07/14/2024
After taking a couple days to decompress I wanted to share a little about my time in Ruidoso. I met some great locals whose hearts were pure and they wanted to help us just as much as we wanted to help them. One lady I met, Judy, lost 4 homes. Hers & her husband’s home that they’ve lived in for 28 years along with all 3 of her childrens home right next to hers. As we talked and I helped gather things that were charged but sentimental, it was hard to keep my composure. I met another family that only had flowers left in her yard covered in ash but she wanted them. I sat there for over an hour digging in this 2x4 area retrieving her bulbs. They were her grandmothers and had been on their property for decades and she wasn’t leaving without them. I helped out with Samaritans Purse one of those days and we cleaned a church and met the most amazing teammates. The tenacity and resilience all the residents showed was something I will never forget! Especially under the circumstances. Honestly videos don’t do it any justice. It’s clear sky’s one minute and the next it’s a shelter in place type scenario. Everyone’s phones constantly going off with emergency alerts and the silence it came with along with the looks of nervousness was probably the worst part. Rain is absolutely terrifying there right now and it’s something I never thought I would be scared of. The roads are covered in mud, trees, boulders and literally anything else you can think of. NMDOT was working their butts off day and night! There were cars floating down what use to look like a creek, houses coming full force down multiple streets, land slides and so so so much more. The sound of the river can be heard indoors and trees snapping and shifting rumble under your feet. With all this, the locals kept on and made my heart so full.
I will hold this in my heart and memory forever and I’m so grateful I was able to go and even make a little difference. I already have a couple people who have asked me to go back and I definitely will. Thank you to those who have helped support this journey and the community of Ruidoso. Thank you to those who reached out to check on my wellbeing and keeping those affected in their prayers. They need as much prayers as they can get.
The things needed there right now are
*All sizes of muck boots
* Contractor bags
* PPE (gloves, disposable hazmat suits, n95 masks)
*work gloves all sizes
* shovels
*wheel barrows
*sand bags
*Dog food
*keep sake boxes such as large plastic Tupperware
