Latest News Archive

Latest News Archive

Please Pray…

The 17 missionaries with five children, including an 8-month old baby, 16 Americans, and one Canadian, have not been released yet. Our hearts are torn for the missionaries, their families back home, and their organization, Christian Aid Ministries. Tomorrow and Tuesday are two big Voodoo holidays here in Haiti. This will not be good for the missionaries. We are praying that the Dominican Republic or America will come and rescue them now.

Jesse Ostrander flew in Santo Dominican today. He is preparing for Philimond, little Jackson, and Dieuferly to cross the border to meet with doctors at the hospital in the Dominican Republic. Sherry and I are concerned because now, we are hearing that there are around 11,000 Dominican soldiers between the Haitian and the Dominican borders. Crossing the border may be difficult. Haitians have been trying to cross and buy fuel in the DR and the border is in a mess.

Still, the gangs have not allowed diesel or gas to leave the port. Haiti is at standstill… more kidnappings all the time. The country is not safe at all. I don’t want to tell you what all is really going on. Too depressing. Haitians are very afraid. The poor mothers and fathers had it difficult before the gangs, now, it is almost impossible to get food each day. They have started to kidnap high school children, so that means our own Love A Child children are at risk. Fuel is scarce, food is scarce, and there are hardly any police on the streets to protect us. The children of Haiti are suffering the worst.

Something must happen in the next day or two. This cannot continue, gangs ruling Haiti. We are praying… I know the Lord will move and do wonders here. It looks dark, but the tide will turn, and the light of the Lord will wash away all of this evil.

Missionary Bobby Burnette

 

 

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No Place For People Like Me…

Imagine you live in Haiti where there is no work, and where many people are suffering from hunger. Imagine that no one cares about you, because they all have their own problems… Stress is invading the lives of the happy Haitians, due to the lack of security, the gangs, the killings. Children are afraid to go to school, and it is hard for the Haitians to have a normal life at all.

Madamn Sonia is 42 and already has seven children. She is from the faraway mountains of “Barassa,” in the area of Fonveret, high up in the mountains. She had given birth to all seven children “on the dirt floor,” and all by herself, without a local midwife. She really struggled with the other births because she was by herself.

So, when she was having “baby number 8,” she was really afraid she would die and leave seven children behind. She heard about the Birthing Center and decided to go. But, when she arrived, she was afraid. She looked at the building and thought, “This place is too nice for me. I have no money.” Then she thought, “This place is not built for people like me.” She did not know how much it would cost for the consultation and for the childbirth, because her husband was just a poor farmer. She thought, “my husband is just a poor farmer, and this is no place for people like me.”

When she came in, everyone, the staff, the nurses, the midwives were all so friendly. They told her that this Birthing Center was for mothers who had no money. She did not pay a penny for the consolation, the examination, the sonogram, nor the delivery! She raised her two hands and began to bless the Lord!! She felt so good that she did not have to lay on a “dirty old cloth” for delivery.

She was a little nervous about the delivery, because of her health. Her baby weighed 2.2 kilos and was born early, at 8 months. Thanks to great midwives, good medicine, a clean room, and a God that loves her, she gave birth to her son. Then, after they cleaned her up and cared for her, they brought in a box of “gifts” from a Love A Child partner! God “loves the poor,” and He loves people, who love the poor! Thank you so much!!!

Bobby and Sherry

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Word from the Mission Field

“You’re Not Finished… You’re Just Getting Started!”

Read Genesis the 37th chapter. An amazing chapter. Joseph, the dreamer. All his brothers were jealous of him. They threw him in a pit and told their father that Joseph, his beloved son, was dead. Then from the pit, he was sold in Egypt as a slave.

Looks like the story should have ended there. But Joseph was just getting started!! Maybe you are at your lowest in your life right now. Looks like this may be your end. The devil is a liar! You are just getting started! God has a plan… just like God had a plan for Joseph!!!

Be looking for part two, Joseph is just getting started!!! You are not finished, you are just getting started!

Missionary Bobby Burnette

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Update on Mikael

Mikael… His father, Jean Marcel Antoine could not care for him when his mother, Marie Julien died. So many mothers die in childbirth, leaving babies behind. When this happens, a father is overwhelmed and tries to find someone to take care of the baby. “Finding a good home,” or a relative to take the child, will mean life, death, or slave-hood. This is why our Love A Child Maternity Clinic is such a great blessing!!!

The baby was brought to us and we decided to keep Mikael. When he first came, he was extremely malnourished but now, is doing well… He loves to play soccer, basketball and enjoys playing the drums during the worship service each night at our Children’s Home. Mikael is very intelligent, loves to work, and loves to eat!! He is like a “living garbage disposal!” He eats everything and anything!!! Ha! (and never gains weight!)

He is still thinking about his future, but he is a smart kid and can do anything he puts his mind to. Maybe he’ll be a “chef,” or a “baker!” We all love Mikael!!!

Sherry

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We Don’t Wanna Go Home!

That’s what some of our little “patients,” are saying here at our Malnutrition Clinic, especially these two little brothers!! We are receiving more and more children and we believe that this is due to the problems of food in Haiti, which is now due to the “insecurity” of the country. Mothers cannot go in the streets to sell, because they will be robbed or kidnapped, or even killed. So, as a result, there are fewer families having a full meal each day. The only ones who are not struggling, are the powerful rich! They live “high in the mountains,” above all the poverty, the gangs, the hunger, the despair, while Haiti’s children are dying of hunger.

We are limited to the number of children we can take in, because it may take months or even a year before some children can go back home. When they leave, they go into an “out-patient” program and receive a box of Feed My Starving Children food, (Tipanou), to take home for the family, in addition to all the special milk formula and food for the child who just left. It is important to send the box of FMSC food home with the family, for the other children, because if we do not do this, the mother will use the “special foods” to share with “all the children,” and that malnourished child, “will be back.”

All these little ones are “well taken care of,” and they are happy, and each day, getting better! They “love” this place!!!! Some little fellows are so happy, they don’t want to leave!! We have a loving staff that loves each child, and they love their work!!!

We want to thank our partners who help monthly with the cost, and we are thankful to Joyce Meyer Ministries — Hand of Hope for sponsoring the Malnutrition Clinic and furnishings. We are also thankful for the container of FMSC food that Joyce Myer/Hand of Hope sponsors each month and we are thankful to all our partners. Nothing happens until we can put all our hands together!

God bless you and thank you!!! Bobby and Sherry

Note: We are always in need of infant and toddler clothes up until age 5. Boys and girls. If you want to send clothing, send it to our Ft. Myers missions office: Love A Child, 12411 Commerce Lakes Dr., Fort Myers, FL 33913, and mark the box, “Malnutrition Clinic.” Thank you and God bless you.

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Word from the Mission Field

“The Calling Of God.

Some people call it, “your destiny.” Others say it is your “assignment.” I think it is simply “your dream, your calling.”

When God places His hand upon you for that “special calling,” it won’t always be easy. There will be many things that will get you “off focus.” Many times, discouragement will be coming along. Sometimes, you think things are going “from bad to worse,” but it’s all part of God’s plan to make you what He wants you to be…

Some people think that a “calling,” means, “being something,” and everyone will love you. But, we can tell you, everyone will “not” love you. Some people think that because “God has called you,” things will be easy. It wasn’t easy for Noah. For 120 years, while building that ark, day after day, year after year, he lost all respect. People made fun of him. Noah was not allowed to do anything “day after day,” but work on that big, giant thing, called an “ark!”

Joseph had a “dream,” that showed him about his future. When he told it to his brothers, they got jealous and threw him into a pit, to die! Moses was a great man, a man of God, a humble man… but God laid on his back, a “heavy calling.” He had to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, across desert land, where there were no stores to buy food, no water to drink, no map to follow, and no shopping centers to buy clothes. All he had was a million “murmuring, complaining, whining Israelites,” who always wanted to turn back!

Some are called to do something that no one else wants to do. We once preached in a particular church in California. The Pastor was a wonderful, anointed man of God. When we walked in the door, he said, “Let me introduce you to the people who are “called of God to clean the church!” As we walked down the aisle of the huge church, people were singing, dusting off the pews, sweeping and vacuuming, and cleaning the windows. As we walked to the pulpit area, one lady smiled, shook our hands, and said, “I’m called of God to shine the piano and the musical instruments, and clean everything on the platform!”

Your calling won’t be easy. You may have times of total discouragement… but you must keep on. There may be times when your heart is broken and you feel as though you cannot find all the pieces to put it back together, but you will… “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chose the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty.” I Corinthians 1:27

I can say that as a missionary, in the last three years, especially lately, through burning tires and roadblocks, through gangs with AK-47s and M-16’s, it hasn’t been easy. There have been many nights when I couldn’t sleep because I cried so much for the people and children of Haiti… the poor. Depression set in because I thought, “No one’s coming to help us. The U.S. Military is NOT coming to help.” And yet, here we are, in Haiti, still helping the poor, still delivering food, still running our Orphanage, and getting ready to deliver more tents, and help more earthquake victims. Even with all the problems and stress of Haiti, Bobby and I have found “our calling,” and we are exactly where we are supposed to be, and here is where our heart is. In the midst of everything, the “calling of God is the highest calling in the world!” We are humbled to be called of God, Sherry

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An Update on Yonel (Lionel)

His father got angry at him, held his hand in boiling water, threw him out on the street, and left him… to die.

It was about ten years ago we got a call that someone was sending us a little boy who was found in the streets of Haiti with a severely burned hand. We brought him here to Love A Child and then sent him to a hospital.

However, the hospital that took care of him did not give him the best of care. His fingers began to fuse together. We made a trip through the “gang-infested” Martissaint area here in Haiti to a hospital. (The area was so bad that we passed two dead bodies on the street!) But, they could not operate on him at that time, and we had to come back to our orphanage. We could not make it back through the dangerous area to go to the hospital.

However, we have now located a very good hospital in the Dominican Republic that can do the surgery. However, we have to get a Passport for him, and at this time we cannot get him to the area to have his Passport made… the Embassy is closed. We will keep trying.

Yonel is a quiet boy. He is a hard worker and very good in school. He feels a little awkward around other boys his age, due to his hand… and he feels embarrassed. But, as soon as we can get his surgery, and he can begin to have the proper care to exercise his hand and fingers, those feelings will go away.

He is a quiet and sweet kid, who had a horrible father; a father who had never given him a hug, or told him that he did a good job, or told him that he was loved. We pray that as he grows and knows how fortunate he is, and that he will realize that he has a wonderful “Poppie Bobby,” and a Heavenly Father, and lots of brothers and sisters who love him abundantly! Please pray that we can get Yonel’s Passport and send him on for his surgery! Thank you and God bless you.  –  Sherry

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Happy Mothers With Babies

The poor in Haiti are miserable, especially with the conditions of the country here. They cannot travel far to sell their wares, because there is no money for local transportation. They worry every day about the gangs in the streets, roadblocks, burning tires, and guns going off. But, there’s one thing they don’t have to worry about… delivering their baby and having the best of care! The Love A Child Birthing Center is so beautiful, with Christian music playing, rocking chairs, an “all-around” porch, and the best of care. “Nervous dads and family members” can relax and not be worried about the mom or baby.

Sometimes, the mothers do not have normal births, but we have an ambulance and drivers ready to get them to a Hospital. But, if they have a normal birth, they will have a nice hot meal and new clothes and gifts for their babies. Then, soon after, they will receive the Birth Certificate for their baby!

In the middle of all the chaos in Haiti, these mothers can take a little quiet time to hold their babies, smile, and relax… God is good to the poor! He sends “partners like you” to help mothers and babies like these!

Thank you so much, partners! God bless you, Bobby and Sherry

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Country in Crisis – Delon Aven’s Story

So many people saw their homes crumble to the ground in the August earthquake. Delon Aven is just one of the many heartbreaking stories we’ve heard during our relief efforts. It’s been over two months since the destruction occurred, but we need your support now more than ever as we try to help these precious people rebuild their lives.

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CASIMI HAS ARRIVED!

Thank you for your prayers. Casimi made it with the last part of the tents, tarps, and earthquake emergency supplies. He arrived late yesterday afternoon, after hours. He jumped out of our semi, jumped on the forklift, and unloaded everything fast.

Casimi said, “I have to go and try to pick up our containers of Feed My Starving Children food.”

He said the roads are not good, but better yesterday. Gangs control the roads.

Yesterday we found a boat to take us and all the tents, tarps, and emergency supplies to Jeremie.

The captain gave me a preacher’s discount. The highest price!! Ha! He said only $20,000! No, he must come down in his price.

We are hoping to be able to leave next week for Jeremie, working through Mayor Yvrose. She already has the locations where all the tents will go into the interior… the forgotten ones.

Thank you, again, for everyone who bought tents, tarps, sent in emergency earthquake supplies.

We are doing this together. Love you.

Missionary Bobby Burnette

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