Kincade Fire, Sonoma County, California The Kincade Fire in Sonoma County, which began October 23, has already consumed over 77,000 acres. The Lutheran Church Charities (LCC) K-9 Comfort Dogs responded to invitations by the Sonoma County dispatch in Santa Rosa, California and by the Peer Support Department from California Fire asking us to comfort the first responders risking their lives to serve and protect the many communities involved in yet another catastrophic disaster. Just days after the fire began, LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Reuben (First Lutheran – Yuba City, California) was already giving support to the Sonoma County Fire and Dispatch and with officials at the fire briefings in Santa Rosa. Shortly after, LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Aaron (St. John’s – Napa, California) joined in support of the California Fire teams at base camps and with the California Conservation Corps. Please join LCC in praying for the safety of all first responders and volunteers as they continue to respond to the current wildfires. Christ Lutheran Church and School, La Mesa, California From Wednesday, October 30 through Sunday, November 3, LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs Jessy (St. Paul’s – Concordia, Missouri) and Lois (First Good Shepherd – Las Vegas, Nevada) and their handlers deployed to California, responding to an invite by Rev. Travis Ferguson, Associate Pastor of Christ Lutheran Church and School, La Mesa, California to comfort families, students, and friends grieving the tragic loss of a parent of four children who attend their school. Many other students in the school have also suffered the loss of someone close to them making this a difficult time for everyone. On Wednesday, October 30, the K-9s visited six classrooms, and after school they spent some time with the father, four children, and the parents of the woman who passed away. On Thursday, October 31, the teams finished visiting the rest of the classrooms as well as preschool where the "little ones" had an opportunity to meet and pet the K-9s. On Friday, November 1, the teams visited St. Paul's Lutheran School in San Diego, California. After everyone met the K-9s, the school had a "Jog-a-Thon" to raise funds for a project. During that time, the K-9s visited with many parents. After an afternoon off, the teams went to the first part of a "Junior High Lock-in" at Christ Lutheran. On Saturday, November 2, the teams were present at the church for the memorial service where the K-9s had an opportunity to greet people for one hour before the service. Jessy Comfort Dog got to be part of the Children's Message entitled "Hugs and Hallelujahs." The presenter talked about feeling better when you pet a dog, and that the comfort dogs were present to "lift the spirit" of the people at the service. LCC never goes where we are not invited and the LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry NEVER charges those we serve. We pick up all of our travel, hotel, and meals costs. We also always put boots and paws on the ground within 24 hours (often fewer) from the time we get the invite.
Please help LCC as we bring the Mercy, Compassion, Presence and Proclamation of Jesus Christ to those who are suffering and in need. Together, we can be the Hands, Feet and Presence of Jesus Christ to La Mesa, Northern California, and surrounding communities impacted by both of these tragic events. Please support us by prayer and if you are so moved, help us with travel expenses. Your Much Needed Donations Help Provide Food to the Most Vulnerable in Haiti Humanitarian Crisis11/5/2019
The situation in Haiti is still dire and at this time we can only send money to help our brothers and sisters.
We have distributed two weeks of food to over 1200 families/individuals from seven different churches/ communities and one orphanage. The people who have received the food were determined by local pastors or elders as the most nutritionally vulnerable whether they were church members or not. One elderly gentleman in a rural village told our Field Director Lophane Laurent and Security Director Noel Duffault that he had not eaten in three days and he was praying for an angel to bring him food because he was too weak to get up to find someone who might share a little food with him. He told them that they were surely the angels he had prayed for. Both of these men have lived in Haiti all their lives and have seen and experienced hunger, but they both were greatly moved by this elderly man. Lophane and Noel are doing their best to find those who are the most in need and get food to them safely. We would like to express our deepest thanks to all those who are supporting the people of Haiti through prayers and resources. Please ask people to not weary of doing good, these gifts of love and mercy do make an eternal difference." Mission:Haiti Facebook post from November 4 reads: "This is Pastor Mario, aka 'The Happy Pastor' because he is always smiling. He has a congregation and orphanage in a very difficult part of Port-au-Prince. The children are some of the 38 he has in his orphanage. They were very grateful to receive food from Mission: Haiti. We were very blessed to be able to help.This food will feed the orphanage for several weeks as well as the elderly and the most needy in Pastor Mario’s area. We want to thank Tim Hetzner of Lutheran Church Charities and all the donors that are making it possible for us to help so many people!" Please prayerfully consider making a monetary donation to enable Lutheran Church Charities continue to send emergency funds to Haiti to help provide food for Haitian adults and children.
Thirty dollars will buy enough rice, oil, maggi, canned fish, spaghetti, and soup to feed one person two meals a day for three weeks. LCC Haiti mission partners are helping the most nutritionally vulnerable but need financial support to do so. Join LCC as we pray for the protection of the Haitian people and our mission partners, and for peace in Haiti. Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Fremont, Nebraska wishes to give the 75 families they have helped with home repairs after the spring floods through Project Restore, a Thanksgiving food basket. Remkea Ockander, Director of Youth and Family Ministry also stated they hope to be able to provide gifts at Christmas, especially to the families with children. Most of these families are poor and struggling to make ends meet as they try to recover from extensive flood damage. Lutheran Church Charities would like to help Good Shepherd provide food baskets, other basic needs and gifts for these families. Please click on the button below to donate to LCC Disaster Relief-Nebraska Flooding.
Whether comforting others daily within the communities they serve, or reaching out to individuals during times of disaster or crisis, Lutheran Church Charities brings the mercy, compassion, presence and proclamation of Jesus Christ to those suffering and in need.
LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Bethany (Trinity Lutheran – Danville, Illinois) has been bringing the same mercy and compassion to inmates at Danville Correctional Center. For a year, Bethany Comfort Dog has been bringing a calming presence to the inmates giving them hope and encouragement. After Bethany’s recent visit in October, Trinity Lutheran received a beautiful handmade and hand painted card made by one of the prisoners, and the following letter included with it: “I just want to say thank you so very, very much for bringing Bethany Comfort Dog to Danville Prison. It has been 34 long years since I’ve petted a dog. You can’t imagine the memories that flashed through my mind in the few seconds I petted Bethany. Little things like that, which we take for granted mean so much to me now. With the grace of God in 7 years my younger brother and I can put this all behind us, and as for myself, I will never take little things such as petting a dog, walking in the rain or hearing a baby cry, for granted again. With many, many thanks I close this letter.”
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