A man from Mexico who works on Hilton Head Island stood outside the Saxe Gotha Presbyterian Church and slowly smoked cigarettes as the state waited to see whether the hurricane would strike the state’s coast.

He and about 500 other people from the coast sought shelter from the storm last week in Lexington as the hurricane beared down toward the Carolinas.

The Mexican would not give his name, but said he was glad to have a place to stay during the storm.

By Thursday morning the storm had passed and nothing had been hit. People slowly began making their way back home, relieved at the prospect of returning to an undamaged home, but still tired from the ordeal.

Last Wednesday night there was no such certainty as the people fled the coast and waited.

In the church a lot of people tried to sleep, and some watched the weather reports. Others talked with friends and a few tried to read to pass the time.

The Saxe Gotha Presbyterian Church was one of several Red Cross stations where people could go to escape the storm. By Wednesday night there were no more hotel rooms, and so the shelters were a welcome sight.

George Fogleman said it took her and her husband 18 hours to drive from Hilton Head Island.

“It was the craziest thing I have ever seen. Most of the time we were just sitting still on the Interstate. There were no rooms available, but someone told me about his place, so we came here,’’ she said.

She said there were cars and trucks lined along the road, many of them having run out of gas while sitting still idling on the Interstate.

Fogleman said she thought Governor Jim Hodges made a mistake by not opening all four lanes of the interstate sooner, “but I don’t know if he could have really done any different.’’

She has lived on Hilton Head Island for 30 years, and said she has been through many hurricane scares.

“I would not have left but it was mandatory this time. Everyone gets so excited about these things and then they pass,’’ she said.

Even though the trip was hard, “my foot got so tired in that stop and go traffic,’’ she said she was pleased with the way they were being treated.

“This is very nice. I think these people here are doing a wonderful job of taking care of us,’’ she said.

Jilloli Arroub and Zahra Yachatten had spent 12 hours in their car driving from Charleston. They had arrived in Lexington Wednesday morning and passed the time talking with people.

Zahra was in Charleston when Hugo came through 10 years ago, so she was ready to leave as soon as she heard the hurricane might be coming. Her husband, originally from Moroco, said was concerned about the possiblity of his house being destroyed.

They had “camped out’’ near the children’s playroom, which was a small area but gave a little more privacy than the large room where everyone else was sleeping.

Meanwhile Mary Anne Robinson worked at the nurses station as a volunteer. She passed out washclothes, toothbrushes and other necessities.

Earlier in the day she had sent two women to Lexington Medical Center who had gone into labor.

With nearly 500 people in the church, it was a little hectic, but she said she was well prepared because she had taught first grade for many years.

Another lady had decided to stay in her car with her dog when she realized she would not be able to bring the dog inside the shelter.

But even with the large number of people things went smoothly.

There was one room set up for children to play with toys that had been brought in. Some adults tried to organize games which went well at times

They were able to feed the people who were hungry with the help of some local grocery stores that donated food.

There were about 150 people at the shelter by Tuesday night, and by nightfall on Wednesday they had maxed out at 500.

Church pastor Randy McBride said “there is some chaos, but most of these people are in danger of losing their homes,’’ he said.

He said his church, along with the Red Cross, “are trying to provide a bed and some food.’’