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Dear friends in Christ,
Lutheran Disaster Response (a cooperative ministry of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod) are
responding to flash flooding that swept through thirteen counties in
northeastern Kansas last week. As much as eight inches of water from heavy
rain raised the already overloaded the Volga, Crane, and Turkey rivers.
Over 1,500 persons were displaced. Some small towns were entirely in the
water, trapping some residents on their roofs. Hundreds of homes were
affected.
Lutheran Social Service of Iowa (Roger Gutmann, President) has been
responding through LDR disaster coordinator, Patricia Geissel. Efforts are
being coordinated with the ELCA Northeastern Iowa Synod (Bishop Steven
Ullestad) and The LC-MS Iowa East District (President Curtis Moermond), and
with local Lutheran pastors. Most of the survivors are low income or
elderly persons.
Pat Geissel, along with LeRoy Zimmerman (LDR Disaster Team member), is
currently meeting with pastors and assessing the extent of the damage.
Resources for children are being distributed, and counselors are being
deployed. A volunteer coordinator will probably be hired next week. When
I have that information, I will make it available in my next Iowa update.
Volunteers will be needed for several months to help with mud removal and
general clean up.
Please pray for those whose lives are filled with sorrow because of the
chaos and loss of natural disasters. And pray, too, for those who are
responding, that they may be strengthened in their ministries.
You can help immediately in Iowa by your generous gifts. Please send your
contributions to:
ELCA DOMESTIC Disaster Response - designated "Floods"
PO Box 71764
Chicago, Illinois 60694-1764
Credit card gift line: 1-800-638-3522
LC-MS World Relief
P.O. Box 66861
St. Louis, MO 63166-9810
Credit card gift line: 1-888-930-4438
In Christ,
Gil Furst
GILBERT B. FURST (written on Thu, May 27, 1999, at 9:46 pm)
Director, ELCA Domestic Disaster Response (Division for Church in Society),
Lutheran Disaster Response (A cooperative ministry of the ELCA and LCMS)
8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago 60631 PHONE: 773-380-2822 FAX: 773-380-2493
Visit our website: www.elca.org/dcs/disaster
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