Seven-and-a-half feet of water rushed into the home of Hunt resident Debbie Dossey in the early morning of July 4, 2025. Only hours after floating on a bookshelf to stay alive, Debbie and her husband, Michael, surveyed the battered, soaking remains of their beloved home with no idea how to move forward.
Since December, the Dosseys have been able to return to their home, which was rebuilt by Texans on Mission volunteers. From start to finish, TXM took care of the labor, paid for supplies and prayed with them repeatedly, Dossey said.
“We would not be in our house without Texans on Mission,” she said. “They helped put us back together.”
Next door, the Vlaseks barely escaped their flooded home after attempting to save their dear dog, Rusty. They gripped each other's hands tightly as they waded through strong currents uphill to safety.
Thankfully, they later found Rusty alive in a washing machine. But their home was completely swept away in the current.
On the third day after the flood, Denise Vlasek’s hope in Christ manifested as TXM showed up in their driveway, ready to help and pray with them. Now, their home is practically finished with repairs.
“We literally had no home,” Vlasek said. “We had to rebuild from the foundation up. If it weren't for Texans on Mission, we wouldn't be where we are now.”
Today, TXM is still here in the Hill Country, helping families rebuild their homes and their lives.
While thousands of volunteers from various disaster response organizations rushed to Kerrville in the days following the flood, they ceased their work within weeks. TXM remains one of only a handful still serving in the area a year later, continuing what has become the organization's longest rebuild effort in its history.
"Texans on Mission went from being an organization to being family," said TXM Discipleship and Outreach Coordinator Mikey Osborne. "Everywhere we go, locals know us because we didn't just come in and leave."
Jacob Moneybrake, TXM associate director of disaster relief, arrived in Kerrville days after the flood. Debris covered the area, and floodwaters had ripped pavement from roads. Despite the destruction, Moneybrake witnessed something both astonishing and miraculous from the community.
"When I first got to Kerrville, there was obviously a lot of heartbreak, confusion and pain, but there was also hope and a prayer to rebuild," Moneybrake said. "Almost every person we encountered, as soon as they got over the shock of what happened, they were asking, 'How do we work together to recover from this?'"
That desire to recover became the foundation for a year-long rebuilding effort for Texans on Mission. Over the months, TXM has even been able to completely rebuild homes for people like Brian Olsen.
The Ingram homeowner’s home was stripped down to its very frame by the flood. TXM met Olsen’s needs by bringing in a contractor and providing a grant for materials and labor.
Olsen has hardly had to lift a finger in the process.
“It changed my life,” he said. “I had no one to help me build my home. But the number of hands they've been able to get in the community to help us rebuild is overwhelming.”
In addition to TXM volunteers, TXM Missions and Discipleship brought in student groups to assist in rebuilding efforts.
The students have been a huge asset, Osborne said, tackling worksites that might have taken other volunteers over a month and completing them in a week. Working closely with homeowners over such a long, dedicated process created unforgettable relationships, he said.
"Usually, we step into devastation, meet people and remember their stories," Osborne said. "But with this, we're actually getting to walk people through an entire process. It's so fulfilling."
At the center of that work has been Trinity Baptist Church in Kerrville, TXM’s “beacon of hope since day one,” Osborne said.
Within hours of the flood, Trinity became a reunification center for families desperately seeking information about loved ones. Soon afterward, it became a hub for disaster response operations and later a home base for rebuilding efforts.
Pastor John Wheat said he never imagined how deeply the church would become involved in the rebuild effort. For a year, volunteers have slept, eaten, planned and prayed at Trinity.
Throughout the long-term recovery process in Kerrville, TXM Rebuild Coordinator Rafael Munoz said the potential of the Rebuild team has become clear to him. What they’ve accomplished has been incredible, he said.
A recent grant from the American Red Cross will help support continued rebuilding efforts, Munoz said, providing hope that more families can receive the repairs they still need six months into the future, and even a year.
He can already see the ways TXM is growing, adapting and reinforcing itself to be even better prepared for future disasters and rebuilding efforts like this.
"A year later, for Rebuild, we know we need to be persistent," said Munoz. "There are many obstacles to rebuilding, and we're trying to alleviate as many of those barriers as possible so families can see progress."
For TXM CEO Mickey Lenamon, the past year has reinforced a simple truth.
"This work has taught us that what we do matters," he said. “To our volunteers, thank you for leaving the comfort of your air-conditioned home and going out and meeting people where they are.”
While TXM’s rebuilding efforts are giving those in the Hill Country the strength to pick up the pieces, thoughts of the flood still linger for Wheat and many others.
“We will never get over what took place on July 4,” he said. “Kerrville, Hunt and Ingram will always be different. However, we will get through it.”
Olsen said he’s already started to see the community’s fear of the river dissipate as children and families begin to swim and play in its waters once again. Dossey said she sees it, too. Kerrville is slowly but surely regaining hope.
“Resilience exists in our community,” Dossey said. “We’re just grateful to be alive, for the recovery process, to our neighbors, for the loving support of our community.”
How you can help
Recovery in Kerr County is not over.
Texans on Mission will continue serving families in the Hill Country as long as there are volunteers, resources and opportunities to help. You can be part of that effort by praying for the healing of Hill Country families, volunteering on a rebuild team and making a financial gift to support recovery efforts.
With your help, we can stay until the work is done.
