Rice: Seventh District pulled together after Matthew
It was the afternoon of Oct. 12 when I pulled up to the outskirts of Nichols. I was met by National Guard members and local law enforcement who were directing traffic and monitoring closed roads.
Ninety percent of the town was under water and all residents evacuated; no one was allowed in. I put my car in park to step out and talk to Mayor Lawson Battle. As I approached, his eyes filled with tears as he told me “we’ve lost everything.”
Just four days earlier, Nichols and the vast majority of the Seventh District were devastated by Hurricane Matthew, and I know a lot of people felt the same way as Mayor Battle. As I made my way around the district surveying damages and delivering supplies, I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support I saw at every stop we made.
From Florence to Conway and Green Sea to Mullins, strangers and neighbors came together to help those in need. Local churches gave out free meals. Schools opened to serve as shelters. Those who weren’t directly affected donated food and emergency supplies to donation centers.
And the help wasn’t just from people in our area. We were blessed to receive help from all over the country. Utility workers came from Texas and Ohio to restore power. Red Cross workers traveled from Oklahoma to set up shelters. National Guard members came from Columbia and Anderson to help rebuild. One couple even came from Charleston to deliver hundreds of coats to Marion County residents.
During times like these, I am so proud of our country and especially South Carolina. During times like this, I know God is with us, because when I was at a loss for words, or felt such despair for our community, or was overwhelmed by the destruction, Philippians 4:6 always came to my mind: worry about nothing, pray about everything.
I cannot thank our first responders, state and local officials, and other members of our community enough for their help in the recovery process. At a time when our nation seems so divided, I’m truly blown away by how our district unified when it mattered most.
I know the road to recovery is long and many are still in desperate need. I’ll continue working in every way I can to uplift residents and get our towns back to normal.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving and enter the holiday season, keep those still suffering in your hearts and continue to pray for a full recovery. But most of all, give thanks to God for the many blessings we have and for our community that is so uplifting.
The writer was recently re-elected to the U.S. Congress from the Seventh Congressional District.
This story was originally published November 19, 2016 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Rice: Seventh District pulled together after Matthew."