 UPDATE: On Thursday, July 10, Deaconess Kathy O'Day, director of LCC Disaster Response, and Denise Snider, director of LCC Human Care, will lead teams of volunteers in the Texas Hill Country to bring comfort, care, and support to LCMS churches, first responders, and community residents affected by the July 4 flash-flooding. Joining them will be Jason Johnson, Disaster Crisis Response and Volunteer Engagement Coordinator.
A team from Gloria Dei Houston will meet them there — with LERT-trained volunteers working with Deac. O'Day and Johnson, and Spiritual First Aid™- trained volunteers going with Snider. Two K-9 Comfort Dog teams also will deploy Thursday evening: - Team Elijah from Our Redeemer Wichita Falls, Texas, with Eddie Carlton (retired police) and Willie Reneau - Team Joy from Gloria Dei Houston with Karen and Kim Gastler The home base for ministry work this week will be at Hosanna Lutheran Kerrville. -- Lutheran Church Charities President/CEO Rev. Chris Singer announced Monday that LCC is planning to deploy to the Texas Hill Country to BE THERE to offer HOPE TO THE HURTING after catastrophic rains, rapid rises in river levels, and massive flash flooding overwhelmed multiple communities over the July 4 weekend. The tragic weather event took the lives of more than 100 people, including dozens of children at campgrounds along the Guadalupe River basin. LCC has been invited by Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) Texas District President Rev. Dr. Jon Braunersreuther and Texas District Disaster Response Coordinators Julie Tucker and David Ricks as soon as it is safe to travel and perform much-needed ministry work. “The scope of this disaster is massive, both in lives tragically lost and the wide area that has been impacted,” Rev. Singer said. “Our hearts are broken at the devastation. Lives have been upended and torn apart. We are praying fervently and eager to be on-site to help as soon as possible.” Search and rescue operations continue with around-the-clock response from local, state, and national first responders. Hundreds of officers and support staff are working in Kerr County and the region northwest of San Antonio known for its rolling hills and winding rivers. LCC staff — plus LCC volunteers in Texas and Oklahoma — are standing by to mobilize and travel to affected areas. LCC is prepared to lend Disaster Response expertise and send LCC Care Teams trained in Spiritual First Aid™ to provide physical, emotional, and spiritual care to those affected by this ongoing tragedy. With several roads and bridges washed out, travel around Kerrville and the surrounding region is limited. LCC is planning to send K-9 Comfort Dog and Hearts of Mercy & Compassion teams as soon as it can. This week, LCC is focusing its assistance on serving the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) Texas District, plus working alongside LCMS pastors and congregations participating in community care efforts, including Kerrville, Boerne, San Antonio, and Houston. Rev. Singer has been in communication with LCMS district officials, while the directors from all four LCC ministry areas are talking daily with pastors in the region, assessing locations in the region to bring comfort and care. Weather is another factor impacting deployment plans. The Texas Hill Country continues to see a pattern of rainstorms throughout the week. Working with Hosanna Kerrville and other LCMS churches in the area, plus San Antonio and Austin, LCC is aggregating local resources to help residents, while preparing LCC volunteers when they arrive to help. LCC can provide this assistance because of faithful, generous donors and volunteers who are willing to support and serve. “The financial support you can offer right now will go directly to helping families and LCMS congregations in the Texas Hill Country and bring HOPE TO THE HURTING,” Rev. Singer said. Comments are closed.
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