b'military aircraft, private jets, and fleets of heli-copters flying overhead. It felt like a war zone with an invisible enemy. We called, emailed, and unloaded trucks from all over the country that were full of water, diapers, food, and almost every form of supplies imaginable. The military dropped three loads of emergency water and MREs (Meals, Ready-to-Eat). Financial donations came from almost all 50 states, fellow rescue missions and ministries, and private donations from as far away as Egypt, Russia, and the United Kingdom. WCRM even welcomed Citygate Network President/CEO Tom De Vries to come visit in late November, bringing much-welcomed comfort to the staff and financial support to our efforts. Old supply closets, conference rooms, and even sanitized bathrooms became donation hubs. Donations of water tanks and generators came in, and we were able to provide safe hygiene through a shower truck and port-a-potties.As each day brought another mountain to climb, the communication between staff shifted and changed to accommodate each need. Devel-opment and finance staff collaborated with operations and program staff to solve a plethora of issues from monitoring supply closets to track-ing showers, feeding people, and distributing donations. No idea was unwelcome, which sup-ported the willingness of staff to do whatever job was needed, not just the one they had. Photos courtesy of Western Carolina Rescue Ministries We kept our eyes and prayers open for the needs that would arise and how God might address those needs through us. Over the next two months, we began a new initiative known as Higher Ground, which would act as a multi-faceted crisis response group to provide any resources and services needed for catastrophes, like Hurricane Helene, in the Western North Carolina region. In this specific circumstance, Higher Ground was used for processing and \x02 22 WWW.CITYGATENETWORK.ORG JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025'