 Donate to provide a Heart of Mercy & Compassion and a Mini Stuffed LCC K-9 Comfort Dog to Disabled Veterans LCC Kare 9 Military Ministry has been invited to attend Leon’s Triathlon for injured veterans. Leon’s Triathlon is hosted each June in Northwest Indiana. It is a two-day event with the injured military camp held on Saturday, June 4th, and the opening ceremony and triathlon on Sunday, June 5th.
The event means a great deal to the veterans and U.S. servicemen and women who participate: “Leon’s triathlon was my first ever triathlon, and after that, I became addicted. The feeling I got crossing that finish line changed my life and my perspective. It was the start of a whole new chapter in my life. It started me on a path that has opened more doors than I thought possible. Just this year, I became the men’s wheelchair National Champion in paratriathlon. No matter where I go in my racing career, I will always be out there at Leon’s Tri.” Eric Fife (veteran with Spinal Cord Injury) “I've raced in Marathons all over the United States in my racing chair, biked in competitions in Ohio and Michigan, and swam short distance at Wheelchair Games. Being able to compete in Leon's Triathlon fulfilled my bucket list to put all those events together in one competition. When I finished, my competition buddy's, Alisha, mom said, "You are now a Triathlete "- I couldn't stop smiling and nodded in enthusiastic agreement.” Holly Koester (veteran with Spinal Cord Injury) “As an individual living with a physical disability, my amputation presents challenges and opportunities every day. In 2018, I met the Dare2tri family by chance at Leon’s Triathlon, my second tri ever. That day changed my life in more ways than I could have ever imagined! I will forever be grateful to Dare2tri and my family. I’m always looking for new ways to give back to such an inspirational and loving community!” Uriah Steffen (BK amputee, civilian)
We are thankful for these men and women who served our country with courage, dignity, dedication and sacrifice to protect our freedoms and keep us safe. This year, LCC Kare 9 Military Ministry and Hearts of Mercy & Compassion would like to honor and show our appreciation to the 400 veterans who are participating in this year’s Leon’s Triathlon by giving each participant a Heart of Mercy & Compassion (HMC) and an LCC Kare 9 Military Ministry mini stuffed dog.
The cost for a Heart of Mercy & Compassion and LCC Kare 9 Military Ministry mini stuffed dog for each participant is $20.00. If you would like to help cover the cost, as we show support for the 400 veterans and U.S. servicemen and women who will participate this year, please donate.
Thank you for your generous support of these amazing triathletes! Donate to Continue to Help Purchase Food, Medicine and Critical Supplies  SELCU Pastors Serving Ukrainians Working through LCC staff member Rev. Larry Myers, below is an update from the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Ukraine (SELCU) pastors, thanking LCC donors for your financial support and prayers. We continue to receive detailed updates from SELCU pastors sharing how your donations are critical to helping them serve the physical and spiritual needs of those they serve. Oleksiy Navrotskyy (SELCU pastor) SELCU Pastor Oleksiy Navrotskyy made the dangerous trip from Odessa to Mykolaiv to be with his congregation there during the last days of Holy Week and for the celebration of Easter. He reports the following:  “I was extremely busy for the last few days. I was in Mykolaiv for four days. My congregation is located in Mykolaiv (a city of 500,000 citizens). The city is located 40 km from the front line. Being in Mykolaiv you may hear artillery shooting all the time (in the distance). Mykolaiv city is under a ‘dry blockade’ at the moment because of the Russians. Russians broke the water [pipe] from the Dnieper River which feeds the city with water, and [they] do not let Ukrainians fix it. So there is no water in the city water system at all .... for ten days already. The municipality, army, and volunteers deliver water to the citizens in the cars and trucks. New wells are dug everywhere. We (our church) also deliver water daily to the people of the area surrounding our church.
Sergiu Trifa (son of Rev. Sorin-Horia Trifa, Romania) Sergiu Trifa (kneeling) is the son of the Rev. Sorin-Horia Trifa, pastor of the Confessional Lutheran Church of Romania. Sergiu lives in Bucharest and is coordinating the purchasing and shipping of items to SELCU pastors in Ukraine on behalf of Lutheran Church Charities. The pastors let him know what is needed, and he makes the arrangements.
SELCU Pastor Oleg Schewtschenko helps unload the first shipment sent by bus of much-needed items from LCC’s coordinator, Sergiu Trifa, in Romania. The main bridge to Odessa has been blocked and bombed so that was a difficult morning, but they crossed over, and everything moved forward.
Oleg Schewtschenko (SELCU pastor) SELCU Bishop Alexander Yurchenko and Odessa Pastor Oleg Schewtschenko sort medical supplies for assembling first aid kits. The chapel of the Mission Center of the (Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Ukraine) is also used as a sorting and assembling area for humanitarian relief supplies. The Mission Center is the seminary of the SELCU, but today most of the building is being used as a center for housing refugees (en route to other countries) and for distributing relief items. The building can house and provide food for up to 25-30 people on a daily basis.
Your Donations are Immediately Helping Ukrainians in Need! Please prayerfully consider donating to help Ukrainians by showing the Mercy, Compassion, Presence and Proclamation of Jesus Christ to those who are suffering and in need!
Thank You for your support in being the hands and feet of Jesus to those suffering!  On Tuesday, April 19, around 4:00 a.m., a fire broke out in the Beaudoin market, the largest public market in Jacmel, burning through goods and leaving scores of vendors and customers devastated.  According to residents, the supermarket inferno erupted and quickly spread to one side, completely destroying it. Area residents said they watched in disbelief as the blaze took hold. The initial estimate was that 40% of the goods in the market were destroyed. There will be considerable economic consequences for the vendors and the community.
Twenty families from our partner church, The First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jacmel, have been directly affected by the fire. They have lost thousands of dollars in goods as well as their livelihood for the foreseeable future. Please consider a generous donation to help these families as they recover from this devastating fire. Additional Funds Needed to Set Up Three More Medical Clinics in Haiti to Help Fight COVID-194/26/2022
513 Adults and 205 Children Served So Far at Three Locations  Thanks to your generous support, our mission partner, Mission:Haiti, was able to schedule the first three COVID-19 clinics a few weeks ago. Because of the clinics’ huge success, the medical staff saw twice as many people as they expected and need an additional $2,500 to purchase more supplies for the remaining three clinics. They are anticipating serving an average of 300 patients at each location. Please prayerfully consider a generous donation to support these life-saving clinics as Haiti continues to battle COVID-19. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of our Haitian brothers and sisters!
 LCC received a thank you note from Pastor John Brazeal and Principal Geri Brazeal of Christ the King Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, Illinois, for the donation of a large refrigerator/freezer for the Senior House at Christ the King, and for coloring books for the school.
Thank you for all you do. The fridge is loved by all in the house. Not only do the kids love the coloring books but we have been giving them to the people who come for groceries. One lady said when she gets stressed out with her problems she first reads the Bible verses that Pastor John gave her, then she prays a prayer that I gave her from an LCC devotion. She then takes out the colored pencils that one of the eighth graders gave her and removes the remaining stress by coloring two pages. God bless and keep you all safe. Pastor John and Geri Through your generous donations, LCC has been supporting teacher salaries in the Jeremie District. We received the following update from our mission partner, Sue Gross, with the Haitian Lutheran Mission Project (HLMP).  Your donations have made a huge difference in the lives of so many families in Fond Rouge and other villages in the Jeremie District. Hundreds of children whose parents cannot afford to send them to public school are attending our seven schools because you have kept them open. Many lives have been improved, and some saved because you cared enough to keep the HLMP working in Haiti for the past 15-plus years.
All of our schools are in the farthest southwest portion of the island. There is only one road from Port au Prince that can take you there. It is a rather isolated area and difficult for other relief organizations to get to. Most Haitians have never even been to Jeremie. Even today, most families have no electricity or indoor plumbing. Our school meals are still cooked over wood fires behind the school, and water is brought to them in buckets from the river or a community well in the village. Many children attend school barefooted and hungry with no school supplies, but they are eager to learn, so the HLMP feels keeping the schools open is the very least we can do. "For those who have been given much, much will be expected."(Luke 12:48). Even though the last two years have been difficult for many here in the United States, it cannot compare with life in Haiti. Please open your hearts to those who are in need. Blessings, Sue Gross Haitian Lutheran Mission Project Your Generous Donations Allow Four Homes of Mercy in Israel to Continue Serving Their Residents4/26/2022
 Sixty-four LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs and their teams from twenty states participated in the 10th Annual Virtual Run for Respect for Pontiac Township High School Peers in Action from their home communities the weekend of April 23-24.  The Run for Respect 5K RUN is sponsored by Pontiac Township High School in Pontiac, Illinois. Their high school Peers in Action Group and the Special Education Life Skills classes have been working with Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools to SPREAD THE WORD INCLUSION. They want to create a world where ALL people feel RESPECTED and INCLUDED.  The LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry is very grateful to Laura Baumgardner and her students, for inviting the Comfort Dogs and their teams to be part of this event. The K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry teams from all across the country enjoyed walking together as one, to support our friends of the Life Skills class at Pontiac Township High School. It was so much fun for the K-9 Comfort Dog teams as they walked the 5K Run for Respect. The teams shared laughter companionship and the joy of walking with God as they completed their trek. As the Comfort Dog teams walked in their communities they shared the places that marked their course. Kezia Comfort Dog shared their adventures at Fort McHenry, while Solomon Comfort Dog shared historic Williamsburg, Virginia, and Amos Comfort Dog shared Leesburg, one of the best-preserved historical areas of Virginia.  Peace Comfort Dog showed us the Walt Disney Amphitheater by Lake Eola. Seth Comfort Dog shared with us campus life at Clemson University, while Isaac shared Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington. Priscilla and Joanna Comfort Dogs showed us around the University of Nebraska.
Hope Comfort Dog walked along the Chattahoochee River area in Georgia and Dove Comfort Dog explored Pokagon State Park, Indiana. Job Comfort Dog showed us the beautiful Memphis Botanical Gardens, and Pax and Phoebe Comfort Dogs shared with us the Bluebonnet the Texas state flower.  While we saw the waves of the Atlantic Ocean from Boca Raton with Jemimah Comfort Dog, we also get a chance to cross the bridge at Celebration Park, Hilton Head, South Carolina with Zoara and Lizzie Comfort Dogs. We experienced a wonderful viewing of sculptures done by talented artists with Gideon Comfort Dog at the Walker Art Institute, Minneapolis. Devorah and Cubby Comfort Dogs guided us through the Benson Sculpture Garden in Loveland, Colorado. Aaron and Gomer Comfort Dogs shared the iconic landmark “The (Grape) Crusher” in Napa Valley, California. Jared Comfort Dog shared with us the set of “Inclusion” murals.
Kye and Bekah Comfort Dogs took us across the bridge over the Kishwaukee River, Illinois, while we explored castle ruins at Ha Ha Tonka State Park, Missouri with Boaz Comfort Dog. Anna, Claudia, and Ezra Comfort Dogs made our tummies grumble as they shared Packo's Hungarian restaurant made famous by Jamie Farr who played Klinger on M.A.S.H. Those are just a few of the places that our Comfort Dogs gave us a tour of for the 10th Annual Virtual Run for Respect for Pontiac Township High School Peers in Action. All sixty-four Comfort Dogs had so much to share with the Life Skills class and their followers by participating in this very important event.  On Saturday, April 23, Steve Black gave a L.E.R.T. presentation at the Lutheran Women's Missionary League (LWML) Aurora Zone Spring Rally at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Dillsboro, Indiana.
Steve is a member of St. John’s and an active L.E.R.T. chainsaw operator that deploys with Lutheran Church Charities Disaster Response. He spoke to eighteen women about what L.E.R.T. is and how volunteers serve those affected by a disaster and share the mercy, compassion, presence, and proclamation of Jesus Christ to those in need. Emergency Site Visit at Stagg Highh School after Fatal Stabbing of 15-year-old Alycia Reynaga4/25/2022
 Last week LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs Aaron (St. John’s - Napa, California), Micah (Light of the Valley - Elk Grove, California), Rahab (St. Andrews - Stockton, California), and Reuben (First Lutheran - Yuba City, California), were invited to bring a comforting presence to the students and staff at Stagg High School in Stockton, California, after the fatal stabbing of 15-year-old Alycia Reynaga. The Comfort Dog teams made return visits to Stagg High School to spend time with the students and staff as they faced the aftermath of that tragedy. Having the LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs present at the school helped the students with their fears, loss, and shock. At times some of the students would seek a repeated visit with Aaron, Micah, Rahab, or Reuben as they needed their comfort and love. One teacher commented, “You’re making my kids smile! Thank you!” Another teacher said, “The dogs have had the biggest positive impact on all the students and faculty during these last couple of days!” On Friday evening, the K-9s spent time with students, parents, and the community at the prayer vigil for Alycia Reynaga in Stockton. A Heart of Mercy and Compassion and cross was at the memorial site for people to write messages of love and prayers. |
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