Missionary Update – Brent Dodd
Summer has come and gone, and Fall will be behind us before we know it. This has been our busiest summer since moving to Mexico in 2014. God has given us strength, safety, and good health, enabling us to accomplish much. Thank you for faithfully praying for us and the ministry here. We are excited to share what the Lord has done.
Our youngest child has graduated! We thank the Lord for her life and for helping her complete her high school education. She is currently taking a break from school, and the Lord has provided her with a job at Papa John’s Pizza. She is learning much as she transitions from school to the workplace. Please pray she will be a shining light for Jesus in her job. Her boss told her that it is the busiest Papa John’s in the SC Upstate! The largest order she has helped fill was 150 pizzas.
Laborers for the Mission Field:
Matthew 9:37–38 (KJV): “Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.”
I recently had the privilege of flying a group of potential missionaries to a remote tribal location, where they spent a few days experiencing what missionary life is like. Please pray the Lord will raise up more laborers for His harvest fields. He granted safety and workable weather throughout the flights, though I did have to navigate around a few weather systems.
Elderly Man with a Broken Hip:
I received a call to medivac an elderly man who was having trouble urinating. After examination at Hospital Mision Tarahumara, it was discovered he had a broken hip. Praise the Lord, Dr. Mike and the surgical team were able to perform a hip replacement, and I was able to fly him back home to recover. Without this service, he likely would not have survived.
U.S. Passport Renewal:
Passports are valid for ten years for adults. Ten years ago, Hollie Mae, Brielle, and I renewed ours in El Paso, Texas, through an expedited process that took one day.
This time, we again needed expedited renewal, so I could return to Mexico for scheduled flights. Praise the Lord, there is a U.S. Passport Agency in Tucson, AZ. I completed the application online, and since I needed to fly a UIM Aviation aircraft to the maintenance facility there, it worked out perfectly.
Hollie Mae and I landed in Tucson midday, and we had our appointment at 6:30 p.m. The staff took us in early, and by 8 p.m. we had our new passports and passport cards in hand! We thank the Lord it was a quick process. Please continue to pray that He will keep the doors open for us to serve in Mexico. We are living in interesting times.
Critical Medivacs:
I have had several critical medivacs recently, in UIM Aviation’s Cessna Turbo 206. What a blessing to have this aircraft with double side doors, making it possible to load stretcher patients efficiently.
One young man had been stabbed in the back, and his intestines were exposed. The Hospital Mision Tarahumara medical team and I transported him and his wife to a facility 50 minutes away, where he received the care he needed. Thank you for your prayers as we provide this vital service to the Tarahumara indigenous people of Mexico.
Getting Older:
We are all getting older! On August 22, I turned 60. I thank the Lord for these 60 years, for His saving grace, good health, and thousands of safe flight hours. It is a joy to serve Him, and to play a small part in getting the gospel to hard-to-reach places. Thank you for helping make this possible.
I look forward to His return—with anticipation—and pray He will find me faithful when He comes, or when He calls me home.
Some Flights End in Sadness:r
I was asked to pick up a young mother and her very sick son from a remote airstrip. I flew them safely to Hospital Mision Tarahumara. Sadly, that evening the little boy passed away from pneumonia. A casket was made, and the next morning I flew the mother and her son back to their village.
His grandfather and I carried the casket to their home. The Tarahumara show little outward emotion, but I know both parents were deeply grieving. My prayer is that this young couple will come to know Jesus as their personal Savior.
(Please pray for Johnny Pinkham and his family. They have devoted their lives to reaching these precious people who live very remotely. It is not easy work.)
Some Flights End in Gladness:
Johnny Pinkham requested a flight for a first-time mother to be taken to the Hospital Mision Tarahumara. Praise the Lord he did, as her baby was found to be breech, and she needed a C-section. All went well, and she now has a healthy baby!
I recently returned to that remote airstrip and was able to see both the mother and baby. May they both come to know Jesus as their Savior.
Keep Looking Up:
I trust this update is an encouragement to you. God is working in His way and in His timing.
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.
I pray as you face challenges in your own corner of the world that you will continue to look up to Him, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
We serve a great God who is conforming us to His image. One day we will see Him face to face—what a glorious day that will be! Until then, let’s keep pressing on in His work, together.
Serving Him with you,
Brent & Hollie Mae Dodd