WHEN DISASTER STRIKES
After Hurricane Maria ripped through Puerto Rico, millions were in need of drinking water and food.
In Puerto Rico, as a team of volunteers finished delivering food to those in need, the girl at the door said, “Look, Mom! Now we have something to eat.”
In Texas, a volunteer from Indiana helped clean out homes flooded by Harvey.
FEELING W THE FORCE OF THE STORMS
HURRICANE HARVEY
HURRICANE RESPONSE
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hen a citizen volunteer carried Pastor Maxine Williams away from her south Texas home on a jet ski, it was the first time she had been on one. She said the ride felt like an eternity as floodwaters brought by Hurricane Harvey rose. Eventually, Williams caught another ride on a raised truck and made it to the home of a member of Grace Church of the Nazarene, which she leads in Port Arthur, Texas. Soon, though, the group noticed waters rising there, too. They decided to evacuate by catching another ride with the owner of the truck. As they were leaving, they realized a senior adult nearby needed help. As the waters were rising quickly, they risked going back to rescue their neighbor. They all made it to the church, where they joined 60 other flood victims. Afterward, that neighbor began visiting the church. With a little help from Nacogdoches and Woodland Churches of the Nazarene, the Port Arthur Grace Church became a
fully functional shelter complete with beds, food, and other necessary supplies. The hurricane made landfall on August 25. In the hours following, Nazarene churches across south Texas—from Houston and the Woodlands to Orange and Port Arthur to Beaumont and Pasadena— mobilized to help those in need. Multiple churches served as shelters and points of distribution as supplies flowed in from local sources and other areas of Texas. And hundreds of volunteers have been traveling to serve from Texas and across the U.S.
HELPING HANDS AFTER HARVEY The drive from Tehachapi, California, to Orange, Texas, took 28 hours. For the six members of the Tehachapi Church of the Nazarene, it was an easy trip to make despite its length. They knew the community had seen some of the worst of Harvey’s fierce rain, howling winds, and rising floodwaters. When the team arrived, they found the streets lined with piles of household goods and furniture, all of it molded and ruined. They were there specifically to help the