A 12-story oceanfront condominium tower partially collapsed in the early hours of Thursday, June 24 on Collins Avenue in the town of Surfside, Florida, spurring a massive search-and-rescue effort with dozens of rescue crews from across Miami-Dade and Broward counties. The partial collapse of the 12-story wing of Champlain Towers South resulted in four confirmed deaths and more than 159 persons still unaccounted for. Search and rescue crews continue to carry on the dire but delicate work of picking over and tunneling through tons of crumbled concrete and twisted steel in search of survivors.

The LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs have been invited in by Rev. Dr. Gregory Walton, LCMS District President for the Florida-Georgia District and Rev. Dennis Bartels Pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in North Miami. Pastor Bartels has served this community for 35 years and is well connected to the community where we will be serving. Tim Hetzner, LCC President/CEO, and Bonnie Fear, LCC K-9 Crisis Response Coordinator, are working closely with Pastor Bartels to determine the appropriate time to have Boots and Paws on the ground.

The LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs will come in to serve first responders and their families that have worked around the clock doing search and rescue for the 159 people who are unaccounted for (at the time of this writing). First responders include: emergency medical technicians (EMTs), paramedics, firefighters, police officers, city, state, and federal personnel. They are all working tirelessly with the destruction of the Champlain Towers. In addition, LCC K9 Comfort Dogs will serve all in that area who have worked selflessly, as well as family members who have lost loved ones.

Our LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Teams will be driving to and staying in Miami. Travel and accommodations in the area will be expensive. LCC's K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry never charges those we serve as we bring the Mercy, Compassion, Presence and Proclamation of Jesus Christ to those suffering and in need.

Please prayerfully consider a donation to the LCC K-9 Travel Fund as we prepare to deploy to serve the first responders and this devastated community.

Please join LCC in keeping the families, first responders, and the community in your prayers as they move through these extremely trying times.

Serving Together, Serving Others in Need, as We Serve Jesus!

Tim Hetzner
President/CEO 
Lutheran Church Charities

At 10:45 pm, Sunday, June 20, a confirmed EF-3 tornado and catastrophic storms raged through Northern Illinois, causing extensive damage in the hardest-hit areas of Woodridge, Naperville, and Darien, as well as Burr Ridge and Downers Grove. Straight-line winds of at least 70mph tore through other communities. Buildings have collapsed, homes heavily damaged or leveled, multiple power lines down, large trees uprooted, and dangerous debris scattered. Major destruction has left many roads and neighborhoods impassible. At least 250 homes were damaged, 26 are reported as uninhabitable.
 
During the first 48 hours after the tornado, Tim Hetzner, LCC President/CEO, Kathy O’Day, LCC Director of Disaster Response, and LCC Lutheran Early Response Team (L.E.R.T) chainsaw team leaders visited affected first responders and homeowners to assess the damage to their property. Work orders were immediately scheduled for LCC L.E.R.T. volunteers to begin property clean-up starting on Tuesday. Pastor Mark Schultz from Trinity Lutheran Church in Lisle invited LCC to serve out of their church. We are also working with Bethany Lutheran Church in Naperville.

Woodridge Mayor Gina Cunningham and Illinois State Senator John Curran were present to thank LCC Disaster Response and L.E.R.T. chainsaw volunteers for everything we are doing to help their community. They are familiar with our response to disaster and crisis situations and welcomed our presence in assisting the residents in the impacted communities.

The American Red Cross referred a homeowner to Lutheran Church Charities for chainsaw assistance. This family has received much roof and interior damage to their home, about 40 trees down in their front and back yards, loss of power and lines to home, and a damaged vehicle from falling trees. In addition to this devastation, they are facing the possible loss of their young adult child to cancer. We told them to take care of their family and we will take care of their property, whenever they are ready for us. They deeply appreciated the compassion and hope of Jesus Christ we showed to them for their difficult situation.

One of the first homeowners visited is a Lisle-Woodridge firefighter who just returned home from his long shift of responding to his devastated community. His property has many downed trees and hanging tree limbs. An LCC L.E.R.T. team was sent to his property first thing on Tuesday to start the recovery effort.

We prayed with him, his wife, and his daughter to give them hope and reassurance that God is with them during this challenging time.

“Thank you so much for all your and your team's help with our branches!! We so appreciate you and are very thankful!!” – Serene Berkowitz

We also visited the home of a Lisle-Woodridge police officer who is helping to keep his community safe. The tree in his front yard has many dangerous hanging limbs. Work on his property is scheduled for today.

We are honored and blessed to be able to serve these brave first responders. They are grateful for our quick response so that they can continue to help residents in their community.

LCC L.E.R.T. chainsaw teams are helping a neighbor of Pastor Mike Curtis from Trinity – Lisle. The large tree on their property is heavily damaged as well as the tree in their front yard. L.E.R.T. chainsaw teams used their heavy equipment to safely clean up the property and help them in their time of need. Wayne and his wife were presented with a signed slice of the tree taken down and are thankful for our immediate assistance

LCC Disaster Response extends a heartfelt thank you to the volunteers from Trinity – Lisle L.E.R.T who cooked and served food to those present at the worksites and the hard-hit Woodridge neighborhood.

The LCC Disaster Response Ministry never charges those we serve. Please donate to the LCC Disaster Response General Fund or LCC Equipment Maintenance & Fuel Expense Fund so that we may continue to show the Mercy, Compassion, Presence and Proclamation of Jesus Christ to those suffering and in need.

Please keep the families affected by the tornado and storms in your prayers, including all of the LCC Disaster Response volunteers and staff as we deploy to the hardest-hit areas of Northern Illinois to help during the long recovery process.
 
Your prayers, support, and involvement help Make A Difference – in the name of Jesus to those in need.

On Monday, June 14, a massive fire with multiple explosions broke out at the Chemtool plant in Rockton, Illinois, shocking this small-town community. Everything within a one-mile radius was under a mandatory, full-scale evacuation. Eighty different fire departments and a specialized firefighting crew from Louisiana worked to control the fire. Chemtool is a major employer in this community, and many people are impacted by this loss.

During their presence in Rockton, the Comfort Dogs and their ministry teams provided much-needed comfort and compassion to the first responders tirelessly battling the fire, to Chemtool plant employees, and the people gathered at the evacuation center set up at Roscoe Middle School.

They visited Rockton Fire Department 201 giving love and comfort to firefighters serving a 12-hour shift, and praying in thanksgiving for them.

At the evacuation center, the K-9 ministry teams met Colette. She evacuated from her home within a couple of blocks of Chemtool. The teams prayed with her and listened to her story.
 
In talking with her daughter the night of the explosion, Colette told her how upset she was having to leave her home and then even felt guilty about saying that, knowing people could have died. She continued, though, that she just moved into her apartment and didn’t know anyone, but there were others in the shelter from the same housing, and they all reached out to her, offering to get her things for her from her apartment when they could. She said she realized God was still caring for her, and she “left there with no friends, and now I have seven new friends!”

 
LCC's K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry never goes where we are not invited and never charge those we serve as we bring the Mercy, Compassion, Presence and Proclamation of Jesus Christ to those suffering and in need. Please keep the Rockton, Illinois community in your prayers.

Last Wednesday, LCC Staff member Sean McAdams delivered a check of your donations to Pastor Krueger of St. Mark's Lutheran Church in St. Charles, Illinois. LCC has received the following update from St Mark’s:
 
Thank you so much for your unbelievable generosity! You have been able to help this family keep the utilities on and so much more. This mom is looking to go back to school in the fall to get an early childhood education degree. She said she has always wanted to work with kids and prays she is able to get that degree and begin a career in early childhood education. Having been a stay-at-home mom for the past 11 years, she is nervous but excited at the thought of accomplishing that dream. We give thanks and praise to God for Lutheran Church Charities and all who give generously for the needs they are able to identify in our communities. Thank you all for being the hands and feet of Jesus for this family. God bless you all!
 
We also received this Thank You to the donors from the mom:
 
I can’t even begin to thank you enough for all your generosity. I am humbled and brought to tears by all the support. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! God bless you all.
 
Thank you to all that have donated. The need for this family is great and ongoing. If so moved, please consider a donation to help this mother provide for her family.

On Thursday, June 17, Northern Illinois experienced several fast-moving storms with high winds in the evening. As a result of these, Lutheran Church Charities Disaster Response was called for chainsaw assistance.

One home was located in Lake Barrington, Illinois, and had a large tree fall across the driveway. Jim Beckley and Richard Habegger from Prince of Peace, Palatine L.E.R.T. responded immediately to cut and remove the tree so the homeowner could regain access to their home.

The other home was in Lockport, Illinois, and had a large tree fall next to their home, taking down their electric lines to the house. They also had to fell a tree that was left-leaning dangerously towards the house. Larry and Dan Zagorski from Lord of Life, LaFox L.E.R.T. spent two days felling and cutting these trees for Dan’s neighbor to help this homeowner make his property safe again.

Both homeowners were very appreciative of the quick response and much-needed assistance.

The Palatine and St. John Wheaton, Illinois, L.E.R.T. teams spent two days this week helping a family with an elderly mother and a disabled daughter fell a large dead evergreen tree very near their home using the boom lift. They also removed other dangerous hanging tree limbs around the yard and cleared much-overgrown brush. The teams loaded the LCC 24’ dump trailer and hauled all of the wood and brush away to a donated site for disposal.

The family thanks the following L.E.R.T. volunteers for their willing service:
 
Immanuel, Palatine – Steve MacKay
Prince of Peace, Palatine – Jim and Karen Beckley, Richard and Bonnie Habegger, Mike Kaminski, Dan Swyndroski
St. John, Wheaton – Steve Chester, Marty Johnson
St. Peter, Arlington Heights – Lois Lehman

This was a large job to complete safely, and the homeowners were very appreciative of the professional assistance and care shown to them.

Palatine Lutheran Early Response Team (L.E.R.T.) comprises volunteers from Prince of Peace and Immanuel Lutheran Churches in Palatine, Illinois. During the month of May, both churches featured Lutheran Church Charities L.E.R.T. as their mission partner. They asked their respective congregations to donate cleaning supplies to fill 5-gallon flood buckets to give to those in need after a disaster.
 
Home Depot in Mount Prospect, Illinois, donated twenty-five buckets with lids and a case of hand sanitizer. The buckets were assembled and sent with prayers for their future recipients this week for Lutheran Church Charities Disaster Response L.E.R.T. teams.