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Jan. 4, 2025
A Christmas Miracle Caught on Camera: Chimney Rock Families Find Hope Amidst Tragedy- Travis Johnson
This episode was released on December 24, 2024.
In this heartwarming segment, Pastor Travis Johnson shares a powerful story from his "Buy a Tree, Change a Life" outreach. After devastating floods hit the Chimney Rock area, Travis and his team decorated a Christmas tree with items found downstream - toys, shoes, and other personal belongings that had been swept away.
As local children approached the tree and recognized their own lost treasures adorning the branches, an incredible scene unfolded. Tears of joy and euphoria filled the air as families were reunited with these precious mementos, representing the restoration and hope that was emerging from the tragedy.
This poignant moment beautifully illustrates the transformative power of community support and the way simple acts of kindness can bring healing and light in the midst of darkness. Travis's reflections on the parallels to his own family's experience with natural disasters add depth and authenticity to this uplifting story.
Viewers will be inspired by the way this Christmas tree became a symbol of resilience, the strength of human connection, and the profound impact that can be made when we come together to support one another. Don't miss this heartwarming glimpse into the life-changing work of the "Buy a Tree, Change a Life" ministry.
Transcript
1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,060
You know, Pastor Travis, you had one of the things that God is raising you up to do is
2
00:00:05,060 --> 00:00:10,400
actually changing lives by buying Christmas trees and giving those around.
3
00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:15,320
And you told me before we started this recording that you had a very unique experience with
4
00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:20,140
this outreach that you've been doing, which has started off in your church, whenever your
5
00:00:20,140 --> 00:00:25,840
church was in the Miami area, and has grown to many, many states.
6
00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:30,180
And you've been able to give away millions of dollars through this.
7
00:00:30,180 --> 00:00:35,480
But in responding to some of the disasters that have happened recently, God brought
8
00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:36,720
you to a very unique place.
9
00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:38,120
Can you tell us this story?
10
00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:41,440
So John, that's called buya-tree-change-a-life.com.
11
00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:44,840
It's a small group missions project that just got out of control.
12
00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:50,120
We were paying for raising money for an adoption for a little girl from Ethiopia into a Coast Guard family.
13
00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:53,040
Now it's across America this last year.
14
00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:54,040
It's amazing.
15
00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:55,040
All of us together.
16
00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:59,560
We're a big person, but all of us together, tens of thousands of families have helped
17
00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:02,760
us to give away over $13 million to help children.
18
00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:07,640
So as a part of that, we were sponsoring Christmas at Chimney Rock.
19
00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:10,840
And Chimney Rock had really captured America's imagination.
20
00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:16,000
You know, during Hurricane Helene, a 20-foot wall of water comes through that town and
21
00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:17,640
just a lot of devastation.
22
00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:19,880
Homes wiped out, businesses wiped out.
23
00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:22,880
Four feet of silt in downtown Chimney Rock.
24
00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:24,720
And so there's so many stories there.
25
00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:30,560
Online, we were there for the Christmas tree lighting, just that little area.
26
00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:35,720
And then the next day I was standing outside and I met two families.
27
00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:41,160
Some kids run up to the Christmas tree and they're seeing decoration on the Christmas
28
00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:42,160
tree.
29
00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:48,000
We had decorated the tree with items that had been scavenged downstream from the flood.
30
00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:49,560
And they were shoes.
31
00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:50,680
They were little toys.
32
00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:54,120
They were little guitars that had been lost from people's homes.
33
00:01:54,120 --> 00:02:01,160
So these little kids come up and they're seeing their toys and clothing in the tree.
34
00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:05,120
It was the most joyful, tearful moment.
35
00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:06,440
Really?
36
00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:09,360
These items were in your house?
37
00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:10,840
Really awesome.
38
00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:17,240
All right, so what old's yours?
39
00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:21,080
Look, everything.
40
00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:27,240
I was so glad to be there for that it led to some prayer.
41
00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:34,200
Bottom line, one member of the family is actually moving to our area just above Orange Beach
42
00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:35,880
here in Alabama.
43
00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:37,480
By the way, it's like heaven.
44
00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:39,440
You know, it's beautiful.
45
00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:40,440
Get to heaven, John.
46
00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:43,960
But if you can't come on to Orange Beach, you know, but they're moving down.
47
00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:48,320
And so tomorrow we have a bunch of people from the church that are meeting them with
48
00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:51,040
their moving van and we're unloading their house.
49
00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:53,560
So it was just this amazing thing.
50
00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:59,200
And I felt like God had just kind of, you know, bent down to kiss the earth.
51
00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:00,760
And I got caught right in the smack.
52
00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:03,160
I thought this is this is really heaven.
53
00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:05,240
So it was a wonderful time.
54
00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:10,960
So these little kids were seeing their own toys on this Christmas tree.
55
00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:16,280
And I think one of the questions that everybody's going to ask in the comments and let us know
56
00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:19,040
in the comments, make sure you're subscribed to this channel and everything.
57
00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:23,520
But did these kids get to, you know, just like, that's my toy and then actually get
58
00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:24,520
to receive that?
59
00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:25,960
Or is it just staying for decoration?
60
00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:27,960
Tell us about like getting those things back there.
61
00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:30,720
I mean, obviously they want to take those down.
62
00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:31,800
But I watched them.
63
00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:32,920
The kids didn't even ask.
64
00:03:32,920 --> 00:03:43,080
They were just, you know, if you see the video, it's euphoria and tears and the family is
65
00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:45,680
bouncing around trying to take all the pictures.
66
00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:51,000
Actually when that happened, I was behind the tree, like taking some video of the tree
67
00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,160
because it was so remarkable, you know?
68
00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:56,040
I mean, I don't know.
69
00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:59,680
It was like seeing something in color in the middle of a black and white TV show, you
70
00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:00,680
know?
71
00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:02,160
And so that all happened.
72
00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:06,760
Actually have some other footage where I just say, Hey, if you like, I can, I can take
73
00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:07,760
a picture.
74
00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:09,720
I didn't realize what was going on at that moment.
75
00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:14,600
So I stepped over to take the picture and then that's when all of this euphoria starts
76
00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:15,600
to come out.
77
00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:18,280
Hey, my family went through Hurricane Andrew.
78
00:04:18,280 --> 00:04:19,280
We lost our home.
79
00:04:19,280 --> 00:04:20,280
My dad lost his church.
80
00:04:20,280 --> 00:04:24,040
I don't have a lot of pictures from when I was little.
81
00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:29,760
He slept under a picnic table for a week while he's pastoring the church as National Guard.
82
00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:31,280
And that sort of thing came in.
83
00:04:31,280 --> 00:04:34,640
He got an RV and I tried to talk him out of staying.
84
00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:35,640
I wanted him to leave.
85
00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:40,760
But he's like, I would be a terrible pastor if I left my church right now.
86
00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:46,480
But if you ask my dad, he would say that was the best time of his ministry because it was
87
00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:48,520
so terrible.
88
00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:50,160
Nobody should have to go through that.
89
00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:53,560
You know, those dams breaking upstream and just wiping everybody.
90
00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:54,560
Nobody should go through that.
91
00:04:54,560 --> 00:05:00,640
However, when people come together and they help one another, it's extravagant.
92
00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:01,640
It's amazing.
93
00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:05,120
It's actually a fulfillment of scripture that the world will know us by our love for
94
00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:06,120
one another.
95
00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:07,600
And I've seen that over and over.
96
00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:13,400
Even in the comments of this video, this, you know, gone viral, you see non-Christians
97
00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:15,840
saying this is what it's all about.
98
00:05:15,840 --> 00:05:16,840
This is beautiful.
99
00:05:16,840 --> 00:05:19,480
Thank you for letting us know that there are still people that care.
100
00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:21,360
So, John, it was awesome, man.
101
00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:22,860
It was just awesome.
102
00:05:22,860 --> 00:05:23,860
That's beautiful.
103
00:05:23,860 --> 00:05:26,920
Pastor Travis, thank you for sharing that story with us.
104
00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:29,920
That's very touching, especially this time of year.
105
00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:34,480
We know that we're celebrating the greatest gift that God has ever given us.
106
00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:40,000
Jesus coming to this world to eventually, you know, dine the cross for us, but he had
107
00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,560
to come as a baby as the greatest gift that God has ever given us.
108
00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:45,920
And we do that to each other.
109
00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:49,160
We give gifts to each other to honor that.
110
00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:51,960
And what you've done is give us a great gift as well.
111
00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:54,560
So Pastor Travis, thanks so much for joining us here today.
112
00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:55,560
Thank you so much.
113
00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:56,560
And let me say this.
114
00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:02,080
If anybody wants to be a part of Biatria Change Alive, you can host a site at your church.
115
00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:05,080
It's amazing what's done is so much more than anything that you can imagine.
116
00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:07,080
You end up making some incredible friends.
117
00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:32,080
You can fill out an interest form at BiatriaChangeAlive.com.
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,060
You know, Pastor Travis, you had one of the things that God is raising you up to do is
2
00:00:05,060 --> 00:00:10,400
actually changing lives by buying Christmas trees and giving those around.
3
00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:15,320
And you told me before we started this recording that you had a very unique experience with
4
00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:20,140
this outreach that you've been doing, which has started off in your church, whenever your
5
00:00:20,140 --> 00:00:25,840
church was in the Miami area, and has grown to many, many states.
6
00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:30,180
And you've been able to give away millions of dollars through this.
7
00:00:30,180 --> 00:00:35,480
But in responding to some of the disasters that have happened recently, God brought
8
00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:36,720
you to a very unique place.
9
00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:38,120
Can you tell us this story?
10
00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:41,440
So John, that's called buya-tree-change-a-life.com.
11
00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:44,840
It's a small group missions project that just got out of control.
12
00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:50,120
We were paying for raising money for an adoption for a little girl from Ethiopia into a Coast Guard family.
13
00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:53,040
Now it's across America this last year.
14
00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:54,040
It's amazing.
15
00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:55,040
All of us together.
16
00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:59,560
We're a big person, but all of us together, tens of thousands of families have helped
17
00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:02,760
us to give away over $13 million to help children.
18
00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:07,640
So as a part of that, we were sponsoring Christmas at Chimney Rock.
19
00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:10,840
And Chimney Rock had really captured America's imagination.
20
00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:16,000
You know, during Hurricane Helene, a 20-foot wall of water comes through that town and
21
00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:17,640
just a lot of devastation.
22
00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:19,880
Homes wiped out, businesses wiped out.
23
00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:22,880
Four feet of silt in downtown Chimney Rock.
24
00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:24,720
And so there's so many stories there.
25
00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:30,560
Online, we were there for the Christmas tree lighting, just that little area.
26
00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:35,720
And then the next day I was standing outside and I met two families.
27
00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:41,160
Some kids run up to the Christmas tree and they're seeing decoration on the Christmas
28
00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:42,160
tree.
29
00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:48,000
We had decorated the tree with items that had been scavenged downstream from the flood.
30
00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:49,560
And they were shoes.
31
00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:50,680
They were little toys.
32
00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:54,120
They were little guitars that had been lost from people's homes.
33
00:01:54,120 --> 00:02:01,160
So these little kids come up and they're seeing their toys and clothing in the tree.
34
00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:05,120
It was the most joyful, tearful moment.
35
00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:06,440
Really?
36
00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:09,360
These items were in your house?
37
00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:10,840
Really awesome.
38
00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:17,240
All right, so what old's yours?
39
00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:21,080
Look, everything.
40
00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:27,240
I was so glad to be there for that it led to some prayer.
41
00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:34,200
Bottom line, one member of the family is actually moving to our area just above Orange Beach
42
00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:35,880
here in Alabama.
43
00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:37,480
By the way, it's like heaven.
44
00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:39,440
You know, it's beautiful.
45
00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:40,440
Get to heaven, John.
46
00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:43,960
But if you can't come on to Orange Beach, you know, but they're moving down.
47
00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:48,320
And so tomorrow we have a bunch of people from the church that are meeting them with
48
00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:51,040
their moving van and we're unloading their house.
49
00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:53,560
So it was just this amazing thing.
50
00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:59,200
And I felt like God had just kind of, you know, bent down to kiss the earth.
51
00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:00,760
And I got caught right in the smack.
52
00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:03,160
I thought this is this is really heaven.
53
00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:05,240
So it was a wonderful time.
54
00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:10,960
So these little kids were seeing their own toys on this Christmas tree.
55
00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:16,280
And I think one of the questions that everybody's going to ask in the comments and let us know
56
00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:19,040
in the comments, make sure you're subscribed to this channel and everything.
57
00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:23,520
But did these kids get to, you know, just like, that's my toy and then actually get
58
00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:24,520
to receive that?
59
00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:25,960
Or is it just staying for decoration?
60
00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:27,960
Tell us about like getting those things back there.
61
00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:30,720
I mean, obviously they want to take those down.
62
00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:31,800
But I watched them.
63
00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:32,920
The kids didn't even ask.
64
00:03:32,920 --> 00:03:43,080
They were just, you know, if you see the video, it's euphoria and tears and the family is
65
00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:45,680
bouncing around trying to take all the pictures.
66
00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:51,000
Actually when that happened, I was behind the tree, like taking some video of the tree
67
00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,160
because it was so remarkable, you know?
68
00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:56,040
I mean, I don't know.
69
00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:59,680
It was like seeing something in color in the middle of a black and white TV show, you
70
00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:00,680
know?
71
00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:02,160
And so that all happened.
72
00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:06,760
Actually have some other footage where I just say, Hey, if you like, I can, I can take
73
00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:07,760
a picture.
74
00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:09,720
I didn't realize what was going on at that moment.
75
00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:14,600
So I stepped over to take the picture and then that's when all of this euphoria starts
76
00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:15,600
to come out.
77
00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:18,280
Hey, my family went through Hurricane Andrew.
78
00:04:18,280 --> 00:04:19,280
We lost our home.
79
00:04:19,280 --> 00:04:20,280
My dad lost his church.
80
00:04:20,280 --> 00:04:24,040
I don't have a lot of pictures from when I was little.
81
00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:29,760
He slept under a picnic table for a week while he's pastoring the church as National Guard.
82
00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:31,280
And that sort of thing came in.
83
00:04:31,280 --> 00:04:34,640
He got an RV and I tried to talk him out of staying.
84
00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:35,640
I wanted him to leave.
85
00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:40,760
But he's like, I would be a terrible pastor if I left my church right now.
86
00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:46,480
But if you ask my dad, he would say that was the best time of his ministry because it was
87
00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:48,520
so terrible.
88
00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:50,160
Nobody should have to go through that.
89
00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:53,560
You know, those dams breaking upstream and just wiping everybody.
90
00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:54,560
Nobody should go through that.
91
00:04:54,560 --> 00:05:00,640
However, when people come together and they help one another, it's extravagant.
92
00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:01,640
It's amazing.
93
00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:05,120
It's actually a fulfillment of scripture that the world will know us by our love for
94
00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:06,120
one another.
95
00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:07,600
And I've seen that over and over.
96
00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:13,400
Even in the comments of this video, this, you know, gone viral, you see non-Christians
97
00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:15,840
saying this is what it's all about.
98
00:05:15,840 --> 00:05:16,840
This is beautiful.
99
00:05:16,840 --> 00:05:19,480
Thank you for letting us know that there are still people that care.
100
00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:21,360
So, John, it was awesome, man.
101
00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:22,860
It was just awesome.
102
00:05:22,860 --> 00:05:23,860
That's beautiful.
103
00:05:23,860 --> 00:05:26,920
Pastor Travis, thank you for sharing that story with us.
104
00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:29,920
That's very touching, especially this time of year.
105
00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:34,480
We know that we're celebrating the greatest gift that God has ever given us.
106
00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:40,000
Jesus coming to this world to eventually, you know, dine the cross for us, but he had
107
00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,560
to come as a baby as the greatest gift that God has ever given us.
108
00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:45,920
And we do that to each other.
109
00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:49,160
We give gifts to each other to honor that.
110
00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:51,960
And what you've done is give us a great gift as well.
111
00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:54,560
So Pastor Travis, thanks so much for joining us here today.
112
00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:55,560
Thank you so much.
113
00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:56,560
And let me say this.
114
00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:02,080
If anybody wants to be a part of Biatria Change Alive, you can host a site at your church.
115
00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:05,080
It's amazing what's done is so much more than anything that you can imagine.
116
00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:07,080
You end up making some incredible friends.
117
00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:32,080
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