LCC Disaster Response, Human Care, and K-9 Comfort Dog ministries uplift Texas Hill Country flood victims
“We spent time at command centers in Kerrville and Center Point, speaking with search and rescue responders and meeting FEMA disaster response center survivors who were registering for assistance,” said Denise Snider, director of LCC Human Care. What they have endured is overwhelming, and the recovery will last for months. Survivors of a flooded subdivision were mucking and gutting their homes when LCC teams stopped by to talk and pray. Joined by LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Teams Elijah (Our Redeemer - Wichita Falls, TX) and Joy (Gloria Dei - Houston, TX), the LCC group also attended a vigil for the victims at the Memorial Wall in downtown Kerrville on Saturday night, hearing harrowing stories of survival and deep loss. “At all of these we were able to offer a listening ear to the many stories shared, a caring touch or hug, a prayer and hope in Jesus Christ,” said O’Day. Along the Guadelupe River The first thing you notice is the smell. A waft of musty mud. The stink of trash and debris. All of it 20 or 30 feet over head. Smushed in branches. “Large trees were uprooted and bending in the direction of the wall of water that came down the river,” said LCC Director of Disaster Response Kathy O’Day. During the deployment, O’Day and Disaster Crisis Response and Volunteer Engagement Coordinator Jason Johnson hiked along part of the Guadalupe River that recently had been combed by search and rescue first responders. “You see washed up vehicles and other items swept down the river and deposited in places they shouldn’t be,” O’Day described. “You think about the lives lost and those missing and being searched for. And as you walk, you feel as though you are walking on sacred ground.” A husband-and-wife self-rescue When the flooding was at its peak, the rising water was halfway up the first floor window for a U.S. Army veteran who lived in Hunt, Texas. Home with his wife, the man knew he had to make a plan fast. LCC Director of Human Care Denise Snider heard his account during the deployment and marveled at his faith. With sheer strength, the man managed to pry open the partially submerged window and turned to his wife with how to escape. “Hold your breath,” he told her. He grabbed her hand and helped her squeeze through the window. As she made it out, he swam right behind her, still clinging to her hand. Above raging river, the sky crackled with lightning, providing enough light to make out a branch dangling from trees overhead. They swam to it. Clinging to the branch, they swung around to the trunk, where the man tied his belt around his wife and a higher branch on the tree. Then he anchored himself to another part of the tree. For the moment, they were both safe. As the waters receded, they swam to safety. On solid ground, they made their way to neighbors’ homes, rescuing them from the water. His military training had prepared him for the moment, the man thought. But there was more. Reflecting on the experience, the man shared that God’s strength gave him the ability to open the window, protect his wife, cling to the tree, and have energy to help others. He gave all the glory to God, praising Him for His saving grace.  Tears at Camp LaJunta Sitting at the entrance to Camp LaJunta in Hunt, Texas, a young man was in tears. As Kathy O’Day and Jason Johnson approached, they noticed he was wearing a camp t-shirt. As a child, he had gone to camp here for many years and now had sent his son too. Memories came back to him, and it hurt to know that so many boys were lost and traumatized by the flooding days earlier. Others were hurting too. The man’s best friend lived along the river with his family, including an 18-month-old baby. When the flood waters hit, they were sleeping upstairs and awoke to a loud noise about 3:30 a.m. Rushing downstairs, the discovered the first floor was filling with water, including the baby’s room. Their son was standing up in his crib with the water at his neck. God had woken them up at the exact moment to save their child, he said. They made it to safety. God is still working. Through the volunteers coming from all over. In the stories other families have told. He thanked the LCC team for coming, listening to his story, and being a part of a God moment with him. A call back to faith
At the Kerrville town vigil on Saturday, LCC teams noticed a young woman who appeared to show signs of heat exhaustion. Kathy O’Day quickly got her some water. Denise Snider found a doctor to assist. A short time later, the woman was refreshed, and they took a moment to thank the doctor. On her phone, the doctor showed a photo of a door at Camp Mystic, where she and a friend had helped recently. The image showed a beam of light shining through a crack in the door. But her friend, who took the same photo, had no light beam on hers. “I’m not a Christian,” the doctor confessed. But something about the light shining through the door crack made her believe God was reaching out to her. O’Day invited the doctor to pray with her. Was this encounter another sign? In the midst of this awful tragedy, was God using an unplanned moment to call her back to faith in Jesus? She believed it was. LCC asks that supporters pray for this doctor in the weeks ahead. May she come more into the knowledge and love of Christ. Comments are closed.
|
Categories
All
Archives
January 2026
|
RSS Feed
Location |
|