Chaplain Kai Kowalski was one of several Texans on Mission chaplains who responded quickly to the tragic flood.
Chaplains hear stories of heart ache, miracles
Seven Texans on Mission chaplains are ministering to people dealing with the aftermath of the deadly Hill Country flash flood on July 4, and TXM assessors are gathering specific information from homeowners who need help.
TXM chaplain Kai Kowalski said the team is ministering to survivors who experienced life-changing trauma and “miraculous” events during and after the disaster that killed more than 100 people and displaced hundreds more
“When we went out today, we met with survivors and heard the miraculous things that the Lord has done to save people,” Kowalski said July 8. One man told the chaplain of being “washed out of the house, and he had his wife wrapped around him, like sitting on his lap, legs, body facing towards him.
“He's holding onto her with his right hand,” Kowalski continued. “And they're in water above their head. He's about to be sucked downstream, and a lightning bolt went off. The only thing he saw was that tree branch right there, so he grabbed that tree branch. He pulled himself to the tree, and they climbed six feet up into the tree to save themselves until the water went down.”
On the other side of the Guadalupe River, the chaplains went with TXM assessors and talked to another couple.
“The gentleman tells me that (the floodwaters were) coming down … and then all of a sudden he heard ‘help me’ three times,” Kowalski related the story. The man “turns around, and there's two little girls, 15 feet out in the water. He swam out there to grab those two little girls and save their lives and pull them back. That's a God moment.”
Stories of loss followed, but other stories were full of hope.
“I see and hear of miracle after miracle after miracle,” Kowalski said. “But then I hit the deep end of where two people, two families, are just looking for closure for what they've already lost. To me, and having that, that is a chaplain moment.”
A chaplain moment, he explained, is “spreading the Gospel to the people, being the voice of Christ and getting out there” among hurting people to share the love of Jesus, and letting them know that there are men who care for them.
Chaplains, Kowalski explained, “are not here for a hurrah. It’s just seven of us … out there spreading the love of Christ, looking and seeing who and where, we can help, house to house, walk by walk.”
He said the group’s dedication to sharing their faith “is what Texans on Mission is all about. It's not about fixing things.Fixing things can be done by the 1,000 other people who are here. It's about the voice of Christ and the hands of Christ being given out to the people who need hope.”