Greetings! This is my first opportunity to write to you as the new Director of Lutheran Disaster Response! I started on June 4 and have been busy getting oriented to the position. I consider it a privilege and an honor to serve in this capacity.

Before I go any further, I want to be sure to thank Ruth Reko for her great job of serving as the Interim Director. Since her first day, which coincided with a tornado in Alabama, she has hit the ground running. Her wealth of knowledge regarding the history of disaster response and the work of the implementing affiliates in Lutheran social ministry organizations have helped give direction to this work and are a gift for which we will be forever grateful. May the Lord bless her as she moves back into active “retirement”!

I can relate a bit to Ruth’s experience since when I was employed at Lutheran Services in Iowa (LSI) on May 24, 2004, I received a letter from Gil Furst with the news that I was named as the LDR Coordinator for Iowa. Later that afternoon, a tornado struck Bradgate, Iowa and then the next evening a flood struck Elkport and Garber, Iowa. So I was forced to learn what it means to be an LDR Coordinator and how to respond to a disaster fairly quickly. Throughout my time at LSI, I worked with over 20 communities experiencing disasters. In 2008, severe flooding impacted a large portion of Iowa. In our response, LSI provided disaster case management for 13 counties whereI served as the program manager. At the peak of the response, we had 20 people employed in disaster case management. I left the agency in December of 2010. Since that time I have served as an interim pastor in Clinton and Dubuque, Iowa.

Thankfully, my first few days in the office has not brought any new disasters. But I am keenly aware of all of the ongoing response and recovery work that is going on around the county. Thank you to all who have helped implement this work in their local communities and those who have traveled near and far to volunteer time and talents! It continues to hold true that where Lutherans respond to disaster there is Lutheran Disaster Response.          

I believe my perspective as a former state coordinator will help me in this work, but I am also aware that many of you have a great deal of experience working with disasters as well. So as I begin my role here, I invite you to contact me with your thoughts and ideas as to how we can build on what LDR has been doing. And may the Spirit continue to lead as we engage in God’s work with our hands.

Amen.

According to the World Bank more than 17 million people in the West Africa Sahel region are now facing food shortages and possible starvation. The most affected countries are Mauritania, Niger, Mali, Chad and Burkina Faso where poor rainfall and food shortages have driven the prices of staple foods beyond the ability of the poorer members of society to afford.

Along with the current situation of drought and food insecurity there has been continued violence in Mali and Niger that has forced 300,000 people from their homes. Many of these are finding refuge in neighboring countries. Almost 160,000 Malian refugees have been registered in neighboring countries. Of these over 61,000 are in Mauritania at the Lutheran World Federation-managed camp of Mbéré.

The need in the region is still great and it is believed the food security crisis will not peak until late summer/early fall. As we gather in worship and within our individual prayer life, please continue to lift up the people of this region and those who work on their behalf. In the midst of conflict and drought may God grant them strength, peace and lead them into safety.

To learn more see the links below and to give see the link at the bottom of this post.

World Bank: Drought Worsens in the Sahel Region | LWF: 16th Sitrep on the Crisis in the Sahel
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Gifts to ELCA International Disaster Response allow the church to respond globally in times of need. Donate now.