Hurricane Beryl was anything but nice to residents in Bayou Vista near Hitchcock. Gloria Dei members and Bayou Vista residents of 23 years, Pat and Eileen Adams, had just over a foot of water in their home during the effects of Hurricane Beryl. Since they were not home when the storm occurred, they were a bit delayed in figuring out a plan and deciding what to do to remedy the water that came into their home.

A few days after the storm, they reached out to Gloria Dei for help. Eileen had stated to Jason Phelps, Gloria Dei’s Discipling Director, that she wishes she would have reached out sooner, but didn’t think about doing so.

Do you resonate with Eileen? Often times we forget that the Church is connected, the Church is an extended spiritual family, the Church is a body of people who are called to love and serve one another. For whatever reason, people aren’t always good at reaching out for help… some of us may feel like we aren’t worthy to be cared for, or we don’t want to be seen as “needy,” or we may believe others need to be helped before us.

The reality is that we are all in need of help at one time or another, and humans have needs — it’s one of the things that makes us human.

Within five days of Hurricane Beryl, and within three days of Pat and Eileen requesting help, Gloria Dei was able to send a team of a handful of people to help muck out the first floor of their home.

Jason Phelps brought a neighbor along, Aaron Purcell, as well as Gloria Dei members Fred Heiner, Chase Janacek, John Freund, Dwight Michalk, and Brian and Susanne Franson (who have a house just a few doors down from the Adams family).

We were able to complete the job in less than three hours and provide Pat and Eileen with some peace knowing that their home can dry out and is ready for a bit of remodeling in due time. Before heading out, Chase J was able to bless the family with a prayer of thanksgiving trusting the the reality that even in the midst of disruption, God is faithful and good.