BASTROP (ABP) — Dan Franklin couldn’t even smell the scent of smoke Friday that entailed the destruction of about 1,500 homes, the burning of about 34,000 acres and the loss of two lives. The volunteer chaplain with the Texas Baptist chaplaincy office nevertheless witnessed the personal toll of the Texas fires in Bastrop County north of Austin.

Texas Baptist men feed firefighters in Bastrop. (TBM photo)

“One lost his house,” he said of a man he met at a small camp where members of the Texas Baptist Men Disaster Relief organization fed firefighters. “He is talking pretty well, but I know it’s hard. He needed to talk a lot. It’s a horrible situation.”

Franklin said firefighters struggle with hard decisions such as deciding which house to save when there is time to save only one.

Senior Pastor Richard Shahan of Calvary Baptist Church in Bastrop lost his home, as did several others in his church. He and his family are staying with a member of his congregation until they can move to an apartment provided by his insurance company.

When he received word of the fire, Shahan was told he had half an hour before the fire took his home. His attitude has been one of acceptance and turning to God. So have those of church members he has spoken to who had even less time to escape.

“Okay, we're like Job,” Shahan said. “The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

The fire was 60 percent contained by Monday [Sept. 12], although other fires continued to burn throughout Texas.

In the week leading up to Saturday [Sept. 10], the Texas Forest Service responded to 179 fires that have burned 170,686 acres.

Authorities say wildfires roaring across Texas are coming slowly under control. (TBM photo)

A fire in Cass County in East Texas burned about 40,500 acres and destroyed 28 homes. It is 80 percent contained. The Riley Road Fire northwest of Houston burned about 19,000 acres, is 75 percent contained and has destroyed at least 59 homes.

An extreme drought situation in Texas has set the state aflame. Out of 254 Texas counties, 250 have reported burn bans, but anything from a welder’s slag to a spark from a chain striking the road have been known to cause fires, Texas Forest Service representatives have said.

Those dry conditions and high winds made the Bastrop Complex Fire explode to more than 1,000 acres within a few hours, Pastor Raymond Edge of First Baptist Church in Bastrop said.

“In the afternoon, around 3 p.m., a member called and said, ‘Because of the fire I need to get out.’” Edge said. “I said, ‘What fire?’ We didn’t know about it downtown.… Some got out with what they had on — it was that quick.”

Within the next few days, it would be the central topic for the thousands displaced. People would meet each other in the area grocery stores and hug and cry together in the aisles, Edge said.

“It has touched the entire community,” Edge said.

With the fire more under control, cleanup may be next for the area, Dick Talley, disaster relief director for Texas Baptist Men, said.

Talley said the focus of the fire is now on hotspots in the interior. Neighborhoods in Bastrop are slowly opening back up. He said only about 260 people were in area shelters as of Sept. 9.

“You’ve got a lot of people who are in shock right now,” Talley said. “The biggest thing is to pray for the victims and the workers. Most are volunteer firefighters. They’re all tired and worn out.”

For now Talley said the best way people can help — along with prayer — is monetary donations. It is difficult to tell what will be needed at any given moment, he explained, and many of the supplies that people traditionally donate can be a burden on families who have no place to store them.

Edge said First Baptist Church in Bastrop has about three warehouses full of clothing. Area churches including First Baptist Church in Austin are holding special offerings to bring relief.

Edge said his church plans to use land for a planned expansion of the church as a staging area for chainsaw gangs to help clear away debris.

“It has been quite a disaster for us,” Edge said.

Matthew Waller is county government reporter for the San Angelo Standard Times. This article was written as a free-lance assignment for Associated Baptist Press.

ABILENE–Hardin-Simmons University student Jacob Allen is in critical condition at Hendrick Medical Center after he was shot in the head and the leg Sept. 7 while working at the Mesquite Square Apartments in Abilene.

Allen, a senior business major from Brownwood, and another HSU student, Josh Steed, a junior business major from San Angelo, were on duty at the front desk just after 5 p.m. Wednesday when, according to police, a 70-year-old man, a resident of the apartment complex, began firing shots at the two students.

Jacob was shot once in the head and once in the leg. Steed struck the assailant with a chair, then retrieved the gun, hid it behind the office and called 9-11 for police and medical help.

As word of the incident spread, HSU students, faculty and staff gathered at the hospital in support of the two victims.

Kelly Pigott, HSU chaplain and associate professor of church history, said, "Jacob is well loved. Many students and friends were at the hospital last night to support him and Josh and their families. We are praying for them."

"We should remember to pray for the man who wielded the gun, also," he said. "There is something going on there that needs healing. We are just hoping that overall healing takes place."

During a 9/11 memorial service Thursday in Logsdon Chapel, HSU Provost Tommy Brisco asked those gathered to remember the victims of 9/11 and to also lift up Allen and his family in prayer.

Police are calling Steed a hero for his actions in subduing the gunman.

Incoming freshmen at Texas Baptist universities were active in making a difference in their new found communities, even before they began classes.

More than 150 East Texas Baptist University students spent their last Saturday of the summer serving others in the Marshall community. ETBU students divided into 16 groups and performed a variety of service projects, both near campus and throughout the city of Marshall.

New students participated in S.M.A.S.H. (Students Making a Second Home) activities in order to be introduced to ETBU.

Blair Prevost, director of student activities, said: "Community service is an important tradition and part of college life at ETBU. Individual students, student organizations and various sports teams all intentionally incorporate this significant part of the Christian life into what they do. As such, we want to make sure we introduce the idea of service and community involvement to all our new students from the beginning of their time at ETBU."

While learning the culture and traditions of Dallas Baptist University during the school's Student Welcome and Trans-ition Week, students experienced servant leadership firsthand.

More than 150 new students volunteered to help with community service projects. Dallas Baptist University's Nikki Hixson was part of a team that served on a painting crew at Habitat for Humanity Dallas during the school's SWAT week.

More than 600 students participated in service projects at 19 local ministries and organizations across the DFW Metroplex.

The student projects ranged from stocking shelves in local food pantries and landscaping to playing with children and visiting with residents in a nursing home.

Approximately 80 Howard Payne University students joined with community organizations to work on four projects—the Corinne T. Smith Animal Center, Lake Brownwood, the Brownwood Area Community Garden and a historic home being renovated for use by the Heart of Texas Christian Women's Job Corps.

Thirty-five HPU students served the Christian Women's Job Corps by aiding in renovations to a two-story, historic home on Center Avenue.

East Texas Baptist University freshman Lauren Fedor of Canton painted a piece of playground equipment at William B. Travis Elementary School in Marshall.

"The students got us off to a good start," said Bettie Evans, director of the organization. "Several of the students were asking if they could come back and help some more, so we are looking forward to working with them in the future."

Incoming Baylor University freshmen did their project during orientation in July.

They partnered with the Texas Hunger Initiative and the Food Planning Task Force of McLennan County to canvass Waco neighborhoods to increase awareness and participation in the Summer Food Service Program to ensure all children had access to healthy and nutritious meals during their summer break from school.

Many children have little to eat when school is out.

LUBBOCK—In the Lubbock-Cooper school district, seniors teach a seminar on a topic of their choosing. Kelsey Vines' turn came Sept. 2, 2008.

"You can lead the class on anything you want to, and she led the class on Matthew 6:34—which I don't think is a coincidence," said her father, Thom Vines. "It says, 'Don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself.'"

A few hours later, Kelsey was killed. She was driving home from school when the steering controls on a 48,000-pound dump truck broke and hit the car she was driving.

Kayla, her twin sister, was sitting next to her, but her physical injuries were limited to an ankle and a few scrapes and bruises.

The days that followed were traumatic for all the members of the Vines family, as well as for Kelsey's boyfriend, John Michael Vestal.

Her father turned to Scripture to heal his broken heart and bruised faith.

"As much as anything in the past years and months, it's Proverbs 3:5 that I keep coming back to. We don't know why this happened. We certainly don't like that it happened. But we don't lean on our own understanding. We trust God," Vines said.

That deep-seated trust led Vines and Vestal to write a book, Tragedy and Trust: Can You Still Trust God After Losing a Child?

Vines describes Vestal as "without a doubt the single best human being I've ever met—a deep, deep abiding faith and rock solid."

While he is glad his daughter chose to spend her last 11 months of life in a relationship with such an exemplary young man, Vestal's character also is the source of some pain.

"Kelsey was already a Christian, but we watched her faith flower with him. And what they lost together, could have had together, that's part of the pain," he admitted.

Vestal's spiritual maturity beyond his years served as a steadying influence for Vines after his daughter's death. "After the accident, as much as anybody, he became my spiritual teacher," he said.

Vines wrestled with the question: "Why do you trust God?"

"I thought long and hard about this, and then I suddenly realized the answer was right there in front of me all the time. The reason we trust him is because he loves us," Vines said.

"Why does he love us? Because he created us, and we are his children. Just as I love my children, he loves us on an infinite scale.

"So, I can accept it. I don't understand why this happened —how this was part of his will. But I know he loves us, and therefore, for some reason I do not understand, this is the way it had to be."

Even so, Vines acknowledged he still misses his 18-year-old daughter, even after three years have passed.

"To be sure, there's still human grief. The first thing we think of each morning when we wake up is Kelsey. The last thing we think of at night is Kelsey. Every day I have one or two of what I call 'Kelsey moments.'

"Despite all that, we love our Lord, and that's what keeps us going. And I remind myself every day that I will see her again," he said. "We will always have grief. On this side of the grave, it will never be over, but what awaits us beyond is wonderful.

"The last three years have been the most horrible and most wonderful time of my life.

"The horrible is easily apparent—we lost our child, which for a parent is as bad as it gets. But the growth and the coming to the Lord and the joy we've found in that has been wonderful."

Becky Vines finds solace in knowing her daughter is in the arms of her Heavenly Father. She recalls stories that remind her of her daughter's faith.

One story is of a young man Kelsey offered a Bible to at the end of her junior year in high school.

He refused, but on the second day of school following the summer break, he asked Kelsey if he could still have the Bible.

Days later, he was at the visitation at the funeral home asking her family if they wanted it returned.

"I told him to wear it out," her father said.

Kelsey's parents agreed healing has been a process.

"I know where she is, and that gives me peace. I say, 'I know where you are, and I know you're safe and that I just can't call you on the phone.' And that's the way I have to handle it," her mother said.

For her father, a couple of dates mark his healing. The first is July 22, 2009.

"The accident site had always been the place where Kelsey died. … On July 22, it just popped into my mind, 'That's where Kelsey went to heaven.' Not where she died, but where she went to heaven.

"It took me 10 months, but that was a real turning point—when I was able to look at the place not as a negative, but a positive. I go by that spot nearly every day, and it's still painful, but it's also a place of hope," he said.

The second marker was last fall when he made contact with the driver and the owner of the dump truck to let them know of his forgiveness of them.

Vestal, now 22 and a teacher and coach in the Lubbock-Cooper school district, said the book allowed him to track the spiritual journey and see God's hand in his life.

"It's been cool to see how far God has taken us. It's three years later, and we're still here. God has a plan for our lives, and the plan God had for our lives did not stop. It continues on. The plan God had for our lives did not change at all," he said.

Just as all their lives have continued, her mother said, Kelsey lives on as well.

"People still send her Facebook messages: 'I got baptized today because of you.' Kids go on mission trips and tell her story, so she's still giving testimony for the Lord."

Figuring out why is not something Vines worries about anymore.

"We don't know, but we trust—that's the core of the book, the core of our experience," he said.

The book is available on Amazon.com as a paperback and an e-book.

AUSTIN—Texas has the second-highest rate of hunger in the nation, the U. S. Department of Agriculture announced Sept. 7. And according to a new report sponsored in part by the Texas Hunger Initiative , hunger even exists in some of the state’s wealthiest counties.

According to USDA, 18.8 percent of Texas households, or one in five were at risk of hunger between 2008 and 2010.

Coming on the heels of the announcement, the Texas Food Bank Network, the Texas Hunger Initiative and First Choice Power released “Hunger by the Numbers: A Blueprint for Ending Hunger in Texas.”

The 508-page report includes a scorecard for each of the 254 counties in Texas, as well as recommended resources for funding and programs to fight at a local, statewide and national level.

“Hunger by the Numbers: A Blueprint for Ending Hunger in Texas” incorporates the newest national data on hunger made available by Feeding America, the nation’s network of food banks, along with U.S. Census data and statewide data on usage of federal and state programs.

“As Texans read this report, they will learn some startling facts about the size of the hunger problem in their state, which currently ranks second-worst in the nation when it comes to hunger," said Jeremy Everett, executive director of the Texas Hunger Initiative, a partnership involving the Baylor University School of Social Work’s Center for Family and Community Ministries and the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission .

“They also may be surprised to learn the extent of the hunger problems in their own back yards.”

In Harris County, where Houston is located, 18 percent of the people are food insecure. In Hidalgo County, in the lower Rio Grande Valley, the number is 24 percent.

Even Montgomery County, home to The Woodlands and some of the state’s most affluent ZIP codes, has a food insecurity rate of 15 percent, meaning one in seven residents is at risk of hunger.

For more information and to view each county’s hunger scorecard, visit www.firstchoicepower.com/HungerGapReport .

ETBU awarded foundation grant. The Butterfield Memorial Foundation awarded a $50,000 grant to East Texas Baptist University. The grant from the Christian charitable foundation serving community health needs will fund scholarships for upper-level nursing students in the Frank S. Groner Endowed Memorial School of Professional Studies. ETBU nursing students who demonstrate a strong commitment to the Christian faith and see nursing as a means to use their gifts and skills as a ministry are eligible for Butterfield Memorial Foundation scholarships.

Tillman to direct theological education. The Baptist General Convention of Texas has tapped Bill Tillman, T.B. Maston Professor of Christian Ethics at Logsdon Seminary, to leads its theological education efforts. Tillman began on a part-time basis Aug. 16 while he completes his fall teaching schedule at Logsdon. He will begin serving as full-time director of theological education Jan. 1. Tillman has been the T.B. Maston Professor of Christian Ethics since 2000. He taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1981 to 1997, first as an assistant professor and later as an associate professor. A longtime Texas Baptist leader on education and ethics, Tillman has served on numerous BGCT boards, including the Christian Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Southeastern State College, now Southeastern Oklahoma State University. He earned his doctorate from Southwestern Seminary.

Historical Society event slated for Amarillo. The Texas Baptist Historical Society will hold its annual fall meeting at 11 a.m. Oct. 24 in the Heritage Ballroom A1 of the Amarillo Civic Center. The luncheon meeting will include the election of officers, recognition of the history award winners, and a presentation on Mary Hill Davis by Jennifer Hawks, a student at Baylor University's Truett Theological Seminary. The cost of the luncheon is $10 payable at the door. For reservations, contact Autumn Hendon at the Texas Baptist Historical Collection, autumn.hendon@texasabaptists.org, (972) 331-2235. Deadline for reservations is Oct. 17, and seating is limited.

Baylor core curriculum makes "A" list. Baylor University was one of only 19 institutions nationwide to earn an "A" for its core curriculum, according to a report on the state of general education at the nation's colleges and universities from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. No other Big 12 university and only three other Texas institutions made the "A" list. The study—posted at www.WhatWillTheyLearn.com— looked at curriculum offerings at 1,007 major public and private colleges and universities in all 50 states. Institutions are assigned a letter grade ranging from "A" to "F" based on how many of seven core subjects they require— composition, U.S. government or history, economics, literature, math, science and foreign language at an intermediate level.

• Benji Morrison to Mount Carmel Church in Whitehouse as student pastor.

• Austin Stevenson to Calvary Church in Tyler as student pastor.

• Baptist University of the Américas will hold its fifth annual Eagle Run Oct. 15 to benefit Communities in Schools of San Antonio. Registration opens at 7 a.m., and the run will start at 9 a.m., which will begin and end on the BUA campus. Registra-tion before Oct. 15 is $15, but on the day of the race, registration is $25. BUA students and staff also are involved in the organization's mentoring program. A community health fair will follow the run. For more information, call (210) 924-4338, ext. 207.

• Blake Killingsworth has been named vice president for communications at Dallas Baptist University. He previously served as an assistant to the president for 10 years. He is a member of First Church in Cedar Hill.

• Hardin-Simmons University has added several new faculty members, including Jennifer Asbury, instructor of nursing; Bob Brooks, dean of the HSU School of Music and Fine Arts; Emily Dean, assistant professor of educational studies; Kerri Fisher, assistant professor of social work; Carrie Jones, assistant professor of art; Olivia King, instructor of nursing; Truby Miller, instructor of educational studies; John Reams, visiting professor of woodwinds; Jeremy Rhodes, assistant professor of sociology; Indira Tyler, associate professor of nursing; Janet Viola, associate professor of nursing; and Bryan Yorton, associate professor of philosophy.

Anniversaries

• Bill Killion, 15th, as minister of music at First Church in College Station, Aug. 11.

• First Church in Howardwick, 40th, Oct. 2. Coffee and doughnuts will be served from 9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. Frankie Just, the church's first pastor, will be on hand. Other guests include Doug Dubose, Genoa Goad, Bryan Knowles, Bob Miller, Jim Powell and Robert Griffin. A lunch will be followed by a service at 1:45 p.m. David Stout is pastor.

• Tarrant Association, 125th, Oct. 14. A part of the anniversary celebration will be Faith in Action service weekends set for Oct. 14-16 and Oct. 21-23.

Death

• Herb Weaver, 76, Aug. 30 in Tulsa, Okla. A graduate of Baylor University, he was active in Royal Ambassadors. He served five churches as an RA counselor for a total of 16 years. He worked with Dallas Association to coordinate the wilderness program at Camp Chuala. In 1980, he became RA director for Union Association, directing the leadership training camp from 1982 until 2002. He served as Region 14 director for Texas Baptist Men, and RA/Challengers director and Baptist Men on Missions coordinator for UBA. He co-authored the book 100 Years of Royal Ambassadors. He was a member of South Main Church in Houston. He is survived by his sister, Jana King.

• Dick Baker, 84, Sept. 5 in Dallas. He was a 1950 graduate of Baylor University, his years as a student there interrupted by his voluntary service in the U.S. Navy during the end of World War II. While a student at Baylor, he was a part of the youth revival movement as a music leader and soloist. He began the Baylor Religious Hour Choir that remains an active choir today. He also cowrote the Baylor Fight Song. While attending South-western Seminary, he was minister of music at Birchman Avenue Church in Fort Worth. He left there in 1956 to begin a ministry of music evangelism. He was a member of the Billy Graham Crusade teams in Akron, Ohio, and Madison Square Garden in New York City. Soon after, he joined with his brother, BO, as an evangelistic team. They traveled the United States and the globe preaching the gospel through word and song. When his brother returned to the pastorate in 1973, Baker continued his music evangelism ministry and also served as vice president of Crescendo Music Publications and music coordinator for World Evangelism. In 1980, he became the first minister of music at Prestonwood Church in Dallas. The church grew from 75 members to more than 6,000 over the next 12 years that he served there. He retired from Prestonwood in 1992 and returned to music evangelism until 2007. He began composing songs in 1947 and continued writing until earlier this year, most written with his brother. More than 300 of his songs were published. His accolades include an honorary doctorate from Dallas Baptist Univer-sity and the establishment of the Richard Baker Chair of Music Missions and Evangelism at Southwestern Seminary. He also received the George W. Truett Award for Distinguished Service and the the L.R. Scarbrough Award from the seminary. He was preceded in death by his wife, Ann, and brother, BO. He is survived by his son, Paul; daughter, Lori Simmons; and four grandchildren.

Event

• The second annual Women Leading Women Conference will be held at Pinecrest Church in Silsbee Oct. 8. Rhonda Kelley will be the keynote speaker. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Breakout sessions will include "Reach Women for Christ," "Nurture Women in their Faith," "Involve Women in Kingdom Work," "Support the Church Family" and "Engage the Next Generation." The cost of the conference is $20 until Oct. 1 and $25 if paid after that date. The cost includes lunch. For more information, call (409) 656-7589.

BASTROP—When Leticia Lybarger learned her house burned to the ground, she was devastated. Her property was uninsured, and she had lost everything her family wasn't able to stash quickly in their vehicles.