The LCC K-9 Ministry continues to grow as we welcome two new additions to our training school at Northbrook, Illinois. The pups’ names are Abednego and Meshach.

These adorable puppies will begin their journey of training to be an LCC K-9 Comfort Dog. Through time, patience, repetition, consistency, love, and guidance from their apprentice trainers, one day, Abednego and Meshach will serve as a bridge with two other congregations to reach those who are suffering or in need.
 
Abednego and Meshach are already a delight to have as part of the LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs in training. We ask that you keep the apprentice trainers and these new male pups in your prayers, asking for God’s continual guidance and encouragement as they begin this new journey

Lutheran Church Charities is always recruiting new volunteers to help train these amazing animals. We will have more puppies arriving soon and need more volunteers to nurture and train them. If you are interested in joining us on this mission, please contact LCC at k9trainers@lutheranchurchcharities.org for further information or visit our website at https://www.lutheranchurchcharities.org/traink9s.html.

LCC received the following request from Pastor Christopher Browne at Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Chicago, Illinois:

Friends,
 
We have some church members who have lost several family members. One of the family members was the brother. They are in need of $945 to cover burial expenses. The cost is to open and close the vault and put in the Urn with ashes.
 
Pastor Christopher Browne
Our Saviour Lutheran Church
Chicago, Illinois

Please consider donating to help this family bury their loved one.

LCC received a request from our mission partner Ministry in Mission working through Rev. Dr. Marky Kessa in Jacmel, Haiti.

In the prison of Jacmel, Haiti, the prisoners are about to die of hunger, and the majority are really sick. We have more than 700 prisoners, men, boys, and girls.
 
Please help us feed them, and save a life.
 
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in." (Matthew 25:35)
 
Rev. Dr. Marky Kessa

Please prayerfully consider donating to help provide food for the prisoners in Jacmel.

LCC received the following update from Sheryl DeWitt, Executive Director of RLOM:

I am so happy to inform you that the Village Board of Trustees for East Dundee has granted us approval to move forward with our plans for the new Redeeming Life Maternity Home!
 
Let us thank and praise our awesome God!
 
We give thanks to our Almighty God for this opportunity to grow our ministry. We know that this is through His amazing grace. Now, we are looking forward to when we can share his boundless love with women and babies in need in Northern Illinois!
 
We should be closing soon!
 
Thank you so much for your support and prayers during this long process. We are so thankful to have your partnership and support in our Northern Illinois District (NID) expansion.
 
Sheryl DeWitt, Executive Director, RLOM

Since March 2022, Lutheran Church Charities has been working cooperatively with pastors of the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Ukraine (SELCU) to provide humanitarian relief which combines the clear proclamation of the gospel.

SELCU Pastors Serving Ukrainians
More than 180 days have now passed since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the past six months, it is estimated that more than half of Ukraine's 44 million populace has either left the country as refugees or become internally displaced persons within the country.

One of the internally displaced persons is the Rev. Valerii Verba, a pastor of the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Ukraine (SELCU). The SELCU is a partner church of the Lutheran Church-Canada, which is a partner church of The Lutheran Church —Missouri Synod.
 
Pastor Verba's home and congregation are in the Russian-occupied city of Kherson, to which he cannot return. His wife, son, sister-in-law, niece, and nephew are refugees living in the town of Marsberg, Germany, together with two other SELCU pastors' refugee families in the same apartment building.

Because Pastor Verba cannot visit his congregation, he primarily assists SELCU Pastor Sergei Bevz and his congregation in Dnipro. In addition to caring for the Dnipro congregation, some two-three times each week, the two pastors load vans with humanitarian relief supplies and travel to cities and villages farther to the east in the Donbas region. At risk to their own lives, the pastors provide food for both body and soul to their fellow Ukrainians.
 
The conflict in Ukraine will not end soon. Through the generosity of its donors, Lutheran Church Charities has been concentrating on assisting those who remain in Ukraine, whether they are still residing in their own homes or are among the internally displaced. That assistance includes both humanitarian relief and the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. LCC is pleased to partner with the pastors of the SELCU and their congregations as they carry out this important ministry.

On Saturday, August 20, the River Place apartment complex in Deer Park, Wisconsin, was struck by lightning and a massive fire occurred, leaving many families displaced. On Thursday, August 25, many local agencies were brought together at the Victim’s Assistance Center to help families with their next steps. All those impacted had to move for safety reasons, and many lost their belongings.

LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs Charity (Brookfield - Brookfield, Wisconsin), Malachi (St. Matthew - Hawthorn Woods, Illinois), Mary (St. Paul's - Janesville, Wisconsin), Rhoda (Prince of Peace - Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin), Samson (Zion - Marengo, Illinois), and Tobias (Lord of Glory - Grayslake, Illinois) were hugged and snuggled by many who showed up; even some volunteers needed a little extra love.

The LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs and their teams were happy to be present and give love to anyone who came to visit and help these families get through to the next step.