For Immediate Release
September 9, 2005


CTS "Troops" Head South to Aid Hurricane Survivors

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (CTS)- On Friday morning, September 9, 2005, 20 men and women left behind the comforts of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind., and headed south to help in the clean-up efforts in the Golf Coast area hit by Hurricane Katrina. The group, led by the Rev. Timothy R. Puls, Dean of Students, includes M.Div. students, a deaconess student, and family members of those attending CTS. Their mission is to assist in any way possible in the clean-up effort. "You are going down to serve as God's hands and reach out with mercy and compassion," said Dr. Dean O. Wenthe, President.

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The group's first stop will be Trinity Lutheran Church, Baton Rouge, and then they are expected to head to Slidell, La., one of the hardest hit areas on the Gulf Coast. There are several personal connections between CTS and this area. The Rev. Kurtis D. Schultz, President, LCMS Southern District, whose offices are located in New Orleans, serves on the CTS Board of Regents and many of the seminary's graduates are serving in the areas devastated by the hurricane. The trip and clean-up efforts will be coordinated under the direction of the Rev. Matthew C. Harrison, Executive Director, LCMS World Relief.

The volunteers loaded two vans and a charter bus with donations from the seminary Food and Clothing Co-ops, including copious amounts of water, baby food, personal care products, and even several boxes of teddy bears for the littlest survivors. To assist in their mission the group brought their own tools, generators, and enough food to sustain them for their seven day stay in Louisiana. They will work long days in helping clear debris, cleaning homes, and restoring structures so those affected may begin to return to their pre-hurricane lives. In addition to meeting physical needs they will offer spiritual encouragement through devotional materials.

This is just the first phase of assistance from CTS. More volunteers will travel to the area as needed and financial gifts will be sent from special chapel offerings. The seminary, along other institutions of higher learning in the Fort Wayne area, is working with the Red Cross to gather and ship needed items to all the areas along the Gulf Coast that were affected by the hurricane.

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Update: Monday, September 12, 2005 on the CTS "Troops" that went to Baton Rouge.

The group worshiped at Trinity Lutheran Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Sunday morning. They received an incredibly warm welcome from the fellow Lutherans at Bethany Lutheran Church in Slidell, Louisiana, Sunday afternoon. In that congregation alone there are 40 displaced families. Dean Puls has organized our 20 workers into three groups. The first group is called “Louisiana Lightning” and is led by Robert Portier; the second group is dubbed “Larry’s Always Right” led by Larry Wright, who has considerable experience in construction; the third group is led by Dean Puls and is simply known as “The Dean's List.” Robert Portier incidentally is from Louisiana. Their assignment for Monday, the 12th, is to go to homes of the members and to remove drywall, carpets, and furniture which cannot be salvaged. Please keep your colleagues in Louisiana in your prayers that their labors on behalf of others might be blessed with success and safety. May the Lord’s guardian angels attend them.

Update: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 on the CTS "Troops" now in Slidell.

We received a report this morning, that our three work crews had a fruitful day of work yesterday. First, they unloaded food and clothing from an eighteen-wheel trailer for a number of needy families and then divided into three work crews to work in three homes. The basic need has been to remove all the furniture and carpeting as well as four to eight feet of drywall so that the homes can be refurbished. They are staying in the homes of Lutheran families in the area that were not damaged by the hurricane. As Dean Puls was explaining their efforts, fire sirens were going off. Tragically, some who did not have flood insurance have set their homes on fire to make it possible to make a claim for fire insurance. May we pray that people would be led to a more appropriate response. Dean Puls reports that the work is tiring but very satisfying. When the group returns to campus, we will have a convocation for them to share their experiences with us and also make plans to further help any who are in need in the future. Keep your fellow seminarians and deaconess in your prayers that they might continue to enjoy safety and security.

Update: Wednesday, September 14, 2005.

Dean Timothy Puls has reported that they continue to work through the process of helping our sisters and brothers in Christ clean out their homes. An example of such an effort would be Larry Wright’s group helping Mr. Jeff Penkowe who had waves come in reaching immediately three to four feet in his house. As a result, all the furniture, carpeting, drywall, and all the material that was three to four feet in the house had to be removed. In fact, Larry said that they had a line of debris about 45 feet in length and ten feet high by the time they also removed the fallen trees and debris from outside the house. Dean Puls also reports that everyone is in good spirits. In fact, we were able to visit with the Rev. Kurtis Schultz, the Southern District President, and his home is one of those that suffered severe damage. One of our three teams will be helping in his home today. One little observation was that the most challenging smell was that many people took the material from their refrigerators and put it out in the street as soon as they were able to return to the homes, which has created a not so savory aroma. We will update you tomorrow with further activities of our group. We plan to host a reception for them when they return to share their experiences with us. Please keep these dedicated seminarians and deaconess in your prayers for safety. They are experiencing a remarkable event as they seek to help those in need.

Update: Thursday, September 15, 2005 the CTS "Troops" are still in Slidell.

Our team is working out of Bethany Lutheran Church, Slidell, where the members are preparing a hot breakfast for them in the morning and dinners in the evening. One of the seminarians, Randall Smith, has an expertise in restoring pianos and was instrumental in moving a damaged baby grand piano from the home of President Kurtis Schultz, who is also a member of our Board of Regents. In one neighborhood, namely Indian Hills, the water was up to eight feet deep in many homes, and they have had to work through three inches of sludge to tear out carpeting and remove furniture as well as cut into drywall. They said that in one case there were actually caskets from the graveyards that have floated up and were positioned in the trees above the street. Dean Timothy Puls reports that the spirit of all three work crews is good and that they will continue working through Saturday, will attend church at Bethany on Sunday, and have a kind of farewell event with the people there. We are very proud and thankful for the dedication of these workers, and no doubt there will be opportunities for others of the seminary community to help in the not too distant future. We await directions from LCMS Human Care. The seminary has also offered to house homeless in our dormitories if there is a need. May our Lord continue to grant safety to our workers and comfort to all those who have experienced such trauma.

Update: Friday, September 16, 2005.

This is an update from our colleagues helping in the hurricane affected area in Slidell, Louisiana. Dean Timothy Puls reported that today they are joining arms with some Lutherans from Immanuel Lutheran Church and St. John Lutheran Church in Seymour, Indiana, who brought additional food, tools, and support for the folks particularly in the Slidell area. They continue to go from house to house and rip out walls, carpeting, and flooring. A neighbor to one of the churches came over yesterday and pleaded for help because of his medical handicaps. He is a non-Lutheran but our team will be spending the morning at his place. Dean Puls reports that it is simply an incredible sight to drive down Highway 11 and see yachts and sailboats in the trees and in high places. Ward Yunker, a seminarian who comes from New Orleans, reports that their favorite restaurant is simply gone, no where to be seen. All of them are experiencing the use of muscles that have been dormant for some time but continue to be rewarded by the thank-yous of God’s people in that place. We look forward to welcoming these people back next week and are arranging for a reception and a viewing of the pictures that they have taken during the following week. I will update you as soon as our good colleagues arrive safely home. Please keep them in your prayers.

Update: Monday, September 19, 2005 the CTS Troops Return Safely Home.

The CTS Hurricane Relief team returned safely early Monday morning at 3:00 a.m., from Slidell, LA. By the end of the trip our 3 student teams had served somwhere between 13-15 homes and families. Trees were cut, furniture and flooring was removed and dry wall was stripped off of homes in order to save them from greater damage. Also, needed food and clothing supplies were distributed at Bethany Lutheran Church, Slidell for homeless and displaced families within in the Slidell community. The Lord's provision and hand pressed us safely through an early bus accident, without any major injuries, so that by God's grace we were able to accomplish the good work He wanted done. It was truly a joy to see these students be vessels of service to reach and serve God's people in this part of His kingdom.

President Wenthe

Hurricane Katrina Cleanup Efforts - A Seminarian's Perspective

I recently returned from a trip to Slidell, Louisiana with a group of 20 from Concordia Theological Seminary. We spent 9 days on relief efforts from the hurricane and floods in a community just north of New Orleans, on the border of Lake Ponchatrain. What devastation to see first person!

Each day, in teams of 5-6, we cut and cleared trees from houses, tarped roofs, and then began to the lengthy task of clearing flooded homes (flooded as high as 7 feet in the inside). We cleared out all fixtures and furnishings, all the soaked and rancid smelling carpet and fiberglass insulation, removed various debris, fish, sludge, layers of tile, and all drywall. We piled people’s possessions into their front yards and literally buried their memorabilia in a big heap. Traveling around Slidell, we found one neighborhood after another with front yards full of molded everything and downed trees everywhere. We have a new appreciation for the word “Sheol.” Some homes that had been were no more, except for hints of their foundations.

Physically, I’ve never worked so hard in my life and I’m not the only one. I still ache at night from the work (and partly still because of the bus accident, see below).

We sucked down bottle after bottle of Propel and water and ate military M.R.E.s for lunch. Bethany Lutheran Church in Slidell provided us hearty breakfasts and dinners.

Besides our own very full bus of donations, we unloaded two semi trailers full of food and essential items for residents and relief workers. We shared some items with the Red Cross, traveling 16 miles on Saturday evening to help supply a Red Cross center with low supplies for 260 displaced families.

Heads of households asked us to hold hands with them and their family and to pray with them at the end of the day’s work. In Jesus’ name, they offered their heartfelt thanks to God with tears for the work we were able to help them with. I surmise that they cried more because of our help than for what they lost. God’s grace and compassion is recognized in members of His body helping one another in acts of mercy.

We also miraculously survived a bus accident on the way down. Our driver mysteriously passed out and the bus went off the road at 75 mph near Marion, Arkansas at 8:30 at night. We broke through three wooden posts attached with a metal cable, went down an embankment, over a service road, and miraculously entered a soybean field rather than nose-diving into a ditch because of a 20 ft. approach! When I noticed the bus going over the white line on the Interstate, I yelled out “Sir! Sir!” and moved towards the driver. I was able to get to the wheel and finally guide the bus to an abrupt stop in the side of a culvert/ditch before risking hitting whatever might have been ahead or tipping over. The cruise-control was still active in the field and we were speeding up again after almost banking in some dirt when we entered the field. I sustained few minor injuries on my forehead, left knee, and scrapes on my legs. I was only unconscious for a brief second when I hit my head on the windshield or dash (not sure which) as we entered the soybean field and bottomed out. No hospitalization was required of me or anyone, except the driver was taken in for tests. A different bus and driver was sent to us overnight. When the owners and new bus driver arrived, we revisited the accident site. They were mystified that we didn’t tip over. (By the way, regarding the driver who passed out: many of us believe he had a minor and undetectable stroke.)

May the God of angels be fully praised, we stayed upright. I’m sure you understand how great a feeling it was to get home safe early Monday morning and see Gretchen and Kate.

I’m very glad we went on and finished the trip. The appreciation of the people we served was a type I’ve never seen before. We witnessed families going from overwhelming befuddlement about what to do to tears of thankfulness to have such help. They had little hope for their homes and felt overwhelmed with the task. We did too. We pointed them to the overwhelming devastation of our lives due to sin and how Christ makes all things new through water and the word. We showed that the church is an extension of Christ’s body for compassion and acts of mercy because of Him who made atonement for all, revealing God’s love for all and salvation in the church, and that He has called us from the devastating floods our sins deserve to the ark of Christ.

In Him+

Derek