KERRVILLE, Texas — The floodwaters that tore through Kerr County last summer are long gone, but the work of rebuilding is not.
Across Kerrville, Hunt, Ingram and surrounding areas, Texans on Mission volunteers continue to show up through the Revive Kerrville initiative, repairing homes damaged by the July floods and walking alongside families navigating the long road to recovery.
“We’re serving at more than seven homes this week alone,” said Ryan Welch, TXM missions and discipleship coordinator. “Disasters happen fast, but recovery doesn’t. A lot of groups move on. We don’t.”
Crews are tackling everything from roofing and fencing to painting and finishing work, the kind of repairs that often come after emergency response teams leave and insurance timelines slow.
At one home, volunteers rebuilt a fence that had been washed away by the river. Inside, others worked to finish painting so the homeowner could move forward.
Driven by God’s love
“God tells us to love one another, and when you see a need to meet it,” said Makenna James, a Texas A&M University student volunteering with Revive Kerrville. “Being here is a way to live that out.”
James said serving months after the flooding has been especially meaningful.
“Right after a disaster, everyone wants to help,” she said. “But later on, when the attention fades, that’s when people are really left dealing with what happened. That’s when it matters most.”
College students from across the state are working alongside experienced volunteers, learning construction skills on the job while building relationships with homeowners and one another.
“We’re helping rebuild a shed that was damaged in the flood,” said Isaac Garcia, a Texas A&M-Kingsville student. “This kind of work costs money. To be able to give our time, skills, and help someone who’s already lost so much – that’s how we show Christ’s love.”
For homeowners, the steady presence of volunteers has brought both progress and encouragement.
“It’s been a real blessing working with a Christian organization,” said Debbie Dossey, a Hunt resident whose home was damaged in the flooding. “They pray with you. They care. And the quality of work has been incredible.”
Joy found in homecoming
Dossey said returning home brought moments of joy and reflection.
“Every day, I find something that survived that I didn’t even remember we had,” she said. “Being back home lets you finally breathe and also start processing everything that happened.”
Brian Keeper, who lives along the river, said the emotional toll of the flood didn’t fully set in until cleanup began.
“The trauma wasn’t just that night,” Keeper said. “It was realizing neighbors were gone, and that the history of my family was stored in this house.”
Working with TXM, he said, made a difference.
“They show up smiling. We pray in and pray out,” he said. “In the middle of all this loss, it’s been people who have given me hope for the future.”
Community amidst tragedy
For students Jonathan Wolf of Texas A&M and Clayton Hargrove of Texas State University, the experience has strengthened both their faith and their understanding of community.
“It shows people they haven’t been forgotten,” Wolf said. “That God hasn’t given up on them.” Hargrove agreed.
“We’re not just here to clear things out and leave,” he said. “We’re here to help rebuild and keep walking with them.”
As recovery in Kerr County continues, Texans on Mission leaders say the work is far from finished and neither is their commitment.
“This is long-term,” Welch said. “We’re here for the whole journey.”
This article appeared in the Baptist Standard.
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