Christians in the Texas Panhandle lean on their faith after the largest wildfire in state history.
By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle
CANADIAN, Texas — Dead cattle. Burned homes. Scorched prairie.
The largest wildfire in state history made a mess of this small ranching town in the Texas Panhandle, forcing the Canadian Church of Christ to delay its planned Missions Giving Sunday.
“We’ve had to put it off because of our community,” said church member Ruth Ward, who lost her own home in last week’s fire. “And it just breaks my heart.”
Related: ‘God will provide’: Preacher loses house in Texas wildfire
“These missionaries are relying on these funds,” added her husband, Kelley Ward, the elder over the church’s missions program.
The 300-member congregation had hoped to raise $115,000 for sharing the Gospel in places such as Brazil, Chile and South Africa — all mission fields the Wards have visited.
But the elders postponed the special contribution after the Smokehouse Creek Fire burned more than 1 million acres in Texas and Oklahoma — an area 25 times the size of Washington, D.C. The blaze has destroyed as many as 500 homes and other structures and caused two deaths, according to state officials.
The fire touched around 70 percent of Hemphill County and displaced 47 families, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said at a news conference in Canadian, the county seat.
Related: Why a Houston church gave $50,000 to Texas Panhandle wildfire victims
“Whenever there is some tragedy like this, you see Texans pulling together,” Abbott said, citing a need for hay, fencing materials and cattle cubes. “It is heartwarming to see the way that Texans respond. The tragedy of what has been lost is nothing short of catastrophic.”
The Wards are among three Canadian church families whose homes burned to the ground. A fill-in preacher and his wife from Canadian lost their house, too.
Other Canadian members sustained smoke damage at their residences. The cattle death toll at one member’s ranch hit 600.
This story appears in the online edition of The Christian Chronicle.
Photo by Bobby Ross Jr.
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