“Divine Favor!”

He had been a cripple since the age of about five. His nurse had grabbed him and fled, when the battle raged between Saul, his army, and David. When the child fell, he became a cripple.

Years have gone by, and now David is king and on the throne. Saul, Jonathan, and the enemies of David are dead. As David is pacing back and forth one night, he is reminded of the vow that he and his best friend, Jonathan, made. David asks if there is anyone left of the house of Saul (David’s enemy), so that he can show kindness to him.

They found a servant of Saul, named Ziba. King David asked if there were any of the household of Saul that he could show kindness to on account of Jonathan, the son of Saul. A servant came forth and told them of a man named Mephibosheth, who was lame and in the poorest of the places on earth, Lo-debar. Lo-debar was like a desert. It was here that poor, lame Mephibosheth had been hiding from the enemies of Saul. But David doesn’t want to kill him, he wants to “bless him!”

I can see David’s men on horseback coming to the shack in the desert, where this poor, lame man, Mephibosheth, lay… a cripple. They grabbed him under his arms, threw him over a horse, and took off to the palace. I can see the soldiers dragging him in before the king, dirty, torn clothes, smelly, hungry, and worst of all, he was the enemy of David. But “divine favor” has kicked in. Instead of punishment, David gives him mercy. David will restore all the land of Saul to Mephibosheth! Then, David commands all the servants of Saul to “wait on Mephibosheth” hand and foot, till his land, and all that pertained to Saul is now in the hands of Mephibosheth! And Mephibosheth is to eat at the king’s table with all the king’s sons, from now and forever!!

Each morning, Bobby and I pray for five things… one of them is “favor with God and favor with man.” We call this, “divine favor!” You don’t have to make the best grades in class to have divine favor, but it helps! Divine favor can give you a “yes,” when there is nothing but a “no” staring you in the face! Each day, pray for “divine favor!” It will bless you and keep you out of trouble!!! Have a great day!

Sherry

It was about four years ago that we received a call from the guys at our front gate, here at Love A Child. They said that “someone had left a baby” in the weeds and disappeared. We came quickly and found this little boy dropped off in the weeds, whimpering. He had scars all over his body…

When we took him to our clinic, they discovered a lot of abuse… tooth marks, scars, etc. He also had severe malnutrition. He was so afraid that he screamed and cried all the time. It took lots of love and patience. We decided to call him, “Noah.”

It was a long while before Noah would trust anyone. And it took a longer time for him to begin to talk. But as soon as he started talking, he was a difficult little boy. We sent him to school and found out that he is very intelligent! He is now in the first grade! He is very, very intelligent and hardworking! All the kids call him “Mal-bronch,” but I have no idea what it means. Noah looks like a little future “football” player! He is a keeper!!! We all love Noah!

Sherry

This week Love A Child takes you to villages in Haiti that are so far from civilization they rely on what they grow to survive. These people’s crops are at the mercy of the weather. As the drought in Haiti becomes more severe, they lose their harvests more frequently, growing more and more hungry. Parents are helpless as they witness their children starving. Children take on intimidating and hard chores to help their parents squeeze by. A box of food means everything to these desolate people. Please join us on our mission to provide hope!

We want to invite viewers around the world to tune in on Friday to Daystar Television Network at 6:30 p.m. (ET) and then throughout the week. You can also watch us on DirecTV, DISH Network, Christian Television Network, The Word Network, NRB, and many more local television stations. Check out our full schedule for the best way for you to tune in. You can also watch the program online through our Vimeo and YouTube channels or on our website www.loveachild.com under the “Media” tab.

Together we are changing lives!

“Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing…” Psalm 30:11

Sometimes, after overwhelming grief, it may seem impossible to smile or laugh again. In fact, you may find yourself feeling “guilty” if you are laughing, instead of mourning or being sad. But in all things, a time will come when we must “let go” of that cloak of sadness. The grief for anything, big or small, or even losing a job or a loved one, can be so overwhelming that you might feel guilty if someone says something funny and laugh. But there comes a time when we must “drop the sackcloth” and dance once again.

I really feel that this unusual scripture is for someone going through this. Because “weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5) I pray you will drop that sackcloth and “learn to dance” again.

Sherry

At about the age of three, Dumolia’s father appeared at our orphanage with his young daughter. Dumolia (Dimelia) had been badly burned a while back when she fell into a pot of boiling hot water. But her scars left her unable to turn her head from side to side and unable to lift her arms. She had been taken to a poor hospital and she never had therapy or grafts, or the care she needed.

We took her in and sent her to the Shriners in Boston. We found a room mother for her and she began a long series of painful skin grafts. After years of going back and forth, we found that her Visa had expired. She was about to have her last surgery when her Visa ran out, so she has been back in Haiti. She wanted to pursue her dream of going to a Medical College, but she doesn’t speak French, just Creole, and English. So we spent time trying to find the right Medical College. We found the University of Technology in Jamaica, and she is waiting on her acceptance.

Until then, she works in our Birthing Center. She does the sonograms, and the other day she did 77 sonograms!!! Wow! We pray that the right “College Door” will open for her. We all love “Di Di” so much!

Sherry

PS: If she is accepted into this college it is an International Degree. She would be able to work anywhere!

Conclusion of “The Rat Shack”

Now, it’s been 13 days fasting in the rat shack… cold, broke, and trying to kill the rats that were trying to crawl into bed with me. The book, “Atomic Power with God,” said that usually around 13 days of fasting, a person will start seeing visions or maybe even an angel will come. I knew I would start seeing visions soon. It would happen on the 13th night! Around 1:00 a.m., I looked up and saw a vision. The vision was so real that it was like looking at a TV. I looked up and saw “chicken frying in a pan!” I could even smell the chicken! I saw cornbread, black-eyed peas, and mashed potatoes dripping with butter! I was so hungry, I felt like I could die. I thought I was going to see an angel or have a great vision, but instead, I saw “southern-fried chicken frying in the pan!”

I fasted for 21 days and nights just on water. Nothing happened! I felt like God was a million miles away from me. I was hungry. Sherry was late picking me up that day because our junk car broke down. She took me home and cooked me a nice meal. But I felt discouraged and sad, thinking, “why didn’t the Heavens open up?”

That evening, I told Sherry I wanted to be alone and stay in the other bedroom. In the middle of the night, I was sitting in my chair when all of a sudden, the glory of the Lord came down. His presence filled the room! The Lord spoke these words to me, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7) That evening, the Lord began to teach me how to build the ministry that God has given us on faith. We do not walk by what we can see, we walk by faith! We don’t walk on how we feel, our surroundings, circumstances, or emotions. Not even by logic. If the Lord says do something, we do it by faith!

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)

During those 21 days of fasting and praying, I was looking for the presence of God to be so close to me. Yet, I felt nothing! The Lord was teaching me not to go by what I feel, but by faith!!!

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)

Missionary Bobby Burnette

Sandraline, what a sweetie! I have always called her, “pi-wi-li,” which means, “lollipop!”

Sandraline was born in Croix-des-Bouquets, a large town, which now is full of gangs.

Her mother died a short time after she was born; her father made a small living by repairing bicycle tires in order to hire a woman to care for her… But that was not enough money even to buy milk.

At nine months old, she was extremely malnourished, so her father found out about Love A Child and brought her to us. It took a long time for her to improve in her health, but today, she is fine health-wise. She is “very slow” in school. Because of her malnutrition, she is “younger in her mind,” than she should be… but she is sweet! She is in 6th grade but has failed one or two years.

Sadraline loves babies and loves dolls, loves helping in the Malnutrition Clinic, and “loves to clean!”

When she finishes school, she will probably end up “working for Love A Child,” or, working at our Malnutrition Clinic… We will see. All of us love Sandraline!!!

Sherry