Tree of Life Ministries
Tree of Life Ministries Newsletter Mission Statement: Find the Need... Meet the Need... Change a Nation.
Field Directors:
Guy & Angie Henry
March 2007
STUDENTS RETURN In Record Numbers!!!
On Saturday, February 3rd we witnessed a record high in registered students. Many were returning students, but each year our jump in numbers is because of the 160 plus, new students. Our register currently says that there are 472 students signed up for the new school year. We are still trying to find the official tally on this number.
[email protected]
Stateside Contact:
Rooms that were being used for storage were cleaned out, beds put in and turned into dorm rooms. We also moved our single leaders into different quarters to make room in the boys dorms for more beds. We believe God brought each one of them here and therefore will meet the extra needs that this will produce.
TOLM
The positive side of these high numbers is that this confirms Tree of Life has accurately found one of the many needs here in Honduras. Clearly, this generation is the first to be offered this level of education.
2084 W. Thompson Rd Fenton, MI 48430 810.750.LIFE (5433) www.tolm.org
A note from the Henry’s Many times we ask ourselves; “are we having an impact?” At the beginning of this new school year we had 11 of our 62 graduates come to us offering to donate a year back to Escalon. Needless to say our hearts were touched and a new drive to continue reaching out to find the needs has gripped us. We know that we are a part of a team that is meeting those needs; thank you for being a part of that team. Love; Guy, Angie, Dakota & Jeweliza.
We believe in faith that the next generation will be a positive reflection of this truth, especially as the students graduating now start to raise their own children in the values that have been deposited in them while studying here at Escalon. It was sobering to watch and listen as students helped their parents read and sign their names to the registration forms. Some did not even know how to spell or write their own names. It was touching to register three sisters and look at their mother that was clearly sacrificing for them to be here and yet she is willing to do it so that they may have a better chance at life than she has had. To hear of the young man who one day while standing in the middle of the field in the unrelenting heat of the day looked around at his brothers working along side of him and had the revelation that if he did not return to school he was destined to follow in their footsteps, earning a living farming with no more than a sixth grade education, with the very desire to live slowly seeping out of you. He returned to school a few years behind, but he will be graduating this year. It also then breaks our hearts to watch another young man leave with tears in his eyes, having two more years to graduate, not knowing if he will return. He has to return home to care for his family because his father has suffered his own misfortunes that have kept him from being able to work. We pray that this young man will return when he is able. We pray he is able.
Page...2
Tree of Life Ministries
SCHOLARSHIP-A-STUDENT PROGRAM needs your prayers: Plan Escalon is a ministry, not a business; a ministry as such that started because it saw the need to offer more education to the youth of Honduras who go without after the sixth grade. We wanted to meet this need for more than the reason of education. We recognized that if we could influence a youth’s life for Christ and then educate them; that we could help change the nation from within. We send them back into the working world around them and they then can make a greater difference to change the thinking of those around them and ultimately the mentality of poverty over the country. We offer an education to over 450 students a year for a small fraction of other schools. The room and board, and food expenses as well as the tuition are well over $50 per month per student. We have electricity bills that have to be paid, teaching staff as well as leadership and administrative staff. None of our missionaries receives money from the ministry as staff. The support and pledges that they receive from the States is their sole means of living here. All the money that comes in for a student goes towards the above mentioned expenses that we need to run a safe and reputable institution. We scholarship them based on their family size, income, and individual family circumstances. Our heart is to meet the needs of those that have no means. Therefore, we are functioning by faith month to month. Saying all of this to say, Pastor Guy has received direction from God that we believe will help Plan Escalon meet its monthly budget on a more consistent basis. This direction is a simple matter of mathematics. Our desire is to see each of our students “scholarshipped” by a business, a family, a church, or even a group of individuals, such as a youth group, for $50 a month. Every dollar of this money is going towards the expenses of offering a Christ-centered, quality living and education to a youth who otherwise would not be able to receive one.
We ask that you pray that each student is scholarshipped. We ask that you pray about scholarshipping a student, yourself. We ask that if you can think of anyone that might be interested, to encourage them as well to be a part of this vision. We now have the help of Annette Ramos to help oversee and organize the Scholarship-A-Student program. She will be making sure you receive all of the information about the student that you scholarship and keep you informed on a general basis. You can read more about Scholarship-aStudent on the website at www.tolm.org /http://www.tolm.org/content.cfm?id=2009
BOOKS NEEDED FOR SCHOOL!!!! With all of the costs of providing room & board, food, education, and staff we have never been able to purchase textbooks for the students. Our goal this year is to at least have enough textbooks that can stay in the Library and will be there as each study group has need, in order to help them in their studies. Textbooks are very expensive and the students have no means to purchase any, so in this way we can raise the quality of the education they are receiving. We also would like to provide circulation fans for each of our classrooms. The climate is tropical and there are times of the year it can reach 100 degrees in the afternoon, which is not conducive to study. The overall cost of the books is $10,000 and we are excited to report that someone has pledged that sum for us to achieve this goal. The estimated cost for the circulation fans is $2000. Be in Prayer for this need, thank you.
Page...3
Tree of Life Ministries
A NEW CHURCH IS BUILT IN SAN ISIDRO One encounters many adventures and surprises on the mission field but not many can hold as much significance as does the sight of a cement block and wood building on a simple concrete slab; In the middle of a small mountain village far removed from civilization. Imagine living in this village, so far removed that their is no electricity or roads for vehicles, you have to Framing the walk up the steep mountain to get there. Imagine spending your building & whole life there without leaving except for a few unwelcomed emergenMixing cement for the cies or a surprise trip into town every few years for necessities. platform. Then one day a white man shows up. Is he for real? He and his group have come to reach out and be a blessing, not asking for anything in return. They only want to share the love of Jesus and the Good News that He is their Salvation. The white man and those with him are faithful to their small village and return as often as they are able. So you can imagine the excitement in the village when news spreads that the white man and his ministry are going to help them build a sound church structure. It is the local men themselves who start to find the mahogany trees around them to start preparing the wood that will become the walls of their church. Cement and supplies start to arrive as the day draws near. This February that story has become a reality in the mountain village of San Isidro. Pastor Guy is the “white man” that so many years ago found this little remote village and has now returned bringing a church group with him from Georgia. Together they are able to erect a building that we pray represents the unconditional love of Christ to all the villagers. We pray that this building will draw them in and it will be a place of refuge for all. Also, the pastor of the village has been making the long, difficult and sometimes dangerous trip down the mountain to go to the Bible School at Escalon. He has a willing heart and is hungry to learn all that he can to be more equipped to help pastor the people in his village. Please pray for him and all our other village pastors. The Honduran way of hauling cement!
2nd Annual Pastor’s Conference in the Mosquito Coast Preparations are under way for the 2nd Pastor’s Conference in the Mosquito Coast. With the success of last year’s conference, and over 120 pastors present, many more pastors are looking forward to this year. Their hunger for the Word of God and desire to be better equipped in their ministries has truly touched our hearts. There is a need to be trained in overcoming the problems that can arise when you have a congregation, no matter what part of the world you live. It is an awesome experience to witness the hunger for truth and to feel the demand on the anointing as you stand before them sharing the Word with them. Please pray for this conference and the deposits over these pastor’s lives. Also, if you would pray for the $5000 in financing to come in, as these meetings have many expenses as well. We provide transportation to and from the meetings, as well as food and housing for the week. Perhaps you would also like to be a part of this conference by sowing a financial seed. The return is guaranteed as promised in God’s Word.
Page 4
Tree of Life Ministries
HAPPY 50th BIRTHDAY PASTOR GUY!! The Leaders here at Escalon and Tree of Life Ministries are proud to announce that Pastor Guy turned 50 years old February 28. It is a blessing to have such an anointed Man of God leading this ministry. His heart for this country is contagious and it is an honor to work along side of him in his many endeavors. We pray blessings and many more years of health and ministry over his life. We Love You Pastor Guy!!! …from the National and Missionary staff!! JEANNA SHARES FROM HER HEART: I personally would never have guessed seven years ago or so that I would be living in Honduras, conquering the language of Spanish, teaching English classes, and enjoying the entire experience. I climb into bed some nights totally spent, but I feel satisfied with the day and content with all that I see God doing in our lives. I consider myself blessed to be able to experience the world on such a different level and what an awesome revelation to know that it is all only through God and His anointing that I am able to do any of it. I went through a tough time around seven years ago and my prayer became,
"Lord, I need you every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day." I prayed it then and he rescued me and Hello, A new school year just started with the new students that we approved from last Novembers interviews. It has been so wonderful to know that most of them are here, and we will have the opportunity to ministry to
each of them. We are looking forward to ministering to them and being able to plant a seed in their heart about the love and mercy of God. Also, to be able to keep planting more seeds into the ones that have returned from last year. We ourselves have new perspectives and goals to achieve, as we also have for them. We believe that this year will be full of opportunities. Thanks for your prayers and be blessed! Juan and Annette Ramos
in my surrendering into his arms I have found such freedom. I still pray that prayer every day and the irony of it all is when I look around me and realize where that prayer of surrender has led me to. I am moved to humility before my King and cry, "How Holy, Magnificent, and Awesome you are." We encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and into the unknown. It is the greatest ride you will ever take in your life. We are happy and blessed to be serving in the time and hour that God is moving in. across this world.
-The Brusherd’s
FOURTH YEAR OF BIBLE SCHOOL
Our 2007 Bible School is up and running and this year the fourth year classes have been added to the calendar along with the other three. What a blessing as each year new students are enrolling and now we have Douglas (a graduate of Escalon and a fourth yr. student) being added to our teaching staff. All of the students are enjoying the more in depth teaching that they are receiving. Many times, they are so hungry and overflowing with questions that the teaching staff is pressed to complete the syllabus of notes. Praise the Lord, what a problem to have.
Field Directors:
Guy & Angie Henry
March 2007
STUDENTS RETURN In Record Numbers!!!
On Saturday, February 3rd we witnessed a record high in registered students. Many were returning students, but each year our jump in numbers is because of the 160 plus, new students. Our register currently says that there are 472 students signed up for the new school year. We are still trying to find the official tally on this number.
[email protected]
Stateside Contact:
Rooms that were being used for storage were cleaned out, beds put in and turned into dorm rooms. We also moved our single leaders into different quarters to make room in the boys dorms for more beds. We believe God brought each one of them here and therefore will meet the extra needs that this will produce.
TOLM
The positive side of these high numbers is that this confirms Tree of Life has accurately found one of the many needs here in Honduras. Clearly, this generation is the first to be offered this level of education.
2084 W. Thompson Rd Fenton, MI 48430 810.750.LIFE (5433) www.tolm.org
A note from the Henry’s Many times we ask ourselves; “are we having an impact?” At the beginning of this new school year we had 11 of our 62 graduates come to us offering to donate a year back to Escalon. Needless to say our hearts were touched and a new drive to continue reaching out to find the needs has gripped us. We know that we are a part of a team that is meeting those needs; thank you for being a part of that team. Love; Guy, Angie, Dakota & Jeweliza.
We believe in faith that the next generation will be a positive reflection of this truth, especially as the students graduating now start to raise their own children in the values that have been deposited in them while studying here at Escalon. It was sobering to watch and listen as students helped their parents read and sign their names to the registration forms. Some did not even know how to spell or write their own names. It was touching to register three sisters and look at their mother that was clearly sacrificing for them to be here and yet she is willing to do it so that they may have a better chance at life than she has had. To hear of the young man who one day while standing in the middle of the field in the unrelenting heat of the day looked around at his brothers working along side of him and had the revelation that if he did not return to school he was destined to follow in their footsteps, earning a living farming with no more than a sixth grade education, with the very desire to live slowly seeping out of you. He returned to school a few years behind, but he will be graduating this year. It also then breaks our hearts to watch another young man leave with tears in his eyes, having two more years to graduate, not knowing if he will return. He has to return home to care for his family because his father has suffered his own misfortunes that have kept him from being able to work. We pray that this young man will return when he is able. We pray he is able.
Page...2
Tree of Life Ministries
SCHOLARSHIP-A-STUDENT PROGRAM needs your prayers: Plan Escalon is a ministry, not a business; a ministry as such that started because it saw the need to offer more education to the youth of Honduras who go without after the sixth grade. We wanted to meet this need for more than the reason of education. We recognized that if we could influence a youth’s life for Christ and then educate them; that we could help change the nation from within. We send them back into the working world around them and they then can make a greater difference to change the thinking of those around them and ultimately the mentality of poverty over the country. We offer an education to over 450 students a year for a small fraction of other schools. The room and board, and food expenses as well as the tuition are well over $50 per month per student. We have electricity bills that have to be paid, teaching staff as well as leadership and administrative staff. None of our missionaries receives money from the ministry as staff. The support and pledges that they receive from the States is their sole means of living here. All the money that comes in for a student goes towards the above mentioned expenses that we need to run a safe and reputable institution. We scholarship them based on their family size, income, and individual family circumstances. Our heart is to meet the needs of those that have no means. Therefore, we are functioning by faith month to month. Saying all of this to say, Pastor Guy has received direction from God that we believe will help Plan Escalon meet its monthly budget on a more consistent basis. This direction is a simple matter of mathematics. Our desire is to see each of our students “scholarshipped” by a business, a family, a church, or even a group of individuals, such as a youth group, for $50 a month. Every dollar of this money is going towards the expenses of offering a Christ-centered, quality living and education to a youth who otherwise would not be able to receive one.
We ask that you pray that each student is scholarshipped. We ask that you pray about scholarshipping a student, yourself. We ask that if you can think of anyone that might be interested, to encourage them as well to be a part of this vision. We now have the help of Annette Ramos to help oversee and organize the Scholarship-A-Student program. She will be making sure you receive all of the information about the student that you scholarship and keep you informed on a general basis. You can read more about Scholarship-aStudent on the website at www.tolm.org /http://www.tolm.org/content.cfm?id=2009
BOOKS NEEDED FOR SCHOOL!!!! With all of the costs of providing room & board, food, education, and staff we have never been able to purchase textbooks for the students. Our goal this year is to at least have enough textbooks that can stay in the Library and will be there as each study group has need, in order to help them in their studies. Textbooks are very expensive and the students have no means to purchase any, so in this way we can raise the quality of the education they are receiving. We also would like to provide circulation fans for each of our classrooms. The climate is tropical and there are times of the year it can reach 100 degrees in the afternoon, which is not conducive to study. The overall cost of the books is $10,000 and we are excited to report that someone has pledged that sum for us to achieve this goal. The estimated cost for the circulation fans is $2000. Be in Prayer for this need, thank you.
Page...3
Tree of Life Ministries
A NEW CHURCH IS BUILT IN SAN ISIDRO One encounters many adventures and surprises on the mission field but not many can hold as much significance as does the sight of a cement block and wood building on a simple concrete slab; In the middle of a small mountain village far removed from civilization. Imagine living in this village, so far removed that their is no electricity or roads for vehicles, you have to Framing the walk up the steep mountain to get there. Imagine spending your building & whole life there without leaving except for a few unwelcomed emergenMixing cement for the cies or a surprise trip into town every few years for necessities. platform. Then one day a white man shows up. Is he for real? He and his group have come to reach out and be a blessing, not asking for anything in return. They only want to share the love of Jesus and the Good News that He is their Salvation. The white man and those with him are faithful to their small village and return as often as they are able. So you can imagine the excitement in the village when news spreads that the white man and his ministry are going to help them build a sound church structure. It is the local men themselves who start to find the mahogany trees around them to start preparing the wood that will become the walls of their church. Cement and supplies start to arrive as the day draws near. This February that story has become a reality in the mountain village of San Isidro. Pastor Guy is the “white man” that so many years ago found this little remote village and has now returned bringing a church group with him from Georgia. Together they are able to erect a building that we pray represents the unconditional love of Christ to all the villagers. We pray that this building will draw them in and it will be a place of refuge for all. Also, the pastor of the village has been making the long, difficult and sometimes dangerous trip down the mountain to go to the Bible School at Escalon. He has a willing heart and is hungry to learn all that he can to be more equipped to help pastor the people in his village. Please pray for him and all our other village pastors. The Honduran way of hauling cement!
2nd Annual Pastor’s Conference in the Mosquito Coast Preparations are under way for the 2nd Pastor’s Conference in the Mosquito Coast. With the success of last year’s conference, and over 120 pastors present, many more pastors are looking forward to this year. Their hunger for the Word of God and desire to be better equipped in their ministries has truly touched our hearts. There is a need to be trained in overcoming the problems that can arise when you have a congregation, no matter what part of the world you live. It is an awesome experience to witness the hunger for truth and to feel the demand on the anointing as you stand before them sharing the Word with them. Please pray for this conference and the deposits over these pastor’s lives. Also, if you would pray for the $5000 in financing to come in, as these meetings have many expenses as well. We provide transportation to and from the meetings, as well as food and housing for the week. Perhaps you would also like to be a part of this conference by sowing a financial seed. The return is guaranteed as promised in God’s Word.
Page 4
Tree of Life Ministries
HAPPY 50th BIRTHDAY PASTOR GUY!! The Leaders here at Escalon and Tree of Life Ministries are proud to announce that Pastor Guy turned 50 years old February 28. It is a blessing to have such an anointed Man of God leading this ministry. His heart for this country is contagious and it is an honor to work along side of him in his many endeavors. We pray blessings and many more years of health and ministry over his life. We Love You Pastor Guy!!! …from the National and Missionary staff!! JEANNA SHARES FROM HER HEART: I personally would never have guessed seven years ago or so that I would be living in Honduras, conquering the language of Spanish, teaching English classes, and enjoying the entire experience. I climb into bed some nights totally spent, but I feel satisfied with the day and content with all that I see God doing in our lives. I consider myself blessed to be able to experience the world on such a different level and what an awesome revelation to know that it is all only through God and His anointing that I am able to do any of it. I went through a tough time around seven years ago and my prayer became,
"Lord, I need you every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day." I prayed it then and he rescued me and Hello, A new school year just started with the new students that we approved from last Novembers interviews. It has been so wonderful to know that most of them are here, and we will have the opportunity to ministry to
each of them. We are looking forward to ministering to them and being able to plant a seed in their heart about the love and mercy of God. Also, to be able to keep planting more seeds into the ones that have returned from last year. We ourselves have new perspectives and goals to achieve, as we also have for them. We believe that this year will be full of opportunities. Thanks for your prayers and be blessed! Juan and Annette Ramos
in my surrendering into his arms I have found such freedom. I still pray that prayer every day and the irony of it all is when I look around me and realize where that prayer of surrender has led me to. I am moved to humility before my King and cry, "How Holy, Magnificent, and Awesome you are." We encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and into the unknown. It is the greatest ride you will ever take in your life. We are happy and blessed to be serving in the time and hour that God is moving in. across this world.
-The Brusherd’s
FOURTH YEAR OF BIBLE SCHOOL
Our 2007 Bible School is up and running and this year the fourth year classes have been added to the calendar along with the other three. What a blessing as each year new students are enrolling and now we have Douglas (a graduate of Escalon and a fourth yr. student) being added to our teaching staff. All of the students are enjoying the more in depth teaching that they are receiving. Many times, they are so hungry and overflowing with questions that the teaching staff is pressed to complete the syllabus of notes. Praise the Lord, what a problem to have.
