Juliet and Scott Weldin clung to the rafters of their home as floodwaters rose around them. Miraculously, the couple survived. But the loss was still immense, too heavy to bear. The waters had stolen their home, the lives of their two faithful dogs, and the familiar life they had built for themselves in Kerrville, Texas.
For a woman used to being the helper, being on the receiving end of such help did not come easily. Her friends repeatedly urged her to visit a Lutheran World Relief-supported distribution site for survivors. Finally, she agreed. What she found there was more than supplies.
"They make you feel like you're not alone in this and that I belong here," Juliet said. "There is peace and calmness. You can feel the love."
That love came from you.
In the midst of unfathomable loss, your love was there.
Juliet Weldin, a recipient of your love, lost everything during the Texas flooding.
The Weldins were not alone in their sorrow. They were among thousands of our neighbors impacted by catastrophic flooding that tore through Texas Hill Country on July 4, 2025. In less than an hour, the Guadalupe River rose 25 to 50 feet, flooding 100 miles of riverbanks. The disaster claimed 139 lives — including 27 from a girls’ summer camp — and left behind incomprehensible heartbreak.
READY BEFORE THE WATERS ROSE
Because supplies were already in place, your love — working through our trusted partner Catholic Charities of San Antonio (CCOSA) — reached our neighbors within just 12 hours.
LWR Quilts and Personal Care Kits were among the very first supplies distributed. At a client-choice center, families could "shop" for exactly what they needed, keeping their dignity intact during their darkest days. Every kit went so quickly that our partner began assembling their own to keep meeting needs.
Your compassion added up to something remarkable. You provided more than 2,600 of our most vulnerable neighbors with:
Your generosity also equipped emergency shelters and provided essentials and direct financial support to more than 1,000 people.
STANDING WITH LOCAL CHURCHES
Your love reached even further, through the faithful hands of the Southwestern Texas Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Together, we walked alongside congregations already rooted in these hurting communities — churches that knew their neighbors by name and could reach families that official aid often misses.
For more than 100 households, your gift arrived as something simple and deeply personal: a gift card for food, fuel or medicine. For families who feared asking for help, or who could not safely access government assistance, that small act of trust meant everything. It said, plainly, you are seen. You are not forgotten.
Your love surrounded the caregivers, too. In the aftermath of disaster, the people who carry others often carry the heaviest burdens of all. Pastors and lay leaders drove long miles, sat with the grieving and comforted the frightened — all while grieving their own losses. So, your generosity provided stipends to keep them going and offered spiritual care and quiet retreats where more than 25 clergy and leaders could rest, heal and be reminded that someone was caring for them.
ACCOMPANYING OUR NEIGHBORS IN TEXAS FOR THE LONG TERM
One year later, Juliet and Scott are rebuilding on the same property in Kerrville — only this time, eight feet higher. But for the Weldins, and our other Texas neighbors, rebuilding is only one step in a long road to recovery, one that can take years to traverse. And grief and trauma can be unwelcome companions for a lifetime.
“When it rains, it’s very traumatic,” Eric Sandoval, who managed the Kerrville distribution center, shares. “As soon as it starts, people start worrying, hoping it’s not happening again.”
That is why your love is doing more than helping our Texas neighbors recover — it is helping them prepare. Across the synod, congregations are being equipped with the supplies and tools they need to respond the moment crisis strikes close to home. And in five communities, your generosity is helping build regional resiliency hubs — trusted, ready places stocked and prepared to serve when the next storm comes. Faithful leaders are being trained in disaster response, spiritual first aid and compassion care, so that when disaster strikes again, hope will already be waiting.
YOUR LOVE ON THE READY
Disasters are striking with greater frequency and force. With your support, we are preparing across the United States before disaster strikes. Relief supplies are pre-positioned with partners in 15 high risk states so that your love can be at the ready when our neighbors need it most.
Because of you, we can stay for the long haul. Alongside local partners, we help communities rebuild stronger and more resilient than before. Your generosity helps us reach neighbors most vulnerable in disasters — including people who are unhoused, veterans, low-income families and children, and older adults. It also strengthens those on the front lines, providing trauma support for clergy and care for first responders who are so often survivors themselves.
BE READY WITH US
Ensure your love is waiting the next time a neighbor faces disaster. Here’s how you can help today!
- Make Personal Care Kits. One of our most requested items during emergencies, Personal Care Kits bring comfort and critical relief for our neighbors in need. Go here to learn more.
- The Quilt & Kit Shipping Fund is an excellent way to support the journey of Personal Care Kits and get your congregations involved. It costs $4 to transport, process, store and ship each quilt and kit. Go to lwr.org/shippingfund to add your support.
- When disaster strikes, our neighbors need our love — immediately. Consider becoming a Faithful Neighbor! The sustaining love of Faithful Neighbors, our monthly donors, allows us to respond quicker in times of immediate crisis. But it also allows us to stay longer, helping neighbors build back stronger and more resilient to future crises.
One year later, our neighbors in Texas are still healing. And thanks to you, they are not healing alone.