Camp Mystic: Texas Flood Survivors’ mom, Aimee Key tells their story

Summary

Podcast Title: The Determined Society with Shawn French
Episode: Camp Mystic: Texas Flood Survivors’ Mom, Aimee Key Tells Their Story
Release Date: July 14, 2025

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Introduction

In this profoundly moving episode of The Determined Society Podcast, host Shawn French welcomes Amy Key, a courageous mother who survived the devastating Camp Mystic floods in Texas. The conversation delves deep into Amy's harrowing experience, the emotional turmoil faced by her family, and the resilience that emerged from tragedy. This episode serves as both a testament to human strength and a guide for overcoming unimaginable adversity.

Background: Camp Mystic and the Flood

Amy begins by sharing the excitement and anxiety that comes with sending her two daughters, Audra (9) and Cece (8), to summer camp. “[00:00] Amy Key: My two girls, Audra and Cece, we sent them off on that Monday. We were so excited...”

However, the idyllic anticipation quickly turns to fear as unexpected severe flooding threatens the camp. The community's initial disregard for the possibilities of flooding underscores how quickly circumstances can change. Amy recounts how communication cut off and the influx of alarming news messages shifted her family's focus from celebration to survival.

The Immediate Crisis: Family's Reaction

As the floodwaters rise, Amy and her husband decide to take immediate action to protect their family. “[04:48] Amy Key: We decided not to panic immediately... we would grab our oldest twin brother, who's nine also, and get in the car and start making our way up there just so we could be close.”

The tension of a long, uncertain car ride encapsulates the fear and helplessness felt by parents separated from their children. The moment they receive an email confirming their daughters' safety offers a fragile lifeline amidst chaos.

Emotional Journey: Fear, Anger, Acceptance

Amy and her husband confront a whirlwind of emotions—from initial disbelief and fear to profound relief and lingering guilt. “[08:01] Amy Key: Your heart stops for a minute each and every time... knowing that they were safe, what does that mean?”

The tragic loss of other children at the camp adds layers of grief and sorrow. Amy poignantly reflects on the innocence of the victims and the inexplicable nature of such a catastrophe at a place meant to be safe and nurturing.

The Role of Community and Helpers

Amidst the tragedy, the strength and heroism of the community shine through. Amy highlights the invaluable support from camp counselors, the National Guard, and local responders who worked tirelessly to ensure the safety of the campers. “[26:06] Sean: ...National Guard, the camp counselors that were all gathered, helping these girls get through this. Right? That's heroism at its finest.”

The sense of unity and collective effort becomes a cornerstone for healing, emphasizing the importance of community in the face of disaster.

Coping Mechanisms: Faith vs. Fear

Amy and her family navigate their trauma through faith and a conscious decision to focus on positivity. “[22:20] Sean: ...your daughters wanting to go back. What I admire most is your faith over fear that you and your husband are the approach that you're taking.”

She discusses the balance between acknowledging grief and maintaining hope, ensuring that fear does not overpower their lives. This approach not only aids in their personal healing but also sets a resilient example for their children.

The Aftermath: Supporting the Community

In the wake of the disaster, Amy emphasizes the importance of community support and collective healing. “[45:07] Amy Key: ...try to find ways to be kinder to each other. As people... Let's not be armchair quarterbacks. Let's figure out how to make things safer and better.”

She calls for compassion, kindness, and actionable support to help rebuild and heal the community, highlighting that true recovery comes from unity and mutual assistance.

Final Thoughts and Call to Action

As the episode concludes, Amy urges listeners to embody the spirit of the young survivors by fostering kindness and support within their communities. “[48:06] Amy Key: ...if all of us can keep a tiny bit of that spirit of togetherness going forward, we can be better. Not perfect, but better.”

Sean reinforces this message, encouraging the audience to open their hearts and wallets to those in need, emphasizing that every act of kindness contributes to a more compassionate world.

Notable Quotes

• Amy Key: “[04:48] ...we all have to let go of the wheel and let Him drive and us stay faithful in the process.”
• Sean: “[22:20] ...your daughters wanting to go back. What I admire most is your faith over fear that you and your husband are the approach that you're taking.”
• Amy Key: “[45:07] ...let's figure out how to make things safer and better, because we can't turn back what happened, but we can all do better going forward.”

Conclusion

This episode of The Determined Society is a powerful exploration of loss, resilience, and the unyielding human spirit. Amy Key's story is a beacon of hope and a reminder of the importance of community, faith, and kindness in overcoming even the darkest of times. Listeners are left inspired to embrace their own challenges with determination and to support those around them in meaningful ways.

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Resources Mentioned:

• Camp Mystic: A long-standing summer camp in Texas affected by severe flooding.
• I Still Believe: A movie referenced by Sean that parallels themes of faith and resilience.

Call to Action: Listeners are encouraged to support affected communities through donations, volunteering, and spreading messages of kindness and solidarity.

Transcript

[Amy Key]

My two girls, Audra and Cece, we sent them off on that Monday. We were so excited. It's such a big deal. As anyone who sent their kids to summer camp knows. Worries about flooding that was not anywhere in our mind. My husband and I just immediately became glued to the Internet. The news got worse and worse, and when you know you're five and a half hours away from your kiddos, it was a very long, very quiet car ride up there, not really knowing what was going to be at the other side. You just don't know where they are, how they're feeling. Feeling that pain and that fear that they had to have was just utterly budding.

[Sean]

Having a hard time here. Sorry. All right, guys. So I have with me today, Amy Key. This is a special episode. You have all heard and have seen the news about the unfortunate events and the floodings of Camp Mystic. I. I have with me a mother of two beautiful girls that was there, that survived. And this is going to be a happy story. This is going to be something that this amazing woman, Amy K. Gets to tell the audience of when she got to be reunited with her two daughters. And so, without further ado, Amy, welcome, welcome.

[Amy Key]

Thank you so much. I'm glad to be here for a story in the midst of tragedy about good endings as well. So I'm glad to get to share.

[Sean]

Yeah, super happy to have you, you know, grateful for the opportunity to speak to you. And, you know, I think, you know, and I know as a parent of. Of three children, my worst fear is sometimes dropping my children off at school or something happening to my children. And you and so many other parents, you know, dropped your kids off at summer camp this year. And crazy events happen with the flooding in Texas, and thankfully, you're. You. Your children were okay in their home with you. Why don't you walk the audience through that. That story and that journey of. Of everything kind of leading up to it and. And all the emotion surrounding it.

[Amy Key]

Sure. Well, I dropped my two girls off last Monday, and they had a month term at Camp Mystic. My two girls, Audra and Cece. Audra's nine, and it was her second year. It was Cece's first year as a camper. We were so excited. It's such a big deal. Anyone who sent their kids to summer camp knows you pack for a month, you put all the special things in the trunk. It's. It's so exciting, and it's such a rite of passage. And we sent them off on that Monday. I knew it had been raining on and off all week. But worries about flooding that was not anywhere in our mind until I started getting text messages from other mamas in my Mystic. Mom's chat group were super active during camp and year round. And they all started asking around 7:30 in the morning had we heard about the flooding and what was going on. And instead of focusing on, you know, our community parade and all the fun fourth of July things, my husband and I just immediately became glued to the Internet and the news, trying to see what was going on and getting information, limited as it was, from Camp mystic, what they could tell us had happened. And I'll just say, as the minutes wore on, the news got worse and worse.

[Sean]

You got this question because as a parent, you know, I've gone through many emails from school districts saying there's a lockdown. Oh, it was a false alarm. That moment that you get that is like this, this kick in the gut. I mean, a kick might be an understatement, right? Is you're sitting there, you don't know. So as you guys become glued to the Internet and I'm sure social media started picking it up and you and you guys are seeing all this, how are you and your husband navigating these emotions and potentially your worst fears a.

[Amy Key]

Big part of it. We decided not to panic immediately, which was our usual first emotion when, you know, you're five and a half hours away from your kiddos and decided once we saw that waters had gone up 30ft, communication was down, water was out there, there was no power, that we would grab our oldest twin brother, who's nine also, and get in the car and start making our way up there just so we could be close, closer to the girls as kind of the story unfolded. And it was a very long, very quiet car ride up there, just continually refreshing the news, checking text messages, starting to get pictures of the destruction and not really knowing what was going to be at the other side. I will say that Camp mystic, even though they had no power, no cell communication or anything, they got out as soon as they could. An email to all the parents saying, your girls, if you have not heard from us, your girls are safe. If you are getting this email, we know your girls are safe and that that was our lifeboat for those few hours knowing we got that and then realizing other families and families that we knew hadn't gotten that same message and their same age baby girls were missing.

[Sean]

How far into the drive to Camp mystic did that email come?

[Amy Key]

The first email came about 9am and it was really when the second email at 11 that came in and said, we don't know yet what we're going to do. Just don't come up here. You go to Ingram, to the reunification site, kind of the emergency site where the Red Cross is. It was every fear that we could have because we were suddenly in the middle of what we've seen so many times on tv, but so far removed from our lives in our home. That was a kick in the gut.

[Sean]

Yeah, I mean, you know, I'm. I'm thinking of all this, right? And just I know you and your husband made the commitment to be like, hey, we're not going to freak out. It's easy to say that, right? But I can only imagine every time your phone buzzed, every time some type of communication came through that I don't know if there's a hesitation, but almost like a fear to look at your phone and see what it is.

[Amy Key]

There is. I mean, honestly, your heart stops for a minute each and every time. And just again, as those miles passed down the road and people started hearing more and hearing, you know, this washed away cabins, this washed away the highway, this washed away homes and RV parks, it. The magnitude of it really hit. And even though we knew our girls were safe, what does that mean? You know, you just don't know where they are, how they're feeling. And even more than that, again, what about those that aren't safe? Because we, those little girls are from our community. We live in Highland Park. Two of those little girls, the picture that you see of the little girls with their arms around each other were classmates of my daughter. They all go to the same cheer gym and the same schools. And knowing that they were in a cabin that my littlest could have been in, had anything been slightly different, just brought both of us just basically to our knees.

[Sean]

And these two girls you're talking about, those are the ones that the reports came out that they were holding each.

[Amy Key]

Other is that they're the two little girls, Lila and Eloise. And, you know, first year campers, precious little girls going into third grade, friends from school, first year at camp. You know, their mamas had been camp mystic mamas. And just feeling that pain and that fear that they had to have was just. It was just gutting. That was the only word I could think was that this is just utterly gutting for everyone.

[Sean]

Having a hard time here. Sorry.

[Amy Key]

It's a lot.

[Sean]

It.

[Amy Key]

The trauma, the post, like after the fight or flight response is done, there's a lot of trauma that I, I don't think people understand. Or expect. And just as any parent could feel, because these are, these are baby girls. They're just eight and nine years old.

[Sean]

I have a, I have three kids. I have an 11 year old son, a nine year, an eight year old daughter that's almost nine and a six, almost seven year old. And I, I can't help but, and then this is something that my wife will tell you and she'll tell everybody when she was sending me these things. I go, I'm not clicking on that. I'm not, I'm not looking at it right now. Not out of disrespect, but out of the fact that if something hits too close for me as a father or even as a husband, I cannot look at it. I can't look at it. I haven't read one article and of course I know about the two little daughters that were killed by their dad. I know that. Right? It's in the news everywhere. But I won't click on it. And I, and I surely did my best to kind of evade the deeper dive into Camp mystic because not to, to be ignorant of it, I know what happened. But, but like I said just to, to you and to the audience, that is just too close. And you know, and life and, and God have a funny way of putting things in our path. And you know, here I am with you right now having this conversation. So, you know, it came in my path anyway and I get to tell the happy story of your, the reunification of you and your family and your children. But also to your point is there's a lot of trauma involved that hasn't hit yet, maybe even for your girls, but also the fact that you have friends that lost their children and your, your daughters have friends that were lost. And I just, yes, it's great your children are with you. It's also important to acknowledge and, and be there for the community members that lost their children.

[Amy Key]

That's. No, it's so true. It's such a mixed bag of feelings because I am so grateful for the tiny twist of fate that again, my daughter happened to be in a different cabin. And she acknowledged to me at 8 years old on the way home, if I had been in Bubble Inn with my friends, I would have drowned and what would you have done? And I couldn't answer that. And that was so hard, not for her, but realizing I couldn't answer that because it was so close to home and 27 families were having to figure out what to do. And it really, it made it real and it makes you feel so Glad, but so selfish for being glad. So confused.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Amy Key]

And especially at a Christian camp that's just focuses on love and kindness and acceptance. Acceptance. And it is truly the most magical place. I, I cannot even explain how magical it is, but how does that happen somewhere so, so precious for these babies?

[Sean]

You know, I, I, I can't sidestep that. And I, and I can't act like I haven't thought that myself. I, I sit there when this was happening, I'm like, wait a second. I'm sitting there with my wife, and I'm like, babe, these children were at a Christian camp. How, Like, I can't even put into words the things that I was thinking. I'm like, how does, but the overall theme is how. Why, like, really like innocent children. And this is the twist of fate. Like this. It just, it really brings to light the fact that we don't have any control. Like, we, we don't have control. And that's a complete freak accident. We have more odds of something happening every time we get in our, get in our vehicles and hit that push to start. And driving down the road, especially, gosh, especially in Texas, the road system scares the hell out of me. But, you know, but I mean, think about that. I mean, it just, there's so much emotion surrounding this. And the other thing that I think, and this is something that you may be able to speak to because you've kind of already alluded to it. Is your, your, your daughters understanding their own mortality that young?

[Amy Key]

Yeah, it's, that was profound to me, hearing them ask those questions and also make that sense. Same kind of connection that I had, that if one thing had been different, you know, you kind of, you apply to go to Mystic. Basically, when your girls are born, it's this weird summer camp, amazing, hard to explain rite of passage. Huge in Texas. Right. It's an honor to go. I have been excited for years for my girls to go. Like, it's just, it's joyful to me. And all the bad things that I think about with the world, you know, someone coming into camp and hurting these girls, people abusing girls, those are the things I worried about when I dropped them off, and they'd be homesick. This wasn't. And it just, it truly, like you said, it, it brings the fragility of our lives. And thinking that every single one of those parents went to bed on July 3rd. They didn't think about that, not even for a second. This wasn't on our radar, our bingo cards, that wasn't. And we have so little control over those things. Even in an environment that should be perfect and sacred and sweet, sweet, innocent kiddos. It just, it made life a lot more real than I'm used to seeing. And I'm a divorce lawyer, so I see a lot of unhappiness every day. This was entirely different than the stuff I deal with and see.

[Sean]

No, that, and that's the thing. It's like, know when you look at all that, you know, the things that you don't even think are going to ever be an issue because you're not, it's not on your radar. Sometimes that is what you're dealt with, right? Like, and, and you're talking about, you know, people coming in and hurting kids. Whether it's a, you know, a camp advisor or, or, I mean, gosh, like even someone just bum rushing the, the, the camp and you know, with guns. Like those are things that you can kind of be like, okay, I can honestly see that happening given the world that we live in. But a flash flood, taking out these cabins, taking out roads and ending lives. Like, unbelievable.

[Amy Key]

This is a camp that has been in that same spot for 100 years. Next year. I mean, it wasn't built yesterday. Generations of girls have been going. And I think of all the bad things, like every parent does, all of the what ifs. That never crossed my mind at all. And you can't prepare. And I just think about these parents again who went to bed the night before excited to see fourth of July pictures of their girls, and they didn't. And it just got you. And the why just doesn't make sense yet.

[Sean]

I don't think it ever will. Like, like to your point, the, the why. I don't think we'll ever be able to make sense of this ever. You know, until that day where we could go up to those pearly gates and then, you know, he's like, hey, this is why I needed them. Right? This is why. This is, this is what happened. And I, I full, I firmly believe that, you know, in another life, you know, parents, and they're going to get the, the explanation that, that, you know, obviously it's not going to help now. And people might think I'm a whack job for even saying that, but if you're a, a person of faith, then you have to understand that we're not going to always know. It doesn't make it easier. Oh my gosh, no, it doesn't make it easy for a parent to sit there and say, one day, you know, Christ will let Me know, like this is, this is why this happened. But in this life you're left without your child. And, and for me, that is my biggest fear. I have two fears in life, Amy. One is losing one of my children. Okay. The second one, of course I'm afraid of losing my wife early. Right. But, but the other one is leaving this world too soon and it impacting my children to a point where it ruins their life. Like I like those things scare me.

[Amy Key]

Those are, those are the big ones because I mean everyone says it makes sense we go before our kids and even more so little, little kids, I mean eight year old babies away from home. I just, I think the anger, it's okay to have the anger right now. It's okay to have the lament. But I just, I see in my own kids talking to them, asking them how do you feel about going back? And without hesitation saying, I can't wait to go back. I can't. Mystic and the director Dick Eastland died also in the floods. Who'd been running this place for 51 years and is beloved by these girls. And that ripped my girls up as much as their classmates because that man loved the camp and died trying to save these girls. And, and to have all of these little girls being, I guess, stronger than we are as parents and again, kind of my what I talk to my girls about and you know, talking to myself in my own head. We have to live with faith and not fear. I've got to let you go back next summer or whenever we can and trust that God hopefully is going to let you come home. But it's all part of the plan and I've got to trust that or else we just live locked in our little bubble wrap. And I love seeing that my kids don't want to do that. It's a helpful guide for me as a parent and I think for other parents in the same place, realizing we've got to be strong for them.

[Sean]

You made a very interesting point. Okay. And, and I'm not surprised by your daughters wanting to go back. What I admire most is your faith over fear that you and your husband are the approach that you're taking. Right. Because it's one thing to say it, but I, but I think that, and I know this is something that my wife and I operate in and I can, I'm learning a lot from you as you gotta have faith that they're gonna, they're gonna, they're coming home and they need to be go. They need to be able to go out and be Kids and enjoy these experiences and not allow this tragedy to impact the rest of how they live their life. That's also a very difficult thing. Right. I mean, because there's logic and then there's the irrational part of you is like, you're never leaving the house again. Like, yeah, you know, like, I'm sorry. It's just kind of the way it is. How are you and your husband navigating through that aspect? It seems. Well. But, you know, talk to the audience about.

[Amy Key]

I mean, I'll be honest. This has been harder, I think, initially for us than for our girls, just because we have seen all of the news, seen all of the pictures, and it's been gutting. I mean, truly, truly gutting, where you feel numb inside and all of the anger and the sadness and the guilt, feeling relieved that our kids came home when others didn't. But I think with our girls, what we've tried to do is twofold. One, focus on the good of what they got to experience. You know, talking about camp, talking about their friends, looking at pictures that we have of them. There's a video of girls singing on the bus as they were leaving and talking to them about their experience. Experience. And how the helpers were there, the counselors, the National Guard, Texas park and Wildlife got my girls out on, you know, vehicles designed to drive through water crossings and fallen brush and talking to them about how these adults who did not know these babies were playing games with them and singing and making them feel safe and how those people are heroes, just trying to do that and talking about what can we do as a family, as a community, as a people to help give back as we can. You know, our neighborhood is tying green and pink ribbons around trees, and it matters. I mean, you drive down the street, you drive by our local school. It is powerful. It's a tiny, tiny gesture, but it's what people can do. And people are checking in with each other, loving on each other. Just if maybe a little bit of kindness can come from that, maybe that's some good. And right now, that's. That's kind of all that we can cling to, not to become too bitter or too angry or too fearful, because I don't want that for us, if that makes sense.

[Sean]

No, it truly does. Right. And I. And I. And I love the perspective of, you know, the. The first responders, the National Guard, the camp counselors that were all gathered, helping these girls get through this. Right? That's. That's heroism at its finest as well. I mean, really think about it. It, when you're on that bus. Right. And, and these adults that are with these children after this tragedy, as an adult, that's, I would imagine that's more difficult than inserting yourself in the water and trying to save a child. Because that's instinctual. Yeah, I don't, I don't know very many adults that would be like, yeah, good, I'm not getting in that water, I'm saving my own life. No, no, there's a child, you're jumping in that water whether it's yours or not. And you're trying, you're trying to save that child. But to be safe and to know what happened and still operate in that energy. Wow. Because that could have been a whole environment of just pain, suffering, crying, bitterness, blaming, blaming God, like, like a lot of different stuff. And just like this is just, it's all mind blowing to me. I, I do have an interesting question. You know that text group, the mom's text group or Camp Mystic. I'm assuming there's some moms on there that aren't as blessed as you are right now.

[Amy Key]

Our, our cabin was thankfully all okay, but each of us are connected to, very closely connected to families who weren't. And a lot of it is very, very close to home. Or they had kiddos who were at the local boys camp down the road who had to swim out. I mean six year old kiddos having to climb to the rafters, climb to a route, just again, things that no parent should have to know their kiddo went through. And each and every one of us in that group, it's in my older daughter's cabin, there are 13 girls. Every single one of us is connected to someone who did not come home. And we've supported each other from, you know, moment one non stop through today. And now it's focused on how can we help and how can we help our girls, how can we help our community and also how can we support each other. It's been a lifeline, honestly.

[Sean]

You know when you mentioned there's six year olds that had to swim to safety, there's girls climbing to the rafters, getting on the roof to save their own life. And it's, it's certain things that no child ever should really honestly have to deal with. I don't care how old, but six and eight years old. And it's, it's, it's, it's interesting to me because two things can be true, right? A certain group could be at home like you and your husband were enjoying your day with your son. And then two of your other heartbeats living outside of your body are fighting for their lives. And you don't know it. And you're not there. You're not there to. To help. You're. Unbeknownst to you, they're fighting for their life. And it's just like, to me, like, that right there is the part. That's the part, Amy, because I don't even know where I'm going with it. It just that. That to me is just like, on one hand, there's one thing going on, and five and a half hours away, this is going on, and gratefully they made it. But, oh, my gosh, that's the part.

[Amy Key]

That makes me think, for those families who weren't as lucky. And again, to my daughter's question, what would you do if I had drowned? How can you be okay? Because I just think at the. That moment when your babies need you the most. And our instinct as a parent is to lay down our life for our kids. And these parents didn't have that chance. I. That part for me, just hurts my heart so much because I know that's where I wouldn't be okay. And I know they've got to just be replaying that over and over and over. And that's the part I just want to give up myself to be like, you didn't do anything wrong, but how do you feel like you didn't? I mean, not a single one did. But the guilt and the regret, just. That would destroy me.

[Sean]

I don't think there's a world, Amy, where the parents that lost their babies in that tragedy will ever not blame themselves and it wasn't their fault. At the same time, I would be. I would do the same thing, like, 100% if. If. And it wasn't even a careless act. It's a camp. It's been going on for 100 years. You know, that, to me, is what's. I want to say amazing and not like a fun way, but what's amazing about the situation is there was no wrongdoings. Not from the camp, not from the parents, not from the children. There's literally nothing that you. That anybody could have done to change the outcome, good or bad, right? And now these parents for the rest of their lives have to live with the fact that they sent their kids.

[Amy Key]

To camp that term, that term that happened, that moment. It's. It's the coulda, woulda, shoulda, you know, what ifs. And again, like you said, there's nothing these parents did wrong. And I Just pray to God that they can eventually believe that this is a camp. That again, most of these little girls, their mamas went to, their grandmas went to your a or a talk for life. These moms just found out, you know, and dads too. I, I can only look at it from my perspective, but they found their tribe. They've been waiting for pictures every day. It's supposed to be just this experience that you've been preparing your kiddo for, for years. And how is anyone okay after that? And how do you make sense of it when it's, it's your, your family or child or children.

[Sean]

Pl. I can only look at it from my perspective too. I love my son. He's my boy. But as a man, my daughters, to even think that there's ever a reality that my daughters could go through something like that and me not be there to save them. I, I, I would need every prayer, I would need everybody in my life to pull me through. I would need to be on serious watch because there's no way that I could live with that without support. Now I, I mean obviously I'm emotional. I mean it's just, it's a father of two girls and a father's love for her son or his son is immense. And it's not any less than the daughters. It's not, but it's different. And your husband can speak on that?

[Amy Key]

Oh, it seemed to. I have, you know, typical stoic Texas husband, right. Who believes that his duty in life is to protect his family and would without question, to your point, run into any raging body of water burning building, save our kids, someone else's kids without thinking twice because he believes that's what he was put on earth for, is to protect his family. And to not be able to seeing these dads break down and still, you know, see them crying, see the tears fill in their eyes when they're, you know, holding their kids now. It's, it's so powerful and it's different than how mom's process and moms grief too. But that also made all of this so much more real. Seeing, seeing that in action because I think it just brings home the helplessness and the despair that everyone feels because there isn't a way to fix it. That's yalls duty in life is to fix things, right? And you can't. There's nothing anymore to fix.

[Sean]

No. How is your husband doing?

[Amy Key]

You know, I think he is same as me, I mean slowly processing, slowly coming kind of out of what I would just describe as a Numbness or a fog. And now wanting to do what we can to help. Like, how can we be the helpers? How can we support the helpers? How can we love on these families in our community? How can we help honor their kids? How can we help rebuild Kerrville? That's how we process. And out loud, and in my head and in his, too, I mean, we just kept saying it maybe to reassure ourselves, God is good. All the time. All the time. God is good. And just honestly, on repeat for the last week, that's. That's been kind of driving every action and every. Everything just saying it to believe it and knowing somewhere, I do believe that, just holding on to it because it's. It's not easy.

[Sean]

No, you know, it's. It's. Here's what's crazy, Amy. So my. My friend Matthew Head has been telling me to watch, I Still Believe for I don't know how long. I don't know if you've seen it, but the Jeremy Cam story about his wife, have you seen that movie?

[Amy Key]

I've heard of it, yes.

[Sean]

Yeah. So last night I say to my wife, I go, hey, you want to watch XYZ movie? And she goes, no, let's watch. I still believe because Matthew said that we need to watch this together. And for those of people that don't know the story, you know, Matthew Camp met his first wife in college, you know, his first. His freshman year, and fell in love with her on the spot. They had this relationship, and, you know, they in. They dated a little bit. And this is the story in the movie, how it was depicted, and broke up for a brief time. And then he had to rush back because, you know, she had cancer. And she ended up getting the all clear. And they got married six months, and six months later, they got married. And then on their honeymoon, it came back, and she eventually lost her life to this cancer battle. My point to all this is me and my wife were looking at each other last night, like, why in the world does he have us watch this? Why am I watching this? Like, I. I get it. You know, we're not in control, but, like, I. I don't know. I don't know why I'm watching this right now. And then we're having this conversation and you're saying, God is good all the time. I still believe. I believe. I'm like, okay, I get the message now. It was in preparation for this moment, and everything I think that we need to understand is it's all connected. We don't need to know the why? Our job is just to kind of let go of the wheel and let him drive and us stay faithful in the process.

[Amy Key]

And you can be angry. I think that's the okay thing. Also, we went to a really wonderful service when we got back for one of the little girls who had lost her life. And that was the message. It is okay to be angry. God wants you to be angry. God understands that you're questioning and you know, all of these things in such a broken world, that's okay. And that for me was very powerful. Like, we, we need to look for the good, we need to find the good. It's not forgetting the bad and it's also being real. But to me that's like, that's. If there's got to be something from this, it doesn't change it. It doesn't make it okay. Doesn't make me less angry or heart sick or anything else as a parent. But I can't let that overcome me and my faith and my willingness to go forward and do good things and believe in something magical for my kids or put them in a bubble, probably with duct tape over their mouth so they don't fight. They do that all the time. But I, I have to.

[Sean]

The girls, right? The girls fight like crazy, don't they? Yep.

[Amy Key]

Dogs and cats. That's how I knew they were okay again. That they were fussing and fighting and hitting. I'm like, already, Already I'm like, y' all are back to normal. Good.

[Sean]

They are crazy. They're a lot.

[Amy Key]

But just seeing that and kind of trying to put those pieces together has been, has been helpful.

[Sean]

Yeah. Let me ask you, you know, just one quick question, like, have they shared their experience through it all yet with you?

[Amy Key]

Bits and pieces. Bits and pieces. And I'm letting them drive that bus.

[Sean]

Absolutely.

[Amy Key]

You know, and they'll. We'll watch maybe a video showing the flood waters and talk and they'll then ask me about the cabins or tell me about how they had to pack all, all of their things up and were told they were going to share with the little girls whose cabins everything had washed away. And not having power that day, not having running water, not knowing when they were going to leave, having to get in trucks and driving through, you know, flood filled streams. And they talked about it, but honestly, each time they do, and they'll cry sometimes or you can tell they're scared or have questions or ask who didn't come back. You mean they really are gone? They're dead. There's something positive that they Remember? Or funny, something that still makes them smile or laugh in the midst of that. And I, I'm so grateful for that. And again, think we as adults can learn so, so much from that.

[Sean]

It's incredible. It really is. And, you know, I, I think it's appropriate to send love to the parents and the families that lost their children, to the grandparents that lost their grandkids, to. To your daughters who lost their friends. You know, it's important to, like you said, come together as a community. So I, you know, I want to ask you right now, is there things that the audience can be doing once they listen to this, or is there something that I can be doing? Because this is, you know, this is a perfect moment, right? And. And what I mean by that is, is the aftermath, Amy. And we live in a world right now where everything is divided. Everybody hates each other, everybody's going at somebody, it's somebody else's fault. It's the left, it's the right. It. It's. It's everything. Like, listen, everybody, this is your moment right now. If you're listening to this show, this is your moment to create positive change in the world, in the universe. All you have to do is, is listen, share the show with somebody, and allow them to share it with somebody else as well, because this is our moment to take control of a really dark place, which is the world right now. What can we all do to help?

[Amy Key]

Well, to that point, this is one. Something that's so important. We live in a broken world. None of these girls were broken. They were perfect. They were everything that I think we should all aspire to be. And for a minute, it's where I think we've all got to put aside for now, are it's the fault of the left or it's the fault of the right. It's the fault of, you know, whomever put it aside and honestly try to find ways to be kinder to each other. As people. You know, they say, look for the helpers, be one, just be kind. I. I see so much finger pointing and blame starting already, and I'm like, it's not the time, friends. Let's not be armchair quarterbacks. Let's figure out how to make things safer and better, because we can't turn back what happened, but we can all do better going forward, find ways to support that community, because obviously, 27, you know, little girls, that strikes at the heart of every American, but hundreds of people died. Hundreds of people, some without a ton of resources, no flood insurance, they lost their homes they lost their cars, their pets, their family. I just think it's where we've got to open our hearts, open our wallets to help and really try to be more like these kids, try to be kinder. We're just. We're so broken, and these kids weren't.

[Sean]

Yeah. Yeah. Well said, my new friend. Well said. Well, thank you. I appreciate you so much for coming on and. And telling story and your experience and the experience with your two little girls and so grateful that they're back with you guys and, you know, you're able to tuck them in at night.

[Amy Key]

You know, we are, too. We're glad to have another day. Our days are so not promised. And to be able to have even a little more time, I mean, just make it count. Live the life that you want to live, because that's all we can do. And hopefully this helps my family and other families try to keep that in perspective. That's all I can. I can hope for.

[Sean]

It's almost like now. You love to hear them fighting, right?

[Amy Key]

No, no, I'm gonna tell you that far. No, we're not gonna go that far. But I just. I want to raise good people. I want to raise a better generation and a group of helpers, and I. I want to see all of us emulate that, too, because there's still so much good in the world. And we've seen that with people who are helping, who are creating things, selling things, donating things, volunteering. It's like just if all of us can keep a tiny bit of that spirit of togetherness going forward, we can be better. Not perfect, but better. And that's the lesson I'm choosing right now to take going forward.

[Sean]

Absolutely. And I love it. And I'm with you, and I can guarantee my wife and I will find a way to help. Definitely. Our hearts are open. We'll open our wallets, too. And for you listeners out there, please do the same. Open your hearts, open your wallets. There's anything you can give. I'm sure everybody will appreciate whatever you can. If you can't give resources, give time. Right. It's not just about money. It's about the effort. It's about the heart. So, again, Amy, thank you so much for coming on. I just really appreciated meeting you and glad we're now in contact. And, you know, I've got you programmed in the. The mobile device and, you know, it's just going to be great to see updates with your kids and. And everything like that. So, again, thank you so much for coming on and sharing a very difficult moment in your life with my audience. And I. I know I could speak for them and just say, we're so grateful that you guys are okay, but also, we're sending love to everybody who's not.

[Amy Key]

Thank you, Sean. I appreciate it. My family appreciates it, too. Just getting to share our story and hopefully help make things a little bit better.

[Sean]

Absolutely. If you need anything from me, you have my cell number. Don't. This doesn't have to be it. So if you need anything, I'm here. All right? So thank you.

[Amy Key]

And if y' all need any help connecting to resources, let me know. I'm here for that, too.

[Sean]

Absolutely. I definitely will. And again, to the audience, thank you for listening. You know, again, share the message. Be someone who helps. And you know what? More than anything, love your family. Love the people that are in your life and show them every day, because tomorrow is not guaranteed. And until next time, stay determined.