The Harvey Disaster

For family and friends in the midst of flooding, our prayers are with you!

Michael Paul and Jessica Harris and their children Hannah and Nathan are safe from the rising water of Hurricane Harvey and subsequent rainfall in the Houston area.

It seems like just a few weeks ago, they were here in Hunt visiting on their summer break. We laughed and played and prayed together. It was a fun time. Now their lives are lived moment to moment with uncertainty waiting at each turn. This is the situation for so many who are now safe yet understandably insecure.

What can we do to help? We can give financially to relief agencies like:
UMCOR - www.umcor.org
Rio Texas United Methodist Conference Disaster Team -  www.riotexas.org/harvey
Texas Conference United Methodist Disaster Team - www.txcumc.org

We can also offer Prayers and Loving Conversation, with encouragement and promises to come when the time is right to help in the clean up and the recovery.

A friend of ours Kirk Cowell shared a Facebook post today that tells the story of how important prayers and loving support can be in times like this one. Kirk and his family evacuated from their home southwest of Houston to be with family in North Texas. Now instead of wind damage, they are anticipating the flooding of their home from rising rivers and bayous in that area.

Kirk said this:
There's a lot to process for those of us affected by the flooding. Losing so much at once is a tremendous grief, compounded by the reality that so many friends are dealing with the same enormous loss. Then there's the stress of all the things that need to be figured out at some point. Where will we live now? Where will the kids go to school? Then there's the salvage and disposal work, the forms to fill out, the necessary shopping. That's a lot to think about.
It's also freeing, in a way. We own one car, some phones, a laptop, three iPads, one Kindle, and about three changes of clothes per person. I'm pretty sure that's all. We might get a few things from the house, but it won't be much. That stuff is going to be gone. I used to have hundreds of books. Now I'll have a few autographed books and the Bible my grandparents gave me on my 12th birthday--and that's only if they stay dry in the home of the friend who retrieved them for me, and that's a mighty big "if" right now. 
Most of all, I have been amazed at the kindness of friends and acquaintances, who have overwhelmed us with their expressions of love and offers to help. We are brought to tears again and again by the messages we receive. 
This is going to be hard. I know that. And we are going to fall apart every now and then. The kids are learning some hard lessons. But I am reminded of these words of scripture: "Many waters cannot quench love, nor can rivers drown it." Thanks for showing your love to us.
Rev Kirk Cowell

Giving thanks for the faithfulness of God and the compassion of God's people -

Along the Way
Pastor Paul Harris