Houston, TX

We are the 4th largest city in the United States and even though there are a few bad seeds, most of the people in our city are kind and helpful. Probably the biggest test of this was when our city was hit by Hurricane Harvey in August 2017. Our emergency responders were amazing in trying to rescue people, but the task was greater than they could manage, so it came down to neighbors helping neighbors, and many times risking their own lives to save and protect others. It was just a triumph of human spirit and all that is great with our city. Those who couldn’t help, volunteered, donated, and helped tear up carpets of destroyed houses. But that was one of our biggest tests. Everyday there are countless small stories of people helping people. We are so large, so not perfect, but when it counts, we pull together.

Stories About Houston

My nephews live an hour or more outside of Houston and while they had flooding and roads damaged, their homes were okay. So they pulled a boat with their truck and went to an area that they had heard of that had people stranded in the flood waters. They helped rescue as many people as they could that day. They were among countless people who did the same.

Our church set up a donation center that was run by volunteers. There were countless donation centers, but because our church is next to the police station, our donations were specific for the police officers and their families, who also suffered in the flooding. It was a place they could come and take as much toiletries, clothing, etc. that were needed.

One police officer recognized a car that was having some issues. He pulled the car over and it was a woman with young children as passengers. She was just trying to find some food for her children, as they had lost everything. He invited her over to our church, which was just set up for police officers, and told her that she could have his share and to take what she needed for her family.

Just recently, the news reported of a suicidal man who what hanging from an overpass. There were people on the overpass trying to rescue him and people under the overpass who were going to try to catch him should he fall. The man needed help and they were there to help him.

On top of everything else, Houston is an extremely diverse place with every kind of food, sports, arts, festivals, museums, zoo, entertainment, night life, theater, symphony. There is always something to do. I love this city!