Mormon Helping Hands

Cooper left early Saturday morning for Sour Lake,

a residential community in Houston,

for flood debris removal.

Wall boards, carpet, pads, furniture, appliances...

President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, visited with government officials and ministered to local Mormons and residents in the Caribbean Friday, September 15, 2017, in the wake of destructive Hurricane Irma, which battered the islands a week ago

“I was with some people [today] who lost a great deal,” he said. “I looked in their eyes and I could see that these apparently ordinary people were on the rock of the Lord Jesus Christ. They saw the light even in the darkness. And so, things for them will work out. Whatever it takes, they will rebuild. And they will not just rebuild their houses and their businesses. What they will build is a love of the Lord Jesus Christ and a feeling that no matter what comes, they will feel cheerful and confident."

Sunday morning church services

Workers from the New York Fire Department joined his group

DESERET NEWS Sept. 9-10 marked the beginning of the anticipated influx of Church volunteers to Houston from areas not affected by flooding. Hurricane Harvey, possibly the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history, had a large impact on much of the Texas Gulf Coast.

Harvey actually created two floods for many residents. The torrential rain inundated many homes with up to 50 inches falling in a three to four-day time span. Shortly after, the massive amounts of runoff flowing into area rivers and reservoirs caused even more damage as they overflowed their banks.

The Church structure, however, allows quick response on the part of local units. According to Elder J. Devn Cornish, a General Authority Seventy on the scene, “By the time headquarters could make contact with people, they were well into the process of ministering and rescuing and recovering.”

Over the weekend of Sept. 9-10, large scale recovery efforts organized by stakes in Austin and Dallas headed to Houston. Additionally, stakes from San Antonio went to Corpus Christi and others from Southern Louisiana traveled to the Beaumont area.

Approximately 1,300 volunteers came from 5 stakes in Austin and an additional 2,300 came from the Dallas area to work in Houston. These combined with the local Houston area members already engaged in clean-up work totaled approximately 10,000 Mormon Helping Hands volunteers in service in one weekend. Houston Church members have been working continuously to alleviate local needs since the flood took place.

The City of Houston is no stranger to the work of Mormon Helping Hands. In 2015, Church members rendered such valuable service to the community that then-mayor Annise Parker proclaimed June 24 as Mormon Helping Hands Day in the City of Houston.

Typically, out-of-town volunteers leave their homes early Saturday morning and upon arrival immediately go to work for the remainder of the day. They eat, sleep, have a brief sacrament meeting Sunday morning in their work clothes, go back to work and later in the afternoon return to their homes.