In late September, Michael Toberer led about a dozen mules into the North Carolina mountains. Mr. Toberer and his team slogged through mud and garbage. They navigated around fallen trees and huge rocks in washed out creek beds. They were on a mission to reach places that had been hit hardest by Hurricane Helene. With roads and bridges blocked or wiped out, reaching folks in need of help could be done only on foot or by helicopter.
While the chop-chop-chop of Chinooks and Black Hawks sometimes passed overhead, Mountain Mule Packers hoofed in to help Chimney Rock and Black Mountain—both in North Carolina. They also helped in eastern Tennessee. They brought food, medicine, and supplies along narrow trails cut out just ahead of them by volunteers with chainsaws.
It wasn’t easy. But Michael and his wife Michele have found a new way to use their gifts since the storm.
For the past 12 years, the Toberers taught military groups to use mules. Sometimes soldiers deploy into areas that vehicles can’t reach. Pack mules can haul gear through tight spots and over rough terrain.
Before the floods and landslides that Helene brought, Mr. Toberer had plans to travel to South Carolina for a training session. The mules were ready to go. But as the rain fell, he canceled the trip. He decided to take his team to the storm-damaged areas. His wife took charge at the ranch in Mount Ulla, a community in North Carolina east of the hurricane’s destructive path.
Through Facebook, Mrs. Toberer asked North Carolinians to comment with their needs. She compiled lists, and the group found supplies. At first, the mules delivered emergency needs like food, water, and medicine. Later people asked for pressure washers, pet food, and propane for cooking.
As North Carolina gets patched up, the Toberers say they and their mules are in for the long haul.
“I think that we have found a kind of a calling,” says Mrs. Toberer.
Why? God may use our gifts in ways we never could have imagined. We can pray to be ready to go where and when He sends us. (Isaiah 6:8)
