On June 24, Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley was dumped with 15 inches of rain in just four hours. Everything flooded. Several churches that Fellowship Southwest interacts with for immigrant and refugee ministries were severely damaged. 

Iglesia Bautista Avondale in Harlingen, Texas, sustained the most damage. They lost everything, from their carpet to their pews and other furniture, baby toys, and even church records. Their walls all need to be replaced. They estimate needing $6,500 for repairs.

Jorge Zapata, director of Fellowship Southwest’s Immigrant Relief Ministry, reports that several other churches he works with also are in need of financial support for repairs. Most of the churches do not have flood insurance. These churches are working every day to serve the immigrant populations in their communities, and since the flood, a lot of work has stopped. 

Fellowship Southwest would like to raise the money and volunteers to get these churches operational as quickly as possible. CBF Texas and CBF Global’s disaster response program have already provided some funds toward this end. We are hoping to raise a total of $25,000 to go directly to the flood-damaged churches in the Rio Grande Valley and to replenish some of the emergency response funding provided by CBF. 

If you would like to donate directly to this effort via CBF Disaster Response, designate your gift to the Rio Grande Valley churches in the comment box. 

If you or your church would like to travel to the Valley to help with rebuilding, contact Jorge Zapata.