One organization has deployed crisis-trained chaplains in Kerr and Kendall County to provide aid and spiritual support after recent floods.
KERRVILLE, Texas — Volunteers in Kerr and Kendall County are providing a helping hand, whether it’s cooking and serving meals, picking up debris, or assisting with search and rescue efforts, many are doing what they can.
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is providing spiritual care, through crisis-trained chaplains. Their mobile truck is located in the Moore’s Home Furnishings parking lot off of Junction Hwy in Kerrville.
“As Christians, the Bible says to mourn with those who mourn and grieve with those who grieve,” said Josh Holland, the international director for the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team. “We have chaplains that are here, that are crisis trained, that understand the clinical aspects of grief and trauma, that are just here to listen, to be a shoulder to lean on, to cry with people.”
It’s complicated for families who are grieving, which is why Holland stated, many times the chaplains just listen.
“Even though, in this world, none of us are exempt from the greatest calamity and catastrophe imaginable, which is what’s going on here for so many families,” he said. “As Christians, we believe there is a loving God, and there’s a heaven and eternity with him that awaits all those who placed their faith in Him and His Son, Jesus.”
While Holland reached Kerrville on Monday, Billy Graham’s Rapid Response Team had already deployed chaplains to Kerr County the day of the floods. Already, Holland said many have come to pray with the chaplains.
“I met yesterday with a grandmother who actually lost her grandson, who was in his 20s,” Holland said. “And as her heart is ripped out, her faith in God is strong, and she knows that her grandson, had a relationship with God through Christ, and that brings her peace and comfort even in the midst of her heartache.”
The majority of the chaplains that are deployed are volunteers. Ken and Stacey Williamson are chaplain coordinators in Kerrville who are from San Antonio. For them, Kerrville is like their neighbor.
“This is not the Kerrville we know right now,” Ken Williamson said. “It’s changed somewhere, and we realize it’s not going to all get back to normal. The normal that we remember in just a day or two. So it’s really difficult. We know that we are trying to help them with what we have, and that is just to help them to feel a little bit of peace, to have hope, and to know that Jesus is here for them and everything that they’re going through.”
For more information about the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, click HERE.