During the week of March 2 - 10, eleven LERT Chainsaw team members from Illinois, Indiana, and Florida served in Panama City, Florida, and surrounding communities working out of Trinity Lutheran Church with Pastor Paul McComack and Pastor Ed Brashier, Southern District Disaster Coordinator. Using heavy equipment, seventeen work sites were completed. Below are just a few stories of how the teams helped those who are still recovering from Hurricane Michael. 

The lift crew went to a home to remove a tree from the roof and cut some fallen trees. The homeowner’s friend donned her chaps and safety gear, and assisted our crew in cutting and dragging. After the job was completed the team presented them with a slice of tree with the cross on it, a handmade quilt and a word of prayer. They felt the team was a blessing to them.

Our LCC LERT lift team, along with Pastor Ed Brashier, Southern District Disaster Coordinator, tackled a difficult job of removing trees that had fallen and were each nestled into the other around the home. The homeowner had been told by many others that the work could not be done safely without causing further damage to their home. Our team was able to carefully drop and remove each tree slowly using safe rigging techniques and heavy equipment. The homeowner was pleased with our professionalism and that no further damage was done.

LCC LERT team members worked with 10 students and the campus pastor from Western Michigan University to begin clearing an Iraq war veterans’ property. There are so many trees down that it will take many more days of work to fully clear, but he was so appreciative of the progress made in one day and all of the willing hands and hearts.

The lift crew went to a home to remove a tree from the roof and cut some fallen trees. The homeowner’s friend donned her chaps and safety gear, and assisted our crew in cutting and dragging. After the job was completed the team presented them with a slice of tree with the cross on it, a handmade quilt and a word of prayer. They felt the team was a blessing to them.

The team worked at the home of the organist from one of the other Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) churches in the area. They had many downed trees and were so happy to finally receive assistance. They watched the team work all day and enjoyed talking and praying with them. Ken Cupples carved a cross in a stump near their house which they really treasure.

Eleven LCC LERT Chainsaw team members arrived safely in Panama City, Florida, on Sunday, March 3, after driving through the storms that produced multiple tornado breakouts in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. They will be working out of Trinity Lutheran Church with Pastor Paul McComack and Pastor Ed Brashier, Southern District Disaster Coordinator.

The team members are from Illinois, Indiana and Florida:

Illinois

• Immanuel – Belvidere: Mike Buhl, Steve McElroy
• St. John – Wheaton: Steve Chester, Marty Johnson, Anna Piro, Tom Prickette
• St. Peter – Hampshire: Pete Springmire, Danny & Bobbie Swyndroski

Pastor Ed Brashier states, “We have removed trees from over 125 homes, we now have 39 active jobs (not counting Mexico Beach that Pastor Gieseking is leading), and 16 waiting to be assessed. In my 13 years of doing disaster response, Hurricane Michael brought the worst tree damage devastation that I have seen. When Camp Trinity closes after six continuous months of operation, Panama City's tree damage will still be far from recovered.”
 
Please pray for the safety of the LERT volunteers deploying and keep the residents affected by Hurricane Michael in your prayers as they will continue to face a long recovery

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.

Kathy O'Day, LCC Director of Disaster Response, and twenty-two LERT Chainsaw team members arrived in Panama City, Florida on Saturday, February 2, to work out of Trinity Lutheran Church with Pastor Paul McComack and Pastor Ed Brashier, Southern District Disaster Coordinator. The team members are from Illinois, Indiana and Kansas:

Almost every home and business has been affected in some way in Panama City and surrounding towns and area. The destruction is widespread. Many families are living in damaged homes because of limited housing options.

Trinity Lutheran is helping their community by providing emotional, spiritual, and physical support. They have distributed food and supplies since shortly after Hurricane Michael to now to approximately 6,500 affected families with many willing volunteers and donations. They are also housing the many teams who are coming in from all over the country to assist in recovery.

The St. Peter Hampshire LERT team gave 100 toiletry kits and other personal items to Tammy, Trinity’s food bank director. They were thrilled to receive the donations. Several LERT team members worked on Sunday after worship in the cemetery clearing trees and debris. As the remaining team arrives this week, there will be much work planned to be completed.  We are privileged to show the mercy, compassion, presence and proclamation of Jesus Christ to those suffering and in need.

On Monday, we worked at four homes in Chippley, Florida. This is a remote area that had been hard hit and has had little assistance. Each of these families rode out the hurricane in their homes and had multiple trees still down on their property and hanging over roofs.

One woman we met was Miss Jean. She is 92 years old and had moved in with her daughter from the Joliet, Illinois, area several months prior to the storm. She was thrilled to talk to the crew from “home” and watch all the work being done to help them.

Each of the families our LERT teams helped were so grateful for the work completed and the mercy, compassion and presence of Jesus Christ shown to them.

On Sunday, January 6, Tim Hetzner was invited by Pastor Stephen Kass from Family in Faith Lutheran Church in Glendale Heights, Illinois, to share with members the ministries at Lutheran Church Charities during worship services and Bible study. The Family in Faith Neighborhood Food Pantry was a drop off site and provided storage for LCC during the Hurricane Michael Relief Collections effort. They continue to faithfully serve the needs of their community.

LCC staff members were present to thank members for their support. LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs Eve (St. John’s – Lombard, Illinois), LCC Kare 9 Military Ministry Dog Brutus (LCC Squad), and Comfort Dog in training Marie and their handlers greeted members throughout the morning.

LCC NID LERT teams have been invited by Pastor Ed Brashier, Southern District Disaster Response Coordinator, to return to Panama City, Florida, to provide chainsaw assistance to those affected by Hurricane Michael. Kathy O’Day, LCC Director of Disaster Response and our LERT certified chainsaw teams with heavy equipment will be deploying February 3 - 10 to Trinity Lutheran Church in Panama City. 

Lara McComack presents Kathy Hanson, Administrative Assistant to Principal Dr. Kathleen Fontaine, of Palm Bay Prep Academy in Panama City, Florida, with a check to assist with the post Hurricane Michael needs of students. The Trinity Lutheran Church Food Bank is in the background, where approximately 25,000 residents have received food and supplies.

The Lutheran Early Response Team (LERT) from Trinity Lutheran Church in Lisle, Illinois, coordinated the donations to assist students in need. There are temporary classrooms at Palm Bay Academy due to hurricane damage to the building.

Pastor McComack and Dr. Fontaine wish to express their heartfelt appreciation for continuing to support them and showing them the mercy and compassion of Jesus Christ as they recover from the destruction of Hurricane Michael.

The Lutheran Early Response Team (LERT) from Trinity Lutheran Church in Lisle, Illinois, has been coordinating a gift card program to assist children of the Palm Bay Prep Academy in Panama City, Florida. During Lutheran Church Charities' recent disaster response deployment, Trinity team leaders Jan Boerman and Skip Sorensen met with Pastor Paul McComack from Trinity Lutheran Church and Palm Bay Prep Academy Principal, Dr. Kathy Fontaine. They heard about the difficult situations these children and their families are now facing in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael. Many are now homeless and living in tents. Everything they own is gone!