Compiled from July 2025 TXM REPORTS

The south fork of the Guadalupe River in the Texas Hill Country flooded the home of Will and Ann Britt on July 4 in Kerr County.

Texans On Mission (TXM) volunteers arrived later in July. They ripped out ruined wooden flooring. They removed appliances and cut away sheetrock. This was in preparation for the Britts to eventually rebuild their home.

Every family or individual TXM helps after a disaster has a story to tell, and the Britts were no exception.

In the early morning hours of July 4, Will got out of bed and walked to his living room, checking the weather app on his phone. When he looked at the glass front door, Will saw that flood waters were already head-high beyond the door.

He turned to run and get his wife when the front door exploded open and water rushed through and smashed out of the broad, glass back door.

If he had not acted so quickly, Will would have been swept out of his home and into the raging river.

Will and Ann ran up the stairs and watched as the waters surrounding their home rose. A 10-feet tall cross stood outside their window. By the time the Britts got to the second floor, water had risen to just below the cross bar.

In the darkness punctuated by lightning, they watched the water rise. The cross stood while the water swept away trees. Just as the water neared the top of the cross, it stopped rising.

The Britts said they never lost sight of the cross that July 4 morning. Gradually, the water began to recede. The cross stood at the edge of their property line. It was near Camp Mystic, the scene of such tragic loss.

The Britts never lost sight of the physical cross outside their window, but they also never lost sight of the cross spiritually as they prayed through the night. It was not until about noon that they learned about the loss of so many lives at Camp Mystic.

They survived, but their sense of loss and grief is great. So many people, including many people they know, lost their lives. And they also saw their home and all of its memories ripped apart, even while the stucco and stone walls held.

Texans on Mission volunteers tackled the job of helping the Britts prepare their home to be rebuilt. While the volunteers worked, Will and Ann labored with them and saw treasured parts of their home carried to dumpsters outside. It wasn’t just work; it was like a big, emerging friendship as the volunteers came alongside this dear, hurting couple.

While the Britts hurt, they also thanked God. Usually their family gathers at their home on July 4. They didn’t this year because a new grandchild is expected in August, and the family delayed their gathering.

It is not unusual for survivors of disasters to find reason for giving thanks even in the midst of their great loss. That was the case with the Britts. They lived up to the sign on their entry post, which also survived the flood — Rock House: The Lord is my rock … Psalm 18:2.

The Wheat brothers are well-known as ministers in this part of the Texas Hill Country. Robert serves as director of missions for Hill Country Baptist Association, while his brother, John, pastors Trinity Baptist Church in Kerrville.

When the tragic July 4 flash flood tore through the area, it killed more than 100 people and displaced hundreds more. The Wheat brothers and TXM found themselves at the center of ministering to others. They ministered while experiencing their own grief and the loss of neighbors, friends and fellow church members.

After experiencing the devastation first-hand, Robert (above), who is a volunteer with Texans on Mission, contacted the group and called for a response from its disaster relief volunteers.

 “These are the best, most willing servants that get up and go and do whatever it takes,” said Robert. “Whether it’s handing out (moving) boxes, cleaning mud and debris, chainsawing or even helping do laundry for the teams that keep going out.”

He also pointed out the immediate response of TXM chaplains as a “point of connection “that reaches out to these folks for the first time. Many of them are desperate.”

Robert has ministered alongside TXM chaplains before, and he said each encounter has been a blessing. “The blessing is once you meet somebody, once you meet a homeowner or their family, the first thing they do is, we gather with them, we introduce ourselves, we circle up and we pray. And after we pray, we get busy.

“And typically the chaplain will be the responsible person with the homeowner, keeping contact with them, making contact with neighbors and just building that rapport.

“Whether we’re gonna be there a few hours or whether we’re gonna be there several days, that chaplain is important,” he explained. “We do this because there’s an eternal message for us behind what we do and we want you to understand it.”

John, who has been involved with Texans on Mission, as well, said the community is reeling from the tragedy. “We’ve had great loss of life, great loss of property.”

Following the flood, the church was asked to serve as an information and host center for families missing loved ones at a local school. “There were a lot of people missing, so the families went there to try to relocate their children.

“We were there to pray with families, John said, “but pretty soon it was apparent that there was another need, because some of the parents there would be united with their children, and there’s another group of parents that wouldn’t.”

Responding to a request from the Kerr County Sheriff’s Department, Trinity opened its doors to offer a place for parents waiting on word about their children in a safe place.

“They were with us on Friday most of the evening, and our church got a chance to love on them a little bit,” he said. “This is a place that felt more like home for them. They began to sit together and … share each other’s story. These families had sent their children to camp maybe for years, but they didn’t necessarily know each other. But they bonded through this time.”

Many of the families stayed at the church through Sunday — many with the news that their loved ones’ remains had been located.

John said the church continues to pray with them and offer words of eternal hope. He reflected on the disaster’s short and long-term impact on his community.

“We have lost loved ones in our community — pillars of great standing in our community. A lot of children in our community.

“I don’t know the exact numbers, but the majority of people who were affected with this flood probably were not from our community,” John added. “They were the campers who were here for the July 4th weekend. They were children who had gone to camp and parents were going to pick them up on Friday and take them home on their way down here.”

Since hosting the families, Trinity has “transitioned to Texans on Missions being here and looking at the next phase of relief effort,” the pastor said. “Teams will be coming in for mud-outs and clean-outs and whatever they can and providing chaplain services as well.

“We’re so fortunate and glad to have them here and know that this is a place of ministry and hope.

IN GOD WE TRUST

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