Eneyas Freitas, the lead pastor of The Gathering Church, remembered how, two years ago, he and his neighbors waded through waist-deep water as Hurricane Helene unleashed a record-breaking storm surge on the Shore Acres neighborhood.
Flooding wasn’t new to the waterfront community in St. Petersburg. But, for many, it was the first time water had entered their homes.
Freitas, his wife and others walked nearly two miles in the dark before rescue teams could reach them. In the days following, people came home to water-logged carpets and walls. Some had lost everything…