Texas is the land of the “Big Sky” and that is one of the things I love about living in Texas. Over the last 12 days premature darkness covers the landscape and waterlogged streams, rivers and reservoirs are at their max. Along with the rain, has come damaging hail and powerful winds.

The statistics are in, and over the last 2 weeks in North Texas, we have had 64 homes destroyed, 307 homes with major damage, 135 with minor damage, and another 184 homes categorized as affected, for a total of 780 families impacted by the storms. The hardest hit area was Van, Texas, where an EF3 tornado destroyed 44 homes, and left an additional 30 with major damage, 64 with minor damage, and 33 affected, for a total of 171. The tornado left two people dead and many hospitalized.

Sheds of Hope is developing a two-phase approach to help the residents of Van, Texas, and to bring ongoing relief to those who have lost homes. In Phase 1, our goal is to pre-build and set up 30 Sheds of Hope in Van. If we are able to complete this phase,  we will proceed with Phase 2, by seeking to provide an additional 20 Sheds, for a total of 50.

If your church, business, or group would like to pre-build a Shed of Hope for Van, Texas, let us know by filling in the Sheds of Hope: Van, Texas Pre-build Form. Plans are available for download at Sheds of Hope.

Another week of rain is being predicted, but when the Big Sky returns, may it come with Sheds of Hope on the horizon for the areas devastated by the darkness that brought destruction.