Who knew that when we booked our Texas SOWER projects for the winter to “stay in areas that are warm” we would be living through lots of cold, damp, windy, and frosty weather from time to time. But the Big Texas Freeze in February while we were at Texas Baptist Encampment at Palacios, TX. was our biggest surprise! Roughly three full days and nights of below freezing weather with no city electricity or water. We were so thankful to be able to live in our trailer for shelter. We had battery power, propane for heat, and and water from our storage tank.
We prepared as much as we could for the cold after learning what was coming our way. We insulated and bagged all the water spigots we could find, we left water trickling in most of the buildings, we insulated and wrapped our RV water lines, and made sure generators were working.
This is what most mornings looked like out our window. We called off work for Monday and Tuesday with orders to take care of ourselves and each other. Everyone was so kind and generous with their help and equipment. A couple of generators were being passed around the camp to be sure every that could had charged batteries.
We hooked up our trailer to our truck and let it run for about 5 hours at a time. This trickle charged our batteries and keep us warm with the furnace running and also gave us lights. One night I left the trailer plugged to the truck with out it running – it drained the truck battery. Chris drove over and jumped my truck with his – and we were good to go again!
Propane was available in Palacios for the first few days till they ran out. We drove to Bay City and had to stand in line for 1 1/2 hours to get re-filled. We were thankful for the businesses that supplied the propane and stayed open extra hours to help so many people.
The February 13–17, 2021 North American winter storm, unofficially referred to as Winter Storm Uri, was a major winter and ice storm that had widespread impacts across the United States, Northern Mexico, and parts of Canada. The storm resulted in over 170 million Americans being placed under various winter weather alerts being issued by the National Weather Service in the United States across the country and caused blackouts for over 9.9 million people in the U.S. and Mexico, most notably the 2021 Texas power crisis.
We stayed warm and cozy in our trailer. So thankful we have this lifestyle! Nearby families living in houses had no electric, no heat, no water. They lived and slept in their houses with temperatures of 25 degrees or less!
We tried to get some needed supplies at the local grocery store and/or Walmart. This is what the shelves looked like through out the store for about two weeks.
The camp continued to provide meals for the volunteers even without electricity. They fired up the big propane cook stoves and kept everyone well fed. It was a highlight of each day to get together as a family and share “cold stories” with each other.
There were about ten leaks (a couple of major pipe bursts) that our team jumped on right away. Rob was tankful that he had a team of guys ready to work and could tackle these leaks ASAP! We can all add plumbing to our skill sheets now – or mark an increase in our knowledge factor!
The Survivors!
Ralph & Lella Bledsoe 
John & Druann Bauer 
Chris & Barb Schanan 
Doug & Trish Wilhelm (GL) 
Michael & Jackie Barber 
Richard & Melody Miller 
Dale & Kimberly Kapsar 
Keith & Linda McNeely 
Evan & Jaquie Asby 
Dennis & Lorree Johnson
What a joy to share this adventure and these memorable moments with this special group of SOWERS. We are thankful to our Lord for being with us and providing all that we needed during these days. Looking forward to more adventures with Him in the coming months!