Texans on Mission volunteers tackle chainsaw jobs after Hurricane Beryl

FREEPORT – Ken Anderson “rode out Beryl” in his Jones Creek home south of Houston. “We got hit harder than anybody, I believe. Lots of damage. Thousands of trees down.”

One of those trees uprooted by Hurricane Beryl landed on Anderson’s home. “We’ve got a massive tree that fell on the house and went all the way across,” said Texans on Mission volunteer John Weber. “Fortunately, it did not destroy the house,” said Weber, leader of the TXM San Antonio team and a member of Shearer Hills Baptist Church.

The team went to work Monday gradually cutting back the massive tree. Seven members of Anderson’s family, including a baby, are living in the house because of power outages where the others live, Weber said.

Anderson praised the chainsaw team. “This is a great set of guys,” he said, adding that he couldn’t do the work without them because of a recent heart attack. “I appreciate everything they’re doing here. We need all the help we can get.”

Weber noted that people have needs and are unable to do the chainsaw work his team provides. “We’re trained, and we feel like we need to deal with people’s spiritual needs and their physical needs. And sometimes you need to do the physical before you can get to the spiritual.”

Help, hope and healing amidst ‘widespread’ damage

Heat, humidity and mosquitoes dogged all TXM volunteers working in Brazoria County as they cut up fallen trees, provided temporary roofs, did laundry and went door-to-door responding to requests for help after the storm.

First Baptist Church in Brazoria is the hub of TXM ministry south of Houston, which includes some of the hardest hit areas in a hard-hit region.

As Anderson indicated, downed trees are everywhere. TXM chainsaw crews are prioritizing situations where trees are on houses or vehicles or blocking access to homes.

TXM chainsaw units will come and go over the next few weeks. Tuesday, 10 teams worked, including ones from Mississippi and Tennessee, part of the broader effort through Southern Baptist Disaster Relief.

“The damage from Hurricane Beryl is severe and widespread,” said David Wells, TXM Disaster Relief director. “This relief effort is a powerful picture of what it looks like when the body of Christ works together. We are delivering help, hope and healing in Christ’s name.”

Meeting the needs of those hurting

The hurricane knocked out electricity to millions, leaving large portions of the region powerless for days. Without refrigeration and air conditioning, residents struggled to get food.

The TXM State Feeding Unit stepped up. Waking up early in the morning, they cooked more than 60,000 meals for Houstonians. They were distributed to 26 locations across the city, focusing on areas of particular need.

In conjunction with Texans on Mission, Sugar Land Baptist Church helped meet the needs of preschoolers across the city. The congregation put together roughly 3,500 sack lunches to distribute.

One of the meals was given to a woman who hadn’t eaten in two days. When she lost electricity, all the food in her refrigerator went bad. She’s elderly and doesn’t drive, so she was silently suffering.

“Christ cares about the suffering,” Wells said. “He commands His followers to meet needs and share God’s love with those who are hurting. That’s what the feeding team is doing.”

TXM is the disaster relief arm of Texas Baptists. Since its inception in 1967, volunteers have responded to every major disaster in the state of Texas. Learn more about their ongoing relief efforts and request assistance at texansonmission.org.