Our Stories

When Woodrow and Margie Arp bought their eleven year-old granddaughter, Alyssa, the book Little Things Make Big Differences: A Story About Malaria, they didn’t realize what inspiring acts the gift would set in motion.

More than 700 LWR Mission Quilts were distributed to impoverished women and men in Kolkata, India by Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity. Learn more about how Quilts bring joy and warmth to so many in need.

Tropical Storm Washi caused massive flooding and destruction in the Philippines. Learn how LWR is responding and what you can do to help.

Families and communities in Haiti are still working to recover from 2010’s devastating earthquake. Thanks to your compassion and generosity, Lutheran World Relief is working right alongside them to rebuild and improve.

Gregory Rawn didn't start out trying to build a business or earn any great fortune. He simply wanted to help his oldest son, Elijah, understand church services and learn about God.

Zenaida and her community in Mindanao, Philippines, once had to rely on hand-dug wells and contaminated river water. But a new gravity-fed water system has brought clean water to the community.

Like many of the victims of the recent floods that struck Central America, Anselmo Antonio Gonzalez is thankful to be alive.

Football on a snow-covered field is usually a tradition reserved for later in the winter in places like Green Bay, not Gettysburg, Pa., in October.

This year members of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Torrington, Wyo., decided to take on a bold mission — to fill Noah’s Ark with animals from the LWR Gifts catalog.

Where drought once tore households apart, LWR is helping to bring communities in Kenya together to cope and move forward.

Elise Seyfried of Oreland, Pa. leads a busy, yet accomplished life as a wife, mother of five, church worker, actress. And she’s also a writer — she recently published a book and decided to donate a portion of the proceeds to Lutheran World Relief.

Ahmed and his family lost everything as a result of Somalia’s devastating drought and famine. Now living in a refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya, they wonder what the future holds for them. Learn how LWR is helping.

Shifts in weather have also caused big problems for the farmers of the Gumutindo Coffee Cooperative in Uganda. Read how LWR’s sustainable development approach is helping farmers protect their livelihoods — and the Fair Trade coffee you love to drink.

Rev. A. Karl Boehmke has supported Lutheran World Relief since its beginnings in 1945. Learn why he’s supported this work for so long – and what he envisions for the future with your support.

More than eleven million people in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti are at risk of starvation in the midst of the region’s worst drought 60 years. Famine has been declared in parts of southern Somalia. By acting quickly and compassionately to help, we can save lives in East Africa.

Dr. Teizazu Sukessa speaks four languages fluently — English, German, Oromo and Amharic. Yet, the more you learn about this new member of the Lutheran World Relief board of directors, the more you realize that’s just one of many impressive things about him.

Not long after beginning her career as an electrical engineer, Kristin Yakimow discovered something important about herself. “I like working with people, and helping them solve their problems, much better than I like working with computers.”

To express themselves, some people draw, some sing, others write. Eighty-three year old Mildred (“Mickey”) Monsen organizes. To her, the ability to bring people together under a common cause is both a passion and a vocation. “It’s my way of following Jesus,” Mickey says. “And it’s what I love to do.”

A shipment of 22,000 Lutheran World Relief school kits was sent to Sao Tome and Principe &m one of Africa's poorest countries &m in late 2003 as part of a national initiative to improve conditions in elementary schools and revitalize the country’s education system.

Most camp-bound children aspire to fill their summer days with outdoor activities like swimming, hiking and playing games. 1,500 campers in Nebraska and Kansas put a different spin on their summer fun by filling an ocean freight container with Personal Care Kits.