Hurricane and Tropical Storm Harvey hit my state and community pretty hard. For those of us in the Greater Houston area, this wasn’t so much a wind event as it was a rain event. And it was epic. We had a few tornados touch down but this storm was all about the rain. Thirty-three trillion gallons of rain fell in just a few days and many homes were flooded. And this storm did not discriminate.
As the world watched, donations and financial contributions started pouring into the area. I witnessed the kindness of strangers. I saw neighbors helping neighbors. One woman I know managed to serve approximately 1,500 meals to first responders, families, and volunteers within days of the storm. Another woman turned her Facebook page into a community outpost where you could go and get information, ask questions and get answers.
As the rain relentlessly pounded our city, phone calls and text messages were being exchanged by Cypress, Texas area pastor, Michael Lehmann and New Orleans associate pastor, Shawn Rich. Plans were being made to dispatch Vineyard Mercy Response to the area to offer help to families devastated by the storm.
I was absolutely amazed by the organization, the volunteers who traversed through some pretty treacherous roads to help families begin rebuilding their lives. I listened to their stories and was amazed at the heart these people had to serve and that’s how this documentary came about.
This story is about the volunteers. They are the heroes. People stopped their own lives to come help people. All people. Didn’t matter your race or ethnicity, your social class, your religion or lack thereof, none of that matter. These heroes came to help people put their lives back together.
It’s what mercy looks like.
Enjoy the trailer.
The film will be released on Thanksgiving Day.
#ThisWomanKnows #VolunteersAreSuperHeroes #VineyardMercyResponse
Lisa N. Alexander is the author and founder of This Woman Knows and What Million-Dollar Brands Know. She is an award-winning filmmaker, director, producer, and writer and is the owner of PrettyWork Creative.
