President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are set to visit Texas Friday for a firsthand look at the areas devastated by catastrophic flooding. But amid the tragedy have also come amazing stories of survival.
The cleanup is underway for families whose homes were flooded but still left standing on July 4th. Operation Blessing has begun helping to clear out debris to help survivors begin the restoration process. Among those victims were Collene Lucas and her husband, an elderly couple who lost nearly everything when the Guadalupe River rose rapidly and overtook their home.
“I am blessed. I have nothing but blessings,” said Lucas, who was at work when the storm hit. After hearing the river had flooded a nearby business, she rushed home in her truck to rescue her sleeping husband.
“Water was coming into the truck. I opened the driver’s door. I put my left leg out and the water was almost to my hip,” Lucas recalled.
She managed to wade through deep water to the nearest firehouse for help. “I just prayed, and I really believe that I was walking on water because I made it safely,” she said. “And the rescue was okay. And that’s what saved my husband’s life.”
In the aftermath of the flood, which killed at least 120 people, churches and volunteers across the region have stepped up to help. In San Antonio, hundreds gathered for a special service at Oak Hills Church to pray and grieve.
“Over a third of our Psalms are lament,” said Pastor Travis Eades. “And lament is not just sorrow. It’s a path back to peace. It’s a path back to trust—from that heartbreak to hope.”
For fellow pastor Mike Oakes of Oak Hills Church, the disaster hit close to home. He was vacationing with family in a riverfront home 25 feet above the Guadalupe when the floodwaters began pouring in.
“It was rushing in our front door, our back door,” Oakes said. “And I got the family up and said, ‘Hey, we need to be vigilant here.'”
Oakes and his teenage son waded through waist-deep water, following a neighbor’s flashlight beam to higher ground. Later, they returned through a nearly submerged window to rescue other family members. Just as they exited, the water level dropped enough to allow them to reach safety on a nearby cliff. Oakes’ mother and mother-in-law were later airlifted to safety.
Like many in the community, the Oakes family is still wrestling with the trauma—and the questions.
“The why? I don’t have an answer,” Oakes said. “But I do know that God is comforting me, and He’s comforting those who are mourning.”
Lucas echoed that sentiment: “Everybody needs to understand that lives are irreplaceable. Materialistic things can be replaced. But not a life.”
