Update 9/25/2023

 

Dear Friends,

 

Your prayers and giving towards Tonya's health are moving mountains! Tonya's monthly treatments are not only giving her quality of life back but also enabled her to travel internationally over the summer. During her visit to Europe and the Middle East, Tonya was able to:

• participate in a training and development of over 200 missionary families serving in North Africa.
• hold strategic planning meetings with the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education in Jordan to prepare for partnership in 2024, including an exciting initiative called the POP (Posture of Purpose) conference for leadership development and relationship building among teen girls.
• begin planning a nationwide training with Ministry Education for English language learners.

 

When we started this journey, Tonya and Jonathan were facing over $480,000 in medical bills. The Lord has answered our prayers! Through various programs and sponsorships and the $21,000 raised during the first part of our campaign, the overall indebtedness has been reduced to just under $148,000! 

 

This is nothing short of a miracle. We know that our combined efforts can eradicate the medical debt and free Tonya and Jonathan up to minister and serve as the Lord leads them. 

 

A nurse practitioner and faithful friend of Tonya's accompanied her during her travels this summer. She shared, 

It was a pleasure and honor to travel alongside Tonya this summer to Italy, France, Spain, Sardinia, England, Jordan and Israel. There were so many blessings along the way that they were too numerous to count!! The greatest blessing was watching the Lord heal Tonya during our 6 weeks of travel.

Thank you so much for your prayers - the Lord answered them in a mighty way! It was impressive to witness Tonya’s continued exponential physical improvement which included but was not limited to mental acuity, multitasking and physical endurance. We laughed as she ran circles around Jessica and me.  She was able to provide intercultural training in Jordan as well as facilitate intercultural negotiations on behalf of UNESCO in Turkmenistan.

I have no doubt that the Lord has a huge assignment on Tonya's life. Miraculous transformation is happening in her health but also in her ministry and impact around the world. Cerebral lymphoma cancer is not going to be the end of her story! She is working on the initial plans for creating an Extraordinary Wellness Retreat Center in the middle east for pastors, missionaries and minsters. Even in the midst of all that, Tonya is continuing to serve the underserved communities through Hope Farm in Fort Worth and Dallas. 

 

We know the Lord is far from finished with Tonya, her impact and ministry continue to grow. As someone who loves Tonya and Jonathan or someone who has been blessed by their ministry, would you consider a gift (or another gift!) toward offsetting the burden of medical expenses and providing financial freedom for future ministry?

 

Please prayerfully consider joining the medical campaign on GiveSendGo.com/tonya, the most advantageous platform where all donations go directly toward Tonya’s medical bills.

 

If you would like to make a larger, tax deductible donation by credit card, you may donate via Hands International at ContinueToGive.org/tonya.

 

Donations by check may be directed to:

Hands International

931 E Harvey Ave.

Fort Worth, TX 76134

 

With questions about tax deductible donations, please contact HANDS International Treasurer Reny Greenleaf at 817-793-3136.

 

If we each commit a little, it adds up to something big! Thanks to those of you who took time to read this far. You are a blessing!

 

May 2023

Dear Friends, Family, and Colleagues,

We, the collective board members of HANDS International & Christmas Tree Ranch, would like to share some amazing news and invite you to join us in a unique opportunity starting in the month of May.

TONYA’S NON-HODGKINS IS IN REMISSION!!

BUT WAIT – THERE’S MORE!! Her immune system is working hard to rid her body of the remaining cancer and at the current rate of progression, we fully expect 100% of the cancer to be gone from her system sometime this summer. You read that right….G-O-N-E!

OH, BUT WAIT - THERE’S EVEN MORE!!! From Dec. to April, the tumor in her brain shrunk to less than one-fourth of its original size! For those who like medical terminology, it has been static for a year & a half, and had a spontaneous regression…a medical term for a miracle.

As you may or may not know, this is not Tonya’s first dance with cancer & disease. In fact, over the years Tonya has had 4 different death sentences pronounced over her. But like an Olympic Fighter, she wins over and over and over, giving God 100% of the credit for extending her life. Tonya often states, “My life is not my own.” She knows the Lord numbers her days and while SHE is content with whatever his timing, WE praise Him for keeping her with us, for another round of ministry and world-changing opportunities.

WINNING COMES WITH A COST! As you might imagine, Tonya and her family have surmounting expenses for the plethora of life-giving treatments and procedures. Just like that Olympic fighter - a prize is not won without cost. Over the last 10 years, Tonya and Jonathan accumulated just over $480,000 in medical debt for everything from transplants to experimental treatments, long hospital stays to proton therapy, as well as ongoing transfusions and stem cell procedures. With good stewardship and the Lord’s gracious help, they have strategically reduced the debt to $298,000. Additionally, a medical grant and the opportunity to be a featured "success story" in a commercial for a stem-cell medical clinic, have further decreased their outstanding balance to $175,000.

THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITY…

We believe it’s time for the medical debt to have a spontaneous regression, just as Tonya experienced physically, so she and her family can continue blessing others extravagantly with their time, intelligence, & resources, and without burdensome pressures. HANDS International wouldn’t exist without Tonya, yet working tirelessly for over 20 years, she has never received a salary or personal compensation from the ministry. If you have spent any time with Tonya, you have surely experienced the ripple impact she has on untold numbers throughout the world!

We believe it’s our turn! By rallying together through prayer and support, on behalf of Tonya and her family, we know we will see the mountain of debt removed. What a monumental, miraculous moment

YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN US!!

We are inviting you to rally 25 of your friends, sphere of influence, and/or social media followers to donate just $25 each.  (One-time or monthly donations) By doing this, we can generate a supportive salary, allowing Tonya to continue to invest in the important work of HANDS International, and simultaneously allowing her family the supplemental income to pay off the medical loans that have jumped to high-interest rates.

Our God has no shortage of resources. As part of Tonya & Jonathan’s sphere, let’s show them how much they mean to us. And as they do for so many others, let’s bless their socks off! WILL YOU JOIN US?