Each of our volunteers has their own unique story of how they discovered Texans on Mission. For some, the discovery is through their church. Others learn about us through friends or family.
TXM found Liz Landers as a survivor of Hurricane Katrina. Now, over 20 years later, she leads other volunteers on deployments as a Blue Cap — a unit leader.
Volunteers were providing aid to Landers’ family in New Orleans in the form of mudouts and feeding teams following the hurricane in 2005. Landers said the flood waters came through her house quickly, but water stood for six weeks in her sister’s house nearby. Throughout that stressful, traumatic time for Landers’ family and many others, the food TXM provided was often the only hot meal they would receive daily.
Landers began volunteering with TXM after experiencing several kind encounters with volunteers, who prayed with her and made sure she and her family had all the help they needed.
“That was the first time I had ever realized how important mass feeding was, because we were in the midst of 200 miles of complete devastation,” Landers said. “There was no grocery store. The closest place you could drive to get a cup of coffee was two hours away.”
Having been a film set chef for 30 years and an avid volunteer, Landers was intrigued by the concept of volunteer teams distributing hot meals during crises and she felt called to serve. Ten years after joining TXM, she became a Blue Cap, leading feeding teams on deployments.
“Texans on Mission had helped us so much that I just wanted to give back,” Landers said. “When I was feeding all these people on film sets, that was God preparing me for something.”
Though she has since retired, Landers thought back to her days feeding actors and film crews. Where her long days working on sets could be overwhelming and all-consuming, cooking on the TXM feeding team left Landers feeling recharged and eager for the next deployment, she said.
Landers doesn’t just feed survivors on deployments. When she’s running the show, she makes sure her team has the quality sustenance they need to best serve others. She strongly believes in taking care of people who are taking care of people, she said.
“I've always kept a little fund, so that when I go out, I can take nutritious food for my group — something that I think is very important,” Landers said. “Many of our volunteers are on special diets, taking medication and have very specific dietary needs, so I always show up with salads and fruit.”
Sometimes, Landers sees herself in the flood survivors she serves through TXM. She said she feels her memories of living through Hurricane Katrina have equipped her to best support others going through similar experiences.
“I know what it's like to pull everything out of your house and take it to the curb — 25 years of your kids' school pictures and your grandparents' pictures and everything,” she said. “We’ll end up in a bear hug, crying together, because I know what it's like — to lose your life, to lose everything that defines your life. That's why I'm there.”
Over the years, Landers said she’s found that TXM attracts the “doers” — the best, most willing people. And while not everyone may be a chef, she said she encourages volunteers to take the opportunity to deploy to whatever team they feel called.
“Everybody has a part to play, and you don't need to know anything about cooking to serve on the feeding team,” Landers said, laughing. “Come on, we’ll put you on the can opener — anyone can do that.”
If you would like to become a trained volunteer and be among the first to deploy when disaster strikes, you can learn more about the process on our website. Check out the recovery work we recently completed following flooding in Louisiana.