Prayer Request - Saturday, May 29th
This entry was posted on 5/29/2010 4:34 PM and is filed under Urgent Prayer Request.
Urgent Prayer Request from Sarah Poythress:
"A volcano outside Guatemala City erupted Thursday afternoon sending a black coating of sand everywhere. Here in Guatemala, the news says there are 22 people reported dead and around 30 children missing; all lived around the volcano There was no warning that an eruption was eminent. In addition to the heavy sand, it has been raining very heavily since Thursday around noon. The water added to the sand is making it very dangerous on the house roof tops. Many trees are down due to soft ground allowing the roots to just be pulled up from the ground. Power lines are down and people have been asked to avoid driving if possible because so many trees are leaning on power lines and no way to tell if the lines will break, causing much danger. The army was called out to work on the runways at the airport. The only way to clear the sand is to use high power water hoses. This morning around 5 a.m., another eruption of the volcano sent more sand raining down. We have heard many different reports on when the airport may re-open. The latest guess is Thursday, June 3, but all depends on the volcano and if it erupts more. The eruption was so strong, it blew another hole in the top of the volcano. The Guatemalan Government has declared a state of emergency, a red alert status. Rains in the lake area have caused multiple mudslides. The roads from San Pedro beyond Santa Clara are closed due to slides as are the roads from Panajachel to Solola. Needless to say, travel is dangerous right now in Guatemala. The emergency folks (fire, ambulance) cannot keep up with all the calls. Sirens can be heard everywhere.
Impacto has a team from Indiana Wesleyan University at the lake. They were due to travel to Antigua this morning for a day of shopping and then depart on their flight home tonight. That has all changed. Now, they will be saying in San Pedro at least overnight. Luis and Tony are trying to make arrangements to get them back to the airport so they can try to get confirmation for flight change to depart from El Salvador. If all that can be worked out, Luis has already made arrangements for a 17 person van to drive them directly from Guatemala City to the airport in El Salvador. Some of them are due to start classes on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week so they really need to get back. Tony Mendez and his dad are with the team in San Pedro and we are keeping in touch with them.
About 2 hours ago, Tony called to tell Luis that Theresa (one of our kitchen staff) had just run home because she got word her house was flooded. Theresa lost everything she owned in the mudslides of 2005 that covered San Juan. Please remember her and her family in prayers.
Our hearts are heavy for all the suffering caused by the volcano and rains. Luis and the entire Impacto staff ask that you please pray for Guatemala, its people, the IWU team, and us as we strive to make the best, safest decisions during this time of uncertainty. We also ask that you forward this to anyone you know who will be a prayer warrior for us." Sarah Poythress, IMPACTO, Luis Martinez Spanish Ministries
