Thursday

Each evening during our time in Houston, our group gathered for a debrief session in which we could reflect on the day.

Last evening students were asked to share a “take-away” from the experience. A common theme was the huge difference that perspective makes. Flood victims that had a perspective of faith in Christ expressed hope and usually ended up inspiring us. Those without faith in Christ presented a visible contrast with a variety of coping mechanisms…alcohol being a prominent one.

At the last house that we worked, a spirit of hopelessness prevailed. A student talked with the overweight “twenty-something” year old son who was one of the occupants. The son told how he coped as the water level rose in the house. He stated that he sat in the house in three feet of water playing video games. When asked why he did that in such dire circumstances, the reply was “If the ship is going down, you might as well go down with it.”

This morning we left Houston around 5:00 AM. Our route took us through Memphis (skyline below).

We arrived near Dickson, Tennessee (just west of Nashville) for supper around 7:00PM. Our hosts are Paul and Darlene Overholt along with their family.

The Overholt’s kindness and accommodations have been very refreshing. Several other families from the area are assisting in providing lodging.

The minivan, one of the three vans in our convoy, had been limping today with an increasingly concerning coolant leak. After supper our hosts were able to locate the needed part and a 25 mile round trip to town at 9:30 PM secured the replacement. It is a blessing that (hopefully) that issue is now resolved ahead of tomorrow’s 5:00 AM departure.

Of concern is a second van which seemed to be making additional noises that could be a prelude to a transmission issue. A basic exam tonight did not find any obvious physical issues. Please pray that the vehicles “behave” on the final leg of the trip.