Rick and Tracy Porter moved to Rockport, Texas in March of 2017 to pursue a new line of work after owning a construction company in Magnolia, Texas. When the Hurricane Harvey made landfall on August 17, 2017, the Porters were in the process of growing their new business in Rockport while simultaneously closing the construction company.
Shortly after Harvey, Tracy started working with Samaritan's Purse on the disaster side, while Rick worked with his previous clients in the Houston area to repair their homes from flood damage. Tracy is no stranger to disaster relief or the organization Samaritan's Purse, she actually has been part of a number of efforts since 2006.
Not long after the storm, Sam's Purse had an opening for a supervisor/project manager position. With a leap of faith, Rick applied and became a full-time staff member, and shortly after, Tracy also was added to the staff being part of the mobile home project side of Sam's Purse. The Porter's now had an opportunity to serve their community as a full time job.
When speaking with Tracy about her thoughts about working with her husband in this organization she said "it's awesome...it's definitely brought us closer together, not that we weren't already, but this organization is so much like a family". She also made it a point to add "it's the best time of our lives right now...I think we could continue to do this for at least 10 years". When asked the same question about how it is working in this organization with his wife Rick said "Samaritan's Purse really like to work with the husband and wife duo, and we love it too...it's awesome."
I had the opportunity to speak with Rick quite a few times during our week in Rockport. Our conversations we had were for the most part him really sharing how much of an impact we had on his community and how he was thankful to work with us. I wanted to learn from him what the greatest gain for him personably had been and without hesitation he shared with me "my walk with God has grown exponentially...and to come out of my shell". Rick also wanted to share his perspective of being a resident of Rockport before the hurricane and to be serving his community full time. "Even though our residence before the hurricane had been short term, we had gained friendships in the community...after Harvey and before we starting working with Samaritan's Purse, we saw them lose hope...we were exposed to that devastation". He also noted "the chamber of commerce made it a point to help get the message out" that help was coming and that hope was in the process of being restored. "More and more people started to laugh again, they weren't laughing in the beginning."
Rick charged me with sharing his story, not at all for his own benefit but for the benefit of his community. He told me time and time again the week I was there that I had a platform and an opportunity to share the message. That message being that "there's still work that needs to be done, this rebuild is still going on...we're still here." I am thankful for the perspective Rick shared. I also am glad that I can share about the people of Samaritan's Purse. The week in Rockport was just as impactful on me as I was on it.
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