It is no question we are living in extraordinary times.

A once-in-a-1,000-year flood just pummeled Houston and surrounding areas affecting an estimated 100,000 households (and counting!) which could represent almost half a million Americans with lost or damaged homes.

It is in these times that God calls ordinary people to serve, which is why TGI has prayerfully decided to pursue sending in our first team to the flooded areas of Houston as early as next week on Monday, Sep. 4th.

We cannot do everything.

We have great respect for the people who went in during the height of the storm and flooding to rescue those stranded in the flood.

These were just ordinary people grabbing boats, rafts, high-water trucks and anything else they could find in order to spare on more life from the floods.

We wish we were as well-equipped as the Cajun Navy to rescue stranded people in torrential rains, but we’re not.

'Cajun Navy' to the rescue: In crises such as Harvey, you want outdoorsmen on your side https://t.co/Nve6zpObd6 pic.twitter.com/4c1gBbKKQL

— National Post (@nationalpost) August 30, 2017

But we can do what God has given us an ability to do.

In this case, it is a 10-person (and growing) team heading to the affected flood areas to help with delivering donated goods, providing tools and labor for recovery/rebuild operations, and water purification for severely affected areas with no clean water.

We plan to help local churches and community leaders with clearing the mountains of flood debris from homes and roads.

This work cannot begin in some places until next week as flood waters are still high.

But we have a growing team ready for this dirty, thankless work in the hot Texan sun, so pray for them!

They are ready to go serve the churches we are in immediate contact with and share the Gospel both in word and deed with the community around them that is in great need right now.

We are also intending to bring in some LifeStraw Family water filtration units that we have used internationally before in the Philippines after storm events.

We also plan to deliver an initial load of donated relief goods that people are providing (and can still bring to us if you’re in the San Antonio or Corpus Christi area) to community churches and shelters.

We need the following items:

• Diapers & Baby Wipes
• Blankets (Fleece)
• New Undergarments (Underwear, socks)
• Toiletries
• Demolition Tools (hammers, prybars, razors)
• Contractor Garbage Bags
• Hand Sanitizer
• Cleaning Supplies

If you want to deliver any of these items please CONTACT US FIRST to coordinate drop off. If you’d like to help financially towards us acquiring these resources, you can DO SO HERE by specifying the Harvey Relief Fund.

Follow along on the Harvey Relief at our portal page for this operation here: Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief

Some Pictures Here Provided By Lizzie Heintz From Katy, TX. Thanks Lizzie!