{"id":48589,"date":"2025-07-08T11:48:17","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T11:48:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/48589\/"},"modified":"2025-07-08T11:48:17","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T11:48:17","slug":"camp-mystic-families-honor-houston-flood-victims-with-song-and-remembrance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/48589\/","title":{"rendered":"Camp Mystic families honor Houston flood victims with song and remembrance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><strong>HOUSTON<\/strong> \u2013 Emotions ran high at a memorial service held Monday night at the Church of St. John The Divine in River Oaks, where hundreds gathered to honor the Camp Mystic girls impacted by the devastating floods in Central Texas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Camp Mystic campers said they are united by song \u2014 a tradition they carry throughout their time at camp. Even during the chaotic evacuation after the flood, many rescued campers sang together on a bus, using music to calm and support one another.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Now, song is how they are remembering the girls who tragically lost their lives or remain missing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cMystic made me who I am,\u201d said Lauren McGrew -Hitzhusen, a former camper and counselor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cI really love the camp. It\u2019s my home away from home,\u201d shared Madeline Vacher, another camper. She added that many of the girls lost were sisters of her cabin mates.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The flood destroyed the campgrounds, including the cabin where 8-year-old Stella Gulledge once stayed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cI\u2019m really sad about what happened at Camp Mystic, and I wish it never happened,\u201d Stella said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Inside the packed sanctuary, families prayed for the girls and others whose lives were forever changed by the floods. Many wore white and wrapped trees in green ribbons as symbols of the camp\u2019s sisterhood.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Vacher shared how she wants the girls to be remembered, \u201cby keeping them in your thoughts and prayers, making sure they\u2019re not forgotten, and everyone\u2019s remembered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Kerr County officials said the floods claimed the lives of 27 campers and a counselor. Ten campers and one counselor remain unaccounted for.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Despite the tragedy, campers remain committed to honoring their sisters and the spirit of Camp Mystic through song and community.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cWe sing all the time \u2014 at breakfast, lunch, silly songs \u2014 it\u2019s part of who we are,\u201d Lauren said. \u201cMystic made me who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">For these campers, music is more than just a tradition \u2014 it\u2019s a way to heal, remember, and stay connected.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 Emotions ran high at a memorial service held Monday night at the Church of St. John&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":48590,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[31674,37143,37144,4345,37142,358,3187],"class_list":{"0":"post-48589","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-camp-mystic","9":"tag-church-of-st-john-the-divine","10":"tag-hill-county-flooding","11":"tag-houston","12":"tag-prayer-vigil","13":"tag-texas","14":"tag-tx"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}