29 Faith Lutheran students, 2 administrators, and 4 parents are here from Las Vegas to do what we can to bring some relief and support to the people in the Greater Houston area.  Subscribe to the blog for additional trip updates. 

We’re 2 days into a 5 day mission trip to Houston, Texas to help people whose homes and lives were devastated by Hurricane Harvey in late August.  29 Faith Lutheran students, 2 administrators, and 4 parents are here from Las Vegas to do what we can to bring some relief and support to the people in the Greater Houston area.

After meeting at McCarran airport bright and early at 5 am on October 24, we flew to George Bush Intercontinental Airport.  We loaded into four vans, grabbed some lunch, and headed to Lutheran South Academy (LSA) on the Gulf Freeway south of Houston.  Lutheran South Academy’s beautiful campus was flooded with 3 feet of water.  We took a tour and met some of the people at our sister school.  Because of the flooding, LSA was displaced for two months to a local church called Sagemont where LSA’s 1000+ students took classes.  LSA just moved back into their school last week.  The gym floor has been torn out and will need to be replaced, but all drywall has been torn out, replaced and painted and most of the carpeting has been replaced.  

From there, we headed to our home base at Salem Lutheran Church in Tomball, northwest of Houston.  After unloading our belongings and getting our assigned cots for the week, we went to dinner hosted by one of Salem’s pastor Doug Dommer and his lovely wife Delo who bravely opened their home to 35 hungry Las Vegans.  A GREAT time was had by all; the boys loved the pool and spent a lot of energy playing various games.  Beef and chicken fajitas, sopapillas, chips/salsa, fresh baked chocolate cookies, candy, and fresh fruit provided the energy we are needing on this work trip.

We sleep, shower, and eat at Salem Lutheran Church in Tomball, and they have been gracious, generous hosts.  Breakfast is served at 7:20ish, and we have team devotions prior to heading to Trinity Klein Lutheran Church in Spring, TX where we are deployed to the sites for the day.

Days so far have consisted of working in private homes tearing out wet and often molded drywall, pulling thousands of nails from walls, cleaning out homes and garages, and cheering up the homeowners with whom we’ve spoken.  Like Nevadans, Texans are strong, resilient people who are quite appreciative of our presence and help.

Last night after dinner and TAG time (Time Alone with God), the students went to a bonfire at Salem with their Wednesday night youth group and enjoyed s’mores and meeting new friends.  The Astros big win over the Dodgers in extra innings has added some extra energy and excitement to Houston, the 4th largest city in the United States.