Hurrican Harvey relief - Fall 2017

The devastation was incredible. Even now it’s hard to fathom how much people lost in Hurricane Harvey.  Almost 50 inches of rain. Flooding like they’d never had before. SCC sent two teams on separate weeks to help.  We went thru Samaritan’s Purse, a great Christian disaster response ministry. We went down also because two former pastors from SCC (Wayne Smith and Nathan Hansen) are now pastoring Bethel Church of Houston.  Bethel also became a host site for housing Samaritan’s Purse volunteers. So our teams stayed at Bethel where they fed and housed us for our stays.  

After orientation, our job was to “mud out” houses. Some had been closed up and were full of mold. Some Team 1 folks had to put on the Tyvek suits for protection in addition to masks and eye protection. Working with other volunteers from other parts of the USA, we stripped the inside of the houses down to the studs, sometimes all the way to the ceiling, removing wall board, insulation, rotten fixtures, nails and screws, flooring. Then we scrubbed it down with a mold killer. Removing big mirrors was tricky as they often shatter. Wet, heavy carpet, furniture, etc, all had to be hauled to the curb. Our greatest joy was to meet and love the home owners. Their stories were amazing and it was so important for us to listen to them. We all signed a Bible for each home owner, and presented it to them, with a prayer circle around them. All received it gratefully. Many with tears. One home owner accepted Christ. These were great trips, and we were grateful for the opportunity to serve this way.