Blessings friends, a lot has happened over the last couple of months. Our missions work in Guatemala has extended into Mexico, and God has opened doors in the state of Campeche and Yucatan. Kathy and I have partnered with Iglesia Nueva Idea and Iglesia Maranata on the island of Ciudad del Carmen to evangelize families through counseling. The Lord has given us a new evangelism approach through counseling families suffering from alcoholism, addiction to narcotics, and physical and verbal abuse.
We have partnered with Grupo Mejora, a group of three Christian Psychologists based in Guatemala dedicated to training Pastors and church leaders on how to handle, sensitive subjects like abuse, addiction, and trauma. These key partnerships have helped us have a clearer focus and goals with all the families we evangelize in Guatemala and Mexico. We have taken the step to go beyond Medial outreach which is great and effective but Kathy and I have always had the burden, “What happens to all those people when we leave?”
We realized that even though most of the people treated in the clinics were referred to a local church, we realized that many had deeper issues that needed attention. This caused us to look for training for ourselves on how to counsel, opening the door to meet other organizations that could help us meet these urgent needs. Since 2021 we have counseled 300 families, preventing child suicides, and helping young men and women get out of alcoholism and narcotics. God is good!
God is always looking to do more, we are now helping refugee families from Venezuela, stranded in Guatemala, left behind by the caravans, due to illness, injury, and lack of resources. I would like to clarify that we are not assisting anyone illegally enter the US, we are helping families with food, clothes, and toiletries that they do not have, because of robberies that happen along the way. We are extending a helping hand to make sure that these refugees have food and when possible a place to spend the night.
This all started with a Cheeseburger, Yes you read that right. Kathy and I noticed a lot of families and children stranded along the Panamerican highway, and on several occasions when out all day we would stop at a rest area to fill up and grab something to eat. I started buying 2 extra cheeseburgers to give to kids we would find along the roadside. Quickly two became 4, 5, 6, 7, etc and a new section of missions ministry was born, helping the refugees stranded in Guatemala.
What started 16 years ago as translating for Doctors in Costa Rica, has turned into something way bigger than Kathy and I could have ever imagined. Yes, friends, it’s been 16 years on the missions field, and thousands of patients later, we are now in Guatemala and Mexico. After God’s faithfulness, we could have never gotten here without you! Thank you to everyone who has been with us since the beginning, to those who ran alongside us for a time, to those who visited as part of a team, and to those who have been with us since the very first day, thank you!!!!!
We are praying and believing for many more years, many blessings for you, your family, your plans, and your personal petitions. God is good and we believe he will continue to do the good work he started.
Thank you friends for helping make 16 years possible!
In Christ,
David, Kathy, Aly & Ely
Open Arms Refuge Ministries, Inc. 
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