By Jesse Wright

Jesse.wright@panews.com

 

Pastors are not supposed to leave their flocks during a time of need.

So, it’s no surprise that Michael Nichols, the pastor at Breath of Life Ministries, did not evacuate prior to the flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey.

But Nichols did more than stay. During the worst of the Aug. 30 flooding, with his phone blowing up with phone calls asking for help, Nichols waded out into the floodwaters to save people.

“So the parishioners, they started calling, asking what they could do to get out,” he said.

Nichols said he doesn’t recall how many families he helped.

“I don’t quite remember,” he said. “We had 18 home sin our church were flooded so that’s 18 different families.”

He knows he worked until his truck flooded and died. He had three families left.

“It was too deep and water buried the truck,” he said. “But the three families we were not able to get out, we were able to call around and got some boats to them.”

Nichols and his wife moved to Port Arthur as a calling from God. They moved into town 12 years ago, two months before Rita and since then, they have tried to model their church, at 3700 Proctor St., as a refuge.

It is that more than ever now, as dozens of people, made homeless from Tropical Storm Harvey, shelter within the church walls.

“Our church is holding almost 30 people,” he said. “Most of the ones in our church now are the tougher case scenarios. They’re up there in age, maybe 50 or 60 years old, and they lost everything they have. Their homes, their vehicles, everything. So, it will be a long commitment (fro us.) Maybe a two-or-three month commitment or maybe longer for some.”

But Nichols is not going anywhere.

Nichols is also repairing a church in Sabine Pass that was underwater and he sustained some damage to the Proctor Street church, too. But of course the families are his priority and they are the victims.

“It’s been rough,” he said. “The storm’s not been easy.”

Besides the people who are living in the church, Nichols is offering meals to anyone who walks up.

Nichols credits volunteers and donations to his ability to help people.

“We’ve received a semi-truck load of stuff donated since the storm,” he said. “Yesterday we served 2,121 meals out of a parking lot.”

He added he’s giving away a semi-truck load of water daily.

The people who walk up are neighbors and they are victims.

“Within three square miles, every home was flooded,” Nichols said. “I think food would be an issue for a while. Even if Walmart is open, that doesn’t mean people have the money or a car to get there.”

Because he is still feeding so many people, Nichols said he is taking donations of food.

“Food is still an issue in our neighborhood,” he said. “I think it’s one of the greatest impacted neighborhoods because the poverty is so high. There was no insurance and everyone flooded.”

He explained he’s happy his church can serve the whole area.

“Yeah, its everybody in the neighborhood,” he said. “Just come. A church is just a refuge and a place to get food and anything they need.”

Breath of Life of course is not the only charitable organization and Nichols is not the only one making sacrifices for others and Nichols said he’s been pleased to see local help neighbors have been offering to neighbors.

“We’ve seen some devastation, but we saw some great things come from that,” he said. “There’s a rain of destruction and there’s a rain of harvest. Both rains destroy some things, but in a rain of harvest, things live afterward.”

Nichols said he’s been pleased with the outpouring of support and generosity in the aftermath of Harvey.

“Before the rain even stooped, I called everyone I knew across the country and said I need air mattresses, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap and within a couple of days I had everything we needed to support these families.”

When Nichols arrived in Port Arthur, he arrived only months prior to Hurricane Rita.

Now, facing months of rebuilding and work, Nichols is cleaning up after a second storm.

Nichols has said he felt God called him to be in Port Arthur. And so, even as he dries out after this latest storm, he doesn’t believe he should be anywhere else on earth.

“I’ve not questioned it, not one time,” he said. “The way I look at it, there’s more people to help now.”