Salvation Military Main Phil Swyers witnessed firsthand the devastation brought on by the horrific floods in Texas this previous July, recounting the ache, struggling, and miracles he has personally seen.
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Whereas a lot of the media has moved on, the individuals of Central Texas have been compelled to proceed selecting up the items after dealing with the unthinkable — greater than 115 individuals useless, property destroyed, and hearts and minds left traumatized.
Swyers, who has served for many years with The Salvation Military, advised CBN Information the realm is “nonetheless in a state of restoration.”
“Our group suffered so many misplaced lives,” he stated. “Persons are grieving … the deaths which have taken place, however, additionally, the properties which have been broken, some of all of them the best way all the way down to the inspiration.”
Swyers stated his operations have shifted from emergency response to offering money help and addressing different wants. Quickly, the state of affairs will once more shift into extra long-term plans for help.
Many individuals can not comprehend the extent of the wants on the bottom, and, with media consideration extra sparse now, the tragedy is broadly neglected.
When the floods first occurred, Swyers recalled how The Salvation Military arrived to consolation individuals and supply meals, drinks, and assets. Moreover, non secular and pastoral care was given.
“We had pastors on the bottom and people who, even earlier than disasters happen, are skilled in the best way to consolation individuals and share the love of Jesus with people, particularly in tragedies like this,” he stated. “Simply reassuring them and God’s love and providential care by way of prayer.”
Swyers spoke concerning the immeasurable ache that comes from dropping all the pieces and attempting to deal with the aftermath. As individuals battle with that trauma, he stated The Salvation Military is there to remind them there’s a God who loves them and deeply cares.
One of the traumatic components of the floods was the 27 kids and counselors killed at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer season camp. The horrific ordeal left the nation mourning and created a fancy and painful dynamic for the communities instantly impacted.
“Whereas the waters have receded, there nonetheless is lots of emotional scars of people that nonetheless are are simply attempting to get by way of the day,” Swyers stated. “We’re simply attempting to assist them and share the love of Jesus — to allow them to know that and remind them that we will get by way of at present, that Jesus is with us, and that there’s hope for tomorrow.”
He stated The Salvation Military is trying forward over the subsequent few years when they are going to come alongside these households and others locally to assist rebuild. And a part of that restructuring is reminding those that God deeply loves them and has a plan for his or her lives.
“We all know … not solely mentally, however in our coronary heart, that even on this devastation, God might be discovered,” Swyers stated. “There’s tales that may simply take your breath of how God has been there in individuals’s lives, they usually testify that solely God may have gotten them by way of this case.”
