KERRVILLE, Texas — The Wheat brothers are well known as ministers in this part of the Texas Hill Country. Robert serves as director of missions for Hill Country Baptist Association, while his brother John is pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Kerrville.

When a deadly July 4 flash flood tore through the area, killing more than 100 people and displacing hundreds more, they found themselves at the center of ministering to others.

They ministered while experiencing their own grief and the loss of neighbors, friends and fellow church members.

Currently, about 160 people remain missing, and search and recovery efforts by authorities still are active.

After experiencing the devastation firsthand, Robert Wheat, a volunteer with Texans on Mission, contacted the group and called for a response from its disaster relief volunteers.

“These are the best, most willing servants that get up and go and do whatever it takes,” he said. “Whether it’s handing out (moving) boxes, cleaning mud and debris, chainsawing or even helping do laundry for the teams that keep going out.”

He also pointed out the immediate response of Texans on Mission chaplains as a “point of connection that reaches out to these folks for the first time. Many of them are desperate.”

This is not the first time Robert Wheat has deployed as a chaplain with Texans on Mission.

“The blessing is once you meet somebody, once you meet a homeowner or their family, the first thing they do is, we gather with them, we introduce ourselves, we circle up and we pray,” he said. “And after we pray, we get busy.

“And typically, the chaplain will be the responsible person with the homeowner, keeping contact with them, making contact with neighbors and just building that rapport.

“Whether we’re going to be there a few hours or whether we’re going to be there several days, that chaplain is important. We do this because there’s an eternal message for us behind what we do, and we want you to understand it.”

‘Great loss of life’

Robert’s brother John, who also has been involved with Texans on Mission, said the community is reeling from the tragedy.

“We’ve had great loss of life, great loss of property,” John said.

Following the flood, his church served as an information and host center for families missing loved ones at a local school.

“There were a lot of people missing. So, the families went there to try to relocate their children,” he said.

“We were there to pray with families, but pretty soon, it was apparent that there was another need, because some of the parents there would be united with their children, and there’s another group of parents that wouldn’t.”

Responding to a request from the Kerr County Sheriff’s Department, Trinity opened its doors to offer a place for parents needing a place to wait on word about their children in a safe place.

“They were with us on Friday most of the evening, and our church got a chance to love on them a little bit,” John said. “This is a place that felt more home for them. They began to sit together and … share each other’s story.

“These families had sent their children to camp maybe for years, but they didn’t necessarily know each other. But they bonded through this time.”

Many of the families stayed at the church through Sunday — many receiving the news that their loved one’s remains had been located.

Continuing to pray and offer hope

The church continues to pray with them and offer words of eternal hope. The pastor reflected on the disaster’s short- and long-term impact on his community.

“We have lost loved ones in our community — pillars of great standing in our community, a lot of children in our community,” John said.

“I don’t know the exact numbers, but the majority of people who were affected with this flood probably were not from our community. They were the campers who were here for the July Fourth weekend. They were children who had gone to camp, and parents were going to pick them up on Friday and take them home on their way down here.”

Since hosting the families, Trinity has “transitioned to Texans on Mission being here and looking at the next phase of relief effort,” the pastor said.

“Teams will be coming in for mud-outs and clean-outs and whatever they can, and providing chaplain services as well.

“We’re so fortunate and glad to have them here and know that this is a place of ministry and hope.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE — This article originally appeared at texansonmission.org/news/.)