The Tree of Life Colorado Connection. Kevin Centola grew up to be a fireman. As long as he could remember, he had always wanted to do two things, be a firefighter and to help orphans. In 1997, Kevin was living in El Paso, Texas with his wife Luz. He was working at the firestation, when an old friend called him. Phil Green was in town. Phil had come from Denver, CO with a group of Christians for a mission trip to Juarez, just across the border from El Paso. They were going to visit an orphanage the next day and Phil invited Kevin and Luz to come along. Kevin agreed to come along. What he saw at the Arbol de Vida Childrens' Home sparked an all but forgotten desire to help the less fortunate.
Read a recent article in the Denver Post.
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March '07 Newsletter - Greetings from Arbol de Vida Juarez!
Tree of Life Children’s Home
Friday March 9, 2007
From Nathan
“Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope in the Lord his God.” -Psalm 146:5
Hey everyone! I can say with all my heart that God is good, and happy is anyone who puts his/her hope in Him. He will never disappoint his children. Things are going great here at the home. A lot of neat things have been happening, and God has been showing his faithfulness to His ministry.
First, and most important, John finally has title to the land! It is hard to believe that it is finally over. John has been waiting for this day for 12 years. We want to thank all of you who have been praying to the Lord for the title. It seems like it was always one thing after another blocking the process, but it’s over. Praise God!
Now that John has the title, a man from El Paso is going to pay for a new building and will begin construction in 2 weeks. The building is going to be beautiful, overlooking the valley on the west side of El Paso. It will have 26 rooms for 52 more children. Every two children will share a room, and each room has its own ½ bath. There are 4 apartments, two on each floor, for the families that will be caring for the children. This will allow the children to feel more part of a family and will allow for more personal relationships. The building will also have a library, and 2 living rooms with large windows. The building will cost over $500,000. The Lord is indeed good! The builder estimates on finishing the building in 6 months. What a blessing!
There are now 62 children at the orphanage. We have been receiving a lot of children from the police. Just like the testimony of which I wrote a few weeks ago, each of these children has a heart-breaking story. I am honored to be here helping them, and you should feel honored in helping support this ministry with your prayers and money. Taking care of hurting children is something that definitely pleases our God. We have a great staff right now who love the children, who follow and enforce the rules, and who all treat each other and the children with respect. I know we need more help developing programs that we have envisioned for the kids here, but we are off to a great start.
Needs:
- We have a few needs here at the home and also for my family. We are having another 15th birthday for a girl who has been at the orphanage for about 6 months. Sandra is a great kid, but comes from an abusive background. She is doing well here at the home and we would like to give her something special. We will be having the celebration this month. We have someone providing the food and plates, and we have already purchased the dress for Sandra. We still need money for a cake, decorations, clothes for the boys, and drinks. We estimate it will cost about $600.00.
- We purchased a pc card for my laptop for the internet and we pay for service each month. The card cost $60, startup was $200, and the service is $80 per month. We have been using this to develop a website for the home, for our own e-mail, and for John’s email. If anyone can help with the cost it would be great.
Bere and I applied for and purchased the express lane, which is a designated lane for commuters to El Paso from Juarez. It saves us over an hour each day and allows me to do things for the orphanage in a short amount of time rather than taking half a day. Anyone who has crossed the bridge from Juarez to El Paso can understand the stress and energy it takes to cross. The cost of the program was $550. A brother from Denver, however, was willing to help us cover the cost. Praise God!
We want to thank all of you again for caring for us, the kids at the orphanage, and this ministry. Thank you for your help, support and prayers. We love and pray for you all. May the Lord continue to bless you and keep you.
Sincerely,
Nate, Bere, Vivi, Isaac and Dani
p.s. Bere is doing well with the pregnancy. We have not been to the doctor lately, but she is feeling good, and the baby is showing lots of movement. Thanks for your prayers.