Mountain View Conference

Last year flooding in the southwest counties of West Virginia destroyed more than 300 small, privately-owned bridges linking rural homes to public roads. Those floods swept away the bridge in front of Mr. and Mrs. Cart’s home in Hamblin, W.Va. Though the Federal Emergency Management Agency provides public assistance for disaster relief, it does not offer individuals financial help, leaving people on their own to try and rebuild their access bridges.

During the two-and-a-half-day Pathway clinic in Beckley, 1,722 people received $6.5 million in free services that included dental procedures, eye exams and medical services such as cardiology, radiology, pediatrics, podiatry, HIV tests and minor surgical procedures, etc. Patients were also offered healthy lifestyle counseling, massages, haircuts and styles, spiritual literature, a vegan lunch and supper, the opportunity to visit the clothing distribution center and prayer with a chaplain. Watch the video here.

Voluntarios de diferentes partes de los Estados Unidos, y de tan lejos como las islas Bermudas, Colombia, Méjico y Polonia recibieron y sirvieron a una multitud de personas ansiosas que acudieron a la clínica móvil de salud llamada Your Best Pathway to Health (Su Mejor Camino a la Salud, en español) en el Centro de Convenciones del Condado Beckley-Raleigh en Beckley, West Virginia. Fue la sexta en los últimos dos años, pero la primera en una zona rural.

Diana, a Beckley, W.Va., resident, joined the line at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, waiting for dental service. “I’m not afraid of the drill; I’m afraid of the bill,” she says, adding that she hadn’t been to a dentist in six years. "I can't afford dental care."

Robert Smith, pastor of the Allegheny East Conference’s First Church in Teaneck N.J., (take out extra space) recently joined a group sponsored by the Columbia Union Conference that is assisting flood victims in West Virginia. Smith and fellow pastor, Lee Kimani, have knocked on doors, visited 20 churches of all faiths and have counseled 50 families, provided prayer and connected victims to FEMA and Red Cross resources.

The State of West Virginia will officially turn over a supply and distribution warehouse in Belle, W.Va., an area heavily impacted by the recent floods, to Seventh-day Adventist disaster relief teams today.

Following last week's floods in West Virginia, in which 23 people were killed and thousands were left homeless, staff from Mountain View Conference’s Adventist Community Services (ACS) have been actively coordinating relief efforts. The team is working to organize a warehouse in Belle, W.Va, just south of Charleston, where victims will receive necessary items.