SAINTS ON A MISSION: Limestone Students Spend Spring Break On Mission Trip To Hurricane-Ravaged Tennessee

Foregoing beach towels, a group of Limestone University students spent their spring break week helping Tennessee residents rebuild their homes and lives following Hurricane Helene.

Seven Limestone students joined campus minister Iman Bolden doing hurricane recovery work March 2- 7. First Baptist Church children’s minister Hatcher Geary and Central Baptist Church worship pastor Justin Garrett accompanied the college students on the mission trip. 

The group stayed in the community of Limestone in Washington County and spent four days involved in mission work in Hot Springs and Marshall.

Disaster struck communities in the path of Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina and East Tennessee.

While immediate relief efforts are still taking place, Bolden partnered with Experience Mission to organize a spring break service opportunity where students could help with hurricane recovery efforts. First Baptist Church provided scholarships and financial assistance toward the Limestone mission trip.

“Throughout my years in ministry, I have had the privilege of working with and sharing God’s love with many diverse groups of people,” Bolden said. “I wanted to offer a service opportunity for Limestone students to serve others in communities where residents are still working to rebuild their homes and businesses after the hurricane.”

Limestone students helped residents repair homes, clear debris, installed insulation underneath a home and cleaned out a muddy basement to make it safe for food storage.

During a tour on the first day, Limestone students could still see the trash line where 25 feet of water rushed through the mountainous areas during the hurricane.

“We worked at one woman’s home where the flood waters picked up an outdoor bathroom and gazebo and moved it to another place,” Bolden said. “We put on hazmat suits and spent time cleaning mud away from pipes to help make a basement food safe for storage. We put new insulation underneath a house after all the insulation was taken away by the storm. Our students would pray with local residents and encourage them every day.”

Limestone students went on hikes in the evening and spent time at Brambles Bend Farms in Greeneville, Tenn. The farm makes handcrafted lotions and soaps and is home to free ranged chickens, ducks, rabbits, goats, and a pig.

(Article by Scott Powell, The Gaffney Ledger, March 14, 2025)