First Christian Church – Champaign, Illinois
LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Mahlah (Our Savior – Milford, Illinois)

Mahlah Comfort Dog was so excited to meet new friends! Our hearts were truly touched by the love, compassion, and excitement that was shared by all of us. The smiles on the Prom-goer’s faces will be something we will treasure forever and never forget!

Foundations Church – Loveland, Colorado
LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Cubby (Redeemer Lutheran – Fort Collins, Colorado)

Fifteen Cubby Comfort Dog team members spent three hours to help assemble gift bags for 500+ prom guests and also unwrapped tiaras and assembled the crowns for each prom guest in preparation of the event. Cubby Comfort Dog helped comfort volunteers who were there to help decorate for the event.

Messiah Lutheran Church – Weldon Springs, Missouri
LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Tabby (St. Paul’s – Des Peres, Missouri)
LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Patience (Immanuel – St. Charles, Missouri)

Comfort Dogs Tabby and Patience joined together on a frigid Missouri night to help bring warmth and comfort to the special guests. We were honored to spend time with guests of all ages and abilities that were struggling with anxiety, fear and loud music! What a pawsome and pawtastic event!

NorthStar Church in Kennesaw – Kennesaw, Georgia
LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Hope (Faith – Marietta, Georgia)
LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Luke (Christ the Shepherd – Alpharetta, Georgia)

Comfort Dogs Hope and Luke greeted many of the amazing volunteers and participants. They also visited all the wonderful people who donated their time and services for things such as nails, hair, makeup, and shoe shining. What an amazing event!

Olympia Fields Country Club – Olympia Fields, Illinois
LCC Kare 9 Military Ministry Dog Brutus (LCC Squad)
LCC K-9 Comfort Dog in-training Seth

Kare 9 Brutus and Seth (in-training) brought mercy, compassion, and a lot of love to the guests and volunteers.

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church – Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin
LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Lila (Beautiful Savior – Mequon, Wisconsin)

Lila Comfort Dog visited with attendees in the Sensory Room – a quiet, low light, peaceful room for guests who might be adversely affected by the bright lights, loud music, and general excitement of the evening. Lila Comfort Dog was visited by volunteers as well as the many prom Kings and Queens.

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church – Jackson, Missouri
LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Esther (Holy Cross – Collinsville, Illinois)
LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Jessy (St. Paul’s – Concordia, Missouri)
LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Noah (Timothy – St. Louis, Missouri)
LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Sheba (Immanuel – Washington, Missouri)

Comfort Dogs Esther, Jessy, Noah and Sheba divided into pairs and worked in the Sensory Room and Respite Room (for parents and caregivers), providing the love of Jesus to all who were in attendance. There were so many smiles!

Tax Slayer Convention Center – Moline, Illinois
LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Gracie (Trinity – Davenport, Iowa)
LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Chloe (Lord of Life – Elburn, Illinois)
LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Julia (King of Glory – Elgin, Illinois)
LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Jeremiah (LCC Staff)

We had so much fun meeting all the special abilities guests, watching all of them receive their tiaras and crowns, and seeing the hundreds of smiles. We are very proud of LCC K-9 Police Ministry law enforcement handlers Sandy and Scott Sievert (K-9 Police Ministry Dog Gracie) who co-chaired this event of 700 attendees and over 600 volunteers. As a very small part of a very large and wonderful God-centered event, we spent time with kings and queens, parents and volunteers. Pure joy!

Lutheran Church Charities is blessed to welcome three new golden retriever puppies to be trained as future LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs. The three female puppies are named Deborah, Jael, and Junia. They are energetic, curious, and ready to learn.

Deborah (pronounced Dvorah)
Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”

Jael
2 Corinthians 3:5-6 “He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.”

Junia 
Romans 16:19 “For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.”

Pastor Paul McComack, Trinity Lutheran Church, Panama City and Kathy O’Day, LCC Director of Disaster Response, met with Dr. Kathleen Fontaine, Principal of Bay Prep Academy, to present a check for funds collected by donors through LCC and Trinity – Lisle, Illinois to help the students with financial need.

Dr. Fontaine was so excited that we were still remembering them with financial assistance. She stated they have 40% of their student body displaced from their homes, with many living in tents or couch surfing with relatives. So far they have used these funds to buy school and classroom supplies, warm clothes and shoes when it was cold in December and January, trolley passes so students can get to and from school, and gift cards for meals for teachers and students.

During the week of February 2 – 9, Kathy O'Day, LCC Director of Disaster Response, and twenty-two LERT Chainsaw team members from Illinois, Indiana, and Kansas served in Panama City, Florida, and surrounding communities worked out of Trinity Lutheran Church with Pastor Paul McComack and Pastor Ed Brashier, Southern District Disaster Coordinator. Using heavy equipment, twenty-one work sites were completed. Below are just a few stories of how the teams helped those who are still recovering from Hurricane Michael.

Caring for Elderly Parents
A son, PJ, caring for elderly parents with dementia, lived in a house that was badly damaged during Hurricane Michael. Multiple trees were down all around and on part of the roof. He came and met the team working at his house and could not believe all of the work that was able to be done - and for free! After 2 days of work, he knows he can now get approval to place a module on his property and stay on his own land rather than in a hotel while his home is repaired.

An Uninhabitable Home
The LERT teams removed two large trees with root balls from the back yard and cleaned up a lot of debris. The homeowner came to her home to see what was completed after she was done with work, as her home is uninhabitable. The next morning, she came to Trinity Lutheran to express her thanks to the team for all that was done. There were lots of hugs and smiles to send us out on another day.

Riding Out the Storm
This homeowner had 25 orange trees, 5 lemon trees, and multiple other trees uprooted or destroyed on her property. She stated that she had ridden out the storm in her home. She could hear all of the destruction occurring and was never so scared in all of her life. But she feels blessed that with all the trees that fell, nothing landed on her home. Her deck was destroyed, but she was safe. She was so thankful for all of the assistance.

Caring for His Disabled Sister
A brother who cares for his disabled sister lives in the home their grandparents had built and in which they had been raised in Marianna, Florida. He told us how beautiful their property had been but now was just filled with downed trees. They had ridden out the hurricane in their home, but it was really the multiple tornadoes that did the most damage in this town. They said because the roads were so impassable, their power was not restored for 42 days. As of our visit, they still had no running water into their home, except from a well near their barn with a hose attached running into their home. Although there is still more work to be done, he was so happy to see so much progress made. As he told us, “Today is my birthday and this is a great gift and blessing!”

Boom Lift Helps Remove Trees from Homes
Every day our boom lift chainsaw team worked on homes with trees to be removed from their roofs. Each homeowner was so pleased to see this work being completed as it meant they could proceed with next steps in being able to repair their home to hopefully return someday soon. Pastor Ed Brashier, Southern DDRC, also worked with this team providing support and rigging guidance on a few very difficult jobs. Many of these homeowners had been waiting months to have the boom lift team come to assist, especially as they could not afford to hire someone to do this work.

Restoring the Cemetery
On the last day in Panama City, most of our team worked at the cemetery across from the church. As they were cleaning up around the toppled tombstones, a widow stopped by to check on her husband’s grave. Three of the team members tried to upright her husband’s tombstone for her, but it was too heavy. The woman was very grateful for their effort and thanked them for their willingness to clean up the cemetery. The team also carved a couple of crosses out of stumps from fallen trees in the cemetery. A wonderful reminder of the presence of Jesus Christ.

On the morning of Friday, February 8, K-9 Police Ministry Dog Charity (Brookfield Lutheran – Brookfield, Wisconsin) and her law enforcement handler attended a special debriefing at the Milwaukee Police Department. Officers met to learn ways to maintain wellness following the latest line of duty death there, the third in eight months. Officer Matthew Rittner was shot and killed on February 6, while serving a search warrant. He is survived by his wife and young son.

On the evening of February 8, K-9 Police Ministry Dog Charity was joined by K-9 Police Ministry Dog Dora (LHSA of Greater Milwaukee), and their law enforcement handlers, at a public prayer vigil.



Please remember Officer Rittner's family, friends, colleagues, and the Milwaukee community in your prayers.

On Monday, February 11, LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Eve (LCC Staff) and LCC Kare 9 Military Ministry Dogs Flex and Brutus (LCC Squad) brought relief and comfort to students during Elyssa’s Mission evaluations at Hadley Jr. High School in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Elyssa’s Mission is a suicide prevention program offered in many schools that provides resources to support at-risk teens and works to prevent suicide.

On Thursday, February 7, LCC Kare 9 Military Ministry Dogs Brutus, Brandy, and Flex (LCC Squad) and their veteran handlers visited World War II Veteran Raymond Raddatz at Sunrise Assisted Living in Naperville, Illinois. Raymond joined the United States Navy at the age of 17 and served aboard the USS Lexington.

A highlight of Raymond's Naval service was witnessing Japanese Officials coming aboard the USS Missouri for the signing of the Declaration of Peace. Raymond is now 91 years old and has a very good memory.

The Kare 9 Military Ministry is honored and privileged to visit one of the "Greatest Generation."

Elyssa's Mission is a suicide prevention program in schools in the Chicagoland area that provides resources to support at-risk teens and works to prevent suicide. On Tuesday, February 5, LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Tobias (Lord of Glory – Grayslake, Illinois) and LCC Kare 9 Military Ministry Dog Brutus (LCC Squad) visited students and staff at Northlake Middle School in Northlake, Illinois. Social worker Haley scheduled students to visit her office to get comfort and love from the Comfort Dogs.

On Monday, February 4, LCC Kare 9 Military Ministry Dogs Brutus and Flex (LCC Squad) recently visited the Elder Group at St. John's Lutheran Church in Country Club Hills, Illinois. A presentation about the ministry was followed by a Q&A session. Of course, the favorite part of the visit was when the group had time to love the Kare 9 dogs.