The photos above are during the flood and after (about a week and a half after it left), I tried to take photos of areas that were close to where the photos our friend had sent us were taken for better perspective. The road is I-10 and was completely under water during and after Hurricane Harvey. These were the pictures you would have seen where it looked like the road signs were in the middle of the ocean. Obviously the water has since receded and the road is fine, but the businesses and homes did not make out as well.

​Flood damage is not something that is always obvious. When we first drove into Houston things looked normal, it certainly did not look like a catastrophic flood had taken place a week and a half before our arrival. The damage that will occur in Florida from Hurricane Irma will be much more obvious, roofs will be ripped off buildings, signs and trees will be toppled, windows will be blown out, and when you visit after the storm it will be evident that destruction occurred. In Houston much of the destruction is hidden until you take a closer look.

In the above set of pictures (top two rows) you can see strip malls, all of the businesses are vacant due to flood damage. All of the individuals who worked at those stores are out of jobs, temporarily or permanently, just depending on what that business decides to do.

The set of pictures in the bottom row should give you an idea of how high the water was after Harvey. It is hard to imagine how high the water was, but the mud marks on the tree and the obvious line in the vegetation alongside the bayou help imagine what it was like. That tree was on the side of the road above the bayou, the water was over the bridge and the road was impassible.

This last set of photos does not need much explaining. Certain areas of the city were hit harder than others, a street may have gotten lucky and just one street over every house flooded. The amount of trash that is created from a flooded house is more than what you see in these photos because the city has done a pretty good job picking up the piles of waste quickly. These piles are most likely from the second or third cleaning of a flooded home, and unfortunately they will not be the last. There are piles of drywall, insulation, and carpeting mixed with appliances, furniture, and personal items. Cars caught in the flooding are most likely unsalvageable and many of the homes will be a compete loss.

​Consider this, only fifteen to twenty percent of the homes in Houston had flood insurance. These families will receive a small amount of disaster assistance, but it will not be enough for them to rebuild what they lost.

Many of the students we met have lost everything, and they did not have much to begin with. Rebuilding for their families will be difficult and tiring, rebuilding for some may not even be in Houston.

This trip gave these children some hope and brought smiles to their faces. This trip was one of the first steps to the rebuilding of Houston, and we were just a small part in this process. Similar trips have been made by other individuals, families, or organizations; some people have been there to help their neighbors clean up the mess from their yards, while others have been there to help at the shelters right after the storm. Each of these small acts of kindness is a step to rebuilding Houston, all of these individuals are key in helping the city recover.

Again, thank you. Each donation we received, big or small, is the start to Houston getting back on it's feet. ❤️ #HoustonStrong ❤️
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The first day we received donations was a little overwhelming, but after a few minutes of putting things into perspective we decided to start with the water. Since it is the heaviest part of the load I worked on moving all of the cases into the trailer over the axles and then figured we would fill in with everything else. 

​Lily and R.J. wanted to get involved so Lily was in charge of making personal care packs and R.J. put together snack packs. I am surprised that he did not eat any of the snacks considering the boy has an endless appetite these days. They are excited because we told them they will be able to pass out the little packs to the kids at the school. 

Tuesday was a huge day for donations, and it was completely overwhelming. When I got to the shop after school, while I was thankful for the generosity, I had no idea how we were going to get everything that had been dropped off sorted and loaded in time. My mother-in-law thankfully stopped by and offered to help me and the kids, we were counting, but soon realized that we needed to just sort and load. Shannon's aunt was there to help us load the final boxes and bags into the trailer, what a relief. 

The district where we are headed has set up a meeting for families who are in need and they will be completing forms so that the process of getting these donations handed out is organized. I know that getting items where they are needed most is the priority of the schools and am grateful that they have been in touch with us about their plans.

Thank you to all of the individuals who have donated  (there are too many to list), EON, Logansport Schools, Maconaquah Schools, Northwestern Schools, Perry Township Schools, US24, Bunker Hill Drag Strip, Circus City Speedway, PNC Bank, Logan Stamping, Creative Promotions, Gundrum Funeral Home, McCord's, Cannan Bible, and Fisher Funeral Home.

In just a couple of days we leave...

I am not an emotional person, I do not cry much, but this past week I haven been teary eyed often. We had this little idea and our communities embraced it and have made this idea so much bigger than we imagined. Our friends and families (locally, in New York, Indianapolis, Canada), the mini sprint racing community, the drag racing community, Logansport Schools, Maconaquah Schools, and the residents of Logansport and surrounding towns have been so generous. Some have been able to give only a little, others have been able to give a lot, but each of these donations will make a difference. Each individual, family, and group who has given has made something special happen.

I promise that I will keep those of you interested updated on our trip, on the people we are able to help, and show you how your generosity will make an impact. I know that the people we meet and give these generous gifts will never meet you, but I know that each of them will appreciate your generosity and desire to give.

Shannon just spoke with the Assistant Superintendent of the district we are headed out to help and she is pumped that we are coming. There are 22,000 kiddos in her district and while we will not be able to help all of them, we will make a difference for a bunch of them. Everyone who has contributed to this effort is making something special happen. I am so lucky to be able to deliver this Trailer to Texas with my family, but each of you has made this possible. Thank you so much for making this small idea so big, this is an amazing gift that we are all giving together.