wfn.org | Lutheran Disaster Response Ends Relief Efforts in Puerto Rico

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

September 3, 1999

LUTHERAN DISASTER RESPONSE ENDS RELIEF EFFORTS IN PUERTO RICO
99-219-MR

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response concluded its
recovery work in Puerto Rico this month after Hurricane Georges struck
the island in September 1998.  Lutheran Disaster Response is a ministry
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod.
     More than 650 individuals went to Puerto Rico "in the service of
the servant Christ," said the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, an ELCA pastor and
director for Lutheran Disaster Response.
     "Numbers do not always tell the whole story, but there are numbers
to share," Furst said.  More than 20 major and extensive repairs were
made to properties; more than 125 minor repairs were provided; and more
than 2,000 homes and yards were cleared of debris, he reported.
     "Food and medication, comfort and consultation, tears and
laughter, compassion and love were all provided by the presence of
Jesus' servants, Christian brothers and sisters who saw the need and
came to be part of the Lutheran Disaster Response," said Furst.
     A service was held at Iglesia Luterana Reconciliacion
(Reconciliation Lutheran Church), Levittown, Puerto Rico, on Aug. 9.
Furst said worship was designed to give thanks to God for the "giant
steps taken toward recovery," and to give "thanks to all the brothers
and sisters who helped make recovery possible."
     In her sermon, the Rev. Graciela Rivera-Sanchez, Iglesia Luterana
Reconciliacion, said, "We confess our faith through the creeds, but we
also confess our faith through our actions.  Jesus showed us the example
of how a servant loves and how love serves.  An authentic servant acts
in extraordinary ways to the immediate need, but every act of service
points back to the supreme act of service [from Jesus] on the cross."
     Furst said worshipers delivered a strong "Gracias" ("Thank you")
to God and to Lutheran Disaster Response volunteers.
     "In these past eleven months, many prayers supported those
affected by Hurricane Georges.  Many donations supported the relief and
recovery efforts of Lutheran Disaster Response," Furst said.
     Lutheran Disaster Response provided more than $510,000 for Puerto
Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands for recovery efforts and "preparedness"
-- preventive care for future weather disasters, said Johanna Olsen,
assistant for Lutheran Disaster Response.
     Hurricane Georges tore across Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
before making its way through the rest of the Caribbean and to the Gulf
Coast states.  It was estimated that the hurricane caused more than $2
billion of damage.

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