TEGUCIGULPA, Honduras (BNc) – Preaching students are sequestered in the Baxter Institute, while political protests in the streets occur within earshot of the campus.
On June 28, 2009, with the support of the Honduran Supreme Court, the military, and the congress, Jose Manuel Zelaya was deposed as president of Honduras in what has been referred to as a military-backed coup by Zelaya supporters or a constitutional transfer of power by Roberto Micheletti, interim president until November 29, when presidential elections are scheduled.
On Monday, Sept. 21, 2009, former president Zelaya suddenly appeared inside the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, the capitol of Honduras, which has resulted in a new wave of political demonstrations.
In spite of this, the Baxter Institute in Tegucigalpa is still at the job of training young men to preach the word.
Since one of the major boulevards dead-ends at the campus of Baxter, putting the Institute within earshot of any political demonstrations, it can be disconcerting to the students. However, Howard Norton, president of the Institute, stated that the students and staff are all safe and their work is going on as normal. Of course, the Institute is taking precautions, with guards posted on duty during the day and night, and steps are being taken to make the Institute even more secure.
Students are confined to the campus for their own safety. “There are 10 different nations represented in our student body,” Norton said, “some of which are not looked upon favorably by the Honduran government or the people. We want to make sure they are safe.”
The campus provides the student body with housing, meals and medical care, and according to Norton, it is probably the safest place in the city of Tegucigalpa.
“The Baxter campus was once a coffee farm and some distance from the city,” said Norton. “Now it is definitely within the city limits and looks like a tropical paradise. Its permanent buildings include an administration/classroom building along with a beautiful chapel on the top floor; a cafeteria/kitchen complex that can feed two or three hundred people at once; an amphitheater; a dormitory of apartments for married students; and a dormitory for about 80 single males. The campus has a multipurpose outdoor athletic court, a separate office building and a maintenance garage; a medical and dental clinic with additional facilities for nutritional and professional training. A recent visitor to the campus compared it favorably to Pepperdine in terms of its beauty. Harris Goodwin was the founding president of Baxter Institute.” The campus, previously based in Mexico, has been located in Honduras since 1978.
Like most good works, their income falls short of their need.
“We are always in need of help in training our preachers. We need approximately $15,000 a month, beyond our regular contributions, for the training of preachers,” said Norton.
Those interested in the work at the Baxter Institute, please contact Howard Norton, President, at 501-278-6586 or Bob Young, Chairman of the Board, at 918-470-0421. The website for the Institute is http://www.associationamicus.com.
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