{"id":12727,"date":"2018-09-18T13:49:00","date_gmt":"2018-09-18T13:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salarmyeds.org\/?p=12727"},"modified":"2026-09-25T13:52:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T13:52:53","slug":"unable-to-work-but-able-to-serve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salarmyeds.org\/index.php\/2018\/09\/18\/unable-to-work-but-able-to-serve\/","title":{"rendered":"Unable to Work but Able to Serve"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Washington, NC &#8211;\u00a0<\/strong>While many of us would welcome the opportunity for a day off, Edwina Barrera in Washington, N.C. kept on working even though Hurricane Florence forced her to take five days off\u00a0at her\u00a0usual place of employment, the highways that crisscross the southeast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before Hurricane Florence came to the coast of North Carolina Barrera sat behind the wheel of her tractor, hauling a trailer load for C.R. England. Reports on the what was then a&nbsp;category 4-5 storm&nbsp;reached the trucking company, so they&nbsp;urged drivers to head their rigs back to Smithfield Foods&nbsp;in Kinston to hunker for the storm. \u201cI was thankful to get home Tuesday before we got flooded,\u201d said Barrera. There was some relief when&nbsp;the hurricane\u2019s strength was decreasing as it made landfall in North Carolina on Thursday, but the rains overwhelmed the Neuse River and smaller creeks. Kinston quickly flooded, as did the lot where Barrera\u2019s tractor was waiting out the storm.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI was devastated because I couldn&#8217;t work,\u201d said Barrera. \u201cIf the wheels don\u2019t go, I don\u2019t get paid.\u201d A flooded truck lot, impassable roads, and closed schools meant this soldier of The Salvation Army Washington Corps couldn\u2019t just sit home and wait. \u201cI had to do something for these families who were suffering.\u201d She pulled her Salvation Army soldier\u2019s uniform out of the closet and headed to the Corps. She joined the rest of the crew to board the Washington Corps canteen that was headed 45 miles east&nbsp;to Scranton. Located at sea level on the Pungo River, Scranton experienced significant flooding and lost power, meaning people were hungry and needed a helping hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe fed 101 people lunch today and they were so thankful and appreciative,\u201d said Barrera. \u201cLiving so close to the water meant they have been through this before, but extending them some hope after this storm helps them to see the light.\u201d Her truck remained in the lot again on Tuesday, so she was back on the road with The Salvation Army mobile feeding unit. While serving lunch she received an alert that her truck was ready to go. By nightfall, she headed to Newport News, Virginia,&nbsp;with her next load.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI am sorry not to get paid from my job, but serving them the first hot meal they\u2019ve seen in several days and seeing them smile makes volunteering worth it!\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"credits-overlay\" data-target=\".wp-image-12728\">The Salvation Army <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, NC &#8211;\u00a0While many of us would welcome the opportunity for a day off, Edwina Barrera in Washington, N.C. kept on working even though Hurricane Florence forced her to take 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