Thank you to the LCC donor for a donation of a pair of bunk beds, a desk, a bookshelf, and linens. They brought comfort and a measure of security to Pastor Garcia and Sandra’s three daughters. 

Sandra and their three daughters arrived the last week in July to be reunited with Pastor Garcia, nine months after fleeing Mexico because the Mexican drug cartel threatened to kill the Pastor and his family.
 
The girls are excited to start the new school year and make new friends. The oldest daughter is a freshman in high school, and the other two are in elementary school. A special thank you to Eric and his father, Heriberto Fernandez, from Iglesia Luterana San Pablo in Aurora, Illinois, who provided the truck and helped Pastor Garcia pick up the furniture.
 
Your in-kind donation and donations of time and service make a big difference in the lives of these traumatized children. Thank you!

Recently, the LCC Human Care team partnered with Immanuel Lutheran Church in Glenview, Illinois, and members of the community to donate forty-two bags of clothing, forty-five pairs of shoes, and bedding to migrants in Chicago.
 
Earlier this year, First St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Chicago, St. Chrysostom’s Episcopal Church of Chicago, Chicago Hope Initiative, and LCC formed a partnership to open a store for migrants and families in need.
 
While working with the community service network and other Christian churches, First St. Paul's recognized that migrants lacked basic needs items and wanted to create a space for people to pick up what they need. They did not have the building space, so St. Chrysostom's down the street offered their gym for the summer months.
 
Chicago Hope Initiative, which provides social workers for migrant families, joined the partnership to show migrant families to the store to receive basic supplies. First St. Paul and St. Chrysostom's coordinated volunteers for logistics and to run the store. LCC was invited to the ministry network to broker resources from other local churches and non-profits so they can provide much-needed items to “The Store.”
 
With school starting at St. Chrysostom's, their gymnasium was no longer available to house “The Store” for migrants. Just recently, a new home was found for “The Store.” It now has a new permanent home for two years, which will give them time to grow and develop the program. Our LCC staff had the opportunity to see the new site for “The Store” as we delivered donated items.
 
We are grateful for the ministry of “The Store” and the impact it will have. Many of the people only arrive with the clothes they are wearing and a backpack with a few personal belongings. When people come to the “The Store,” they will be able to pick out clothes, shoes, household items, toys for children, and furniture to help them settle into their new community in Chicagoland.
 
Please pray for the partnership of First St. Paul, St. Chrysostom's, Chicago Hope Initiative, and LCC as we work together to serve those in need. If you, your family, group, or congregation would like to collect items for the store, contact Denise Snider at LCC at [email protected].

On Sunday, August 20, LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs Abraham & Beloved (Trinity - Hicksville, New York), Addie & Leah (Immanuel - Danbury Connecticut), Kezia (Emmanuel - Baltimore, Maryland), and Obadiah (Christ Lutheran - Scituate, Massachusetts) welcomed the new Pastor of Immanuel Lutheran, Danbury Connecticut, Ryan Oaks, his wife Colleen, and their son.

These master’s degree students from across the globe wanted to hear how L.E.R.T. responds to disasters so they could learn how to assist their churches and organizations prepare and care for a disaster-filled world.

The students were divided into three groups and given real-world scenarios to discuss/solve before they were provided with how the scenarios actually played out. They asked questions and then toured the St. John’s L.E.R.T. trailer.
 
They hope to serve people from a uniquely Christian perspective in disaster ministry, emergency management, humanitarian aid, and public and mental health fields.
 
It is a privilege to be asked by Joy Lee and Jamie Aten from the Humanitarian Disaster Institute to share with the incoming class each year.

Lutheran Church Charities L.E.R.T. volunteers completed work at thirteen homes as a result of these recent storms. We continue to be available to serve as needed.

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.

Pastor Alex Merlo of Iglesia San Pablo in Aurora, Illinois, has been assisting Pastor Fernando Garcia, a recent refugee seeking asylum in the United States, in finding a job, transportation, and a home for his family. Last week the family moved into a temporary apartment until the end of the month when they will be able to move into a duplex on the church's property.
 
This past week God brought together a donor, and members of Immanuel, East Dundee, and Iglesia San Pablo to touch the lives of two families to provide the needed resources to furnish an empty apartment and the duplex, which will be their new home.

A senior citizen moving into an assisted living facility donated some of her furniture to LCC to be used for a family in need. LCC was privileged to facilitate two congregations, Immanuel, East Dundee, and Iglesia San Pablo, Aurora, working together to impact the lives of two families in their congregations.

Immanuel congregation paid for the moving truck and provided volunteers to load a household of furniture in East Dundee. The donor’s donation will furnish a two-bedroom home for Pastor Garcia and his family at San Pablo, Aurora. Volunteers Jon Bartelt and Matthew Flynn from Immanuel East Dundee drove the truck to Aurora, where Pastor Merlo, and members of their congregation, with Pastor and Mrs. Garcia, unloaded the furniture.

This is truly a picture of members of the Lord’s Church working together to change the lives of his people.

Last week, Lutheran Church Charities Disaster Response received our new MT-100 Mini Bobcat from Atlas Bobcat.

Many thanks to the LCMS Disaster Response for a grant and our generous donors for making this purchase possible. When invited, this will be used when responding to disasters, both locally and in other states, to safely move storm-damaged trees, limbs, and debris.
 
LCC staff and L.E.R.T. leaders were given maintenance and operation instructions. We are ready to respond with this new piece of equipment when the next disaster occurs. Praise God for all those that support and serve in the LCC Disaster Response ministry!