Dear friends in Christ,
"We've been living in this house for twenty-two years," Lucille Valentino
told us as we sat in her mold-filled patio. "We were evacuated July 4th,
stayed four days with a friend, spent some nights in a motel, and now we
are with a family from church. We can't stay in our home, and we need to
get out of here." I visited Lucille and her husband Rick this past week,
along with Mark Minick (LDR-Texas disaster coordinator), and Dale and Jean
Peercy (LDR construction coordinators).
The Valentinos are among tens of thousands affected by torrential rain in
central Texas. In and around San Antonio up to 42 inches of rain fell
between June 29 and July 6. Thirty-six counties have been affected, as
floodwaters move 150 miles from the Hill Country -- along the Guadalupe and
San Antonio rivers -- to the Gulf of Mexico. Governor Rick Perry reports
that the counties affected by the floodwaters amount to more than 33,000
square miles - an area larger than Rhode Island, Delaware, New Jersey,
Massachusetts and New Hampshire combined. He also states that 3.2 million
people have been affected by this disaster, and damage could reach $1
billion. As of yesterday FEMA received 12,847 applications for assistance
from residents in the federally declared disaster counties, and over $14.4
million has been dispersed to individuals.
Over a three-day period our LDR-TX group visited with disaster survivors,
assessed damaged areas, and attended meetings of pastors and community
leaders in New Braunfels, Canyon Lake, Bandera, Comfort, Seguin, and San
Antonio. Twice we were with Harry Noftsker (FEMA Voluntary Agency Liaison)
and Lura Cayton (Church World Service Disaster Response and Recovery
Liaison), as they assist the formation of community and interfaith recover
efforts. The Texas flooding is widespread: Lutheran Disaster Response will
support and be directly involved in the most heavily impacted and
vulnerable situations.
Lutheran Social Services of the South (Kurt Senske, president) is managing
the flood efforts on behalf of Lutheran Disaster Response (a cooperative
ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod). The New Life Children's Residential Treatment
Center of LSS-S received extensive damage from flooded Canyon Dam, which
turned a small stream into a raging boulder-filled river. Last week
President Senske reported, "The good news is that the two new dormitories
are full of mud but salvageable. In addition the gym and school is also
salvageable. The dining room and kitchen suffered extensive damage but is
fixable. Two older dorms will need to be torn down and we lost one therapy
building and one meeting building completely. The two roads that lead to
our property were also destroyed. On the bright side we gained a small
building although we have no idea where it came from! Appropriately, our
Lord and Savior also deposited a cross on our property from a nearby road
or church reminding us of our mission."
As Lucille and Rick sat in their ruined house and talked with us, they
said, "We just don't know yet what we will do. But we know the church is
here and God will help us."
There are a lot of reminders of our mission in the Texas mud. I see
mission reminders as pastors open church facilities to provide shelter and
distribute food and supplies. I see mission reminders as local volunteers
roll up their sleeves to shovel mud and clear away debris. I see mission
reminders as God's people are present and active in this vast flooded area,
offering prayers and hugs, consolation and labor. LDR is committed to be
present in Christ's mission for the long haul in this large-scale disaster,
offering help and hope and bringing God's blessings to thousands.
How can you help provide support this mission of help and hope?
You can pray. As always, your prayers sustain and strengthen those in the
midst of disaster chaos, as well as those attending meetings and
strategizing recovery efforts.
You can volunteer. When volunteers can be utilized from outside the
affected areas -- and when repairs and rebuilding begins -- I will provide
you with that information.
You can contribute, to provide immediate assistance and sustain a long-term
presence. Please send your contributions to:
ELCA DOMESTIC Disaster Response - "Texas Floods"
PO Box 71764
Chicago, Illinois 60694-1764
Credit card gift line: 1-800-638-3522
Credit card gifts via the web: www.elca.org/disaster
LC-MS World Relief - "Texas Floods"
P.O. Box 66861
St. Louis, MO 63166-9810
Credit card gift line: 1-888-930-4438
Yours in Christ,
Gil Furst
GILBERT B. FURST (written on Tue, Jul 23, 2002, at 3:02 pm). Director for
ELCA DOMESTIC DISASTER RESPONSE (Division for Church in Society) and
LUTHERAN DISASTER RESPONSE (a cooperative ministry of the ELCA and LC-MS)
8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago 60631 PHONE: 773-380-2822 FAX: 773-380-2493
Please visit our website: www.ldr.org
