When floodwaters surged through Taree in May and June of 2025, Danielle* watched as everything she loved was washed away. Her home and her property under water in just a matter of hours.
Like many on the NSW Mid North Coast, Danielle faced not only physical devastation, but the heavy emotional toll that followed. Recovery felt overwhelming, and the losses ran far deeper than what could be seen from the outside.
In the immediate weeks after the floodwaters receded, Samaritan’s Purse volunteers arrived to help homeowners clean their homes. Mud was cleared, walls were scrubbed and hope slowly began to return. But for Danielle, recovery was far from over.
In January 2026, Samaritan’s Purse returned to Taree—this time to help families take the next steps in rebuilding their homes and lives. Among the volunteers was Lynn, who listened as Danielle asked for help with something unexpected: cleaning out her chicken coop.
It wasn’t a project the team would normally take on. But something about Danielle’s request prompted the team to accept the job request and offer help.
As they worked, clearing rotten eggs and debris left behind by the flood, Danielle stood nearby. Only after the job was done did she share why she had been unable to face it herself. The chickens weren’t just livestock — they were her pets. She had named each one. All forty had been washed away in the floods.
For months, Danielle couldn’t bring herself to enter the coop. It held too much grief, too many reminders of what she had lost.
Clayton, a Samaritan’s Purse Volunteer said “It’s shocking that a farmer can be so emotionally devastated that they can’t even face their chicken coop.”.
As Danielle shared her story, Billy Graham Rapid Response chaplains—serving alongside Samaritan’s Purse volunteers—spent time praying with her. During that moment, Danielle revealed another quiet loss which was that of her Bible which had been washed away in the flood.
She was presented with a new Bible, and as she held it, Danielle shared that she felt a pull to return to church.
It was clear that the pain Danielle carried wasn’t only about rebuilding walls or replacing belongings.
The loss of her friends, and her Bible had left wounds that needed compassion and support to process.
Through the prayers from Chaplains and practical help from volunteers, Danielle was able to release some of the pain she had been carrying and take an important step forward—not just in rebuilding her property, but in repairing her heart.
This is why Samaritan’s Purse returns long after the headlines fade. Because recovery takes time. Because healing often begins with listening, and because rebuilding a life can sometimes start with cleaning out a chicken coop.
* Name changed for privacy
