Hurricane Harvey

Good Shepherd sent a team of six people the week of September 4th 2017 to help with families from Hope Lutheran Church in Winnie, Texas, who were affected by the Hurricane Harvey. The group did demolition work on three homes. A widespread area across southeast Texas was affected by the storm. Record rainfalls were recorded of nearly 50 inches. Many families saw the water gradually rising and helplessly watched as it crept into their homes. The sea water reached Beaumont, Texas, and closed major highways and interstates. Cattle were stranded in rising waters and died. 

We were thankful for the efforts of Pastor Robert LeBlanc and the members of Hope Lutheran Church, who coordinated our efforts. We also enjoyed the hospitality of Mary Bauer (mother of Carol Walther), who gave us a nice place to rest and some good country cooking.

While this natural disaster caused death and destruction, one of our constant prayers was that God would help to recover even as He has recovered all of us from the flood and the destruction of sin. May God continue to be with the people of southeast Texas as they look to Him for the wisdom and strength to rebuild.

Team Members Right to Left

Pastor Walther, Jim Parker, Will Schuler, Jeremy & Jessie (folks we were helping that day),
Tim Schnicker, Tom Westphal, Debbie Rathert & Lady (the neighbor's dog!).

Debris Removal

Debris Removal

Flooring Removed

Cutting the Walls

Removing Insullation

Street Debris

Lunch at Hope Lutheran Church, Winnie Texas with Mary Bauer and Pastor LeBlanc

Getting Tools Together

We saw helicopters like this near one of the homes where we were working. Volunteers and Michigan Army National Guard loaded the helicopter with hay for stranded cattle in the Hamshire area. As of Monday, an estimated 2,000 head of livestock were stranded in the area due to Hurricane Harvey flood waters. Photo taken Monday, September 04, 2017 Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise.