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.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
You know, Pastor Travis, you had one of the things that God is raising you up to do is

(00:05):
actually changing lives by buying Christmas trees and giving those around.
And you told me before we started this recording that you had a very unique experience with
this outreach that you've been doing, which has started off in your church, whenever your
church was in the Miami area, and has grown to many, many states.

(00:25):
And you've been able to give away millions of dollars through this.
But in responding to some of the disasters that have happened recently, God brought
you to a very unique place.
Can you tell us this story?
So John, that's called buya-tree-change-a-life.com.
It's a small group missions project that just got out of control.
We were paying for raising money for an adoption for a little girl from Ethiopia into a Coast Guard family.

(00:50):
Now it's across America this last year.
It's amazing.
All of us together.
We're a big person, but all of us together, tens of thousands of families have helped
us to give away over $13 million to help children.
So as a part of that, we were sponsoring Christmas at Chimney Rock.
And Chimney Rock had really captured America's imagination.

(01:10):
You know, during Hurricane Helene, a 20-foot wall of water comes through that town and
just a lot of devastation.
Homes wiped out, businesses wiped out.
Four feet of silt in downtown Chimney Rock.
And so there's so many stories there.
Online, we were there for the Christmas tree lighting, just that little area.
And then the next day I was standing outside and I met two families.

(01:35):
Some kids run up to the Christmas tree and they're seeing decoration on the Christmas
tree.
We had decorated the tree with items that had been scavenged downstream from the flood.
And they were shoes.
They were little toys.
They were little guitars that had been lost from people's homes.
So these little kids come up and they're seeing their toys and clothing in the tree.

(02:01):
It was the most joyful, tearful moment.
Really?
These items were in your house?
Really awesome.
All right, so what old's yours?
Look, everything.
I was so glad to be there for that it led to some prayer.

(02:27):
Bottom line, one member of the family is actually moving to our area just above Orange Beach
here in Alabama.
By the way, it's like heaven.
You know, it's beautiful.
Get to heaven, John.
But if you can't come on to Orange Beach, you know, but they're moving down.
And so tomorrow we have a bunch of people from the church that are meeting them with

(02:48):
their moving van and we're unloading their house.
So it was just this amazing thing.
And I felt like God had just kind of, you know, bent down to kiss the earth.
And I got caught right in the smack.
I thought this is this is really heaven.
So it was a wonderful time.
So these little kids were seeing their own toys on this Christmas tree.

(03:10):
And I think one of the questions that everybody's going to ask in the comments and let us know
in the comments, make sure you're subscribed to this channel and everything.
But did these kids get to, you know, just like, that's my toy and then actually get
to receive that?
Or is it just staying for decoration?
Tell us about like getting those things back there.
I mean, obviously they want to take those down.
But I watched them.

(03:31):
The kids didn't even ask.
They were just, you know, if you see the video, it's euphoria and tears and the family is
bouncing around trying to take all the pictures.
Actually when that happened, I was behind the tree, like taking some video of the tree
because it was so remarkable, you know?

(03:54):
I mean, I don't know.
It was like seeing something in color in the middle of a black and white TV show, you
know?
And so that all happened.
Actually have some other footage where I just say, Hey, if you like, I can, I can take
a picture.
I didn't realize what was going on at that moment.
So I stepped over to take the picture and then that's when all of this euphoria starts

(04:14):
to come out.
Hey, my family went through Hurricane Andrew.
We lost our home.
My dad lost his church.
I don't have a lot of pictures from when I was little.
He slept under a picnic table for a week while he's pastoring the church as National Guard.
And that sort of thing came in.
He got an RV and I tried to talk him out of staying.

(04:34):
I wanted him to leave.
But he's like, I would be a terrible pastor if I left my church right now.
But if you ask my dad, he would say that was the best time of his ministry because it was
so terrible.
Nobody should have to go through that.
You know, those dams breaking upstream and just wiping everybody.
Nobody should go through that.
However, when people come together and they help one another, it's extravagant.

(05:00):
It's amazing.
It's actually a fulfillment of scripture that the world will know us by our love for
one another.
And I've seen that over and over.
Even in the comments of this video, this, you know, gone viral, you see non-Christians
saying this is what it's all about.
This is beautiful.
Thank you for letting us know that there are still people that care.
So, John, it was awesome, man.

(05:21):
It was just awesome.
That's beautiful.
Pastor Travis, thank you for sharing that story with us.
That's very touching, especially this time of year.
We know that we're celebrating the greatest gift that God has ever given us.
Jesus coming to this world to eventually, you know, dine the cross for us, but he had
to come as a baby as the greatest gift that God has ever given us.

(05:43):
And we do that to each other.
We give gifts to each other to honor that.
And what you've done is give us a great gift as well.
So Pastor Travis, thanks so much for joining us here today.
Thank you so much.
And let me say this.
If anybody wants to be a part of Biatria Change Alive, you can host a site at your church.
It's amazing what's done is so much more than anything that you can imagine.

(06:05):
You end up making some incredible friends.
You can fill out an interest form at BiatriaChangeAlive.com.