Greetings from Tyler,

It has been hard to process the magnitude of hardship and suffering by Houston and the communities hardest hit by hurricane Harvey and its aftermath.  It looked like a prelude to tribulation, suffered by rich and poor alike.  The relative calm of the survivors and the quick response by individuals who raced into action with everything from fishing boats to monster trucks has been inspiring, in the middle of a disaster causing incalculable loss of property and possessions.  It will be a long, long time before life is restored to any semblance of normal for the areas hardest hit.  But it’s nothing short of miraculous that the death toll has been relatively limited, and the hundreds of thousands of survivors seem to have been rescued and provided reasonable provisions in such short order. We’ve contacted our host for the Houston area and been assured that all members in the area have been accounted for and are doing fine.

The generosity of fellow Texans dubbed the Redneck Army and the so-called Cajun Navy of fishermen and duck hunters that came in from Louisiana was just phenomenal.  But others have been critical, saying that Texas had the disaster coming for having helped elect Trump.  In due time, we’ll know the degree to which Americans from every state and every walk of life have pitched in to help at this time when so many have lost everything in the way of financial security and a lifetime of collected possessions.

As you must know, Galveston was damaged and flooded to some degree, and was intended to be one of our Feast site locations.  At this point, we don’t know if that will still be possible.  Mr. Ron Harmon, the Feast Coordinator for that site, has so far been unable to contact anyone he’s been dealing with for the auditorium and accommodations.  If it turns out that the location will be unavailable, our facility here in Tyler has been offered, and will likely be used as an alternate site.  We’ll keep you posted.

On the worst day of flooding in Texas, Antifa thugs descended on the campus at Berkeley again, masked and armed with blunt instruments to attack bystanders with no ax to grind.  It’s starting to be an embarrassment to those who were working overtime to say these thugs were fighting against hate.”  It seems more like they’re intent on creating anarchy, and the sooner their identities are exposed and they are put out of business, the better.  There’s a reason they wear masks, and that is so they can commit physical violence and property damage without consequence.  Time after time, whether in Charlottesville or Berkeley, the police get out of their way and allow mayhem to ensue.

They’ve got powerful backers, which not only provide financing, but run interference in the media, trying to turn their mindless thuggery into a virtuous cause.  But nobody’s buying, and their media apologists are going to need to start wearing masks if this nonsense persists.

They are acting as the embodiment of the radical socialists who want capitalism brought down and are furious that the policies that were making that dream a reality are being turned around.  That’s why they hate Donald Trump.  They can’t believe that all the “progress” being made over the past eight years is being turned on its head, and the United States of America might yet revive.

What a nightmare for the media, university professors and leftist politicians!  The pope has gone off the deep end too.  At least he can rest easy that Europe will never be the same, largely thanks to him.  He’s still preaching a bunch of destructive clap trap, whether it be “welcoming all refugees,” apologizing to “gay” activists, or banging on about global warming and “listening to the cries of the planet.”  Maybe he should be writing promos for Al Gore productions.  But it’s not enough.  Those who bet the farm on the destruction of Western Civilization will never be satisfied until the United States has been overrun and economically broken.

The hurricane and resulting floods, never seen in our lifetimes or our parent’s lifetimes, should serve as a warning for what the future may hold for this country if we don’t get back to the principles that allowed God to bless and protect us in the first place.  This catastrophe won’t spell doom for Texas or the United States.  Let’s not only pull together to assist those who need our help.  We need to continue spreading the Word that has become contraband in the institutions of higher learning.  With the evil forces running amok around the globe, God’s hand of protection over us is our only refuge.

Mark Armstrong