LCC sent your donations to Pastor Phil Ressler for Pastor Dan Fenco and his family. We received this update from Pastor Ressler:
 
I spoke with Dan, and he is greatly appreciative of the help. There will be some funds from his insurance as he looks for temporary housing. They are trying to find a place to live for the next year. That is the minimum amount of time it will take to rebuild if they are able to rebuild. There will need to be a determination by the city if the section of the town will be rezoned after the flooding.

Pastor Fenco planted a Hispanic congregation in the New Jersey district, Camino De Fe. The church does not have a building, and they meet in homes. The loss of Pastor Fenco’s home has the additional effect of removing a home where the church regularly met. During this difficult time, Pastor Fenco and his family will continue to need support as they find housing and replace what was lost in the explosion. Insurance will cover some of the expense but not all of it.

CLICK HERE to read the original appeal.
 
If you are so moved, please donate to help Pastor Fenco and his family recover from this devastating loss so he can continue to serve his congregation and community.

LCC received an immediate financial assistance request from Pastor Phil Ressler, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Old Bridge, New Jersey, for a pastor who lost his home due to impacts from Hurricane Ida:

Pastor Dan Fenco from Camino De Fe, a newly planted Hispanic congregation in the New Jersey District, lost his home caused by remnants of Hurricane Ida. During the storm, his home was severely damaged from their neighbor’s house exploding, leaving his home inhabitable. Fortunately, everyone in both homes had already evacuated safely prior to the explosion. Impacts were felt throughout the entire street. They are currently living with family.

If you are so moved, please donate to help this Pastor and his family recover from this devastating loss so he can continue to serve his congregation and community.

Last week your donations were delivered to Rev. Jim Buckman, Faith Lutheran Church in Lake Forest, Illinois, and Chaplain with the United States Air Force Illinois National Guard for Lt. Masoud, whose family escaped from Afghanistan.
 
Thank you to all that have donated. The need for this family is great and ongoing. If so moved, please consider a generous donation to help Lt. Masoud provide for his family.

LCC received an urgent financial assistance request from Rev. Jim Buckman, Faith Lutheran Church in Lake Forest, Illinois, and Chaplain with the United States Air Force Illinois National Guard:

As Chaplain with the United States Air Force in the Illinois National Guard, I was activated to support the National Guard vaccination efforts in Illinois. While on this deployment, I met a young lieutenant named Fahim Masoud from Afghanistan. At the age of seventeen, he volunteered to be an interpreter for our military, serving three rotations. Fortunately, his family was able to escape from Afghanistan this past week. His mother, father, and two siblings have come to our country, but they have nothing.

Fahim shares this about his service to U.S. troops in Afghanistan:

My name is Lt. Masoud of the Illinois Army National Guard whose family is getting resettled in the United States and needs your help. The sudden collapse of Afghanistan forced my family to flee to the United States after working for the U.S. government for years. My parents are elderly and don’t speak English. My two young siblings will have to be enrolled in school.

Please prayerfully consider supporting Lt. Masoud, who risked his life to serve our troops in Afghanistan, take care of his family who made it safely to the United States.

LCC received the following request from Rev. Abraham Mengesha in St. Louis, Missouri.

If you have a running car to donate, contact LCC at LCC@LutheranChurchCharities.org or call 866-455-6466.

LCC received a request from Dave Penner, Director of Care at Prince of Peace, Palatine, Illinois, to help a single mother with a financial burden.

The daughter in the family suffers from an untreatable genetic blood disorder and chronic Lyme disease. She has developed hypersensitivities to chemicals, mold, and electronically controlled equipment which has kept her mostly homebound for many years.

NICOR, Illinois natural gas provider has new gas consumption technology which will greatly impact the health and wellbeing of the daughter. Due to her hypersensitivities, the gas meter, which is currently outside her bedroom, must be moved. After court proceedings and much effort from this concerned mother to have NICOR move the gas meter, NICOR said they are willing to move it at the homeowner's expense.

The health and wellbeing of the daughter are of the utmost importance. Unfortunately, the mother is faced with a very short window of time to gather the funds. She must pay the full fee for the meter to be moved before the work being done. The cost to move the gas meter is $4,320.

Please prayerfully consider donating to support this single mother so that she can provide a healthy and safe environment for her daughter.

LCC received an urgent request from Pastor Don Love at Faith, Merrill & St. John Lutheran Church, Hamburg, Wisconsin, to help a young family with extensive financial burdens.

LCC received the following request from Pastor Hesham Shehab, Salam Christian Fellowship, Lombard, Illinois:
 
Friends,
 
One of our volunteers who serves immigrants and helps in their integration, a Vietnam veteran, needs car repairs that cost $900. Please show God's love and your care for those who sacrifice for our country by donating generously towards this Vet's auto repairs.
 
In God's Peace
 
Hesham Shehab
Pastor, Salam Christian Fellowship

Dear Friends,
 
Our new brother in Christ, Hassan, needs financial assistance for dental work totaling $400. Hassan is retired and has no SSI benefits because he is waiting for his U.S. citizenship test that may take more than one year.
 
Please show the love of Christ to our new brother as he struggles daily without the proper dental work.
 
Click here to read Hassan's story.
 
In God's Peace,
 
Hesham Shehab
Pastor, Salam Christian Fellowship
Lombard, Illinois

Lutheran Church Charities works through congregations nationwide to share the Mercy, Compassion, Presence and Proclamation of Jesus to those who are suffering and in need.
 
Please show the love of Christ by donating generously to help these individuals during challenging times.

LCC is working with Rev. Gregg Ramirez, Interim Pastor of Immanuel Lutheran in Des Plaines, Illinois to assist a young woman in need.
 
A 23-year-old, single Christian woman lost her job as a CNA in a nursing home due to COVID. She has been regularly searching for full-time employment but has only been able to find a part-time housekeeping position in a nursing home for not even 15 hours a week.
 
Struggling to survive and make ends meet, she now finds herself on the verge of being homeless. Please prayerfully consider donating to help Immanuel, Des Plaines provide back rental assistance of $1,200 to keep this young woman off the streets.
 
Please lift her up in your prayers that she may know and experience the love, mercy, compassion, and presence of Jesus filling her heart with hope and Christian support as she walks this journey and faces these trials.

LCC received a request from Pastor Kevin Kritzer of Bethany Lutheran Church, Long Beach, California, on behalf of Salaam Ministries, California, pastored by Pastor Nader Hanna. Members of Salaam brought to Pastor Nader the plight of Saadia, a Muslim woman who, during the 2020 holiday season, remotely attended the Salaam Bible Study and became part of the Salaam Christian community. Below is her story from Pastor Nader.
 
During the holiday season 2020, a Moroccan family started frequenting our Thursday Salaam Fellowship/Bible study. Shortly after, they asked me to add their Moroccan friend ‘Saadia’ to the Salaam WhatsApp group. Back then, Saadia was married to an Iranian man. We didn’t see Saadia, but we stayed in touch with her remotely.
 
A couple of weeks ago, the Moroccan family called to tell me that Saadia’s husband took her out to a grocery store, handed her court divorce papers, and left her there! Saadia doesn’t have a place to stay, she doesn’t have a car, and she doesn’t have a job. We called a lawyer friend to help Saadia with her legal questions and status in the United States after her divorce and try to help her find a job, a place to stay, get her driver’s license, and a car.
 
We would greatly appreciate it if LCC can raise money for Saadia’s first month of rent and to buy a used car; $3,000.
 
Two of the congregations that support Salaam, Bethany Long Beach and Holy Cross Cypress, also seek to support Saadia in her time of need.
 
Recent Update: Salaam Ministries was able to find her a place to live for Saadia where she is sharing an apartment with two young Arabic-speaking women. Saadia is now enrolled in an English as a Second Language class. She is learning English so she can get a job to support herself. Fortunately, Saadia has a Master’s degree from a university in her homeland, which gives her some marketable skills once she learns English and starts looking for a job.
 
Saadia has been attending worship and Bible study regularly and growing in her relationship with Jesus and His Church.

LCC received the following request from Pastor Jim Buckman, Faith Lutheran Church, Lake Forest, Illinois. Pastor Buckman is also Lt. Col., Illinois Air National Guard, Chaplain.
 
A member of the Illinois Air National Guard and a vital member of the Illinois vaccination team is in need of financial assistance. This single mother of three never hesitates to raise her hand to serve when called. She has a heart for service and volunteering and has just experienced the sudden death of her father. She returned from deployment in Washington, DC for the Inauguration and was immediately deployed again to aid with vaccination distribution and administration efforts in Illinois.
 
UPDATE: This dedicated airman has returned from her vaccination team deployed and is now unemployed due to her job no longer being available. As a single mother of three, she urgently needs financial assistance with daily living expenses for her family.
 
Please prayerfully consider helping this family in need and keep them in your prayers during their difficult time.
 
Jim Buckman
Lt. Col., Illinois Air National Guard, Chaplain
Pastor, Faith Lutheran Church
Lake Forest, Illinois

Lutheran Church Charities works through congregations nationwide to share the Mercy, Compassion, Presence and Proclamation of Jesus to those who are suffering and in need. Most recently, LCC has been working with Pastor Paul Frank of Hosanna Lutheran Church in Mesa, Arizona to assist a young mother in need.

We are working with a young mother in need of a donated vehicle. Sarah has come to us through the ministry of Lutheran Church Charities. Sarah is a young mom who is also battling thyroid cancer. She has 4 children, 2 of whom have disabilities and are in need of regular therapy visits. Sarah’s car is beyond repair.

Sarah is also looking for part-time work to help ends meet, however, due to her cancer treatments and her compromised immune system she needs to find work with very little contact with the public. 

Other items Sarah could use include a washing machine, a stove, and a trampoline which is used for therapy for her two special needs children. 

God’s Peace be with you always,

Pastor Paul Frank
Hosanna Lutheran Church
Mesa, Arizona

If you know of anyone in the Mesa, Arizona area who might have any of these items or a vehicle to donate, or if you know of any potential work opportunities, please contact Pastor Paul Frank at Hosanna Lutheran Church at 480-984-1414. LCC will take care of all the vehicle donation paperwork.

Pastor Don Love from Faith, Merrill & St. John Lutheran Church, Hamburg, Wisconsin, extends his gratitude for the financial assistance from LCC donors for the family in need request last November. With your generosity, they were able to pay off the outstanding loan on their car. They have been truly blessed by your love and support.

However, this family's financial need is immense, and donations are still needed for this young widow with two small children (ages 2 & 4). The widow suffers from a severe autoimmune disorder that currently prevents her from working due to her frail health. Since her husband's not COVID-19-related death last November, they no longer are covered under his medical insurance. They are currently trying to get medical coverage for her and the two children, which is estimated to be approximately $25,000/year.
 
In addition, she has tremendous medical bills from her husband's hospitalization and her on-going medical care, as well as other financial burdens. This 33-year-old mother has moved back home with her parents, who help her care for her young children.
 
If you are so moved, please prayerfully consider supporting this family as they cope with the loss of their husband/father while trying to manage the many financial burdens they face. Their strong faith rests in the promises and hope of Jesus Christ.