{"id":3657,"date":"2018-02-28T19:41:51","date_gmt":"2018-02-28T19:41:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/?p=3657"},"modified":"2018-03-12T20:47:00","modified_gmt":"2018-03-12T20:47:00","slug":"the-houston-miracle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2018\/02\/28\/the-houston-miracle\/","title":{"rendered":"The Houston Miracle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>The Houston Miracle<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> By Bill Terry<\/strong><br \/>\n<div class=\"embed-vimeo\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/257960238\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>On August 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas with waves pounding the Corpus Christi shoreline. Harvey, a Category 4 hurricane with wind speeds of 130 mph, dumped 27 trillion gallons of water over Texas. As a result, the city of Houston was inundated with over 50 inches of flood waters.<\/p>\n<p>According to the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Harvey caused close to $125 billion in damages.\u00a0 World Vision reported the following statistics: 13 million people were impacted, close to 135,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, nearly one million cars were totaled, and 88 lives were lost. It was reported that in Houston alone, there was eight billion cubic yards of garbage. This astronomical volume would fill the Houston Texans\u2019 football stadium two times over.<\/p>\n<p>The areas of Webster and Alvin, Texas were surrounded by flood waters. Webster is home to Oasis of Hope, pastored by Jaime Trevino and Emmanuel Worship Center is in Alvin, pastored by Avelino DaSilva. On August 31, the Texas Latin Conference contacted Disaster Relief USA (DRUSA) and requested the assistance of the mobile feeding teams. DRUSA National Coordinator Bill Terry assessed the area and immediately mobilized the kitchen teams from North and South Carolina. Oasis of Hope welcomed DRUSA with open arms and provided a base of operations. During the ten-day deployment, over 35,000 hot meals were served in several communities in and around Houston.<\/p>\n<p>One of the major challenges with this deployment involved transportation. Twice a day, volunteer teams would take prepared meals from the church to various locations around south Houston. Those who have helped with recent disasters know how difficult this can be; to locate where residents are currently sheltered and finding a safe route through devastated areas to reach them. While we are grateful to all our volunteers from the Texas Latin Conference, Bill Terry would like to say a special thank you to the many volunteers who provided workforce and vehicles to deliver meals throughout the deployment.<\/p>\n<p>In September, DRUSA was contacted by Gary Burd, Director of M25. Gary was interested in partnering for an event with Disaster Relief USA and Run For The Wall. According to Gary, Run For The Wall was raising thousands of dollars for a project in February to assist homeowners who were displaced by the flooding. You might be asking, \u201cWhy are they preparing for a February 2018 response in September?\u201d When multiple groups try to work together, and funds need to be raised, unfortunately, it can often take months for everything to come together. After the initial response in Houston, it was evident that Houstonians would be facing many months of recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.<\/p>\n<p>The target date for deployment was set for February 5-10, 2018. In October, Bill Terry established a planning team to organize various aspects of the response and determine which homes would be slated for repair. After two team meetings, it was decided that the three ministries would provide and coordinate 50 volunteers for Houston\u2019s \u201cFive Houses-in-Five Days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In November, DRUSA deployed a repair team from North Carolina for a pilot project for the February assignment. The homeowners for the project were members of Oasis of Hope IPHC in Webster, Texas. As with tens of thousands of homes in Houston, the renovation work consisted of insulating walls, hanging, and finishing sheetrock, trim work, and new flooring. This assignment provided general guidelines for the teams in February regarding necessary skills, talent, and equipment.<\/p>\n<p>As 2018 began, excitement mounted as the search for volunteers reached a feverish pitch and funds were raised for \u201cFive Houses-in-Five Days.\u201d The plan was coming together! In late January, Bill Terry and Gary Burd made one final trip to Houston to meet with the strategic planning team. The projects were determined and the team spent a full day touring each home to understand the needs. Unlike our first deployment, it was determined that this time, our base of operations would be at Emmanuel Worship Center in Alvin. Thank you, Pastors Avelino and Lily DaSilva and the Emmanuel congregation, for providing volunteers lodging, meals, and fellowship.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Message from Bill Terry<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One passage of Scripture that is dear to me is Psalm 133:1, \u201cBehold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!\u201d Seeing our volunteers, who had come from across the nation, work together for one week was a beautiful picture of unity. Each team consisted of volunteers from the different locations. Not once did we hear of any problems related to egos, hurt feelings, or confusion; just men and women committed to serving.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFive Houses-in-Five Days\u201d required the participation of many men and women with diverse skill sets. It is impossible to adequately thank all the volunteers who made the project successful. For the benefit of everyone involved, I would prefer not to list any names in case I unintentionally leave off someone. To everyone who represented DRUSA, Run For The Wall, M25, Royal Rangers, Men\u2019s Ministries, Communication Services, and especially the Texas Latin Conference, thank you for a job well done!<\/p>\n<p>I titled this article, \u201cThe Houston Miracle.\u201d As I look back and reminisce on the two deployments to Houston, I cannot think of a better word than \u201cmiracle\u201d. I marvel at the hand of God and His provision for making this dream become a reality. For a few days, 50+ volunteers came together in Houston and were used to make an unimaginable difference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":3658,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,446],"tags":[778,195,300,297,780,775,696,781,707,777],"class_list":{"0":"post-3657","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general","8":"category-phpp","9":"tag-alvin","10":"tag-bill-terry","11":"tag-disaster-relief","12":"tag-drusa","13":"tag-five-houses-in-five-days","14":"tag-houston","15":"tag-hurricane-harvey","16":"tag-run-for-the-wall","17":"tag-texas","18":"tag-texas-latin-conference","19":"entry"},"title_es":"El milagro de Houston","content_es":"El milagro de Houston Por Bill Terry El 25 de agosto de 2017, el hurac\u00e1n Harvey toc\u00f3 tierra cerca de Rockport, Texas, con olas que golpeaban la costa de Corpus Christi. Harvey, un hurac\u00e1n de categor\u00eda 4 con una velocidad del viento de 130 mph, descarg\u00f3 27 trillones de galones de agua sobre Texas. Como resultado, la ciudad de Houston fue inundada con m\u00e1s de 50 pulgadas de agua de inundaci\u00f3n. Seg\u00fan el Centro Nacional de Huracanes, el hurac\u00e1n Harvey caus\u00f3 da\u00f1os por cerca de $ 125 mil millones. World Vision inform\u00f3 las siguientes estad\u00edsticas: 13 millones de personas fueron impactadas, cerca de 135,000 casas fueron da\u00f1adas o destruidas, casi un mill\u00f3n de autos fueron totalizados, y 88 vidas se perdieron. Se inform\u00f3 que solo en Houston, hab\u00eda ocho mil millones de yardas c\u00fabicas de basura. Este volumen astron\u00f3mico llenar\u00eda dos veces el estadio de f\u00fatbol de los Houston Texans. Las \u00e1reas de Webster y Alvin, Texas, estaban rodeadas por aguas de inundaci\u00f3n. Webster es el hogar de Oasis of Hope, pastoreada por Jaime Trevino y Emmanuel Worship Center est\u00e1 en Alvin, pastoreada por Avelino DaSilva. El 31 de agosto, la Conferencia Latina de Texas contact\u00f3 a Disaster Relief USA (DRUSA) y solicit\u00f3 la asistencia de los equipos de alimentaci\u00f3n m\u00f3vil. El coordinador nacional de DRUSA, Bill Terry, evalu\u00f3 el \u00e1rea e inmediatamente moviliz\u00f3 a los equipos de cocina de Carolina del Norte y del Sur. Oasis of Hope dio la bienvenida a DRUSA con los brazos abiertos y proporcion\u00f3 una base de operaciones. Durante el despliegue de diez d\u00edas, se sirvieron m\u00e1s de 35,000 comidas calientes en varias comunidades en Houston y sus alrededores. Uno de los mayores desaf\u00edos con este despliegue fue el transporte. Dos veces al d\u00eda, los equipos de voluntarios llevaban comidas preparadas desde la iglesia a varios lugares alrededor del sur de Houston. Aquellos que han ayudado con desastres recientes saben cu\u00e1n dif\u00edcil puede ser esto; para ubicar d\u00f3nde residen actualmente los residentes y encontrar una ruta segura a trav\u00e9s de \u00e1reas devastadas para llegar a ellos. Si bien estamos agradecidos a todos nuestros voluntarios de la Conferencia Latina de Texas, Bill Terry desea agradecer especialmente a los muchos voluntarios que proporcionaron mano de obra y veh\u00edculos para entregar comidas durante todo el despliegue. En septiembre, Gary Burd, Director de M25 se puso en contacto con DRUSA. Gary estaba interesado en asociarse para un evento con Disaster Relief USA y Run For The Wall. Seg\u00fan Gary, Run For The Wall estaba recaudando miles de d\u00f3lares para un proyecto en febrero para ayudar a los propietarios que fueron desplazados por las inundaciones. Es posible que se pregunte: \"\u00bfPor qu\u00e9 se est\u00e1n preparando para una respuesta de febrero de 2018 en septiembre?\". Cuando varios grupos intentan trabajar juntos, y los fondos deben aumentarse, desafortunadamente, a menudo pueden pasar meses hasta que todo se una. Despu\u00e9s de la respuesta inicial en Houston, era evidente que los residentes de Houston enfrentar\u00edan muchos meses de recuperaci\u00f3n despu\u00e9s del hurac\u00e1n Harvey. La fecha objetivo para la implementaci\u00f3n se estableci\u00f3 para el 5 y 10 de febrero de 2018. En octubre, Bill Terry estableci\u00f3 un equipo de planificaci\u00f3n para organizar varios aspectos de la respuesta y determinar qu\u00e9 viviendas se reparar\u00edan. Despu\u00e9s de dos reuniones de equipo, se decidi\u00f3 que los tres ministerios proporcionar\u00edan y coordinar\u00edan 50 voluntarios para las \"Cinco casas en cinco d\u00edas\" de Houston. En noviembre, DRUSA despleg\u00f3 un equipo de reparaci\u00f3n de Carolina del Norte para un proyecto piloto para la asignaci\u00f3n de febrero. Los propietarios del proyecto eran miembros de Oasis of Hope IPHC en Webster, Texas. Al igual que con decenas de miles de hogares en Houston, el trabajo de renovaci\u00f3n consisti\u00f3 en paredes aislantes, colgantes y paneles de yeso, trabajos de acabado y pisos nuevos. Esta asignaci\u00f3n proporcion\u00f3 pautas generales para los equipos en febrero con respecto a las habilidades, el talento y el equipo necesarios. Al comenzar 2018, la emoci\u00f3n aument\u00f3 a medida que la b\u00fasqueda de voluntarios lleg\u00f3 a un punto febril y se recaudaron fondos para \"Cinco casas en cinco d\u00edas\". \u00a1El plan se estaba uniendo! A fines de enero, Bill Terry y Gary Burd hicieron un \u00faltimo viaje a Houston para reunirse con el equipo de planificaci\u00f3n estrat\u00e9gica. Los proyectos se determinaron y el equipo pas\u00f3 un d\u00eda entero recorriendo cada hogar para comprender las necesidades. A diferencia de nuestro primer despliegue, se determin\u00f3 que esta vez, nuestra base de operaciones estar\u00eda en Emmanuel Worship Center en Alvin. Gracias, pastores Avelino y Lily DaSilva y la congregaci\u00f3n Emmanuel, por proporcionarles alojamiento, comidas y compa\u00f1erismo a los voluntarios. <strong>Un mensaje de Bill Terry<\/strong> Un pasaje de la Escritura que me es muy querido es el Salmo 133: 1: \"\u00a1Qu\u00e9 bueno y agradable es cuando los hermanos viven en unidad!\" Al ver a nuestros voluntarios, que ven\u00edan de todo el pa\u00eds, trabajan juntos durante una semana fue una hermosa imagen de la unidad. Cada equipo estaba formado por voluntarios de diferentes lugares. Ni una sola vez escuchamos acerca de problemas relacionados con egos, sentimientos heridos o confusi\u00f3n; solo hombres y mujeres comprometidos a servir. \"Cinco casas en cinco d\u00edas\" requiri\u00f3 la participaci\u00f3n de muchos hombres y mujeres con diversos conjuntos de habilidades. Es imposible agradecer adecuadamente a todos los voluntarios que hicieron el proyecto exitoso. Para el beneficio de todos los involucrados, preferir\u00eda no enumerar ning\u00fan nombre en caso de que involuntariamente deje a alguien. A todos los que representaron DRUSA, Run For The Wall, M25, Royal Rangers, Men's Ministries, Communication Services, y especialmente la Conferencia Latina de Texas, \u00a1gracias por un trabajo bien hecho! Titul\u00e9 este art\u00edculo, \"The Houston Miracle.\" Al mirar atr\u00e1s y recordar los dos despliegues a Houston, no puedo pensar en una palabra mejor que \"milagro\". Me maravillo de la mano de Dios y su provisi\u00f3n para hacer que este sue\u00f1o se convierta en realidad. Durante unos d\u00edas, m\u00e1s de 50 voluntarios se reunieron en Houston y se utilizaron para hacer una diferencia inimaginable.","author_name":"","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/02\/The-Houston-Miracle.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4T9u2-WZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}