Guatemala Mudslide

A group of 20 people from our church has been preparing to go on a mission to Guatemala next month. They have collected 600 pairs of shoes for the Happy Feet program -- and have planned to lead Vacation Bible Schools, and other outreach events.

This morning, however, the trip planning took an unexpected turn. A terrible mudslide has wiped out a couple of towns where they were planning to go. One village (Santiago) is reported to be under 40 feet of mud.

Here's the word we received today from Luis Martinez:

Crying out for help...that's the message from Guatemala.

Pastor Elias was able to get a call through to Pastor Luis today around 5 a.m. He was crying as he told about the situation in the lake area. They have not had food or drinking water for 2 days. There is no electricity so they cannot grind any corn they may have. The crops are washed out. The roads are washed out. About 75 percent of San Juan and 75 percent of San Marcos are gone. The church is still standing in San Juan but Pastor Lucas' house is gone. The government has declared Santiago a graveyard because tons and tons of mud have covered everything and they cannot dig out all the bodies. There is no gasoline to power a boat from San Pedro to Panajachel. Basically, they are stranded. The government is trying to bring in heavy equipment to open roadways and they are also trying to use helicopters to bring in some supplies. The weather is not cooperating so relief efforts are hampered. Pastor Elias said the priority of needs is: food, drinking water, dry clothes, dry shoes, and medicine. Many people already have fungus from being so wet. Tomorrow, Monday, Oct. 10, Pastor Luis is flying to Guatemala. He was supposed to be preaching in a town there near the Pacific coast this week. However, he will not know until he gets there if he can even get to that area. He and Pastor Carlos are working on renting a 4-wheel drive truck to try to get to the lake area with supplies. Pastor Luis is buying athlete's foot medicine for the fungus to take with him to distribute. Pastor Carlos and Delmi are going out today to try to purchase dry milk, dry beans, and corn to take. Pastor Luis and Pastor Carlos will fill the truck with water and food to take to the lake area. Please pray that they will be able to reach San Pedro safely. Please pray that the rains will end and the villages can start the massive clean-up efforts this week. The needs are tremendous for our brothers and sisters in the lake area. Pastor Luis has spoken with Jo Ann Lyon of World Hope International. She has authorized $5,000 to be sent towards relief efforts. New Life Church in Maryland has also designated $5,000 to be sent to help with relief efforts. This is a good start but of course much more will be needed. If you feel God leading you to help, please send your donation to

Impacto
Luis Martinez Spanish Ministries
9690 Shepherds Creek Place
La Plata, MD 20646