Requested by Rev. Michael Graham, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Aurora Illinois

This family has had financial difficulty for the past two years that I have known them. They moved from Joliet and are able to work on and off. A year ago the mother had fairly good and stable employment, but was let go, and the father works construction jobs when anything is available. Since last November they have been homeless and living in transitional housing at Hesed House, the local homeless shelter. The mother was pregnant at the time they moved into the homeless shelter.

The baby was born April 6 with severe complications. She was rushed to Lutheran General for surgery and put into Neonatal Intensive Care. She has difficulty swallowing and her larynx collapses. She has to be tube fed.

Before the baby was released from the hospital, there was an outbreak of Tuberculosis at the homeless shelter and the county health department will not allow the baby back there. It could be several months before this situation is cleared up.

Currently the father and 2 boys (ages 3 and 4) are staying at the shelter, but the mother is with her mother but is not allowed to be there because of public housing rules and also the grandmother has medical and emotional problems that make it undesirable and not adequate to care for the baby.

Immediate need:
A place where the mother and baby can live temporarily, probably a few months at least, so she can care for the baby with her medical needs. Best would be a place where the husband and two boys could also stay, that way the mother could care for the boys as well when the father is able to work.

Long term need:
Financial assistance to pay medical bills and expenses to allow them to move into an apartment.

This young family is in a desperate situation. Any help that can be given to them would be such a blessing as they work to put their lives back together and move from being homeless.

If you know of any available temporary housing please call LCC at 866-455-6466 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

After the airing of an interview about the Bag Mat Project on K-Love radio on November 18, 2009, LCC received a number of requests for information and over 2,000 viewings of the instructional DVD. LCC received the following email from Patricia in Virginia Beach:

Good morning. I heard about the bag mat project on the K-Love radio station a couple of months ago.  They offered a link from their website to view the video which I viewed several times and have shared with others many, many times.  I was so excited about this project that I spoke to my coworkers at Virginia Beach Department of Social Services in Virginia Beach, Virginia.  We have created two mats and are getting more and more people involved.  On January 20th I will make a presentation to the Poverty Simulation. Our mats will be donated to the Volunteers of America/Lighthouse that run the day shelter and transport the homeless to churches at night.

 

My deepest thanks go to the creator of this idea and for the video with such detail.  I have attached a picture of our completed mats.

LCC would like to thank all the groups through-out the country that have embraced this project. Your tireless service proclaims the Mercy and Compassion of our Lord to the homeless. You are truly Making a Difference!

Request from Susan Gross, Haitian Lutheran Mission Project, Christ Lutheran Church, Orland Park

The Haitian Lutheran Mission Project has been asked to assist an 18-year-old Haitian boy named Ronest from Les Cayes, Haiti. He has been diagnosed with a condition called neurofibromatosis. These are small tumors that grow all over his body. They may return after being removed but we are considering bringing him to the States to have them removed because two of the largest tumors (one on his upper left arm and one on his upper left chest) have become very painful. He has a number of other lumps on his lip, torso, arms and legs.

He has contacted Nora (a full time missionary at our Lutheran Church in Les Cayes) for help and she contacted us. Nora has been a friend of ours for years and we often network to help the Lutheran Pastors in Haiti. Nora has already arranged for a hospital and surgeon (here in Illinois) to pick up the cost of his surgery and hospital stay. He also has a Host Family ready to care for him but other expenses (air fare, passport etc.) totaling $2,500 need to be met. Ronest lives with his grandmother and 4 year old sister. His father is a mechanic, his mother died in 2007. He lives in a 3 room house with rock walls, an iron roof and cement floor. There are 2 beds in the home and it does have electricity at times but no running water. He does NOT have food to eat every day. Please consider helping us bring Ronest to Chicago for treatment.

If you have questions please email Susan at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

On Tuesday, January 5th, LCC volunteers Ray Bogaert, Steve McKay, Rev. Bob Schaeffer and Tony Laramie made a pick up of furniture and household items. These donations will benefit a family from Mt Olive Lutheran Church in Rockford and families served by Project LARRI.

On Thursday, December 31st, LCC received a donation of medical equipment from Dr. Lynn Clark and her husband, Jerry Kattke, that will be used for Medical Missions.

Later Saturday morning, another crew of LCC volunteers loaded a donation of furniture and household items from the Walker estate that benefited the family of a single mom and Project LARRI, which serves the victims of flood of fall 2008.

Pictured Left to Right: Rev. Bob Schaffer, Helmut Mueller Back Row: John May, Chuck Schild, Gary Kessler, Rev. Guillermo Jerez, Front Row L to R: Kathy Claudia Franz (friend of the Walkers) the donor, Donna Meyer, LCC Staff member Dianna Bonfield

Early Saturday morning, LCC volunteers Ray Bogaert, Mike Kinyon, Rev. Guillermo Jerez, Gary Kessler and LCC Staff Member Dianna Bonfield met up with Lou and Ann Rundio to pick up a sofa/bed donation from Ann's parents, Fred and Ann Bartlett. This donation will benefit Project LARRI.

The Wisconsin State Management Team of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals in Schaumburg decided to sponsor a family in need this Christmas. This is the third year that the team has sponsored families instead of exchanging gifts. Tom Hensley, team leader, delivered the presents to Rev. Bob Schaeffer in Rockford for distribution to the family.

Request for Pastor John Brazeal, Lutheran Church of Christ The King, Chicago

Pastor Brazeal stopped at a gas station to fill his van. While standing at the window to pay he watched a car pull in, try to make a tight turn and then plow into his van. Three teenage girls jumped out of the car and ran away. Pastor Brazeal's van had been totaled by girls out joy riding in a stolen car! If he had been pumping gas at the time he would have been seriously injured and possibly killed. Because the car was stolen at the time of the accident there is no insurance settlement. But God provides. LCC has received the donation of a van from a member family of Cross Lutheran in Yorkville. The van is in good shape but needs some work on the brakes and a few other repairs. The cost of the needed repairs is $650.00. Because there is no insurance money available for Pastor Brazeal please consider a donation to put him back on the road serving his congregation and community.

Request from Pastor Dan Dierks, Peace Lutheran Church Schererville, Indiana

Kara is a nine year old girl with Cerebral Palsy. She lives in Dyer, Indiana and is a member of Peace Lutheran Church. She suffers from Cerebral Palsy because of a stroke that occurred prior to her birth. She is unable to walk on her own and has limited use of her left arm. She also suffers from seizure disorder, for which she takes medication daily.

Kara participates in therapies in school and at a pediatric clinic, and though much progress has been made, it is slow. Surgery was offered as the only option to help Kara with her physical and orthopedic impairments, and continued therapy the best option to help her become more independent.

I am working with a family on the south side of Chicago who is in need of living room chairs and a bed for one of their teenage sons. They have just redone their floors and widows not realizing it would cost more than they can afford. They had to take out the carpets and put in laminate floors because the house they bought three years ago had carpets everywhere except the kitchen and they have three young children in the house who would dirty the carpets and then get sick from them.

They are now financially strapped and struggling even to keep up with this early wave of cold temperatures. Bills are pilling up, so if they can save on living room chairs which need to be replaced and get a bed for their teen age son, they would be greatly helped. As always, thank you and may the blessings of the Lord always be upon your ministry.