TYLER, Texas — Puerto Ricans are still recovering from Hurricane Fiona.
One East Texas church had a group of volunteers fly to the island on Friday on a mission to help rebuild.
Samuel Sadler, local missions director at Green Acres Baptist Church, along with five other volunteers traveled to Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico to help rebuild roofs after the hurricane devastated the area.
"We started to get this mission trip in the works, and then the hurricane hit," Sadler said.
Sadler’s team got connected with a local pastor in Puerto Rico who ran into a family with four kids and several grandkids. The family's costal home had it’s roof ripped off from the violent winds.
"The church was only about two miles down the road from them," Sadler said. "They had no idea about its existence and had no relationship with the pastor at all."
After landing in San Juan, the group traveled to the southern part of the island and worked on the roof for about 12 hours.
"We really got to love on them and kind of get to know them as we were working alongside them," Sadler said.
The family didn’t speak English, but that didn’t stop them from showing their appreciation.
They now have a new complete roof thanks to the help of six East Texas volunteers.
Sadler said he received an update on Tuesday saying the family has been able to move back into their home. They've also been gifted clothes.
"The community that they've been introduced to immediately has surrounded them," Sadler said.
A motivation common within the Green Acres Baptist Church. All volunteer work in an act of faith.
"Coming back here, especially with the guys and the heart that was presented in the intent behind why we went, man, it just makes me love this place even more," Sadler said. "I mean, Green Acres, we love our community and we love the mission. We love to make Christ's name famous."
The church has disaster relief trailer with a shower and laundry station.
With Hurricane Ian on track to hit Florida, Sadler said his team is monitoring the storm and preparing to continue their mission to help.