The volunteers who came to save lives in Houston flood
Peter Heck:
One of the things that impressed me was the lack of whining about their misfortune. One man who had just been rescued was asked for his thoughts and said simply, "I feel blessed" to be here. I heard another say, "This is Texas. We will get through this." Harvey was the worst storm to ever hit Texas but the loss of life has been remarkably low. I think it is because of people like this.
...In watching the local news reports on events in Houston this was a story that was seen repeated over and over again as neighbors and people who did not live in the area came to help those devasted by the flooding. It was awe inspiring. I saw one man wading through the water from house to house to make sure no one was left behind.
... a reporter approached an unknown man and his friend who had pulled their boat behind the back of a pick-up truck onto the flooded streets of Texas. The two men, one white, one black, began preparing the boat for launch when the news crew approached them.
If you haven’t seen the stirringly simple exchange it went like this:
Reporter: You guys just uh, jumping in to help out?
Man: Yes sir.
Reporter: Yeah?
Man: Yes sir.
Reporter: Where you coming from?
Man: Texas City.
Reporter: Texas City?
Man: Yes sir.
Reporter: What uh, what are you gonna do?
Man: I’m gonna go try to save some lives.
Reporter: Yeah?
Man: Yes sir.
No one asked them to go there. No government instructed them to do it. No one provided them money to fill their boat’s gas tank. No one offered them a reward for their work. No one told them a news crew would document their efforts. No one guaranteed them they would be successful or that they would even come back alive themselves.
But they were there anyway because their fellow men were in danger and needed help. This is the embodiment of the purest virtue in the image-bearing souls God gave us – that greater love has no one than the man willing to lay down his life for a friend. Or in this case, complete strangers.
...
One of the things that impressed me was the lack of whining about their misfortune. One man who had just been rescued was asked for his thoughts and said simply, "I feel blessed" to be here. I heard another say, "This is Texas. We will get through this." Harvey was the worst storm to ever hit Texas but the loss of life has been remarkably low. I think it is because of people like this.
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