Ministry Tour | Houston, Texas

We Christian Ministry students ended up in the city of Houston, Texas on Monday, September 11, after two and a half days of traveling with twenty five people in a three-vehicle caravan.  We were all ready to stretch our legs and get to work, but none of us were really prepared for the sights that met our eyes.  

Trash covered the sidewalks and front lawns of one home after the next.  Beautiful mansions and decrepit shacks were both treated the same around here... gutted of anything that had gotten wet and may have mold growing on or in it including couches, mattresses, TVs, kitchen cabinets, carpet, refrigerators, and personal belongings.

We donned masks, gloves, and ear plugs and grabbed crow bars and hammers.  

We entered houses, and measured and cut straight lines on the sheet rock, anywhere between two and six feet high.  Then we took our hammers and ripped holes in walls, tearing out sheet rock and prying out loose the nails.  Once the sheet rock was removed, the houses would be able to be disinfected and dried out before rebuilding walls, repairing cabinets, etc.

We were grateful for our masks (despite the heat and humidity and general discomfort of them) because of the putrid smell of mold that was growing on the sheet rock and the awful smell of flood water that was still found contained in pots and pans in a kitchen or in the back closet of a bedroom.

In some homes that we cleaned out, people were still living there, among the filth and dampness and mold.  Some people we helped were discouraged and in despair, desperately trying to hold onto their last bits of moldy, earthly possessions.  Some people were simply glowing the joy of the Lord, unable to stop praising God for His faithfulness to them despite the hard things they were facing.  We were challenged by their different responses, attitudes, and perspectives. 

Please remember to pray for the people who have lost so much in the midst of the trauma of the storms and hurricanes in the past few months.