ROCKINGHAM — April Martin was shopping at Belk in Richmond Plaza when the home she shares with several relatives caught fire.

“I was in Belk so I don’t know what happened,” Martin said. “My 10-year-old niece, Tynasia Martin, lives there. She goes to Monroe Avenue. My mother lives there, and my stepmothers and one brother. They said my brother left some grease on the stove and it got too hot and when he walked back into the kitchen, it was all on fire.”

Martin said smoke began streaming throughout the house, so her brother got her mother outside.

“My older brother called to let me know and when I got there the fire department was there,” she said.

The kitchen was so damaged from the smoke that the family received temporary shelter at local hotel from the American Red Cross and Abundant Life Ministry paid for two additional nights for the displaced family.

“The way I heard about Abundant Life was while we we’re at the hospital that night, my aunt was outside and she had a card, so I gave them a call,” Martin said. “I thought I’d have to take less (donated furniture) than I actually took. Like tables, freezers and dishes. It’s wonderful. It’s a blessing.”

Abundant Life Church at 139 School St. in Rockingham has a special ministry for families who have been burned out of their homes. Currently furniture donations keep flooding in, but the church only has a mobile storage unit to keep it in and the Rev. Joe Wilkes, pastor, said space is running out.

“We are praying that God will give us a building,” he said. “This ministry is, I believe, needed in this community and has been able to assist many families in need. We just need some place larger to store all of the wonderful things people have donated.”

The loss of furniture and stable housing is a terrible thing, Martin said, and the ministry was more than generous in helping her family to resupply items that were ruined in the fire and smoke.

“We had to come up with the cost of repairs out of pocket, though,” she said. “We didn’t have insurance on the house.”

To help Martin and her family, contact Abundant Life Church at 910-410-0544.

Reach reporter Melonie McLaurin at 910-817-2673 and follow her on Twitter @meloniemclaurin.

Contributed photo The Rev. Joe Wilkes of Abundant Life Ministries gives furniture to April Martin and her family following a fire that destroyed their kitchen and many of their home furnishings.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_MartinWilkes.jpgContributed photo The Rev. Joe Wilkes of Abundant Life Ministries gives furniture to April Martin and her family following a fire that destroyed their kitchen and many of their home furnishings.

By Melonie McLaurin

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