Storms have taken a toll across Texas in recent days, and Texans on Mission deployed disaster relief volunteers into several communities in May‑—San Marcos, Conroe, Rising Star, Huffman and Kingwood.
“There has been flooding, tornadoes and devastating straight winds,” said David Wells, state disaster relief director.
“It’s been a hard couple of weeks for many people in Texas. We are fortunate that we have so many dedicated volunteers to disperse over a wide geographic area.
“They are trained and flexible to work in difficult, ever changing situations,” Wells said. “They’re amazing, and the prayer warriors and financial donors who stand behind them are amazing, as well.”
As of May 13, Texans on Mission volunteer days numbered 375 for the month.
Parts of Conroe have been flooded for a second time this year. Some of those homes have been abandoned, but many more are being cleaned out for eventual rebuilding.
Gary Smith, Texans on Mission incident commander in Conroe, said three flood recovery teams worked jobs May 13. Free public laundry service is offered at the Texans on Mission base on the campus of West Conroe Baptist Church.
The Conroe flood came as no surprise to the community.
“This area received a lot of water from rain, and it caused extensive flooding into homes,” Smith said. “The sad part is so many of these homes have been flooded before, and so it’s not new to them.”
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Most people “have gone into their homes and have begun to try to salvage whatever they can,” he added.
People ask Texans on Mission volunteers why they work for free, Smith said.
“We do it because Jesus asks us to be the hands and feet on the ground to take care of the needs of his people,” he said. “And we’re all his people.”
In the midst of hard work, he said it’s easy to “forget the real reason why we’re here, and that’s to share Jesus.”
In San Marcos, Incident Commander Jerry Ickes said Texans on Mission assessors continue to find residents in need of assistance after damage from recent high winds.
The teams are setting up at Calvary Baptist Church in San Marcos. They relocated to the Hill Country from Kingwood, north of Houston, over the weekend.
“We currently have 28 volunteers on site” with feeding, box distribution and electronic units in San Marcos, Ickes said. Chainsaw teams from Bluebonnet Baptist Association and Kerrville, plus a shower/laundry unit from Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, are arriving soon.
Compiled by Ferrell Foster, based on reporting by Russ Dilday and Taryn Johnson.
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