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How this Central Georgia church is helping its community rally after Helene

Emergency Management Director Mario Chapple says he has over 300 homes without power.

HANCOCK COUNTY, Ga. — Peggy Lewis still has no power or water.

She says she lost her power early last Friday - when Hurricane Helene passed through Central Georgia - and misses taking a bath.

"It's been a mad house," She said. "It has not been a picnic at all. You go get water, you use it up before you know it."

Lewis says watching the storm and hearing trees falling was very scary, and she couldn't go back to sleep after the storm. 

Without power, Lewis has relied on hot meals from friends and places like Union Missionary Baptist church. 

"It is really nice, it really is," she said. "Because when I heard about some of it, I said, 'Oh thank god,' because yesterday we was in Milledgeville where we got us a hot meal. Someone brought us a meal later on, we were so full."

Pastor Derek Hill says he loves serving others. 

"We've been going out with sheriff's office and other first responders taking things down to the area and the Springfield area trying to make sure that they have hot meals and things that they need," Hill said. 

Hill says he picked up cases of water at the Hancock County Fire Department for Thursday's cookout. 

He says the storm has been bad for his congregation.  

"Many of them are still without power. Most of them went about three to four days without power, but they have power now," he said. "Some still don't have power, don't have clean water."

Emergency Management Director Mario Chapple says he has over 300 homes without power.  

"If we can get the lights back on it, it'll be a helpful situation for me [to] get some of the people back on track," he says.  

Chapple says help from FEMA will also help the situation. He says he hopes to have the power back on for people by Sunday. 

RELATED: Hurricane Helene's death toll reaches 200 as crews try to reach the most remote areas hit by the storm

RELATED: American Red Cross setting up shelters across Central Georgia | When, where, and what you need to know

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