The July 4 floods in Central Texas suddenly took the lives of more than 130 children, teenagers, adults, senior adults, many of whom were at summer camps or on family vacations. At the time of this post, there are still more than 100 missing with active searches still in full gear. Although the Kerrville area was hardest hit, there are still highly active search and recovery efforts in San Saba, Burnet, Travis, Kendall, Williamson, Tom Green and, of course, Kerr counties. The ongoing work of search, recovery, clean-up, and rebuilding will continue for years to come.
In the long term, it appears the only thing more powerful than the rising water on July 4 and the days following will be the spirit of community, compassion, empathy, and love offered from across the region, nation, and even around the world. The outpouring of generosity — yes, crucial financial resources, but not stopping there, also people’s astonishing investments of personal time, hard work, and tireless energy in providing critically important services and help — have created a flood of goodness in its own rite.
Texas neighbors to the south in Mexico brought a sizeable force of firefighters along with their vehicles, tools, and equipment to assist in the efforts. They sprang into action immediately upon hearing of the disaster. This group of Mexican neighbors arrived in time to save a number of people trapped within the floods, folks who likely would have died without their kind and competent rescues. Thank you, our good and generous neighbors in Mexico, for crossing the border to save the lives of children and families. You could have easily stayed at home but, instead, you came to the rescue of a foreign people you had not even met! Our gratitude to you is forever!
It is noteworthy that the July 4 weekend turned gloomy by both the tragedy and the weather. In San Antonio, it was noticeable that everything felt muted. No one seemed interested in celebrating the 4th. In public places such as malls and grocery stores, there were few smiles and conversations were hushed and somber. A city of over 2 million was in mourning for what was occurring 60 miles to the northwest.
Of all the stories reported, it has notably NOT been reported that any rescuer first asked the political party affiliation of anyone who needed saving. We haven’t heard any of those stories because they never happened. This, in itself, should give us a strong hint about the constantly stirred-up political frays and chaos-driven politics incessantly crippling our government. Those on the front lines of rescuing people who need it don’t work off politics when they are doing their compassionate jobs. It is only the high-profile elected officials and the talking heads of news cycles who inevitably lower us into the ever-flooding cesspools of politics.
Going forward, we shall continue reporting about the progress in the Texas Hill Country. YouthCUE alumni are already deeply engaged in the recovery efforts, and there will be more to report of CUE’s direct involvement in the weeks and months ahead.
As tragedies develop near you — or even at a great distance — it is often tempting to assume there is nothing we can do to help. However, think of the power and education it would be for our choir students to be able to do something, whether big or small, to help those who are struggling!
Please stay tuned as we share more of what we can do as individual choirs … and together … to make a real difference in the lives of those affected by disasters around us.
Randy Edwards
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