I just got back Monday from a few days in Brazil and Bolivia, fulfilling some of my duties as Area Facilitator. Helping with disaster relief In Brazil, I was helping Rev. Dr. Ross Johnson, director of LCMS Disaster Relief. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil, our partner church, invited him to do an assessment of the damage caused by historic floods in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Unlike many disasters in Latin America, where Lutherans are sparse, this flooding took place in a heavily Lutheran area and affected many Lutheran families and churches. Our sister church, known by its Portuguese initials IELB, has done an initial assessment and found more than 200 Lutheran families affected by the flooding. Dozens lost property to flood waters. Several have completely lost homes. Thankfully, no members of the IELB died in the flooding, but many are homeless as they seek to rebuild almost a month after the flood occurred. Heavy rains continued most of the time we were there, complicating the ongoing cleanup. Dr. Johnson and I were accompanied by one of the vice-presidents of the IELB, Rev. Airton Schroeder. We visited four congregations in the area that had people affected by the floods, including two in which flood waters entered. In the other two churches, the building was spared, and they are operating as a center of clothing and food distribution. We took time to meet with pastors, church leaders, and members of the affected communities. An elder in the congregation in Roca Sales had to be lifted off of his roof by a helicopter as the waters rose quickly. Rev. Schroeder led a devotion with each group …
