 On Wednesday, July 12, the Northern Illinois District was struck by fourteen tornadoes within a three-hour time period. The only EF-2 tornado was in South Elgin, which heavily damaged a neighborhood. On Friday, July 21, Kevin Krage, Bill Pietsch, and Larry Zagorski from Lord of Life, LaFox L.E.R.T. team returned to this hard-hit neighborhood to cut and remove a very large downed tree from a homeowner’s yard with a bobcat. The homeowner was very appreciative of their assistance, as he could have never cut or removed this on his own. He couldn’t believe how quickly and willingly the L.E.R.T. team completed the work.
If you are so moved, please donate to the LCC Disaster Response 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 pray for all of the communities affected by these devastating storms, including the LCC Disaster Response volunteers and staff that help during the recovery process.
LCC works in coordination with LCMS Disaster Response national and local districts of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
 On Wednesday, July 12, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) Northern Illinois District was struck by fourteen tornadoes within a three-hour time period. Two days later, on Friday, July 14, another two tornadoes occurred. Lutheran Church Charities Disaster Response immediately reached out to all of the churches in the affected areas to see if they, or any of their congregation members, were affected. Fortunately, most were EF-O tornadoes causing minimal and localized damage that was able to be cleaned up by owners, neighbors, and public works.
Several sites required the lift to remove multiple dangerous hanging limbs and the big bobcat to move very large damaged tree trunks after they were cut. L.E.R.T. volunteers worked very hard on these last big projects and all of the homeowners expressed their appreciation to each volunteer for returning each day and treating their property as if it was their own.
Mrs. B said, “This tornado was devastating to us. It could have been worse I know. But watching neighbors help each other and seeing your team come each day and ask all of us what you can do for us has just been amazing. You have made this disaster so much more manageable for us. Thanks just doesn’t seem enough!” One of the women in the neighborhood told us she prayed all day after the tornado happened for God to send angels to clean up the yards and He did. He sent neighbors helping neighbors, the township, and your L.E.R.T. team. She thanks God for answered prayers. LCC Disaster Response is still receiving requests for assistance. It is a privilege for LCC and our L.E.R.T. volunteers to serve in the name of the Lord! LCC never goes where we are not invited. We NEVER charge those we serve! If you are so moved, please donate to the LCC Disaster Response 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 pray for all of the communities affected by these devastating storms, including the LCC Disaster Response volunteers and staff that help during the recovery process.
LCC works in coordination with LCMS Disaster Response national and local districts of the LCMS.  For ten days, Kathy O’Day, LCC Director of Disaster Response, and twenty-seven LCC Lutheran Early Response Team (L.E.R.T.) volunteers served with The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) Southern Illinois District in Nashville, Addieville, Okawville and Ashely, Illinois. These communities were struck by a derecho (land hurricane) and 90 mph straight-line winds on June 29 and 30. Lutheran Church Charities and Southern Illinois District L.E.R.T. teams spent 980 volunteer hours assisting sixty-one families by removing trees, damaged limbs, and debris with chainsaws, boom lift, bobcats, and tractors.  This woman lost her husband three years ago and, until this disaster, has been maintaining her own property. She felt overwhelmed by the damage to her many trees and didn’t know what she would do. She couldn’t believe the work the volunteers got done to make her property safe again. While she watched the team work, volunteers also sat and talked with her. The team carved a cross in one of her trees and presented her with a cross slice signed by all. Through many tears of happiness and hugs, she thanked everyone over and over. 
Matt Bierman and Bryce Cramer, Lutheran Church-Missouri (LCMS) Southern Illinois District Disaster Response Coordinators (DDRC), and Pastor David and Rachel Benning from Trinity Lutheran Church in Nashville, Illinois extend their sincere thanks to the following volunteers:
Illinois Good Shepherd, Elgin – David Vollrath Immanuel, DeKalb – Pete Springmire Immanuel, Dundee – Matt Flynn Immanuel, Palatine – Chris Johnson Lord of Life, LaFox – Mark Holstein, Max Metz, Bill Pietsch, Larry Zagorski Messiah, Sterling – Jacob Beets St. John, East Moline – Bill and Debbie Girard, Ken and Janet Hill St. John, Wilmette – Tom Morrison St. Peter, Schaumburg – Missy Dieckman, Ken and Vicki Kiviranta Trinity, Lisle – Ed Boerman, Wayne Scott Indiana St. John, Dillsboro – Steve Black, Ruth Weisbrod Wisconsin St. Paul, Grafton – Mark and Beverly Brueggemann, Stu Natale, Kaye Voss St. Paul, Janesville – Lark Sanders
LCC never goes where we are not invited. We NEVER charge those we serve! If you are so moved, please donate to the LCC Disaster Response 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 pray for all of the communities affected by these devastating storms, including the LCMS and LCC Disaster Response volunteers and staff that help during the recovery process.
LCC works in coordination with LCMS Disaster Response national and local districts of the LCMS.
You can help! In order to be more prepared to respond, our local HMC affiliate congregation volunteers were asked to build ninety Hearts of Mercy & Compassion to strategically place them with our LCC K-9 Ministry teams throughout the United States.
Your financial support of HMC deployment will help to offset the $2,500 cost of the ninety Hearts of Mercy & Compassion. LCC never charges those we serve.
We are able to do that with the support of donors.
Greetings, everyone, from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I want to thank all of you who have been praying for my Haitian people, especially after the big storm that damaged Leogane and a part of Port au Prince, especially in Tabarre and La Plaine. Last week my team went to La Plaine to do a food distribution where we served 40 families with a package of food for two or three days, depending on how many people were in the family. We are planning to go to Tabarre to serve another 30 families. Please keep us in your prayers because this area is very dangerous. I want to say to all of the members of Mission:Haiti and especially thanks to all of the members of LCC who continue praying for us and support us by sending money to buy food to distribute to those people who are in need. May God continue blessing you all. Lophane Please prayerfully consider making a monetary donation to enable Lutheran Church Charities to send emergency funds to Haiti to help provide food during the current crisis. Thank you for being a part of the Mercy and Compassion Ministry of Lutheran Church Charities.
 After being on staff with LCC part-time for two and one-half years, Wayne Kolweier, who worked with fellow staff member Tim Laabs in the ministry of Hearts of Mercy & Compassion (HMC), has recently retired.
As a showing of thanks and respect for service to our Lord through serving others, LCC presented Wayne with his own HMC with scripture verse Jeremiah 29:11, which read, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to give you hope and a future.” LCC staff members also added personal well-wishes to the HMC. Wayne was instrumental in helping the new ministry get planted and flourish. Also, he helped set up crosses or markers with hearts at memorial sites in numerous states where LCC was invited to be present to comfort those hurting by each tragedy. Wayne’s passion for prayer gave comfort to many individuals who were on site. Great thanks are given to Wayne, who also plans to continue assisting LCC on a volunteer basis. May God bless your retirement, Wayne.  Last week the LCC K-9 Ministry was thrilled to be able to meet the kids attending the Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) Kids Camp in Salem, Wisconsin. The camp is organized for surviving children (6-14 years of age) and their parent or legal guardian of law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty. It allows families to interact in a relaxed setting, removed from everyday life. On Saturday, five LCC K-9 Ministry teams welcomed the kids and their families as they arrived at Milwaukee Mitchell Airport. There were 138 campers, and our primary role was to be with them in counseling sessions, but we could meet them while they did other activities. The kids enjoyed exploring police motorcycles, checking out a helicopter, shooting 22-caliber rifles, and other fun things. Some of the comments the handlers shared were: "One of the girls from the second group arrived early. I asked her where she was from, and she said Miami Beach. I shared with her that Tobias and I had been down to Surfside following the condominium collapse. She told me that that was the last 'job' her dad worked before he died in August 2021." "Mary was a big hit with the two groups we served. She was in the center of the circle of kids, and they took turns spending time with her. We feel very blessed to have served these young people today. Today I was in with a counselor again. It was her first year at the camp. One thing she did was ask the kids to picture themselves in the future. Who did they want to be? Who did they want around them? What did they want to do? One boy said, 'I want to keep living my faith.'" On Friday, the teams were back at the airport to see them off as they returned home. We were blessed to be able to serve these children and their families and hope to see them again soon. The LCC K-9 teams serving included: LCC K-9 Police Ministry Dog Candace (LCC Staff) LCC K-9 Police Ministry Dog Charity (Brookfield - Brookfield, Wisconsin) LCC K-9 Police Ministry Dog Dora (Lutheran High School Association of Greater Milwaukee - Milwaukee, Wisconsin) LCC K-9 Police Ministry Dog Eve (St. John’s - Lombard, Illinois) LCC K-9 Police Ministry Dog Julia (King of Glory - Elgin, Illinois) LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Mary (St. Paul's - Janesville, Wisconsin) LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Michael (LCC Staff) LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Rhoda (Prince of Peace - Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin) LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Samson (Zion - Marengo, Illinois) LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Tobias (Lord of Glory - Grayslake, Illinois) LCC K-9 Comfort Dog in training Galilee LCC K-9 Comfort Dog in training Zacchaeus Lutheran Church Charities Disaster Response in Southern Illinois to Help Storm-Impacted Communities7/11/2023
 Kathy O’Day, LCC Director of Disaster Response, and LCC Lutheran Early Response Team (L.E.R.T.) volunteers are deployed and serving in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) Southern Illinois District to serve impacted homeowners from Thursday, July 6, through Saturday, July 15. On Monday, July 10, Rev. Chris Singer, LCC President & CEO; Rev. Ross Johnson, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) Director of Disaster Response; Pastor David Benning, Matt Bierman, and George Acosta, LCC Chief Operating Officer joined Kathy in Southern Illinois to visit affected homeowners and see the L.E.R.T. volunteers in action.  Left to right: Pastor David Benning, Matt Bierman, Rev. Ross Johnson, Rev. Chris Singer, Kathy O’Day On June 29 and 30, a derecho (land hurricane) and straight-line winds moved through Southern Illinois. Lutheran Church Charities (LCC) Disaster Response was invited by Matt Bierman and Bryce Cramer, Lutheran Church-Missouri (LCMS) Southern Illinois District Disaster Response Coordinators (DDRC), to deploy to Trinity Lutheran Church in Nashville, Illinois, to provide chainsaw assistance with heavy equipment and debris removal. We give thanks to Pastor David and Rachel Benning for their hospitality and the congregation members of Trinity Lutheran for hosting, feeding, and supporting us as we serve in their community.
They have assessed approximately 100 homeowner sites for damage and a possible response. They have completed work at 37 sites and have another 35 in the queue to complete.  Helping Farm Owner with Property Clean-Up This congregation member told us he did not need help to clean up his farm property but reluctantly accepted it with some urging. After the work was done, he was happy with the result and how professional we were. He posted a sign on the main highway in and out of town thanking the L.E.R.T. volunteers for all to see this week. It was a surprise and brought smiles to all of us.
Assisting Elderly Homeowner with Damage and Repairs  Kathy O’Day went to Mrs. P.'s home to assess the damage. When she arrived, Mrs. P. answered the door and was in tears. Her insurance adjuster had just left and told her that since she had several tree limbs on her mobile home roof, he would just total the unit as he stated it wasn’t worth fixing, and she could move. She was so upset as she is elderly and has a very nice home. Kathy called one of the LCC L.E.R.T. teams that were serving that day, and they came directly over to her home. They removed the tree limbs from her roof, patched a hole, reattached loose siding and a roof vent, and then tarped the roof to protect it from leaking into her home. Kathy even sent the pictures of the repairable hole and work done to protect the roof to the adjuster, who, after looking at them, called Mrs. P. and told her they would repair the roof. Over the time we were there, she went from tears to smiles. She was so pleased and kept telling us we were her angels sent by God to take care of her.
Helping an Elderly Father and Son with Multiple Home Property Damage The LCC L.E.R.T. volunteers served at two homes owned by a father and son. The father was 89 years old and thoroughly enjoyed sitting on his porch and watching all the work being completed to remove the many fallen and damaged trees and limbs from his roof, shed, and around both properties (lead photo). He also enjoyed visiting with the team, especially during the lunch break. He was very pleased with the cross presented to him.
Serving a Family with Property Damage while Young Daughter Was in the Emergency Room Last week Bryce Cramer and a few LCC and Southern Illinois District L.E.R.T. volunteers went to work at a home. The homeowner told them they could work, but he needed to leave immediately as his four-month-old granddaughter was being put into the hospital with pneumonia and difficulty breathing. Before he left, the team prayed with him. On Monday night, the mother posted a thank you to the L.E.R.T. team on the Washington County Talk Facebook page that was forwarded to us. To the wonderful group who cleared our trees: we can't thank you enough. Not only did you help us clear damage we couldn't, but you were there for us in other ways. Today was a scary day for our little family. You didn't know us yet when you heard our daughter was being sent to the ER, and you held a prayer for her with my father. That's small to some, but to this mom, it meant the world. Thank you for your kindness, we needed it on a week like this. I hope our community treats you well, and you know how much we appreciate you. I hope whoever you are, you see this. This reminds us that we do make a difference in the lives we touch by providing the mercy, compassion. presence and proclamation of Jesus Christ to those suffering and in need. LCC never goes where we are not invited. We NEVER charge those we serve! If you are so moved, please donate to the LCC Disaster Response 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 pray for all of the communities affected by these devastating storms, including the LCMS and LCC Disaster Response volunteers and staff that help during the recovery process.
LCC works in coordination with LCMS Disaster Response national and local districts of the LCMS. |
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