  Lutheran Church Charities (LCC) received a request from Pastor Greg Hoffmann and Parish Nurse, Marcy Schnorr, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Rochelle, Illinois for financial assistance for a faithful young family with four children, ages 2, 8, 9 & 11, who lost their home and all belongings in a fire. This is a third-generation member family at St. Paul. On Friday, February 14, the husband/father, who is a veteran on disability due to a work related injury, was home alone when an electrical fire broke out in the back bedroom. His phone was in the room where the fire started, so he couldn’t use it to call for help. He saved as many of their family pets as he could and quickly ran to the neighbors and called 9-1-1.  Fire Departments from all over the region responded immediately. The fire spread so quickly, though, that by the time they arrived, the house was fully engulfed in flames. The firefighters fought the blaze to the end but were unable to save the family’s home. The firemen had to tear down the house in the act of putting the fire out. What wasn’t consumed by fire, sustained smoke and water damage. Other family members were not at home at the time and the husband/father was not injured. The 8-year-old child had been home sick from school all week but was well enough to go to school on Friday, the day of the fire. Both parents are thankful that he was not home at the time. The close-knit community stepped up to help this family of six with immediate basic needs. They are all very grateful for the help and are thankful that no one was hurt. They are overwhelmed with the long journey ahead of them but are looking forward to rebuilding. “This was the worst day of our lives, watching our home destroyed in front of our eyes. I am grateful my husband was able to get out of the house and save our dog and one of the cats,” shared the wife/mom. Last week, a first check of donations for the family was presented by LCC volunteer, Bob Morris to Pastor Greg Hoffmann and Parish Nurse, Marcy Schnorr at St. Paul, Rochelle, Illinois. The family is currently staying in a hotel room and is still in need of long-term financial assistance until everything is finalized with their insurance and rebuilding begins.  If you are so moved, please prayerfully consider making a generous donation to assist this family. Together, we can demonstrate the mercy, compassion and presence of Jesus to this family in need. Comments are closed.
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