“Walking Together / Serving as One”

To God be the Glory!

This past month my team and I have been blessed with the opportunity to share our ministry and the work we’ve been doing with other congregations in the Bay Area who have expressed an interest in learning more about the LCC Comfort Dog Ministry. We have visited First Lutheran Church in Concord (where Pastor Ted Zimmerman is currently the interim pastor) and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Turlock. We were also joined by Team Reuben at Light of the Valley Lutheran Church in Elk Grove. We have been honored to spend time and partner with local law enforcement and first responders in the community. I have been visiting the dispatchers and records departments at the Napa Police Department. Not only do these wonderful people provide very important support to our community, they also give me amazing ear and backrubs!

We have also participated in the Every 15 Minutes programs at Calistoga H.S., Live Oak H.S., and River Valley High School. This important program focuses on high school juniors and seniors and “challenges them to think about drinking, driving, personal safety, the responsibility of making mature decisions and the impact their decisions have on family, friends, their community, and many others.” We were able to provide comfort to many participants during these particularly moving and emotional experiences.

I met with the students and faculty at West Park Elementary School following a shooting incident in the area. My team and I also accompanied Chaplain Lee Shaw as he went on a neighborhood check of the area several days later. As I was making one of my regular visits to Brookdale Senior Living, my team was approached on the street by a mother whose son had met me at West Park just a few days earlier. Although she and I had never met, she recognized me from my business card that her son had brought home from school. She stopped us to let us know how grateful she was that we had visited the school and how much it had helped both her son and the other children. Praise be to God! As we continue to build relationships in the community, it is rewarding to see His impact at work.