Damaged Galveston receives help and hope
During fall break, seven vehicles drove thousands of miles with a team of Oklahoma Christian University students who gave a helping hand to the residents of Galveston, Texas. Even as a month passed since Hurricane Ike’s attack on the Gulf Coast, the damage of this natural disaster was still evident on every block of Galveston.
From freshmen to seniors to college ministry interns and college ministers, more than 120 people contributed to the relief efforts. Projects ranged from unloading a semi truck of relief supplies to helping church members and people in the community with their task of cleaning houses.
The main group arrived in Houston on Oct. 10, with the remaining group arriving the next day. Some students continued to arrive even on Sunday and Monday to help.
Impact Church of Christ allowed the team to base all efforts from their building. This building provided a place for all members of the team to meet, rest, clean up and fellowship with each other every night after helping in Galveston.
In 2005, Impact Church of Christ hosted the group from Oklahoma Christian as they helped the residents of Port Arthur after Hurricane Rita hit the Gulf Coast. 
The team woke up early each morning in order to start the relief efforts in Galveston, a 48-mile drive from Houston. Along the drive down Interstate 45, damage from the storm became more evident.
A month ago, Talon writer Ryan Holly reported that the winds during Ike reached 110-mph, the National Hurricane Center said. Even 48 miles away from where the storm’s biggest destruction occurred, many business signs along the interstate did not stand up to these high winds.
Further down the road closer to Galveston, more damage and Galveston Bay came into view. The further the drive, the closer the height of the damage came.
Crossing the bridge onto the island of Galveston, going with the flow of the traffic, the team of buses quickly passed one of Galveston’s boating docks. Damaged boats had been tossed where they were never intended to be. The docks and boardwalks were in shambles.
The speeds slowed as the interstate changed into Broadway, one of the main roads in Galveston. Damage covered both sides of the street. Businesses had emptied their trashed inventory and offices to the side of the roads taking up most of the sidewalks. Piles of garbage, some as high as four or five feet, covered nearly every foot of every block. 
Some stoplights worked. Other intersections were treated as four way stops. Along one stretch of road the designated garbage dump site was visible even over the green temporary fences. The size and number of garbage heaps was staggering.
The buses parked at the Broadway Church of Christ, whose congregation is about 100. As the teams got out of the buses, everyone smelled the aroma of the air. Its intensity was not great, but it was distinct and unpleasant. Flies swarmed near the trash piles.
As we arrived relief volunteers and members of the church were unloading a semi truck full of relief supplies in front of the building. As the group approached the semi, the team formed an assembly line within minutes to help unload the truck. 
Those in the assembly line unloaded cases of water bottles, boxes of clothes items and personal products, shovels and brooms. They were placed outside the church building. Later these supplies would be given out to people of the community.
The church building’s drywall and flooring was being stripped due to the flood waters that went above four feet. Nothing in the building was salvageable. Most of what was inside the building was in front of the building. Some members were around helping with the relief supplies and others helped arranged different jobs for the team to do.
Team leaders divided up jobs and most headed out to different parts of Galveston while others stayed at the church building to help pass out items and serve hot meals to the community. Some started helping members who still needed some assistance with the inside of their houses as well as the outside. They removed drywall and floors. They moved refrigerators with rotted food to the side of the road to be picked up with the rest of the garbage.
As the late afternoon approached, the team regrouped at the church building before heading back into Houston for dinner. They had seen damage and trash all day long. Some had smelled disgusting aromas as they worked inside houses that had been damaged by flood waters.
The team rested and was up again the next day to start helping the people of Galveston. Since it was Sunday, the team worshiped together next to the Broadway church building. As traffic passed along Broadway, they sang songs of praises, offered prayers of thanksgiving and petitions and then took communion. The worship encouraged the team to do what they could; being confident that God would be glorified through their actions.
The team then split into groups, some going to houses out in the community and others walking the neighborhoods near the church building to offer any assistance the people might need. Soon, everyone was hard at work. They removed more drywall and floors. They cleared lawns and sidewalks of debris. Garbage piles accumulated more trash.
To help businesses in Galveston, the entire team ate dinner at local restaurants later in the evening before driving back to Houston to rest for the night.
They spent the last day of work helping residents of Galveston with cleanup around their homes. The team assisted many homes. A student even reported that someone tried to pay them for their services thinking they weren’t volunteering.
There is a lot of work still to be done in Galveston. The efforts of Oklahoma Christian students made an impact in many ways despite the short trip of limited working hours.
Students encouraged members of the church by providing a cheerful heart during difficult times. They gave residents of Galveston, complete strangers, renewed hope in the midst of turmoil and depression that can creep up at any moment.
