“The Secret Things”

Do you ever ask God “why,” or to reveal somethings to you and He has not done it. Just as we cannot, and do not, tell our children everything (for good reasons). There are some “secret things” that belong to the Lord, and it stays that way until He reveals them to us… maybe not even in this life.

Moses told his people, “the secret things belong unto the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29)

Yes, God gives us the “treasures of darkness” that He has kept for us… sometimes, it might be a financial blessing or something “wonderful” that just comes our way, without any pressure, or someone good has come into our life. Those are treasures of darkness that God reveals and gives to us.

But, God does not need to tell us everything, does He? After all, aren’t we “walking by faith and not by sight?” If He told us everything, we would not need “faith.” We would be a “know-it-all.” We would never have to depend on the Lord for anything.

But those “secret things,” are things that get to us. “Why God? When God? How God?” It’s really none of our business if He doesn’t tell us. After all, Apostle Paul had a “thorn in the flesh,” and he asked the Lord three times to remove it. God did not remove it and He never told Paul why. (2 Corinthians 12:7 & 8)

So today, if you have prayed and wondered, “why, how, where” and “when,” perhaps it is one of those “secret things,” that God keeps from you because He wants you to trust Him!! And I know you will! God bless you and your day.

Sherry

Ten-year-old Rodna is a good girl! She just came home from school and has clothes to hang on the line. A true Haitian, she carries everything on her head! This metal pan was full of wet clothes a few minutes ago, but Rodna does everything with a smile!

Her parents were very, very poor. When her mother died, her father had to borrow money for the funeral. But the men he borrowed money from were angry when he couldn’t pay it back. They kidnapped all her siblings until the money was paid. That’s when we realized there was a baby involved! Her father brought her to our orphanage. She was suffering from malnutrition.

Rodna loves singing in the “children’s service” each night. She wants to be a nurse! She always has a smile “a yard long!” We love this sweetie!

Sherry

Little Miguelson Cenat, age 4, and his brother Joel, age 5, were recently brought to our Malnutrition Center. Their father is Emmanuel, and their mother, Saint-Anne. Another woman, not their mother, brought the little boys to us, extremely malnourished. They have one more child [in their family]. They live far, far in the mountains in an area we used to work in, Bel-Fontaine. (Bel-Fontaine is so far you would run out of road and have to take mules! (As we did so many times)

These little boys were in another Malnutrition Clinic, which took very good care of them. As I understand it, they reached their desired weight and were allowed to go home. What happens with “out-patients,” is that many times, the mother will use any food you send home for the “malnourished kids,” and give this to the rest of the family… so, the children who are malnourished, return to be “malnourished again.” We try our best to make sure they are in “very good weight” before we let them go, and when the mothers come back with them, we give the family a box of FMSC food for their family, in addition to the specially formulated food for their babies recovering from malnutrition.

We missionaries here in Haiti work together. We help each other and we need each other, and we are so thankful for everyone’s help, especially at a time like this. We wish to thank Joyce Meyer Ministries – Hand of Hope for sponsoring the cost of building the Malnutrition Clinic, and for helping with the cost to furnish it! We are so grateful…

God bless all our wonderful partners,
Bobby and Sherry

P.S. Our cameraman asked these little boys when they wanted to go home, and they said, “Never!” Ha!!!

This week your heart will rejoice as we feed the starving children of Tifon, Haiti. These children, who do not regularly see their bowls filled, wait patiently to eat until every child has been given a meal. Their lives filled with labor, struggle, and need have not left them broken but instead filled them with patience and perseverance. In their effort to endure, the mothers in this village are thankful for God’s every grace. The gifts you give today are a miracle from God for these poor families and the reason they continue to survive.

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.

Love is something you do!

Living here in Haiti during these very, very dangerous times has taught us a great lesson. When we have to get from our house to the Airport, about two hours away with traffic, it is always a “very scary ride!” Once, when we were coming back from the Airport, we were actually in our ambulance, because our driver thought we would be “safer” taking us back to our orphanage via ambulance than a truck.

We got halfway when we realized that the front road had been blocked… we backed up and headed to the left; it was blocked, so our driver turned the other way… and it was blocked. In front of us were large blocks in the road and the “bad guys” had run strips of wire across the road.

“Like Alligators on a Springboard!”
All of a sudden we were surrounded! Since our ambulance windows were covered halfway up, frosted to protect the patients, the gang could not see in… so, they started pounding on the ambulance with rocks! They had knives, machetes, guns… and they were in a “craze!” They shouted, “Bring them out!” They began jumping up and down “like alligators on a springboard” to get a look at us and when they saw we were white, they went crazy. They wanted to kill us!

Then, all of a sudden, one of them looked at us and gave us a “thumbs up” sign, and Bobby instantly gave them a smile and a “thumbs up” sign – and we were off! Our driver drove “right through the wires and the roadblocks,” while we bounced so high we hit our heads on the ceiling! This happened about a year ago, and now things are “even worse in Haiti!” We have no military, and none of the Police will protect us!

But David said, “It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man. It is better to put trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in princes.” Psalms 118:8,9

God keeps His “gun” loaded at all times! We have no one to trust in, except the Lord!  –  Sherry

Well, Lomene won’t give up on “Cooking School.” She was happy to get started off to Cooking School this morning. She spends three days at Cooking School and two days leading French. She first told us about her dream of becoming a Chef when she started fixing breakfast for Bobby on Sunday mornings. But, Bobby likes his eggs a certain way, and since Lomene couldn’t pass “eggs,” Bobby didn’t think she could make it in Cooking School. Apparently, some schools are more demanding and require a lot of math, so she didn’t pass that first one. She enrolled in the second one and is doing fine.

We rescued Lomene from being a restavek slave child when she was very young, maybe seven. She had been cleaning, cooking, and taking care of young children for several families. That’s when we said, “This is enough!” She would have never gone to school or had any type of life. Now she is in college! Bobby just can’t wait until “she passes eggs!” Ha! Sherry

The true calling of God:

“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.” 2 Peter 1:10

Here in Haiti, with all the kidnappings, shootings, gangs in control, hunger, political problems, great economic problems, fuel problems, and not even safe to drive down the street… Many people have asked Sherry and me, “Why do you stay in Haiti?” They say that we should just leave Haiti.

We always answer them, this is where the Lord has called us. This is where our calling and election is. There is no greater time to be a missionary in Haiti than right now! We are a witness and a light for Christ in the midst of great darkness. I always say, “It’s not a sacrifice but a joy to say yes to Jesus!”

Missionaries Bobby and Sherry Burnette