Camp Bandina youth campers return to Houston, share prayers for missing Camp Mystic girls in wake of deadly flooding

HOUSTON — A charter bus pulling into the parking lot of Garden Oaks Church of Christ in North Houston on Saturday brought a deep sigh of relief for many families.

The bus carried a group of young campers returning home from Camp Bandina, a Christian youth camp in Bandera, Texas, following intense flooding in the Texas Hill Country.

Heavy rainfall swelled the nearby Guadalupe River, and the floodwaters, along with a fallen tree, temporarily blocked the road out of the camp. Among the Camp Bandina families reunited on Saturday was Houston mom Erica White, who embraced her 13-year-old daughter Madisyn after several hours of being worried.

“I missed y’all. I’m so glad y’all made it back safely,” Erica White said tearfully as she hugged her daughter.

She described the emotional rollercoaster leading up to that moment.

“We were just praying, and last night was rough, but I was so happy when I could track her on Life360, and see that they were heading back, so very grateful,” she said.

While the children at Camp Bandina made it home safe, fears lingered after devastating news from Camp Mystic, located less than 30 miles north. In the wake of Friday’s flooding, officials there say more than 20 campers are still missing.

“We were initially shocked, and we were a little surprised, but we did worry about it,” Madisyn White said.

Bryce Powers, the youth minister at Garden Oaks Church of Christ who accompanied the group to Camp Bandina, said the events at Camp Mystic were heartbreaking to learn about.

“It really shook a lot of the adults. We tried to keep the kids unaware of it. We were sheltered in place for a little bit while we were at Camp Bandina,” Powers said.

Now back in Houston, Powers said their thoughts remain with those still affected by the flooding at Camp Mystic — and the families still waiting to be reunited with their children.

“We’re blessed to have had avoided the storm. We’re blessed to be here, and we do send our thoughts and prayers out to the families of the people who were lost and who they’re still looking for,” he said.

Powers called it nothing short of divine timing that allowed their group to leave safely, once the water started to recede near them Saturday morning.

“Nature slowed it down just enough for us to get up out of there,” he added.

As families across Texas continue to pray for those still unaccounted for, parents like Erica White are counting their blessings — and holding their children a little tighter.