Dear friends in Christ,

Years ago I was inspired by the witness of a lay synod staff member who spoke often of ministry. I remember his prayer at the end of the day:  "Bless, O Lord, the good I have done on your behalf this day…and please forgive the rest!" He said putting everything in God's gracious hands helped him sleep at night!  For me his prayer raises the question, "what good have you done today?"

You have done much good today and this week in disaster ministries by your support of Lutheran Disaster Response (a cooperative ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod).  Here is a brief update on some of the good you did this week.

1. Through LDR you are responding to a tornado that ripped through the heart of downtown Ladysmith, Wisconsin on September 2.  About 60 homes were lost in the 4,000-resident community.  Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan (David Larson, President) is managing LDR efforts.  Ted Hakala, Vice President, West Central Region, is coordinating two fulltime caseworkers (for three months) and two halftime caseworkers (for an additional three months) to work in Ladysmith in coordination with the local interfaith organization.  LDR has provided a grant of $22,826 for this good ministry.

2.  Through LDR you are helping people in Louisiana, in response to widespread damage resulting from Tropical Storm Isidore and Hurricane Lili last week.  Isidore dumped a foot of rain along the Gulf coast;  Lili added an additional 8 inches of rain and 100 mile per hour winds.  Damage from Isidore is estimated to be $70 million, and from Lili an additional $150 million.  Damage assessment is still underway.  Lutheran Social Services of the South (Kurt Senske, President) will manage the LDR response. Mark Minick serves as the LDR disaster response coordinator.  A congregational grant of $5,000 has been provided by ELCA Domestic Disaster Response to Peace Lutheran Church, Slidell, to assist with emergency needs and to provide funding for unmet needs in that community.

3.  This week your support is repairing and rebuilding houses in Houston, Texas, where last year, (June 2001) Tropical Storm Allison caused over $4 billion of damage, 43 deaths, and flooded 47,243 houses. Today (and for nine weeks) Lutheran volunteers are working with skilled workers of the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC). Dale and Jean Peercy (LDR Construction Coordinators) are coordinating the rebuilding and repair work.  LSS-South is managing this response, and Mark Minick is the LDR-TX coordinator.

4.  This week, through LDR, you are helping people in northern Minnesota, affected by record-breaking rainfall that caused severe flooding in northern Minnesota.  Hardest hit were Roseau, Mahnomen, and Wright counties.  Tom Davis, Church World Service Disaster Response and Recovery Liaison, reports the number of households that have made applications to FEMA: in Mahnomen, 420; in Roseau, 1,717; and in Wright, 852.  In Roseau, 90 percent of the homes and business were flooded.  Churches throughout the area sustained damage. Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (Mark Peterson, President) is managing the LDR response. Melanie Josephson is serving as LDR-MN disaster coordinator.  I have just sent an additional grant of $25,841 to continue casework, emergency response work, and support of "care to caregivers" events.

5.  This week you enabled Traci Gruenberger, LDR-AZ coordinator, to do a site visit with counselor Clay Cline to two unincorporated communities affected by fires.  They found in one small community 106 of its 366 houses had burned.  Some people are living in tents.  Lutheran Social Ministry of the Southwest (Lynn Baker, President) is coordinating LDR efforts in Arizona. A recent additional LDR grant of $35,640 is continuing our church's efforts here.

I realize this update is getting far too long.  There are many more examples I could give where you have done good today and this week throughout our country – in Michigan and Maryland, in West Virginia and Colorado, in Illinois and Nebraska, in South Dakota and Pennsylvania - providing  help and hope to thousands of people of all ages whose lives have been thrown into chaos by disasters.  So far this year LDR has responded to twelve new natural disasters, many of them major.  And, of course, the major responses to the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks continue in New York, New Jersey, and Washington D.C.  And I won't even begin mentioning what good you will be providing next week

"Bless, O Lord, the good I have done on your behalf this day…and please forgive the rest!"   Thank you for your prayers, which sustain disaster survivors and those who reach out to help in the name of Jesus. Thank you for your volunteering, which is cleaning up houses in Louisiana and repairing houses in south and central Texas.  And thank you for your generosity, which enables you (the church) to provide immediate response to new disasters and ensures that you (the church) will continue to do day-by-day good for the long haul.

Yours in Christ,
Gil Furst

Gilbert B. Furst  (Written on 10/11/02, at 3:00 PM)  Director for
  ELCA DOMESTIC DISASTER RESPONSE (Division for Church in Society) and
  LUTHERAN DISASTER RESPONSE (a cooperative ministry of the ELCA and LC-MS)
  8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago 60631  PHONE: 773-380-2822 FAX: 773-380-2493
Please visit our website:  www.ldr.org and  www.elca.org/dcs/disaster