I was in shock. Once I made it out the door, I realized I didn’t have my phone. It sounds ridiculous now, but I ran back into the building, which was quickly filling with mud almost up to my knees. The whole place reeked of propane. In a panic, I started digging through the mud until my friend came back and told me we had to get out of there.

I remember seeing my bag trapped under the collapsed debris and debating whether to go back for it. But after my friend yelled at me a second time, I snapped out of it and ran. We made our way out onto the deck and up to the parking lot on higher ground. We were stuck there, with no way out. The landslide continued, covering the road, and 911 couldn’t reach us. We were trapped in the hurricane downpour, cold and soaked.

It was a scene of utter chaos. People were screaming, crying, freezing, calling their parents—just panic everywhere. I distinctly remember a moment when another massive tree began to fall. We heard it but couldn’t tell where it was coming from. It ended with all of us screaming and running in different directions, trying to escape with our lives.

There were three men who were our lodging hosts for the week, and somehow, they were all there in the midst of the chaos. Miraculously, one of them was a disaster crisis response expert. Praise the Lord, because they worked for over an hour trying to figure out a way for us to escape. We stood there, freezing and soaked, waiting in the rain for over an hour and a half.

Eventually, one of the men came back and told us the rain had eased, and we would need to cross the water to reach the other side, where a bus would pick us up and take us to safety. This was the moment I panicked the most—there was no way I was crossing that “water,” the same water I had just watched sweep our entire cabin down the mountain. The guy had tied a rope across for us to hold onto as we crossed.

I need to pause here and give credit to the guys in our squad—they stepped up in such a big way, helping us all through this emotionally and physically. One of them helped me get onto the rope, another guided me across, and another helped me down the mountain. Crossing was extremely challenging, the water was almost to my hip in certain spots. Once we got off the ropes, we had to deal with thick mud that was like quicksand in some places. You had to be careful about where you stepped, and the guys were amazing, directing us on the safest spots to walk.

We crossed in pairs, and I went with Lily. Unfortunately, she hurt her ankle while crossing, so a friend and I had to help her walk the rest of the way. After that we were loaded onto the bus. We packed all 36 of us in there and drove to Black Mountain Home for children.

When we arrived, we were greeted with towels, clean clothes, blankets, hot chocolate, and plenty of food. It was the first moment in the past three hours that I felt even remotely safe. I was definitely running on pure adrenaline because as soon as I sat down after changing, I completely broke down. I sobbed into my friend’s shoulder for a while, my mind unable to process what had just happened.

Okay, pause: that was a lot. So much happened in such a short time, but God moved in so many ways to make sure it all worked out. There’s no doubt—it was only by God’s hand that we all made it out safely. Let’s go over all the little miracles so far.

First, if the man hadn’t come to wake us up and move us (which he hesitated to do for a long time), we would have all been in the first cabin—the one that was completely destroyed—having breakfast when the landslide hit. That means all 36 of us could have died. Second, the flooding in the side room forced us to leave that area. If that hadn’t happened, we would’ve still been there, watching the water come down, and we could have been killed.

Another miracle: the landslide took out the bathroom and that’s where the tree mostly fell. You can’t tell me it’s a coincidence that not one of the 36 of us was in the bathroom at the time. And then there was Mitch, standing by the window and giving us a warning to run. I was directly under the ceiling that collapsed, and without his alert, things could have turned out very differently for me.

And how about the fact that one of the men just happened to be a survival expert? There’s no way we would have been able to cross that water without him. And then there’s this funny detail: the children’s home that took us in was the same building we had cleaned the day before. The clothes they gave us were from their thrift store where we’d spent a whole day sorting and organizing clothes.

Even the trees at the children’s home that had fallen—none of them hit the buildings where the kids were staying. Two trees actually fell between houses, with one only bumping the gutter. God is so so good, but just wait because it only gets crazier.

The rest of the day felt incredibly long. I don’t want to sound like an overly dramatic teenager, but not having my phone was really hard. Everyone else was able to retreat into their screens, distracting themselves with Instagram reels and Netflix. But I was stuck, alone with my thoughts, staring at a wall. The events of that morning kept replaying in my mind like a movie—over and over. I could still hear the sounds and see the destruction.

I was stripped of everything. All I had were the clothes on my back—I didn’t even have shoes. I tried to sleep but couldn’t. Eventually, I was able to call my family, which was a relief.

A few hours later, the guys returned with some things they’d managed to retrieve from the building. Praise the Lord, they found my bag! Inside were a few articles of clothing, my passport, and my Bible bag. The amazing part? My Bible was completely untouched, despite my bag being on the floor and completely covered in mud. My journal, which was right next to my Bible, was ruined—but the Bible was dry and perfectly intact! (See video below.)

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At this point, I also found out from my parents that my phone had indeed been swept away by the landslide. They could see its path on Life360. To give you an idea of the force of the slide, my phone traveled over a mile and a half in just three minutes before Life360 lost track of it.

That evening, staff from AIM finally arrived after taking nine different routes to reach us. They told us how they had to bring equipment to cut down trees blocking the roads and were determined to do whatever it took to get to us.

Later that night, as we were settling down for bed, our leader gathered the group for an announcement. It was around 10:30 p.m., and we were all emotionally and physically exhausted. They informed us that we were being relocated again. They mentioned concerns about the gas lines under the building, which was true—but what they didn’t tell us was that the roads around us were flooding. If they didn’t move us soon, we would’ve been trapped in the building for at least three days, with no way to get back to Gainesville.

So there we were, packing our few muddy belongings into trash bags, loading them into trucks, and making our way to the good old Holiday Inn.

Okay, let’s pause again. This is yet another wild part of the story and another clear example of how God was moving through it all. When the AIM staff found out the roads were flooding, they immediately started searching for a place for us to go. As they were driving through the dark parts of Asheville, they saw a building lit up by generators. They drove over and found a tiny Holiday Inn. When they went inside, the owner told them there were no rooms available. After explaining our situation, the owner asked if we could make their conference room work. They gladly agreed.

But then came the next challenge—how to get us from the children’s home to the hotel. The roads were flooded, and only cars with four-wheel drive could make it through. Here’s the incredible part: in the lobby, a group of people just happened to be listening. They were in North Carolina for a Christian singles conference, and when they heard what was happening, a bunch of guys with trucks immediately offered to help.

It was a crazy journey. The road right outside the children’s home was completely flooded, which should’ve stopped us from getting through. But here’s the kicker—on the property next door was a huge prison, and its gates just happened to be wide open. So not only did we have to drive through flooded roads to get to the hotel, but we also drove through a literal prison!

Our time at the hotel was really sweet, filled with such kind people. They gave us pillows to sleep with, and the owner was one of the happiest and most loving people I’ve ever met. They served us breakfast, and honestly, it was the best breakfast I’d had in a while. One of my favorite moments from that time was an encounter I had with a stranger. The bathrooms were flooded, so we had to wear shoes to go in, but I didn’t have any. I tried to go in without them, but it was so gross that I turned around and started putting my socks back on.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man watching me. He said, “Go get your shoes.” I awkwardly replied, “I don’t have shoes.” Without hesitation, he took off his own shoes and handed them to me so I could use the restroom.

Another amazing thing happened the next morning—we found out we were going home! Clara’s dad and another man had driven through the entire night from Tennessee with a van and bus to pick us up. What should have taken them three hours ended up taking eight. After breakfast, we packed up, loaded up, and headed back to Gainesville, where showers, clothes, food, bedding, and love were waiting for us.

The past few days have been challenging. When we finally got back home, it was the first time I truly felt safe. I could finally take a breath, no longer rushing from place to place. It was my first shower in a while, the first time I wore shoes in two days, and the first time I realized just how torn up my feet were. I had six splinters in my feet and cuts everywhere, and I didn’t even notice until we got back.

Those first moments were emotional as I began to process everything. I found myself getting triggered by people running and loud noises, my body would tense up, and a few times it would cause me to cry. It made me so mad. One time it happened in front of people from a different squad who didn’t experience what we did, and I felt so embarrassed. I didn’t want to be seen as the victim—that’s not my identity—and it upset me so much because it felt completely out of my control.

The past three days have been so much better. I got to see my mom and dad, which was amazing. After giving them the biggest hug, they spent the entire day helping me get my life back together. Before they came, they went out and bought most of the stuff I’d lost—which wasn’t easy. I had lost most of my clothes, my phone, iPad, all my shower stuff, speaker, sleeping bag, pillow, credit and debit cards, license, wallet, another bag, and a bunch of random things. So having them bring most of it was a huge blessing. My mom even spoiled me with a pedicure, which sounds silly, but oh my, did I need it! After that day, I finally felt like a normal human again.

The next day, I felt ready to take the next steps. I had a required therapy session in the morning, and afterward, I set my tent back up to sleep in for the night. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever be able to sleep under a tree again—but we did it! The following day, I spent time with the Lord, and He gently filled me up again. I felt an overwhelming sense of peace.

And it gets even better. Last night, we had a squad worship night. We just played music on a speaker, but it felt so heavy in the room. We opened up space for people to receive prayer and let go of things they’d been holding back from or against God. So many people stepped up and asked for prayer, and it was incredible. People felt weights lifted, encountered the Holy Spirit again, and left feeling so much lighter. We were reminded that we’re the squad of joy, and we declared that over our group again. Afterward, we went outside, worshiped, and danced in His presence. For some, it was the first time they’d felt God since Friday, and they were overjoyed by His goodness.

 

Looking back, I’m just so thankful for how the Lord was there through it all. He was present even before it began. Before the hurricane hit, I had four people text me, saying I’d been on their hearts and that they were praying for me and my squad. Two others felt uneasy the night before, and one leader stayed up most of the night praying. God was there during the whole ordeal too. Someone on our squad even accepted Christ because of it—he had been convinced that God wasn’t real, or at least not who the Bible says He is. Now, he’s had the best few days since the hurricane and is getting to know all of who God is.

I’m also incredibly thankful for everyone who has reached out, prayed for us, or given financially. My squad was blown away by the generosity of people who heard our story, helping us raise $30,000 in just 48 hours to cover some of the costs of what we lost. Some people even gave directly to me for things that weren’t covered, so thank you so much to those individuals as well.

I feel so blessed to be with this amazing group of people. God has already worked in and through us so much, and we haven’t even left the country yet. I thank God every day for the joy we carry and the testimony it brings.

So, what’s next for K squad? We all leave for Guatemala on the 7th! Everyone who lost their passport is getting a new one today, so no one will be delayed. The devil really thought he had us, but K squad is about to be set loose, and I can’t wait to see how God uses us in this next season. Please be praying for safety as we travel, for the health of those on our squad (many of us are really sick), and that the Lord would continue to fill us up even more than before.

With Love,

Ashlyn

 

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