Gifts from afar

We ache with [you],” wrote Mary Mikhael, president of the Near East School of Theology, Beirut, Lebanon, after Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. “And we pray for healing to all those who lost loved ones and property. ... And to those who are helping, we pray for strength and wisdom.”

After the hurricanes, such condolences and even gifts poured in from church partners in Japan, Tanzania, Brazil, Geneva and elsewhere.

“This is accompaniment at its best,” said Rafael Malpica-Padilla, executive director of ELCA Global Mission. “Mission is always a two-way street where both companions are givers and receivers.”

Madagascar’s Malagasy Lutheran Church wrote: “We know exactly how such [a] disaster is lived by the people. ... Though we have [little] to share with you except prayers, we would like to symbolize our concern by a check of $250.”