Late Monday around 10:40 pm, a very devastating tornado went through Fultondale, Alabama, leaving a path of destruction through the town that has killed and injured residents as well as destroyed homes, schools, and businesses.

This tornado was located just a few miles from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Gardendale, where Pastor Ed Brashier, Southern District Disaster Response Coordinator, serves. Kathy O'Day, LCC Director of Disaster Response, spoke to Pastor Brashier, who has been checking on congregation members and will be assessing damage in Fultondale as soon as first responders say it is safe to do so. He and his L.E.R.T. team began work early Tuesday morning helping a congregation member remove a tree from the roof of their home. LCC L.E.R.T. chainsaw teams are on standby to deploy and assist if requested.

Lutheran Church Charities sends your donations to Haiti through our Haiti Mission Partners – Mission: Haiti & Ministry in Mission – who use them towards critical items needed to help save and improve the lives of the people of Haiti.

Food
 
$30 buys 2 weeks of food for an elderly poor person and may mean the difference between life and death.

DONATE — FOOD FOR HAITIAN ADULTS AND CHILDREN

Your donations allowed Lutheran Church Charities to support the effort to bring a sea container with food, shoes, clothes, donated church pews and furnishings, and miscellaneous useful supplies to Haiti.

Your donations made Christmas special in Haiti for the orphans. The orphans had a gathering in the church to celebrate and receive food and gifts provided by generous donors like you.

"To My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, on behalf of my children and myself, I would like to thank everyone working with Lutheran Church Charities. The gifts, prayers, and support have meant so much to us. I can not express in words how much this means to me and the girls. Thank you so much!"

If you are so moved, please prayerfully consider continuing to support this family as they cope with the loss of their husband/father while trying to manage the many financial burdens they face. Their strong faith rests in the promises and hope of Jesus Christ.

Immanuel Hillside’s Put Your Hands Together – Food Distribution Ministry (PYHT-FDM) held its first food distribution of 2021 on Friday, January 22. Nine LCC ministry partners received food to deliver to their communities.
 
God has indeed blessed this ministry and our ministry partners' work as they reach out to their communities. Chicago Hope Church and Immanuel Hillside both received a 20ft box truck full of food to distribute this week. The following partner ministries participated in the distribution:

•   Breakfast With Baby – Carol Stream
•   Chicago Hope Church – Chicago
•   Christ the King – Chicago
•   Immanuel – Bartlett
•   Immanuel – Des Plaines
•   Immanuel – Hillside
•   Living Christ – Arlington Heights
•   St. Paul – on Canfield, Chicago
•   Voice of Hope Mission – Lombard

Thank you so much for everything you do to get food into the right hands. I thought I would share with you the extension of your ministry that perhaps isn't seen behind the scenes.
 
My parents are here with me from Southern District, Immanuel Lutheran, Bossier City, Louisiana. They are in their late 80s and sometimes wonder what God still has intended for them while so much has been taken away; vision, hearing, movement, and sometimes memory, etc. Mom rode with me to help pick up the boxes. She loves getting out for almost any reason. When we arrived home, both mom and dad helped package the banana muffins into individual Ziploc bags for distribution. This gave them a feeling of being useful and doing something for others.
 
This morning we got up early and delivered them and the soup and other items to the Vineyard, where many homeless would have a chance to enjoy the bounty. Some non-perishables were saved back for February 2, which is the next day we will be providing breakfast and lunch for another 50 people.
 
The trays will certainly be used. I will be happy to come to pick up the other case from your location if you would prefer, or of course, you are welcome at my home.
 
Thank you so very much,
Sally Hover

LCC thanks donors for making a difference in the lives of a single mother with 4 children in their time of need.

Just before Christmas, Lutheran Church Charities was contacted by Chi Alpha Pi sorority alumnae about a need for a car for a single abused mother of 4 children. LCC was able to provide a donated car through Our Redeemer, the local LCMS church.
 
Kate Hickey, a Chi Alpha Pi sorority alumna and attorney in Hawaii, has now helped this single mother become the owner/operator of a licensed and insured home cleaning business.
 
This mother acknowledges that this new business venture would not have been possible without the generous donation of a well-maintained car from Lutheran Church Charities for her use. This mother believes the vehicle has been an "amazing blessing!"

As she told Kate, "For the first time in my entire life, I now have a car, a business, a bank account, savings, and the ability to earn a living wage to support my kids. I still need to find a new place to live, but this is now possible. Things aren't easy – I'm still a single mom with four kids - but the future is crazy bright, and I'm happy."
 
Pastor Bueltmann at Our Redeemer also continues to reach out to this family with ministerial help to meet their spiritual and emotional needs. He stated, "All of the assistance provided to this single mother is making a huge difference in putting her in a position to better care for her family."
 
The story is a wonderful example of working together as brothers and sisters in Christ around the country to bring the mercy, compassion, presence, and proclamation of Jesus Christ to someone in need.