This story comes from an email sent to the congregation of Grace Lutheran Church, Conroe, Texas, from its pastor, Michael Rinehart, on September 29 following Hurricane Rita. It is reprinted here by permission of “Pastor Mike."

Dear Grace Family,

I can’t begin to relay to you what I’ve seen these past few days. It has been incredible. I wasn’t sure if we could pull this off. Our friends at First Methodist had their shelter open 17 days and were exhausted. All this from a church four times our size. Yet, the people started coming to us. Asking for help. We didn’t feel we could say “no.” God would simply have to see us through. And so it has happened. Read some of the stories.

Who is staying with us?
Beaumont and Port Arthur are both closed right now. In fact, people are still being evacuated. Some of our guests have no homes to go back to. In time they will move to rental property or Section 8 housing. Others’ homes are still intact, and they are waiting for officials to give permission to return. Some have “snuck” back into the city to check things out. Some of our guests are locals who are without power. One family with a three-week-old baby came for shelter, and then, when their power came back on, they came back to volunteer and help. Some may be without power for several weeks. We are on a grid that extends to Louisiana. Much damage has been done, and, if they don’t do this carefully with rolling power outages, the system could get overloaded, and then everyone would be out for two to three days.

Why are we doing this?
Isaiah 58 and Matthew 25 cover the basic foundations of the church’s mission. Many of our guests are arriving with only the clothes on their backs, with no place to stay. Since before medieval times, churches, which often were the sturdiest facilities in most villages, provided shelter for people and animals during storms and sieges. It is the right thing to do.

How is it going at Grace?
Super. It’s a scramble, but we’re doing considerably well considering that two days ago we didn’t know we’d be doing it at all. Currently we are an official Red Cross shelter. We have 69 guests. We have determined our capacity to be 100. People are arriving all the time. Some of our Red Cross people have said this is one of the best shelters they have worked with. Still, it’s a lot of work, and some of our volunteers are working around the clock. Guests have been doing a lot of the work: cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming, taking out trash and so on. Churches and businesses are chipping in, too.

Who is running the shelter?
One member of Grace is managing the shelter during the day. A family is in charge at night. They have slept here every night since we opened. Countless others are helping prepare meals, listen to guests, take out garbage, help the nurses and so on.

Also, keeping things running in a big way are four Red Cross volunteers and five Red Cross nurses living on site. They are from Arizona, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and California. They are some of the finest people I’ve ever met. They are volunteering 21 days of their lives to go anywhere in the U.S. The Red Cross sent them to Grace Lutheran Church in Conroe. Check out the photo on the right, above, of some of our Red Cross volunteers: Kathy (from PA), Gerhardt (PA), Deborah (AZ) and Bob (CA).

What should I expect if I volunteer?
Our guests are tired, stressed and grieving. Think of a time when you just couldn’t think straight. One of our guests from Port Arthur, after checking the Internet on one of the computers we have set up, came up to his family and said in amazement, “The mall is gone. It’s just… gone.” Many of those with whom I’ve spoken are in shock, like someone who just lost her spouse. The tears are just below the surface. The smallest act of kindness brings a flood of emotion. “Where will I live?” “Where will I work?” “How will I ever get through this?”

One of the greatest gifts we bring is a non-anxious presence. Calm. A quiet hope that offers no simplistic answers but knows that things will work out in the end. All who serve will encounter guests. Spiritual and emotional support is as important as the material support of food and shelter.

Stories of Guests

• Debby was one of the first calls I received. She lives in Cut-and-Shoot (oooh that name…) with her three-week old granddaughter. Her power was out and the baby was becoming dehydrated, so she needed to get out of the heat. We told her she’d be best off in a Red Cross Shelter. When she asked where one was, we did some homework and found out the closest one was in Crockett. So I told her to come on over. She stayed in the Fellowship Hall that night with some others. The next day the Red Cross asked us to open up as a shelter, so we moved everyone to the Family Life Center, and they started coming. After two days in the shelter the baby was fine, and her power was back on. Now she has returned, this time not as a guest, but as a volunteer.
• José and his wife Sylvia are here with his father Leonardo, his daughter Lilly, and his son José. Thankfully, their house is intact. They are waiting for the authorities to open Port Arthur. They are deeply grateful for this church and have been tireless workers in the shelter. Today I answered many questions in my broken Spanish about the differences between Lutherans and Catholics.
• Linda is a retired school teacher who lives between Cleveland and Splendora. A large oak tree fell on her mobile home, totaling it. She has no idea what she is going to do at this point.
• Joe and his family are from Port Naches. They don’t know the condition of their house, but are anxious to get back in and see.

Stories of Community Spirit

• Dr. Andy Davis from Your Family Doctor instantly agreed to offer medical support. He has been getting prescriptions for those whose medications were left behind.
• Richie’s Pharmacy told us to come on over. They charged nothing for any of the nursing supplies we needed.
• Alan Clayton, pastor of the Ark Family Church, sent Administrative Pastor Freddie Hector over to check things out. They purchased $1,000 in $50 gas cards, making it possible for people to get their kids to the school system, and themselves to FEMA.
• Pastor Dowen Johnson of April Sound Church brought a check for $1,500 today. Members of his church are also providing numerous meals.
• Conroe Bible Church and Tree of Life Lutheran are providing some meals.
• First Methodist donated all their blow-up mattresses and cots.
• K-Star 99.7 donated two truckloads of clothes.
• Borden is providing milk and orange juice as needed.

As always, it is a pleasure to serve in this place, with such highly committed people. You are doing the work of God in this place, with the Spirit’s guidance. For this I am grateful.

Much love,

Pastor Mike