HUNT, Texas — Mike Oakes says Fourth of July weekend was supposed to be a joyous retreat in the Hill Country with his family.
“And then about 1 a.m., 1:30, I got woken by really loud thunderstorms,” Oakes said. “I’ve never really been around such heavy storms.”
He says it wasn’t long before the Guadalupe River started rising.
“Went out and started checking the house,” he said. “And noticed water started coming into our sunken dining room area. And there’s water getting in there.”
Oakes and his 16-year-old son moved quickly treading through waist-high water to higher ground after neighbors signaled to them that they could take refuge with them.
“They were shining lights and screaming for people to come up,” Oakes said.
They went back to the house for their remaining family members and dogs.
“And we began to take people out of the house, crawling out of the windows,” he said. “And just as my mother-in-law came out of the window, the water dropped like two feet. Just enough knee, thigh-high and made it able for us to carry our dogs and get out moms who are in their 80s out of the house.”
Mike’s mother and mother-in-law were airlifted to the hospital.
“We lost some property we can rebuild, but we didn’t lose any lives and we’re really grateful,” he said. “A lot of people did, and that’s hard.”
Oakes who pastors refers to Psalm 77.
“It starts out with, there are hard things in life,” he said. “It even talks about flood waters are rising. But God is still there. He’s taking care of us, and those two things happen at once.”
Oakes says there will be a night of prayer Wednesday night at Oak Hills Church at 6:30 p.m. for anyone who needs to lament.