Houston, TX

- - HOUSTON - - From the evening of August 25, 2017, when Hurricane Harvey first made landfall, until August 29, this storm pounded the states of Texas and Louisiana. This immediately set off a Major Disaster Declaration for the State of Texas. Sustained winds of over 130 mph and rainfall in the Houston area exceeded 24” in the first day alone. Cedar Bayou, on the outskirts of Houston, received a total of 52” of rain. The final damage toll looks to be above $180 Billion, the most of any Natural Disaster in history. Over 250 miles of the Texas coast and thirteen million people were impacted. An excess of 200,000 homes were damaged and the death toll from the storm reached nearly 90.
In the aftermath, the need of the people is vast, both along the gulf coast and far inland. Hand of hope responded by sending two teams to Houston.

Back to Back Trips to Houston - 2/24/2018 and 3/3/2018

AND THEN BACK to BACK to BACK Trips in 2019 - 2/23/19, 3/2/2019 and 3/9/2019

For our trips we teamed up with HeartForTexas, a coalition of churches focused on assisting flood victims to rebuild their homes and their lives. Trinity Klein Lutheran Church in Spring, TX coordinated the projects. The plan for our week was to have us assist two homeowners with drywall, installation, door and window needs, then move to drywall finishing. We built a great relationship with Rachael there who worked tirelessly to keep the efforts moving. As with any trip, it was important to be flexible as the work needs could change daily.
Salem Lutheran Church and School of Tomball, TX provided our housing and meals while there. Evenings provided us several opportunities to relax in their gym or play games.
Volunteers for Outreach assisted in two non-profits. The Trinity Klein Food Pantry that serves flood victims, providing them with enough food to get by with while they are trying to get back on their feet. They also assisted in Tomball at T.E.A.M. (Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries) a non-profit operated by sponsored by 19 churches. At T.E.A.M. our volunteers assisted in the Resale Shop, the revenue of which funds all of their ministries and requires 1800 volunteer hours each month. Based on knowledge a couple of our members had regarding Thrift Shops we were able to leave them with some new ideas. You just never know how your talents or knowledge will be put to use.

Headin' to HOUSTON #1 took place 2/24 to 3/3/2018 to assist those impacted by Hurricane Harvey -
The team of nineteen from Omaha, Sioux City and Northeast Nebraska came together further south as the Sioux City crew departed Friday 2/23 to avoid an approaching snowstorm and the crew from Omaha left on Saturday, 2/24.

We and worked with Trinity Klein Church of Spring, TX to assist in meeting their goal to drywall 50 homes by Easter. They worked extensively at two homes in need of drywall, windows and doors. The week began with prepping the homes for drywall and then installing the windows and drywall.

Our evenings were spent at our host church Salem Lutheran in Tomball, TX. We were fortunate to ask just the right person about a place to go for good BBQ on our night out. Al the driver bringing drywall, just happened to be a World Class BBQ competitor. He invited the entire team to his home where he prepared an amazing dinner for all.

We had two Outreach opportunities, at T.E.A.M (Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries) and Trinity Klein Food Pantry. Volunteers had a great time sorting through all the donations that needed to be put on the shelves for the public.

Headin' to HOUSTON #2 3/3 to 3/10/2018 Morningside College of Sioux City, IA was slated for Spring Break the week following our Houston #1 trip. Head Football Coach Ryan connected with Hand of Hope and “Houston #2” became a reality for fourteen members of his team. On Saturday, 3/3, they headed south, not to the beaches, but to spend their Spring Break making a difference for others. The students spent their week off campus with three of our mentors in Houston as they continued the mission work of Houston #1.

It was a great boost to have a second wave of energy to come in and continue the work for these homeowners. This week we were able to continue a great amount of finish work on the drywall and additional projects, all to get the homeowners one step closer to back home.
The Director of Salem Lutheran Church and School was impressed with the young men and asked them to meet with the students to share their experiences and challenges to faith as they moved on through college.

The basketball courts, weight room, cooks and silverware all got a lot more use during this week than the prior one!

We met some awesome guys and look forward to repeating this March 9-16 in 2019!

Headin’ to HOUSTON #3 – 11/12 to 11/16/2018 A small group from Hand of Hope was in Houston and again partnering with Heart for Texas. They are now the only organization still assisting the victims from Hurricane Harvey in this manner. We have been told that about 40% of the homes are still in need of repair!

We had the opportunity to assist AJ and Mary Hatter whose family of five had been living in a one-bedroom apartment, paying both rent and their mortgage since the flood. Their story is common, hiring contractors who worked a little, required more money, then never returned to finish the job. Mary shared that before we arrived, she could not bring herself to spend any more time at the house. They had been praying for help and all they wanted was to be in their own home for Thanksgiving.

They came every day to see the progress and help where they could. You could see the hope coming back in their eyes. AJ, from South Chicago, shared stories of his youth and admitted he was not handy at all as he never had anyone show him how to do any construction. He was happy to help put up the backsplash.

We were able to assist by purchasing new kitchen cabinets, making countertops, putting up backsplash and installing the new kitchen and lights. We also had time to install and paint all their first-floor doors and baseboard, plus fix some issues we found. As with most trips we can only get so much done in a week, but in this case, it was just enough. They were able to move in on the 19th and gratefully celebrate Thanksgiving back in their home. We now have a new brother and sister in Christ.

Houston #4 - 2/23 to 3/2/2019. This trip marks the first of 3 straight weeks of sending volunteers to Houston to put some wind in the sails of Local Volunteers, Coordinators and Flood victims. There are still thousands of homes that need repairs. We hope to bring that number down just a little bit over the next three weeks.

Praying that we will be able to provide real hope to Houston over the next 3 weeks! Morningside Lutheran Church, Sunnybrook Community Church and other volunteers from the Sioux City, Iowa area provided the team for this first week. We visited the first two homes, these were the same ones we worked on a year ago and very little to no work has been completed! We focused heavily on the home of Virginia this week and she worked side by side with the Crew. She has been living in a room adjacent her kitchen since the flood. Beyond getting the kitchen cabinets set and dishwasher in, they painted and provided serious help on the overwhelming tasks of organizing and cleaning up. This echoes the words, if you can push a broom you are needed. The team was hosted by our brother in the south, Uncle Al, as he shared his championship BBQ skills on Wednesday evening. What a great week!

All are thankful for the Local Volunteers and organizers at Salem Lutheran who continue to help their neighbors. Now 18 months after the hurricane, it has to be exhausting.

Houston #5 – 3/2 to 3/9/2019. We were again hosted by Salem Lutheran Church in Tomball, TX. This organization was quickly mobilized and staffed following Hurricane Harvey and has been running strong since the flood. We also had a great evening with our BBQ master Uncle Al, who loves to serve us.

Our Second team was primarily comprised of volunteers associated with King of Kings LCMS in Omaha, NE. They kept the ball rolling at on Virginia’s home, putting the counter top on her new kitchen cabinets, got the sink and dishwasher in working order, filled lots of nail holes and painted trim!

We were able to branch out to help Luis and Ietia. Like Virginia, we assisted them a year ago and since then there has been no progress. Advancements in drywall and some final coat mudding were made.

At the end of the week we were able to assist a third homeowner, Andy. As flood demolition was being completed it exposed structural issues. We were able to raised and reset floor joist, then begin drywall work in prep for Crew #3.

Laurie at Heart for Texas shared a map with us. Each of the 100+ red stars represent a home they have been asked to assist in flood recovery. They have assisted over 100 but have a long road ahead.

Houston #6 – 3/9 to 3/16/2019. After mission trips to Houston for 3 straight weeks, five Homeowners were provided renewed Hope. Volunteers from Morningside College, Sunnybrook Community Church, Western Iowa Tech of the Sioux City, Iowa area were the team for this final week. In week 3 we carried over 150 sheets of drywall into a house to prepare for the next group. We also helped put a fence up for another homeowner. Our primary focus was at the homes of: Luis and Ietia, Virginia, Andy. Since we had been there a year earlier, little to no work had been completed on any of the homes. We were very fortunate to stay once again with the wonderful hosts at Salem Lutheran Church in Tomball and work for the relief effort organization of Hearts for Texas. They and local volunteers have been giving of their own time for a very difficult 18 months.

For 2 weeks we focused on Luis’ home went from partially finished drywall to finished and painted walls, doors hung, trim installed, caulked and partly painted, crown molding put up. The crew also cleaned up the yard, installed an upstairs window and hung the kitchen cabinets. Taking up refuge on second floor will hopefully change soon.

Virginia had been living adjacent her kitchen for the entire year, overwhelmed by all the recovery effort needed. We stuck with this effort strong for all three weeks. She had saved volumes of personal property, hoping she could save or reuse it. Thankfully we had volunteers who assisted Virginia in the difficult process of accepting that much of her items could not be salvaged. They did an amazing job of cleaning up, reorganizing and hauling it away to remove that burden. Our volunteers have amazing gifts and are such blessings! Back in the house others made amazing improvements in the three weeks, finishing drywall, painting half the walls, trimmed out and painted through the whole house, painted all of the doors. Her kitchen was completely installed with new cabinets, countertops and appliances and all the plumbing was completed. The bathroom was tiled and we even had time to hook up washer and dryer and install pantry cabinets. It was so nice to make a big difference to her life!

Last November we met Andy who was having some struggles with the whole rebuilding effort. We were so blessed to help him. He was a reminder of a conversation we had with a counselor at our host church years ago in Joplin, MO. She told us how a disaster can be so overwhelming and fuel issues for individuals and family relationships. Providing hope and showing them that we are there to come along side to walk through this together is huge. In mucking out the home they exposed structural issues from when the home was built, a you have got to be kidding me moment. Fortunately, we had a team that could lift and support the home. We listened to his concerns and volunteers installed 12 can lights and a 3-way switch which had been a real cause of anxiety. Following that the team sheet rocked his house, started mudding and taping the walls and ceilings. So happy for the opportunity to help a person like Andy as he reminds us just how hard this can be.