Growing up on a farm in the coastal bend area of Texas, hurricanes were a part of life. My father kept a sharp eye on the weather in the Gulf of Mexico throughout harvest season. A hurricane at that time could mean no crop at all. I remember my first big hurricane. Carla hit the coastal area of Texas in 1961, when I was a freshman in high school. It was only a category 3 storm, but it brought lots of wind damage.
Just a couple of years before or after, Celia brought flooding. It dumped 25 to 30 inches of rain in just over 24 hours. Areas that had never flooded in the memory of the oldest residents – and haven’t flooded since then – were covered with water. One of my vivid memories is dead cattle, drowned in the fields where they ordinarily grazed contentedly. The economic loss of those cattle made less impact on me than my sadness at the loss of life.
The human damage was much more significant with Carla. After the storm passed, our family drove into town to check on family and friends. Nearly everyone had lost power and phone service. However, there was a big difference in what had happened to the homes. Although most of the brick homes in town were windblown, they were structurally sound.
The poorest part of town was a totally different story. Poorly-built houses were badly damaged or completely destroyed. The area was a mess — unlivable. I must have queried my Dad about the tremendous difference between what we saw on the east side of town and what we witnessed on the “Westside” as it was called. I remember him saying, “Janice, it is always the poorest people who suffer the most.”
After every storm, I remember how neighbors got together and helped each other clean up the mess, repair their homes and re-build their lives. Those acts of compassion and good work are a big part of who we are as Americans, and, more particularly, as Christians.
I’ve been remembering those flood waters, the dead cows and the destroyed homes as I watch the devastation from Katrina in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Katrina, of course, is far more destructive than any storm of my childhood. We see human beings clinging to life on rooftops and in trees, not just animals.
Thousands of homes are flooded all over New Orleans, and people will be unable to return for a long time. The loss of life in Mississippi and Alabama is rising hourly as I write today. The economic loss to individual families without homes, belongings, jobs or even a place to apply for work has yet to be calculated.
All of us want to help. After all, we are next-door neighbors to Louisiana. Begin with prayer for everyone involved here. Pray for creation itself, because the earth, its animals and vegetation have been wounded as well.
Some of us may want to consider opening our homes to a refugee family from Louisiana or we may want to volunteer at one of the shelters here in Houston. Once the clean-up process begins, there will be a tremendous need for flood buckets and other supplies. You can learn how to create those buckets on our Web site at www.txcumc.org.
A tremendous re-building process lies ahead. As soon as the waters recede, and sites are available, you will hear from Kathie Mann, who leads our Partner in Mission teams.
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