A group from Troy made a difference over the weekend in Wilmington, North Carolina, where Hurricane Florence had brought tremendous flooding recent weeks.

Nikki Stallings organized the outing in partnership with Praying Pelican Missions after she said she felt led to do something to help those in need.

“I felt God calling me since the hurricane hit, but I didn’t know how to do it,” Stallings said before the trip. “The following Monday morning, I got an email from Praying Pelican Missions, a group I went to Costa Rica with on a church mission trip, saying they needed volunteers. I thought ‘This is it. This is how I go.’”

By the time Stallings left for Wilmington Thursday night, she had recruited 18 volunteers and loaded up a 30-foot trailer with over 5,000 pounds of water thanks to the donations of Troy residents.

“The people helping unload it told us that it was the most donations in a single load that had been delivered,” Stallings said. “They were very happy and grateful for everything that we had brought down with us.”

With only two days in the area, the group helped one family whose home had been flooded up to 8 feet.

“It was very tiring, but it was awesome,” Stallings said. “We tore out sheetrock, insulation, flooring, nails, the siding of the house … We probably saved them about a month’s worth of work.”

Stallings said she was inspired by the homeowner, who was more concerned about the barn than his own home.

“That’s where he was actually storing stuff for his neighbors,” Stallings said. “He was more worried and concerned about getting the barn cleaned out so his neighbors could use it again. He even teared up talking about it. He was more concerned about that than his own house that he couldn’t stay in.”