The people of Texas are no strangers to extreme and disastrous weather, and this year has been no exception.  In a span of roughly three months, the Lone Star State has experienced three major disaster scenarios including deadly flash flooding, destructive derecho winds, and fatal flooding and wind gusts caused by the landfall of Hurricane Beryl.

Faith-based, nonprofit, God’s Pit Crew – headquartered in Virginia – considers it a true blessing to respond to the Texas disasters with relief efforts that help residents return to a sense of normalcy following such trying times.

FLOODING + DERECHO

Nicole’s Testimony

In May, God’s Pit Crew’s Immediate Disaster Response Team answered the call to help by deploying to Cleveland, Texas, following torrential rainfall throughout the southeast region of the state.  The Immediate Disaster Response Team is made up of God’s Pit Crew volunteers from across the nation who come together to serve others by mucking out flood affected homes, removing debris from residents’ properties, and sitting and praying with disaster victims.

While serving in Cleveland, Texas, God’s Pit Crew met Nicole and Trey who were searching for next steps after their house had been severely damaged by the rushing flood waters.  At first glance, one would assume their house would be unscathed by flooding, as it sits high above the ground on 15-foot stilts.  However, the waters rose high enough to not only enter Nicole and Trey’s house but fill it with over 3-feet of water inside!

The family quickly realized they needed to escape the flood waters with their two children and pets, leaving behind their home to the rising water.  The family was able to kayak away from their home, but one of their dogs which was terrified of the water, ran away at the last minute.  The family was running out of time to seek safer ground and had to make the extremely difficult decision to leave behind one of their beloved pets.

After the family reached a safer area, Trey and several friends returned by kayak to the home to search again for the dog that ran away.  It was a true blessing when they found she had not only returned to the flood-ravaged home but was able to get inside through a broken window.  The dog wasn’t alone, though… she had delivered puppies in all the chaos!

God’s Pit Crew volunteers were able to quickly rally together and begin work on the water-logged home.

“[Our house] is not livable.  It’s pretty bad,” said Nicole while standing outside of her home.

Volunteers in red shirts spent hours mucking out the home and removing anything the water and mud had touched – everything from carpet and furniture, to clothes, shoes, and stuffed animals.  Upon closer inspection, the drywall had already begun to mold.  Volunteers carefully removed the affected walls and flooring, and then sprayed a special mold remediation compound to begin combatting the deadly substance that can cause severe illness if left untreated.

“Without God’s Pit Crew, our house would be demolished.  I don’t think we could have salvaged it,” shared Nicole.

The miracle didn’t end there, though.  God’s Pit Crew learned that it was Nicole’s daughter’s birthday, so they put together a special celebration at a local church, complete with singing and cake!

Distribution Testimony

While part of the God’s Pit Crew team continued work on the flooded house, additional volunteers and partners, KSBJ Radio, and OneVoice NOLA, joined forces to distribute Blessing Buckets and hot meals to disaster victims needing critical relief supplies following the flooding.

A Blessing Bucket is a five-gallon bucket that contains non-perishable food, water, hygiene items, first-aid kit, Bible, and a handwritten note of encouragement.

During this distribution, a husband and wife, both senior citizens, passed through the line and shared that they had been living in their car at a nearby Love’s Truck Stop for three nights following the flood.  They were amazed to receive the items inside the Blessing Bucket exclaiming, “This is God’s blessings right here in action!  It’s awesome.”

This Texas community, alongside God’s Pit Crew volunteers, joined together to bring hope and healing to people in their time of great need.  By showing up with a Blessing Bucket, a hot meal, or just by cleaning up everything the flood waters tried to take away, they helped many get their lives back on track.

HURRICANE BERYL

Patty’s Testimony

After Hurricane Beryl made its impact along the Texas coastline as a Category 1 storm on July 8, the God’s Pit Crew Immediate Disaster Response Team urgently redeployed to the Houston area to assist with relief efforts.

“Most people think a Category 1 Hurricane isn’t bad, but this storm had 75 mph winds blowing constantly for over four hours” explained God’s Pit Crew Immediate Disaster Response Coordinator Chris Chiles.  “That causes a surreal amount of damage.”

Crew members worked tirelessly in the intense heat to help provide hope and healing to as many people as possible.  The volunteers in red shirts quickly found out tree and debris removal were the largest needs for many residents throughout southeast Texas neighborhoods.

One of those lifelong Texas families looking for assistance was 90-year-old Patty and her three daughters – Donna, Kathleen, and Rebecca.  During the storm, Patty had been at home when a massive tree she had planted nearly 40 years ago came crashing down.

“I saw it fall over.  It shook me up so bad I had to go to the emergency room because I thought I was having a heart attack,” told Patty.  “I was sitting there listening to the wind and I could see the limbs on all the trees swaying back and forth.  Then all of a sudden, I heard a swoosh!”

Patty continued, “I looked and ‘BOOM!’  The tree fell and the whole house vibrated and bounced.  I planted that tree back in 1987 when it was no bigger around than that,” told Patty as she held up a small circle with her thumb and finger.

A terrifying experience that landed Patty in the hospital for multiple hours, but she was thankful the scene had not been worse.

“I said, ‘Oh God, thank You!  Thank You it fell over there and not here.’  It could have been right where I was sitting.”

Patty’s daughter, Donna, explained to the God’s Pit Crew team that their family had been all hands-on-deck trying to clean up the mess because they could not afford a professional crew to do the work.

“We were quoted anywhere from $4,000 to $6,000 to have just this tree removed.  There are about three others that need cleared out, too,” explained Donna.  “It’s been breaking my back just trying to get a path cleared on the sidewalk.  We were blocked in, but we had a little electric chainsaw that we used to cut our way out as best we could.  It just wore us out.”

“Mom’s a strong, 90-year-old woman but she won’t stop.  We have to stop her sometimes” told Donna with a grin.  “She’s been out there with us – or even before we get out of bed she’s out there!”

God’s Pit Crew was eager to help Patty’s family the rest of the way.  Volunteers equipped with chainsaws, generators, lifts and more quickly got to work removing the giant trees that were scattered all over the woman’s property.

Adrian’s Testimony

While assisting Hurricane Beryl victims in Texas, God’s Pit Crew also met Adrian and his family.  They were in the process of waiting to hear back from their insurance company to begin removing the huge tree that had fallen in their driveway, landing on top of their family’s vehicle.

“We’ve been here about five years, and this is our first hurricane,” shared Adrian.  “We just went through the tornado a few weeks ago and now this.  During the storm, I heard a big ‘BOOM,’ looked outside, and I saw a tree on my Suburban.”

While waiting on the insurance company to contact him back, tree removal companies were quoting Adrian upwards of $9,000 to remove the tree from his driveway.  God’s Pit Crew volunteers stepped in and were able to clean up the chaos at no cost to Adrian’s family.

“You all don’t know how much you’ve helped my family,” said Adrian.  “God bless you all.  It’s good to see people out here who are doing good things to help others.”

Texas residents continue to clean up the damage left behind by Hurricane Beryl’s landfall over three weeks ago, and God’s Pit Crew plans to assist with relief efforts as much as possible.  After seeing the massive amounts of damage, a second volunteer deployment was deemed necessary.  Those crew members will return to Texas August 5 through August 15 to continue providing help and hope to those who need it most.

For more information regarding God’s Pit Crew’s ongoing Texas response efforts, as well as opportunities to volunteer or donate to the cause, resources can be found by visiting GodsPitCrew.org or by calling (434) 836-4472.