July 17, 1987, is a day forever ingrained in his memory. At the time, he was an assistant pastor at a Mesquite church, leading a group of teens at the Pot O' Gold Christian camp near Comfort, Texas. Early that morning, they were told they'd need to evacuate because of the risk of flooding from the Guadalupe River.

Before help could arrive, Texans in hard-hit areas said they tried to save themselves from the deadly floodwaters.

Eyewitness Tonia Fucci recounted the destruction that followed deadly floods in Comfort, central Texas, near the Guadalupe River on July 4.