While August 20 will likely be remembered as a day of darkness by the people of Houston, Texas, some of them might well recall November 13 as a day of hope. Thirty-three Trigg County High School Students and 12 adults are set to begin work Monday clearing debris and rebuilding homes damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Harvey.
The students are there doing mission work as members of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, an international non-profit Christian sports ministry, and are partnering on the ground with Samaritan’s Purse, an evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization. They have been split into three teams: one in Houston that is focusing on reconstruction and two in nearby Pearland who are assisting deconstruction efforts as residents continue to recover from the devastation left in Harvey’s wake. FCA President Autumn Stewart, who is 17 years old, says this is something she feels she must do.
Harvey made landfall August 20 as a Category 4 storm with winds of 130 mph, according to the National Weather Service, and was the costliest tropical cyclone on record, surpassing the damage done by Hurricane Katrina by nearly double. Though the help will likely be viewed as a godsend by people in Texas, the opportunity to serve is already a prayer answered.
One of the students, Isabella Erickson, who is a senior this year, began praying as a freshman that she would be able to take an overnight, out-of-state mission trip by the time she was a senior.
That’s the voice of Michelle Strickland, an instructor of computer-based learning at the school and an FCA sponsor, who has helped the students organize the effort. The Trigg FCA chapter has about 100 students and though being an athlete is not a prerequisite for membership, the majority are active in at least one sport. Erickson, who is a cheerleader, says she wants her answered prayer to be a light for others.
The trip is also being undertaken as part of Intercession Week, which give students job shadowing and service-learning opportunities. For anyone who would question the students’ preparedness, their track record is worth a look. Strickland lists some of the previous years’ Intercession projects.
And while the trip is a sure thing now, it wasn’t always the case. First, they had to raise the money and even if they raised all they needed, the students had to get travel approval from the school’s board of education. Well, they got approval and after appealing to the community and area churches, ended up raising $30,000 to fully fund the trip. Grace Knight, a 17-year-old cheerleader, says she’s ready to get to work.
For 16-year-old Chloe Williamson, the opportunity to help those in Texas is a perfect way to share her faith.
The group set out for Houston early Sunday morning and are scheduled to return Friday. All those who spoke with YourSportsEdge credit area churches and the community at-large with helping make the trip possible.
