On Mission-Guatemala
Guatemala Hurricane Disaster
 

The Doss Family Ministry Letter

 November 2005

Maya-Mesoamerica Mission
P.O. Box 746
Elkins, AR 72727
www.mayamission.org

 

On Sunday, October 16, Kathy and I, (David), drove in the Jeep on the Pan –American highway until we were stopped by a cave-in of the pavement.      Twelve days after the storm the major north/south route across Central America was still impassable with significant work to be done before the highway opens for normal traffic. As we looked at the gorge where a highway once was, the sobering reality of our circumstances was forcing us to make some hard decisions.

We were cut-off from the area where we minister by landslides and cave-ins on the pavement. There was one route open through the mountains over a muddy dirt road, but it takes from twelve to twenty hours to make the trip one-way. Another route on the Pacific coast was rumored to open soon, but there was no guarantee when or if that would happen.

A pressing situation had also developed in the house where we were living. With all of the rain and humidity the past several weeks, mold was becoming a serious health issue. The mold was growing in our clothes, on our furniture, the walls and floors, and our food and cooking utensils. The storm was not only an environmental disaster on the landscape, but it had produced a micro-disaster in our house. We needed to get out of the house, but like thousands of displaced Guatemalans, we didn’t have anywhere to go. 

Kathy, Meghan, and I had a family meeting to discuss our situation and our options. After prayerful consideration we have decided to make some major changes for a season. We are in agreement that Kathy and Meghan need to return to the United States immediately. Presently it is mid-term in schools in the United States and Meghan’s school in Guatemala. If a change is inevitable, now is the time to make it. I will return to the mission house near Xela with our personal belongings to oversee the ministry’s outreaches during this critical time.
 

  Forty percent of Guatemala’s crops were severely damaged or destroyed and we anticipate food shortages in the areas where we minister. Guillermo has done a good job as the point-man in the ministry’s response in this disaster to date; however, it is now time for me to be in Xela.

I will go to the U.S. in early December and stay through the Christmas holiday. Late January or
early February I plan to return to the mission in Guatemala. There is a team scheduled to come to Xela mid-February and other short-term teams are in the planning stages. While I’m in the states I plan to work on several of the missions projects that require my presence there and I hope to visit with you concerning vision for the mission in the future.

Although Kathy, Meghan, and I agree that these changes are necessary for a season, it certainly will not be easy. Kathy and Meg flew to Missouri on Thursday, October 20, and I miss them dearly.

There is an ache in my heart that only they can soothe. Our thanks go to those of you who pray for and support us financially. We continue to need your prayers and support as we “press on to win the prize”.

I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward--to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back. So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision--you'll see it yet! Now that we're
on the right track, let's stay on it. Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal.
(Philippians 3:12-17 MSG)


Yours in Christ,
David, Kathy, and Meghan

To every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heavens:
(Ecclesiastes 3:1 MKJV)

For current information and photographs of the Hurricane Stan relief effort with Maya-Mesoamerica Mission in Guatemala visit the mission’s website at: www.mayamission.org.