Greetings from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
 
Today was a great day for those kids because I distributed school supplies to 70 kids. My friends, you can’t imagine how they are happy because they didn’t expect that. I gave them pencils, pens, notebooks, rulers, etc.
 
Thank you to LCC sponsors and our donors for continuing to support our poor kids. Tomorrow, everyone will be able to go to school because now they have school supplies.
 
May God bless you all and your families. Please continue to pray for my country, Haiti. We love you like you love us.
 
Blessings
Lophane

Lutheran Church Charities has supported the education of students from the tent city in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, since 2012.
 
Public and private education in Haiti costs money - there is NO free education. Our Lutheran schools also charge, but they are less expensive than the public schools. The cost of tuition is $65 per month.

Thanks to your generous donations, Lutheran Church Charities is able to continue its mission of providing aid to those in need. We are proud to work with our Mission Partners Mission:Haiti and Ministry in Mission to purchase and distribute vital supplies to the most vulnerable in Haiti.
 
Your contributions are making a real difference in the lives of those who need it most, and we thank you for your continued support.
 
We received the following update from Lophane Laurent after he distributed food to those in need:

Greetings from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
 
There is no word to describe how much we appreciate your donation to help my people receive a food package for a week with their families or friends. I asked the pastor for 60 families, and he invited 100. It was hard for me to see that many people and I had food only for 60 families. My heart was broken to see the 40 left with their empty bags.
 
I want to thank you for continuing to support my poor people with a food package for one week. May God bless our donors and sponsors and all of the members of LCC.
 
Please continue praying for us because things getting worse every day, but one thing I know is that our Lord is in control.
 
Blessings,
Lophane

The needs in Haiti are great and ongoing. Please prayerfully consider making a monetary donation to enable Lutheran Church Charities to continue to send funds to Haiti.

LCC received an update from Oksana Svidruk of the Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Church in Palatine, Illinois, with whom LCC is partnering to provide urgent aid for Ukraine, particularly for the orphanage at the Parish of St. Nicholas, Ukraine, Ivano-Frankivsk

Dear Lutheran Church Charities,
 
We extend our heartfelt gratitude and warmest greetings to you on behalf of the entire orphanage at St. Nicolas Church. Your recent generous donation of $9,000 to aid in the construction of our orphanage house during these challenging times of conflict in Ukraine has deeply touched our hearts and filled us with hope.
 
Your selfless act of kindness demonstrates the true essence of humanity and compassion, and it has given us the means to provide a safe and nurturing environment for the orphaned children who have been affected by the war. Your support is invaluable, and it goes beyond financial assistance – it signifies a bond of solidarity that reaches across distances and differences.

With your help, we are now one step closer to realizing our vision of providing a loving home for these young souls, a place where they can heal, grow, and build a brighter future. The impact of your contribution will ripple through their lives, offering them a chance at a better tomorrow.
 
Once again, thank you, Lutheran Church Charities, for your unwavering support during this time of need. Your compassion will forever be engraved in the story of our orphanage and the lives of the children it shelters. We are profoundly grateful for your dedication to making the world a better place.
 
May you continue to be blessed with the strength to spread love and hope to those who need it most.
 
Best Regards,
Oksana Svidruk

LCC staff member John Pejchl delivered a check with your donations to Pastor Bill Harder of Living Christ Lutheran Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois, for a single mother in need.
 
Your generosity has made a significant impact on her life and provided her with much-needed relief during a difficult time.
 
We are incredibly grateful for your kindness and willingness to make a difference in the lives of others.
 
The need has been met!

Rev. Chris Singer, LCC President/CEO, was honored to accept a generous donation from Ray Cowin raised during the 4th Annual Andrew Whowell Memorial Golf Outing held last month at Villa Olivia Golf Course, Bartlett, Illinois, for the LCC K-9 Police Ministry.
 
The golf outing brought together many of Andy's friends and family to honor his memory and was a fundraiser for the LCC K-9 Ministry. The Andrew Whowell Memorial Golf Outing raised $2,925 for the LCC K-9 Police Ministry in honor of Andy and the good work he did as an LCC K-9 Police Ministry handler.
 
Andy was a retired Deputy Chief for the Arlington Heights Police Department and an amazing handler for LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Susie (St. Peter - Arlington Heights, Illinois). Both Andy and Susie are Permanently Deployed Serving the Saints and are missed every day by many.
 
LCC thanks Ray Cowin for organizing the Andrew Whowell Golf Outing and his support for the LCC K-9 Ministry.

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 dsnider@lutheranchurchcharities.org.

Pastor Alex Merlo of Iglesia San Pablo in Aurora, Illinois, has been assisting Pastor Ferdinando 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.

LCC received the following update from Pastor Doug Warmann of Trinity Lutheran Church in Roselle, Illinois, on the young widowed mom of six children that the congregation has been assisting.

This past Sunday afternoon, twenty-five members, family, and friends gathered before Trinity's baptismal font to witness the baptism of baby Clayton Isaiah and welcome him to God’s family. Following the baptismal ceremony, Jessica asked to address the group to express her gratitude and appreciation. Without the help that God provided through the Church family after Mark’s death and her work injuries, she, her five children, and her unborn baby would not have made it to this day.
 
Clayton was born in March, after Jessica’s rehab for her work injury and maternity leave, Jessica has been able to return to work. Returning part-time to work was made possible with the help of several Trinity members and 18-year-old Natasha, who provides childcare for Jessica while she is at work. It has been only a little over a year ago, in June, that Mark passed away, and Jessica and the children are still grieving Mark's death.
 
The future is still a financial struggle for the family, but through God’s provision through His family, the Church, she and her family can face each day with hope.
 
Trinity thanks you for helping them to minister to this family in need. Your donations are making a huge difference in the lives of Jessica and her children.