By Mackenzie Grizzard | Assistant News Editor
When Camp Mystic staff members found themselves trapped on the roof of “Cozy Cabin,” they weren’t listening to the roaring flood quickly inching upward or the thundering storm above — they listened to the faint singing of worship songs from the recreation hall and the whispered prayers of friends beside them.
These whispered prayers are what kept Vicksburg, Miss., sophomore Nancy Clement and her fellow counselors from giving up completely.
“We had no idea the depth of the situation,” Clement said. “It hadn’t really set in that we literally almost died.”
In early July, catastrophic flooding ripped through the Texas Hill Country, primarily in Kerr County and along the Guadalupe River, which runs throughout Central Texas.
Following heavy rainfall and warnings issued by NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center, the Guadalupe River rose to a height of 26 feet in less than an hour, according to Climate Channel meteorologists.
The disaster claimed the lives of over 134 people, with two individuals still missing in the broader Kerr County area. Twenty-seven of these fatalities included those at Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp located directly along the Guadalupe River.
Two counselors arrived back at Baylor for the fall semester, keeping the Camp Mystic name and legacy alive 223 miles away.
Clement served as a counselor and photographer this summer at Camp Mystic — her first time working at a summer camp.
“I grew up hearing about Camp Mystic because my aunt went there,” Clement said. “I was always so interested in it and the faith behind the camp.”
The minute Clement stepped into camp that May, she said she knew it was exactly where she needed to be.
“It’s like this refuge. It’s a place where all these girls go every summer and look forward to it,” Clement said. “It’s so bound by faith, love and community.”
This summer was Clement’s first time at Mystic, but many had held the camp close to their hearts for years. Waco junior Annabelle Kuehl said she hadn’t had a summer without Camp Mystic since she was in second grade.
“This was my third summer as a counselor, but I’ve been a camper for 9 years,” Kuehl said. “They pour so much into you that you kind of want to give back.”
Clement began the first week of July with just as much excitement — new term, new campers and new memories. She spent the first few days snapping pictures and getting new campers settled into their homes for the week.
In the early morning hours of July 4, Clement and her cabin were startled awake by a storm raging outside. She didn’t think much of it, but the thunder kept her up nonetheless.
Around 3 a.m., Clement said the program director, who was a college student herself, reached the staff cabin through a radio, informing them through tears that the camp was starting to flood.
“We looked outside, and it was just a little bit. There was like an inch of water on the ground outside our cabin,” Clement said.
Clement and the rest of the staff immediately followed camp protocol, evacuating as many as they could to the recreation hall — a two-story building and the safest place to be in the event of a flood.
As the rest of the campers headed to the recreation hall, Clement and several other staff members hung back by one of the cabins, ensuring everyone else reached safety.
“We were all kind of standing on the porch of the cabin. We didn’t know what to do,” Clement said. “The water shouldn’t get any higher than the porch.”
But as the water began to rise onto the steps, Clement and the rest rushed inside the cabin, closing the door tightly behind them.
“Our fight-or-flight mode was activated because we didn’t think the water would get past the porch,” Clement said. “Then it started trickling through the door.”
Within minutes, the water had risen to window level, Clement said. Seconds later, the door burst open and water rushed in.
Now waist-deep in flood water, Clement and her friends knew they had to move quickly. As they battled the rushing water outside, they hoped the strength of six people was enough to open the cabin door.
“We finally got the door open by the grace of God,” Clement said. “I don’t know how we got that open against the current because looking back, it seemed impossible.”
After fighting their way out onto the porch of “Cozy Cabin,” the group quickly realized their ordeal was far from over.
“We were clinging to the pillars with all our strength because if you slightly loosen your grip, you’re going to get swept away,” Clement said.
As Clement and the others held on for their lives, the rushing water was unrelenting, soon reaching shoulder level. Clement recalled someone in her group yelling for them to get onto the roof.
“We were just waiting on the roof,” Clement said. “It was still pouring rain and freezing cold. That was the coldest I’ve ever been.”
After some time, the storm calmed, the floodwaters began to recede, and cabin six members climbed down from the roof.
In the aftermath, several counselors scoured the grounds for missing campers, still in shock from being swept away themselves. Clement said that many were blaming themselves.
“We didn’t know where some of the campers were, but all we could do in that moment was worry about ourselves,” Clement said. “You have to worry about other people, but if you’ve just been swept away, sometimes it takes someone else to help make sure you’re okay.”
Campers and staff were relocated to Camp Mystic’s upstream campus, Cypress Lake, which was less affected than the Guadalupe River location
Once the campers were safe inside the new camp’s dining hall and waiting for helicopter rescue, Clement and several other staff members trekked back down to the Guadalupe River campus to see how they could help.
“We went back over to see what was left,” Clement said. “I left my stuffed dog I’d had since I was two. Even when the water was up to our shoulders, I still had the dog by my side.”
Stuffed dog in hand, Clement recalled staring out at the water-logged destruction — her home for the summer was unrecognizable.
A counselor who was on the second floor of the recreation hall the morning of July 4 later told Clement that she saw the rising water start to come through the floor beneath them. In a helpless moment, campers and staff joined in singing worship songs — no music, no instruments, just unity.
The water began to recede as the worship continued, according to Clement.
“They weren’t singing sad songs. It was like they were praising [God] who was protecting them and there through it all,” Clement said. “I think it really shows something about Camp Mystic, because he really did hold that camp, and he still holds that camp and all the campers.”
