Thanks to all who are praying, sending words of encouragement, checking in on us, and providing support. Our onsite communications capabilities are still very limited. We appreciate your patience and understanding – you will likely experience longer response times than normal as we prioritize urgent, time-sensitive matters as best we can.

We understand there are organizations and individuals wondering about events scheduled here over the next few weeks, so we want to provide an update.

• Power has returned to most of our campus, and Internet is starting to come back. Our water system – which we operate and is separate from those in Black Mountain and Asheville – is not yet back up, but significant progress is being made.
• I-40 East is open and I-40 West is open past Asheville, so our campus is very accessible.
• A core group of Ridgecrest team members has been onsite throughout the past week, and we anticipate bringing additional ones back very soon.
• Many pictures and videos in the media and online are understandably showing the worst conditions following the storm – and there are catastrophic conditions in our surrounding area and others. Whereas we have damage, others have devastation. Our campus needs repairs, but many others are faced with rebuilding. The primary damage on our campus is to some of our roads. Thankfully, most buildings have little damage, which is a blessing considering the storm’s power amid the mountains and trees which help make our campus so beautiful.
• For now, we are hosting only emergency first responders through October 13th. We will continue to re-evaluate this timeline based on their needs and those of our local community, and we will continue to provide updates along the way.

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
– Psalm 121:1-2

This is Ridgecrest.