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From Hawaii to Illinois to Another State and support from other parts of the country – GOD makes it Happen – Because of a 30-second window!!! ALL OF THIS IN LESS THAN A WEEK! LCC RESPONDS ASAP TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE BECAUSE OF YOU! GOD'S TIMING IS ALWAYS PERFECT! LCC and Your Donations Help Single Mother with 4 Children this Christmas  In times like these, your donations continue Making A Difference with the Presence of our Lord to those in need with the hope and comfort of Jesus Christ. God continues to open doors for all of us to work in! The weekend prior to Christmas, LCC gratefully received a donation of a Chevy Malibu from Gary and Nancy Moore to give to a family in need. That same weekend, LCC President/CEO Tim Hetzner’s daughter received an invite to help a single mother in need through her sorority alumnae of the Chi Alpha Pi from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. One of the requests was for funds to help purchase a vehicle for this family. A connection was made between Lutheran Church Charities and the sorority to help this family with this urgent need. A single mother of 4 children, ranging in ages from 2 to 12 years old, fled an abusive situation several months ago with no car, limited funds, and very little for her children. For this reason, the family’s identity and location will not be revealed. She had faith that God would help her through what she knew was going to be hard times. She settled in another state with no family or friends for support. She found an ill-repaired home to rent, although it did not have any furnishings. She quickly found a minimum wage job within walking distance from her home and with some government assistance has been making ends meet the best she could. A few weeks before Christmas, a faith-based organization gave her beds and other pieces of furniture. Kate Hickey, a Chi Alpha Pi sorority alumna in Hawaii, saw a post on Tik Tok from this mother looking for a nearby store that may have dumped items in a trash bin to find Christmas gifts for her children. Kate reached out to her and told her she would purchase Christmas gifts for her children if she could pick them up from her local store. While speaking with her, this mother shared her story and needs of a car and other items. After hearing her story, Lutheran Church Charities wanted to bless this mother with a recently donated car. Since we always work through our churches, Tim Hetzner contacted Pastor Bueltmann at Our Redeemer to ask if we could partner to show the love of Christ to her. LCC staff member Kathy O’Day then called the mother to tell her of Lutheran Church Charities intentions to assist her through the local church. Lutheran Church Charities purchased a car seat for the 2 year old and a booster seat for the 5 year old, diapers and wipes. The LCC K-9 Ministry filled a gift box for each child with an LCC K-9 Ministry mini stuffed dog, activity books, reading books, and other items. Local Chi Alpha Pi sorority sisters also dropped off gifts to LCC to take to this mother for her family. These items filled the donated car and LCC’s pickup truck.  On Wednesday, December 23, Tim Hetzner sent LCC staff members, Tim Laabs and Jamie Miller, with prayers for safe travel and family blessings. Then they departed for Our Redeemer to deliver the car, gifts, and two envelopes with $500 cash in each to pay for transfer of title and plates, and the rest as they were moved by the Spirit of God!
 Upon arrival, they met with Senior Pastor Dr. Wenig and Associate Pastor Bueltmann to present them with everything. Together, they all went to the mother’s home to present the car to her and unload all of the gifts for her family. Pastor Bueltmann then took the mother to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to transfer the title. The pastors and church intend to continue to reach out to this family to help meet their spiritual, emotional and physical needs.
The mother called LCC staff member Kathy O’Day on Christmas Eve to express her thanks to Lutheran Church Charities and our donors for everything given to her. She could not believe we would just give her this nice car and everything else. Her children were in shock to have a car to ride in and not have to walk in the cold everywhere. More importantly, having a car enables her to get a new job with higher pay that she can now get to easier. Some of the funds given to her purchased food for a real Christmas dinner and other staples to stock her shelves. Prior to having a car, they could only buy what they could carry while walking a mile to the store. She was also able to get her electric bill current and still had some funds left towards rent. She also shared they were all looking forward to going to a worship service and seeing the pastors again. The mother also shared, “Presents are under the tree and the kids are so excited. It definitely is a different Christmas than I ever thought it would be. I think God had a plan and did all of this. He took care of us.” She and the kids are happy and feel so blessed. “I am optimistic that the assistance provided to this single mother is making a huge difference in putting her in a position to better care for her family,” shared Pastor Bueltmann. “I am hopeful that we can get her connected to the church, and ultimately to Christ.” Kate Hickey shared, “Thank you, thank you, thank you – this never could have happened without the efforts of LCC staff.” Lutheran Church Charities, Our Redeemer, Chi Alpha Pi alumnae, and our donors have made a difference by showing the mercy, compassion, presence and proclamation of Jesus Christ to this single mother and her children. This has certainly been a Christmas gift where all were blessed to give and receive. Comments are closed.
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