Words From My Heart

To be His Hand extended

2010-01-24T13:27:00.002-05:00

Here is a video from You Tube. If you ever wanted to be His Hand extended now is the time. Please donate to Haiti. You can give a donation to Love A Child and I know the money will go straight to the hurting people in Haiti. Love A Child has an Orphanage, many churches, many schools and a very good clinic. Love a Child needs help to help the Haitian people.

Facebook Saved a Live, Literally

2010-01-21T20:44:00.002-05:00

This is a miracle that I just have to share on our blog. Several years ago we sent 13 dialysis machines along with other medical equipment to Haiti to be used in the Hospital Militaire. We are so excited that we are crying and rejoicing at the same time.

A-Mazing story:

Our friend Trish (in Alberta) contacted me (at 4:14 on Monday), about the brother (in Haiti) of a friend of a friend of hers (in Miami), who desperately needed dialysis after the quake. She was looking for places in PAP that had the equipment. I posted that on FB at 4:30. Got a message from an angel - Randy - who I don't even know, at 4:36. His org had brought dialysis machines to Hopital Militaire. I passed that on to Trish right away, who passed it on to her friend. The brother went to Hopital Militaire and got what he needed!

An inter-continental FB exchange that literally saved a life!!!!!!

This feels great!

Haiti Still Shaking

2010-01-21T20:28:00.004-05:00

The Haitian people that have survived the earthquake and the 90+ aftershocks are either starving or dying from their injuries. This picture above is people begging for food. There should be food to go around and that is where we that have can give to those who do not have.

These are people desperately trying to get some water to drink.

I would like to quote a passage from a book called “The Hole in our Gospel” by Richard Stearns.

“For I was hungry, while you had all you needed. I was thirsty, but you drank bottled water. I was a stranger, and you wanted me deported. I needed clothes, but you needed more clothes. I was sick, and you pointed out the behaviors that led to my sickness. I was in prison, and you said I was getting what I deserved.”

The Haitian people are good people. They did nothing to deserve what has happened to them. To be honest I don’t believe anyone deserves what has happened to the Haitian people.

But, you can do something to help. I don’t mean you have to leave your home and go to Haiti. (unless you have the skills and God says GO) But you can help right from your own home. There are people there who are working day and night to help the people. You can help those people helping people. You can give of your money while they give of their time and their energy. Bobby & Sherry Burnette of LOVE A CHILD Ministries are working around the clock to help the injured people of Haiti. You can help Bobby and Sherry with a cash donation and also with your prayers. Just click on the words LOVE A CHILD and you will be directed to the web site of LOVE A CHILD where you can either donate online or go to their contact page and call their offices in Tampa, Florida and speak to one of their staff there to make your donation. But please do something to help.

Haitians need your help

2010-01-19T18:51:00.004-05:00

I know I have already said this but I am just going to say it again. The Haitian people need your help like never before. The best way you can help them is by helping the people who are there in Country helping them. This way you can get the money directly into the hands of the people who are there with the people. The way you can do this is to give a donation to Love A Child Ministries. They are going every day to Port-au-Prince to pick up wounded and injured people and are driving them back to their ministry. Once they have them there they feed them, give them GOOD water to drink and treat their injuries. If they are too injured for them to treat them then they get them to the hospital for treatment.

So what are you waiting for make a donation now to Love A Child. All you have to do is click on the words Love A Child and it will take you directly to their web site where you can learn about them and either donate online or get their telephone number and call them with a donation.

You can read Sherry's journal and follow along with what they are doing for the Haitian people.

Haiti is in Crisis

2010-01-17T11:10:00.006-05:00

As I am sure you know by now unless you have been living on the moon lately that Haiti has had an earthquake that for their country is huge. Although Randy and I are not living in Haiti right now and due to health issues cannot even attempt to go there, that doesn't mean that we don't care about Haiti and love the Haitian people. Our hearts are still for Haiti.

I am going to put some of the pictures at the end of this blog. You have probably seen some or all but I can't let you forget what you have seen. You must remember and you must do something about it. I am going to give you several Missionary organizations that I know are doing a good work there in Haiti if you wish to go to their web sites and make donations I know the money would go straight to the Haitian people in some form of aid. Right now they need medical care, food, clean water, clothes. In the future they will all need places to live so housing will need to be built. But right now to be honest what these ministries need is money. There is no way for us to get actual goods into Haiti at this time with the port being destroyed and trouble getting planes into Haiti at the airport.

If anyone wishes to donate to us "Our Hearts for Haiti" I will send the money on to two Haitian Pastors we know in Haiti. Pastor Edner Blanc and Pastor Voltaire Baptiste. They both pastor churches and do a great work there in Haiti for their own people. I will tell you that we DO NOT have a 501 (c) 3 so we would not be able to give you a tax deduction for your taxes. I just want to be very honest and upfront with everyone.

OK here are some of the ministries that I know are doing a great work in Haiti I will just put their web address and you can find their information on their web as to how to donate to them
The last news we heard on Tara & Troy Livesay is that they were able to send their 5 children home on a military transport but they are saying they are about to run out of fuel and that the stations that are open are now charging $14.00 U.S. for 1 gallon of gas. They need the fuel to run their generators so that they can help the people.

Livesay Haiti Weblog This is Troy and Tara Livesay

Children's Care Outreach This is Glenn & Donna Hayes.

Love A Child Ministries This is Bobby & Sherry Burnette

This is a view of a typical street in Port-au-Prince

We have been told from a missionary in Haiti that 90% of the building in Port-au-Prince have collapsed. Some that did not collapse at the immediate time of the earth quake have fallen since then.

This is damage to the slum area of Port-au-Prince

This man just found his wife and 10 month old daughter lying with the dead.

PLEASE you have to help these suffering people. They are not responsible for the suffering they are being forced to endure.

From my heart to your heart

2010-01-06T13:59:00.003-05:00

Today is a bitter sweet day for me I guess you could say. We are not working in Haiti right now and to be honest don't know if we will ever be able to go back to Haiti on a permanent basis. We have some health issues which at this time make it impossible to do this. But that doesn't mean that we don't still have a heart for Haiti because we certainly do.

Today is a day that I have dreaded every year for over 35 years. It has absolutely nothing to do with Haiti but guess I just have to have someplace where I can vent how I feel on this day. This is the day that our first born child and only son went to be with Jesus. To say it gets easier over time I am not sure is a true statement. I really start during December dreading January 6th. But, I do sit and think about our Brian and his short life (less than 3 years) and I have to say during that time he had a good life. He was not homeless, hungry, without clothes, without loving parents (or just parents for that matter) but even with good medical care in the United States we still lost him. I am thankful that he did have a happy life and his passing at the time spoke to so many people in dealing with their own children.

I don't know if this post will make sense to anyone except me but if it does then that is great. But if it doesn't then maybe it is just something I had to do for myself.

2009-06-30T20:35:00.001-04:00

I HAVE DECIDED TO BRING THIS BLOG BACK TO LIFE AFTER QUITE A LONG NAP . STAY TUNED FOR LATER POSTS ONCE I THROW SOME COLD WATER IN MY FACE

RANDY

Stormy Weather

2009-06-18T16:47:00.003-04:00

Boy lately we have really had the stormy weather here in Central Florida. Today the kids were out playing in the sprinkler and we had a storm roll in like you would not believe. The kids were mad when I made them come int he house but they had not been in the house like 3 minutes when it hit like gang busters. We had gusts of wind up to like 60 mph and enough rain to drown just about anything you could think of. They were saying on the TV that the lightning strikes were hitting faster than they could actually count them. What can I say when FLorida does a storm they do it right.

Need a Job

2009-04-23T14:09:00.002-04:00

Since arriving back in Florida I have to find a job. I have to admit it is kind of hard finding a job when you don't own a car especially where we are living which is out of the city limits of any city. I put in an application a week ago and the person told me they were going to call me on Monday or Tuesday and well here it is on Thursday and still no call. I have to admit right now I am really worried with the situation the economy is in that I will have trouble getting a job but yet have to have one I guess just as much as the next person. So just have to keep taking one day at a time and try to figure out what to do.

The storms rage on

2008-09-02T22:34:00.003-04:00

This is what things are looking like for the nation of Haiti right now as we speak. I have been in contact with missionaries there. I have just learned that people are standing on their roofs in water up to their knees and it is still raining. These people are there with a 16 month old baby. They cannot come down off their roof or they will be swept away in the rushing water. We have to pray for Haiti. This is the 3rd storm they have been hit with and they are facing more storms out there coming right for them. Having lived through 3 storms in a 6 week period in Florida I know this is no picnic in the best of situations and trust me the poor people of Haiti do not have the best of situations to start with. When you live in a mud hut and the rain comes. Well..... you have to know what happens to that mud hut. My heart breaks for the people there and we have to pray for them.

Update

2008-07-18T14:35:00.003-04:00

I spoke this morning to one of the Haitian Pastors that we have worked with in Haiti. Part of his ministry is taking care of widows and orphans. Right now he is housing and feeding 12 widows. He said there are many more in his area that are in desperate need but he doesn't have enough money and room to take care of them. I asked what his other immediate needs were for us to be praying and agreeing with him about. He said he is building a bigger building and right now those are his needs. His building needs a roof on it an of course other things done to finish the building. Please join with us in lifting up this Pastor.

Planning a new trip

2008-07-01T10:13:00.005-04:00

We are in the process of planning another trip to Haiti. At this time we are planning a trip probably in February of 2009. I know you are saying well why do you have your luggage packed already. You don't know my husband. We have trial runs many months before a trip to Haiti. We weigh and pack and pack and weigh and repack and reweigh. OK I think you get the picture. But with the way the airlines are I am here to tell you that you have to have your act together when you fly anymore. I remember one trip we took and we all showed up at the airport and as you can see we many times use those big plastic tubs. Well the lady at the counter told us that one particular tub was overweight. She said we needed to remove something from it. So we use plastic ties to secure the lids. (we drill holes through the lid and through the edge of the tub and we put those plastic ties through the hole.) So we had to cut the ties off the tub and open this tub open. (we always carry extra ties just for this purpose) Well, this woman made us take one can of tomatoes out of this tub and said there that is ok. So here I am standing there with a can of tomatoes in my hand. I asked her what she wanted to do with the can of tomatoes and she said she didn't want them I needed to do something with them. So I asked her what she wanted me to do with them and she said I could just put them into my carry on luggage.??????? Doesn't that still make my total luggage weigh the same I mean move one can from one piece of luggage to another really didn't make sense to me. So not wanting to be the reason that the plane crashed due to being over weight I put the can of tomatoes in the nearby trash can. Now you know why we weigh and pack and pack and weigh. You never want to be caught in the airport holding that can of tomatoes. I was concerned that airport security would think I was trying to create a tomato attack. I did not want to be the first person going to jail for that issue.

So back to our trip we were thinking about going in January but the Haitian Pastor we will be working with is not available in January he has things planned so I think that is why we will be moving the trip to February. This trip there will be either 4 or 6 of us going. We plan to conduct a pastors conference. The pastors really enjoy learning new things of the bible and new things to teach their congregations. Plus we will wind up taking each pastor a little gift something for them to take home and to be able to use for a long time to come. We have a lot of planning to get done and I know it seems like a long time to plan but the time will be here faster than we think.

From my heart

2008-05-31T18:31:00.002-04:00

Just an update on our lives. Since I last posted we have moved from Florida to Pennsylvania. I know that is further away from Haiti. But, we will still be working in Haiti. We have friends, and a church here that want to be our covering and give us support for the ministry. I have made contact with a Haitian Pastor that we have known for years in Haiti and are working out the logistics of planning a trip back to Haiti to work with him and other Pastors in his area. Even though right now we are not living in Haiti we have no way lost our love of the country or especially the Haitian people.

I promise to keep posting updates as things progress with our ministry in Haiti. All I ask of any readers of this blog is to pray for us that God will use us as he sees fit.

Latest Update

2008-05-02T18:36:00.002-04:00

We have been living with our daughters now for several months since we returned from Haiti. We did not know what God wanted us to do and have just been waiting to hear from him. Well a little less than a month ago, I checked our e-mail and we had an e-mail from a long lost friend. This person had actually found this blog by accident and realized that they knew who we were. They contacted us and to make a long story short we are getting ready to move from Florida to Pennsylvania. They have a church there and we are going to be part of that church and they are very mission minded. So we will see from there what God has in store for us. I do not know if He plans on us going back to Haiti or what His plans are for us. But we will follow where ever he leads us. Just pray for us during this time. It means leaving not only our two daughters but also leaving our three grandchildren. It is hard leaving your family behind but God will help us in this move of that I am sure.

Where we are now

2007-10-06T16:37:00.000-04:00

Well, folks it has been quite a while since I have posted and I know everyone probably things we have dropped off the face of the earth. Well, to be honest some days I feel like we have and if we actually haven't then maybe we should. Am I making any sense? Probably not. I guess I will try to give you an update on what is going on with us. We are back in the states right now and although we still have A Heart for Haiti I do not at this date know when we will be returning to Haiti.

We had some issues while we were there in Haiti that for many reasons I don't believe I should disclose on my blog. But let's just say it was not in our best interest at that time to remain in Haiti. So after much thought, prayer and many many tears we booked tickets and returned to the states with only the luggage we were allowed to bring on the airplane. So we had to leave everything in Haiti except the clothes we could stuff into our luggage.

In order to originally make our move to Haiti we were trying our very best to raise support and for some reason had a very difficult time raising money. Guess people think that you can move to a third world country and live on nothing. Well we moved out of the home we were living in and lived with our daughters for a couple of months while I still worked a job. I quit my job a couple of weeks before leaving and we sold our pickup truck and we got rid of all of our furniture from our home and put a few personal items and keepsakes in storage and made the big move to Haiti.

So now where are we you ask? We are back living with our daughters. Only this time I have no job and we have no pickup truck. So we find ourselves in a catch 22 situation. I need a job but with no vehicle I can't find a job and without a job we can't get a vehicle. So there is our situation we find ourselves in. We have no money, no job and no vehicle. We are getting ready to celebrate (I use that word very loosely) our 40th wedding anniversary and we have never been in this situation in 40 years. To say the least some days it is very depressing.

As I said before we both still love Haiti and the Haitian people very much but at this time do not know what the future holds for us. Some days I am very positive that we will be returning to Haiti and other days I am equally positive that we will never see Haiti again. I guess only God knows.

Update

2007-07-13T22:51:00.001-04:00

We're still in existance. A lot has happened. A lot of things have gone on in the past two months. But we're still alive.

Recent Medical Clinics

2007-05-15T22:52:00.000-04:00

Last week was a very busy week for us. We held medical clinics in LeTant and Letant Two. We were astonished at the numbers of families that were there. We were expecting somewhere around 68 families. I don't know the exact numbers, but we had many, many more than 68 families.

The trip to Le Tant Two proved to be rather daunting. There had been heavy rains earlier in the week so driving across the rivers was a bit treacherous. At one point the vehicle in which Randy and Bobby were driving with the supplies was up on two wheels. It's a good thing that God is always watching over us!
As you can see, the vehicle which was loaded down with supplies had a tire which didn't fair too well! That's one thing about Haiti...LOTS of flat tires!

We had to canopy like coverings under which we had our clinic. To say that it was hot outside would be an understatement! It was sweltering. But when you've got very sick and starving children, the heat just doesn't seem to matter anymore. Below you will see a few pictures that will probably be disturbing to you. This is a three month old baby that had worms, impetigo, scabies and thrush in her mouth.

This is the baby's head

The baby's legs and feet

No human being should have to go through something like this. This is why we're in Haiti. We're here to feed starving children and to be able to bring medical care to those that would otherwise never receive any care at all.

We need your support to continue to feed these children and their families and to provide basic medical care to them. Your gift of $10, $20 or $30 can make the world of difference in the lives of these children. Your support will make it possible for us work towards making a change in this impoverished country.Randy with Mr. Serivil. He is the witch doctor in Le Tant Two

Each family that left the clinic, left with garden seeds to plant, gospel tracks printed in Creole and above all else, they left with blessings being prayed over them.

Randy praying with a family before they left the clinic

Roberta with a family as they're leaving the clinic

To all of our family and friends back home, please continue to keep us in your daily prayers. We pray that the Lord will continue to bless you and your families as well. It is with your support that we're able to be here providing food and medical care to those that you see in the above photos.

God Bless,

Randy and Roberta Arnold
Your Missionaries to Haiti

Faith...

2007-05-06T23:36:00.000-04:00

...is the substance of things hoped for...the evidence of things not seen.
Each day that we're here in Haiti, we discover that there is something else that would tremendously help us out in our work here. Motorola Two-Way Radios are something that we're in dire need of as well as a satellite system for internet. We're also in need of a 4-wheel ATV like that shown in the picture below.

We are praying that God will supply us with these needs so that we can better help the people of Haiti. It's certainly not easy at times to have so many needs and to have to rely on nothing but faith in believing that our needs can be and will be met. But that's what we do every day here in Haiti. We live on FAITH. We know that God will lay it upon the hearts of individuals to donate these needs to our ministry here in the nation of Haiti. Please continue to keep us in your prayers and we will continue to pray blessings over you and your families.

Your Missionaries to Haiti,

Randy and Roberta

Lens Day Saturday

2007-05-05T11:24:00.000-04:00

Thought I would post a few photos of the market place in Port au Prince. This is just one street near the Caribbean Market where we went to go buy some food for a medical team that is arriving this weekend.

Smiles All Around

2007-05-03T19:38:00.000-04:00

I went to Port au Prince today with Sherry so that we could purchase medicines for next week's medical clinic to be held in Le Tant. We also went to the Caribbean Market so that I could pick up a few needed groceries. Sticker Shock is still prevalent. Nearly $100 U.S. Dollars spent on 3 lbs of hamburger, 2 packages of turkey hot dogs, one little package of stew beef, two cans of carrots and some peanut butter and jelly. I don't think I'll be complaining about the price of groceries the next time I'm back visiting in the U.S.

Since arriving in Haiti on April 23rd, I've learned to go nowhere without my camera. You just never know when you're going to get a beautiful picture. People tend to think that there is no beauty in Haiti but that's far from the truth. There is beauty in the face of every child that I see. There is beauty that radiates from the mountains and from the lake. There is beauty in the smile of a mother who's just received food to feed her family. Beauty is all around, it just has to be sought out at times.

Here is a picture of the "Greeting Committee" when we went to Le Tant the other day. Le Tant Welcoming Committee

The children love to "cheese" for the camera.

We also got a chance to re-visit with Madame Marie and her family. She is the woman with six children and one of them was born hydra cephalic (water on the brain). Mobility World of Lakeland, Florida donated a very expensive wheel chair which we had shipped down and taken to Madame Marie for Berchard. Before the she had the wheelchair, she held her daughter all day long. Every day. This is Berchard today. As you can see, she's smiling. Smiling is something she never did before.

A Smiling Berchard

I'm not certain what these two were conversing about but I'm betting that it was profound!

I wanted to send a very special thank you out to a young man in Utah by the name of Daryl. Thank you so much for your love offering to Randy and I. We know that the Lord will bless you for your financial gift to us and we will keep you in our prayers! Again, thank you so much!

I would like to remind each of you that each financial gift of support that you give to Randy and I is tax deductible. Everything goes through Love A Child, Inc. and you will be sent the proper tax documentation. If you're ever in doubt about the validity of any charitable organization, please visit Charity Navigator or click on the image below and you'll be taken directly to Love A Child's rating page.

We can receive monthly support offerings, or even one time gifts of support at the following address.

Love A Child, Inc.
P.O. Box 30744
Tampa, FL 33630

Please be certain to state that your support offering is for Randy and Roberta Arnold and whether you're giving a one time gift or if you'd like to become a monthly support partner.

If using a credit card, you can call in with your donation to

(813) 621-7263

Thank you and God Bless You

Your Missionaries to Haiti,

Randy and Roberta Arnold

Books All Around

2007-05-01T23:41:00.000-04:00

We've been very busy since we arrived in Fond Parisien. The vast amount of work never seems to diminish. Yesterday was spent sorting books in the warehouse. A large donation had come in and the books needed to be sorted into various categories as well as different age groups. The children here in Haiti are desperate to learn and receive and education. As you might guess, they're extremely grateful and happy when they receive something such as books. Just look at the smiles on their faces.

Each child received two books. That doesn't seem like a great deal to you or to I, but to these children, the books were their treasures.

Each morning, Randy is responsible for going and meeting with the "Pikan" workers. Pikan workers are men who clear the area of the pikan bush (a bush covered in thorns). Sometimes the men can be less than motivated to do their job so they have some Randy Motivation each morning. Here's Randy along with Daniel and Daisy off to round up the workers for a meeting. Daisy is the older gentleman behind Randy. Not a face I'd generally put with the name Daisy but c'est la vie!

There is a medical team coming in next Monday for a week-long medical clinic. We'll be spending quite a bit of time this week sorting and preparing medicines and supplies for the clinic. Each day brings something new to learn, something new to see and someone new to meet. Of course, we wouldn't have it any other way.

God Bless

Your Missionaries to Haiti,

Randy and Roberta Arnold

Update from Fond Parisien

2007-04-29T22:38:00.000-04:00

I've spoken to my parents via MSN messenger on a few occasions since they arrived in Haiti. They've been very busy from the onset. Tuesday was spent passing out food in ti Le Tant. This is a very poor village and the people there are desperate for any help they can receive.

Here are some of the people waiting patiently for their food boxes.

This food donation came from a ministry called Feed My Starving Children. The food is special food packed with extra vitamins which the Haitian people so desperately need.

The people of ti Le Tant were so grateful for this outreach of love with the food that they received. They were all smiles and some were so happy that they started dancing with joy. Yesterday they went with Sherry to check on a woman, Madame Nicole, who was very ill. They went to her little house and she was lying on two wooden pallets and she was propped up on a very rickety wooden chair.

She was in agonizing pain. Her stomach was bloated and she could do nothing but cry out in her obvious discomfort. My parents said that they had never seen suffering like what they had seen in Madame Nicole. A call was made to see if they could get her taken to the Baptist Hospital. Sherry was told that there were no doctors at the hospital on Saturdays and Sundays so she would have to wait to go until Monday. They hated to leave this woman in such pain to wait until Monday but there were no other options. Sherry gave her some antibiotics and strong pain pills and they all prayed for her. We are trusting God that He will bring her through whatever it is that is causing her so much pain and agony.

My parents have been to Haiti on many, many trips but to now live here, its an adjustment. They're away from their children and grandchildren and that's more than difficult for all of us. There is so much to get used to down there. Even a trip into the little grocery store presented them with a huge case of sticker shock. 10 U.S. Dollars for a box of trash bags. 20 U.S Dollars for a mop. Food was just as expensive. They have some food being shipped down to them on a ship that they sent prior to leaving but that container won't be arriving until probably the middle of May. Even then, they only sent down things such as tuna and canned potatoes and some peanut butter. This is part of what your support will do for us. We need to buy food for our every day existence while in Haiti. We're also in need of a set of two-way radios as well as a satellite system. They haven't raised their monthly support yet. My parents went to Haiti on faith. We believe that the money is out there and that people will start sending in their support.

Philippians 4:19 (King James Version)

19But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

I'll continue to keep you posted as often as possible about everything that they encounter down in Fond Parisien, Haiti. Once they're able to purchase the satellite system, my mom will be able to update the blog and post pictures on a routine basis. Internet time for her is sparse right now. Please keep them in your prayers and please pray about what God would have you to do in helping them with their monthly support. God Bless

Jill
for
Randy and Roberta Arnold
Your Missionaries to Haiti

The Move Has Been Made

2007-04-24T22:50:00.000-04:00

I know its quite apparent that this blog hasn't been updated in some time. As I write this, my parents, Randy and Roberta, have officially spent their first night in their new home in Haiti. My sister and I took them to the airport yesterday and they boarded a plane bound for Port au Prince. As hard as it was to see them leave and not know when I'll see them again, I was so happy because this is what they've been called by God to do. It's taken a lot of work and an even greater amount of faith but they are now full-time missionaries to the nation of Haiti.

They have yet to raise the monthly support that they need in order to meet their living expenses. They left and went by faith. They are believing that God will supply the funds necessary for them to survive each month. It's imperative that they raise at least $2,000.00 per month. It seems like such an enormous amount of money but if each person that reads this could give something...even $5.00, it would add up. When you think about it, $5.00 is trivial to most of us. It's a Starbucks coffee or a value meal at McDonalds. But $5.00 to my parents is money spent helping to save a child's life. It's money spent to feed starving people and to provide them with fresh drinking water and medical care. Please pray and ask what God would have you to do to help my parents out. Your donation or even monthly contribution will mean that you are playing an integral part in changing lives on a daily basis. You will play a part in giving someone a tomorrow.

If you would like information on how to assist in providing a monthly donation or if you'd like to be on my parent's mailing list, then please email me at ourheartsforhaiti at gmail dot com.

Thanks so much for your prayers, love and support and I will keep this updated with news from my parents in Haiti as well as pictures of them as they go about their work there.

God Bless

Jill

An Empty Sack

2006-12-18T19:46:00.000-05:00

Roberta and I are up to our ears in the process of obtaining gifts for our kids and our grandkids, as I'm sure that everyone else is as well. Some times it gets to be a hassle but it's always worth it to see the sparkle in the eyes of those receiving our gifts.

I want to share a story with everyone about some nameless person from a nameless place who sent a gift that brought a miracle to a child who would more than likely have been known as "the boy in the sack". What was the gift you might ask? It was a gift of an offering to Bobby and Sherry Burnette to support a medical clinic in a village called Greffin, Haiti. That gift made it possible for Bobby and Sherry to carry the name of Jesus to a place where the pain was so intense that for the people of America, we can only imagine. SHERRY asked this young man to share his story about his life. Here is the story as told by Yonel "The Boy in the Sack"

My name is Yonel. I am from Greffin, Haiti. My father and mother are dead. Now I am going to tell you a story of when I was in Greffin I remember my mother died first. Then, when the rain came, the river rose high. My father put me on one side of the river to go see how deep it was. Just as he came back over the river to get me, the river carried him away. I stood there for a long time, but he never came back.

Some relatives took my sister and my two brothers to raise. Life is very very difficult when you are an orphan. People treat you bad. My relatives did not want me. They had many children and they did not want to feed me. They were serving Voodoo. They had a little food for their children but I never got too much. I would watch them eat but they never gave me anything. They made me work very hard. I can say I suffered a lot. I had no water to drink. When I wanted water to drink, I had to go very far to get it. But, I was so weak and hungry that it was hard to walk over the mountains to find water.

School...I never knew what that was. I never had shoes or socks. I never had a ball. I had nothing.

I remember sometimes, they would treat me so bad. They would put me in a sack and tie the sack with a rope. Then they would roll the sack down the mountain to see how long it would take for me to get out.

I was so scared. I wanted to die. I thought that dying would be better than being hungry. Many times I would fall down because I had no strength. When you are hungry, you don't walk good. You cannot stand up. You are too weak. When I stood up, I just fell down again.

I knew I was dying when my grandmother took me to the missionary clinic in the mountains. That was where Poppie and Mommie Burnette had a clinic. They gave people medicine and prayed for them. When they saw me, they said "that child is going to die if we don't take him..." I was so weak I could hardly get in the truck. They gave me some food and took me in the truck. I ate nine mangos without stopping. They took me to their orphanage and gave me milk and food and medicine. They told me I could eat as much as I wanted because "Jesus put the food on the table."

That was about nine years ago. Today, I am a young teen-age boy who is very thankful. I never want to see any children hungry. There is a Creole proverb in my country and it says "sack vid pa kapab konpe" or "an empty sack cannot stand". That's true. It means, "when you're hungry, you cannot stand".

Today's Sunday I stood very tall for Jesus. I preached my first sermon in church. God has called me to be a Pastor. I am no longer an "empty sack." I am a sack that is full and I am so thankful." Love, Yonel!

Yonel's story is not a made up story just to tug at your heart, but is 100% true. Roberta and I know this young man and we are thrilled to see the touch of God on his life. On our last trip to Haiti, Yonel interpreted for me as I spoke to all of the children in the orphanage. Bobby and Sherry are working on a plan to send him to "Christ for the Nations" Bible School in the near future. Yonel will touch the world for Jesus but needed that gift of support that placed Bobby and Sherry on that mountain to bring the healing touch of Jesus.

Today, as I write this letter to all of you,there are millions of "empty sacks" in the tiny nation of Haiti. Roberta and I have been called to fill "empty sacks" but we need people to open their treasure bags and give a gift of support to us. Please understand that we will have items to work with. Clinics, Churches, Schools, Feeding Programs, Gospel Crusades and even a 24 hour Gospel Radio Station which is coming in 2007. Everything we need to fill these many "empty sacks" with the love of Jesus. All we need is our living support.

Many people have told Roberta and I that we could count on them when the time comes. Well the time has come. We need a miracle to happen to enable us to leave for Haiti in the next few months. Pastor Rod Parsley says "The atmosphere of expectancy is the breeding ground for miracles." Our expectancy is HIGH. Thank you so much to those that have already sent in a gift of support. We have some who told us that they will pray for us. Again, we send our thankful gratitude.

Please be in prayer about the items we will need after moving to Haiti: Ground transportation (pick-up truck or van), communication equipment (satellite dish, two way radios and phones) as well as air transportation (airline tickets).

Know that we are praying for you. We pray for your families. We pray for your church that a move of God falls upon your congregation. We pray for your business that it grows and remains financially strong. We pray for your farms that God blesses your crops and livestock. What we pray is for God to grant you His favor, for that is what we all need. The favor of God to rest upon us.

Roberta and I pray that you will have a blessed Christmas and that in 2007 Revival and Restoration comes to you in a mighty way.

Remember that Jesus is the Reason for the Season and keep Christ in Christmas.

Randy & Roberta Arnold
Your Missionaries to Haiti

Roberta and I with Bobby and Sherry Burnette at the Love A Child Christmas Banquet in Clearwater, Florida on December 17, 2006

Manieska

2006-11-20T19:51:00.000-05:00

This is Manieska
Manieska is a two year old Hatian child from a village that is near the Love A Child orphanage. Love A Child Missionaries Bobby and Sherry Burnette have been following Manieska for quite some time due to her medical condition.

Manieska has a very large tumor that has grown on her bottom.

Love A Child has been working feverishly to obtain medical attention for this little girl. They obtained her passport and had several positive leads on surgeons in the United States who would be willing to do the surgery to remove the tumor.

Little Manieska died on Saturday (November 18, 2006). She was yet another child lost because of the lack of proper medical care in the nation of Haiti. It breaks our hearts to know that this child died because of poverity and not having access to physicians.

Please keep Maneiska's mother in your prayers. She loved her daughter very much and she did all she could to care for her. Just two weeks ago her mud hut was blown away and she's now having to stay with relatives in another hut. Please pray that God gives her a peace during her time of grief.

Suffering doesn't cease with a turned head

2006-11-01T16:27:00.000-05:00

I had a speaking engagement just a few hours ago. I had told these people, at an earlier date, that I would let them view our two DVDs about Haiti that we use in raising our support. On the one DVD, there are scenes showing the children of Haiti and the desperate condition that they're in. As the DVD played, 2 women started to cry and turned their heads and said that they just couldn't bare to watch these children in their suffering.

Later, as I talked with the women, I explained how chidren from around the world suffer every day but most of the people of America are oblivious to such despair and hopelessness. I wish that I could take everyone who might read this to Haiti with Roberta and myself for just one day. If you could see, hear, smell or taste what we deal with as missionaries in this nation of poor and starving humanity then we'd have no more problems raising our support. But we can't do that. Words are all that we have to convey our message to you. There will be children and adults die today, while you're reading this. These are people that we might have been able to save but we're not there. Our support is coming in but with your help, we'll be there sooner. Our plans are to move to Haiti by the 1st or 2nd week of January, 2007. We need your support today.

If you would like to take part in supporting us and our work in Haiti, then please feel free to contact us via email at rrhaiti at aol dot com and we'll be happy to put you on our monthly mailing list. You may also use the donation button located on this blog and make a direct contribution.

Remember, even when we turn our heads and refuse to watch, the children are still suffering.

Please Help!

IF NOT YOU....THEN WHO???
IF NOT NOW....THEN WHEN???

A Thousand Words

2006-10-26T00:13:00.000-04:00

A Different Perspective

2006-10-19T12:52:00.000-04:00

I'd like to take a moment to introduce myself. I'm Jill and I'm the oldest of Randy and Roberta's two daughters. I do a lot of the behind the scenes work here on my parent's blog but today I wanted to step outside of my normal realm and I wanted to tell you a little bit about Haiti from my perspective and I wanted to give you a bit of insight as to who my parents truly are.

When my parents first told me they were going to be moving to Haiti, my first thought was "How utterly absurd....how ridiculous" and "What am I supposed to do here with you gone??". You see, I've been to Haiti. I went with my father as part of a medical missions team. I've seen Haiti up close and personal and to try to comprehend why anyone would want to move there was just beyond me. From the moment you set foot in the country, your five senses go on overload. There is so much to absorb. You hear the people speaking in Creole which in fact is a beautiful language. You see the poverty and the overwhelming number of people taking up every single square inch of available space. You smell the charcoal fires burning and the garbage and the food cooking and the animal waste, all in one spot. You feel the hands reaching out trying to touch you because you're "blanc". You're something rare in the country. You taste all of those smells in your mouth. You taste the dirt and the dust as your driving down the treacherous roads on the way to your destination. I've seen the dangers first hand. I was in the vehicles that were stopped by the Hatian police bearing machine guns. I've heard the voodoo drums late at night and seen the ceremony fires burning on the mountains. I've seen people gathering drinking water from the same river stream in which animals are drinking from and defecating in. This is the same water that the women are bathing their children in and washing their clothes in. Why on earth would someone want to move here and why my parents? Why not someone else's parents?

Then I began to understand. I began to understand the compassion and the love. I began to understand the driven desire to help a hurting people which seems to have been forgotten. I remember back to one of our last clinic days when I was in Haiti. The people had begun to stampede, for lack of a better word. We quickly had to shut down the clinic because we were being overrun and we risked having everything stolen out of their sheer desperation for medications and vitamins. As we're closing everything up, there was a man at the back entrance of the "building". He held a small baby who was obviously malnourished and not well. He said something in Creole and I asked the translator what he was saying. She said that he was asking for help for his baby. I wanted to take the baby but they told me that if I grabbed that baby from him, the chances of him leaving were great. He was desperate. If I took that baby, he'd consider it as an offer to keep the baby and be responsible for it. I was so angry when they kept telling me to keep packing up. I think in the end, we slipped some vitamins and some de-worming medication in a bag to him with some brief instructions rattled off in Creole. I'm still angry when I think of that moment because in all likelihood, that child is now dead. He or she probably died of starvation and it didn't have to happen. It never has to happen. There are people, like my parents, who are willing to go the extra mile. They're willing to forsake it all to help a hurting people. They're willing to leave their comfortable homes, their stable jobs, their children and grandchildren so that they can do what it is that God has told all of us to do. We're not all called to go to Haiti. But we are all called to do are part in spreading God's word of salvation. By you offering up your monthly support to missionaries like Randy and Roberta Arnold, you are going to Haiti. You'll be right there in their hearts as they work to keep children fed, clothed, educated and most importantly loved and filled with God's love.

I'm probably not the best daughter. My selfish attitude still takes over from time to time. You see, I'm very spoiled in the fact that I've ALWAYS had my parents. They're my life's blood. They are my confidants and my protectors. Through the good things and the bad things in my life, they've been there with me every step of the way. They've never judged me and they've never condemmed me. When I fall down, they pick me up and help me dust myself off. When I hurt, they're there with their arms open wide to hold me through the hurts. How do I keep living my life on the daily without them here to be my rock? The answer is simple I suppose. I keep going on daily but I go on with the knowledge that every single day my parents are away from me, a child lives and doesn't die. Every single holiday that they miss, someone is receiving hope for another day. They've done their job with me and now instead of raising another child, they're taking on another country, one child at a time.

So now I'm asking you to help my parents make a difference. They'll never receive recognition or laurels for their humanitarian work. They'll never have celebrity status and receive any Hollywood glory. They'll just have the satisfaction of knowing that another baby didn't die. That's worth more than anything this world could ever offer.

Jill Inmon

A Broken People

2006-10-18T11:26:00.000-04:00

What you are now reading has been ready to post for a few weeks but we’ve just felt as though we were missing something important out of the text and so we’ve refrained from putting it up. You see, when you write people to support you in your ministry, we feel that every single word is important when it comes to getting the message across. It’s very similar to writing a sermon. Every thought counts. It was while watching a recent episode of the Oprah Winfrey show that it came to me. I knew what must be said.

Bono, the singer from the rock band U-2, was explaining his new program to help children in Africa with HIV. As he explained how many large corporations were helping him with a portion of profits from sales, the audience went wild. Now please understand. I think that it’s a great thing for the people of Africa when celebrities do things like this. It’s just that so many celebrities want to jump on the bandwagon and say “Look what I’ve done.” The good thing is, the sick children have been helped. What I have a problem with is when missionaries come to the church and fellow Christians to ask for help not only for sick and dying children but to also present to them the gospel of Jesus Christ, that bandwagon remains mostly empty.

What Roberta and I are doing is not really a new thing for us. This is what God has called us to do since 1974. We’re merely changing locations. I remember the night we were ordained and a song was sung by Ralph Moore entitled “I Want To Spend My Life Healing Broken People” I did not know that the last part of our lives God would be moving us to a nation filled and overflowing with broken people. We received an e-mail just last night from Bobby and Sherry telling us to please hurry with our move to Haiti as the load on them grows with each day.

Roberta and I are doing everything within our realm of capabilities but we cannot make this move without your help. We are selling our home and on our last day here in the United States, we have a friend who will be selling our truck for us. As you read this, everything that we are shipping to Haiti is in a container, and on a ship to Haiti. Don’t misunderstand though; we have never been more excited about anything in our lives.

We’re often asked the question “If Love A Child is such a large mission group, why do have to raise your own support? Why doesn’t Love A Child pick up the tab?”

91 cents from every dollar given to Love A Child goes to the people of Haiti. Their entire operations budget comes from that mere 9 cents that is left over. That 9 cents also includes the expense of their television ministry. Love A Child Ministries is completely about helping the Haitian people. They are a member of the ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability). Love A Child has been awarded the Independent Charities Seal of Excellence. All monies given for our support is given directly to Love A Child, Inc. and is tax deductible.

Please pray about what God would have you to do, then listen to what the Holy Spirit says. All I’m trying to do is to open my mouth and speak. When I speak, I speak for the children of Haiti and not for Randy and Roberta. Please know that there are boys and girls dying every single day. Together, our combined efforts can save these children. If you could only feel what I’ve felt when mothers grab at my shirt and tug at me to show me their sick and dying babies, or maybe the day I had to stretch out and grab the babies that were being passed over the heads of the massive crowd to me to give them to the medical staff at a clinic. If I could let you hold a child that is dying from starvation eaten up with worms or one of the many with birth defects maybe you could hear the cry of the poor maybe then you would say “Please Randy, let me help you and Roberta. Please let me partner with the two of you to reach the children of Haiti”.

We will make the move the first week in January 2007. We need your help today. Do what you can please. We are doing all that we can do but we need your support.

In closing, if you will remember back a few posts, we told you about Jenny and her heart condition. It looks as the arrangements will come through for Jenny to receive the heart surgery she desperately needs to live. Please continue to keep this situation and Jenny in your prayers.

An Open Letter

2006-09-15T15:13:00.000-04:00

We are about to take an important "step of faith." This is the most difficult and yet the most rewarding thing we have ever done in our lives. We feel that God has called us into the "full-time" ministry with Bobby & Sherry Burnette, Directors of Love A Child.

As you may know, Love A Child is a well established missionary organization. While their headquarters is in Florida, their outreach is fulltime to the country of Haiti. This Christian Humanitarian is a 501(c)3 Organization and has a high standard of excellence. It is one of the top-rated charities in the States and is a member of the ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability).

Love A Child's vision is to share God's love with the people and children of Haiti through outreaches such as Medical Care, Christian Education, Schools, Feeding Programs, Crusades, Child Sponsorship and other outreaches. They also have a large two-story Orphanage, where the Burnettes live. New projects include a two-story Malnutrition Center and Food Distribution Center.

Since the outreach of Love A Child has grown tremendously, the work load has grown. Bobby and Sherry are now needing professional full-time missionaries to live and work in Haiti, helping on all of these projects.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Only a small percentage of the people have access to clean water. Eighty percent (80%) are illiterate and un-employed. Disease is rampant. Half of the children die before their fifth birthday and twenty percent (20%) of all babies die in childbirth. There is virtually no medical care. Voodoo is the primary religion. Why would anyone want to leave the comforts of their own home and go and live in a country like this?

We have asked this question ourselves. We have made many "short term trips" to Haiti already. It is a country that burns within our hearts day and night.

As Bobby and Sherry say, "There is a difference between a "desire" and a "calling of God." We are "called". There are people who are bound by hunger, disease and poverty because of Voodoo. They will die unless someone is "willing to go".

Romans 10 declares, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?" (Romans 10: 13-15)

We are "willing," but we need "you" to send us. Will you help us? Will you send us? We want to be "your personal missionaries" in Haiti.

Please pray about helping us become full-time missionaries in Haiti. We must raise all our own support for travel, housing, food and transportation. Please pray about helping us faithfully on a monthly basis. Your gift of $100, $50, $25 or whatever the Lord lays upon your heart would be a tremendous blessing. It would mean that when "we win a witchdoctor to the Lord," you have a part! It would mean that when "we feed a starving child," you are feeding him too.

Please prayerfully commit to helping us on a monthly basis or a one-time gift. You can mail your gift to the Florida Office using the address provided at the bottom of this letter and they will put it in a special account for us. After the Florida Office has written and thanked you, they will let us know that you have sent in a gift. We can even receive personal mail here in Haiti.

Please make sure that any funds which are sent to the Florida Office are distinctly noted with our names, Randy and Roberta Arnold. That way, we can be assured that your gift will come directly to us.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this letter and thank you in advance for supporting us.

May God Bless you from the Mission Field of Haiti,

Randy and Roberta Arnold

Love A Child -- Haiti
P.O. Box 11000
Naples, FL 34101-1000

Religion versus Relationship

2006-09-05T22:07:00.000-04:00

In the 19th chapter of Luke we read the story of a short little man named Zacchaeus. All Zach wanted to do was to see this man called Jesus. He had to resort to climbing to the top of a tree, but he just had to see who was causing such a ruckus about town. Jesus is still causing a ruckus when he shows up today)

Jesus wanted more than just to see Zach, he wanted to seek him out in order to come into a relationship with him. You see, Zach was searching for religion while Jesus is always searching for relationship. "For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost" Luke 19:10.

Religion - man's attempt to find God

Relationship - God's finding and saving man

Think about it!

Jenny's Heart

2006-09-01T21:20:00.000-04:00

This is Jenny
Jenny is staying at the Love A Child Orphanage right now although she is a special case. She is not an orphan. She has a very loving mother who takes very good care of her. Jenny looks like a very healthy and normal child but she's actually a very sick little girl. She has a hole in her heart and she's in dire need of surgery to repair it. Without this surgery, Jenny's health will continue to deteriorate. As it is now, she's only able to do minimal activity before she needs to stop and squat down and rest. Her mother comes and visits her every week at the orphanage and she loves her very much.

Love A Child is searching for a cardiologist that will agree to perform Jenny's surgery here in the United States. It's something that we all take for granted. Here in the U.S., if a child develops a health problem, there are doctors to handle the child's care. In the U.S., even the poorest of children can still receive medical attention through goverment assistance. In Haiti, a sick child has very little chance of survival. Without this heart surgery, Jenny will not survive.

If you are reading this and you know of anyone who could help out with Jenny's plight, please email us or leave a comment. We want to see Jenny go on to lead a very normal and healthy life and to be able to go home to her mother. She's such a beautiful little girl with an infectious smile. We need to make sure Jenny continues to smile.

Haiti Through Our Eyes

2006-08-30T20:18:00.000-04:00

This is the view from the balcony at the Love A Child Orphanage in Fond Parisien. As you can see, Haiti is a beautiful country. When you see a picture like this, its hard to believe that this is a country which is the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. It's also pictures like this that make us so excited to be moving to Haiti and living there on a full-time basis. We're ready to move into our little house at the Love A Child compound and we're ready to jump into action and do our part to restore a hope and a faith to a country which has none.

Here are a few more random photos from our last trip.

This is Roberta, helping some of the little girls to try on dresses that were made for them by the ladies of a church here in the U.S.

The kids at the Love A Child Orphange are happy and they truly do realize how blessed they are to be under the direct care of Bobby and Sherry Burnette.

And just because, our daughter, Jill, is so completely enamored by Moses and begged us to hide him away in our luggage, we're posting another picture. He truly is a heart-breaker!

We are currently trying to raise our monthly support for our move to Haiti. We are going to need to raise approximately $3,000 per month. To us, that seems like an enormous amount of money BUT we serve a God who knows no boundaries. We are believing that God will supply all of our needs and our faith and trust is in Him and Him alone.

Hurricane Ernesto

2006-08-28T10:25:00.000-04:00

Remember to keep Haiti in your prayers as they were hit earlier by Hurricane Ernesto. It's important to know that even a minimal storm can wreak havoc on an economically under-developed nation like Haiti. Most people live in shacks or small grass huts which are no match for the torrential mud slides that often occur when Haiti is hit with large amounts of rain. So please, remember to say a prayer for Haiti and of course for every other individual out there in the path of Hurricane Ernesto.

Moses

2006-08-27T23:31:00.000-04:00

Meet Baby Moses Burnette. His start in this world wasn't one that most babies experience. Moses' mother couldn't care for him when he was born so she dumped him down a Hatian toilet. A Hatian toilet is a hole in the ground. Fortunately, someone found baby Moses and he eventually ended up at the Love A Child Orphanage where the main focus became keeping him alive.

This is Moses when he arrived at the orphanage.

And this is Moses Burnette now

We are so anxious to get back to the orphanage to see Moses as well as all of the other children. Everytime we leave Haiti, we leave a portion of our hearts behind. Sometimes those pieces of our hearts have a name...such as Moses.

It Began With A Scripture

2006-08-27T19:59:00.000-04:00

Greetings:

The month of October 1999 will always stand out as an important time of our lives. We were living in the Washington, DC area, when the Holy Spirit burned a Scripture upon Randy’s heart that has changed our lives forever. “But this is a people robbed and plundered; they are all of them snared in holes and hidden in houses of bondage. They have become a prey, with no one to deliver them. A spoil with no one to say RESTORE THEM!” Isaiah 42:22 Amp.

For the next three years Randy could not grasp the meaning of this verse, as just what God was trying to get him to understand. In late September 2002 we made our first trip to the Nation of Haiti. At once this verse became alive to us and upon thirteen additional trips to Haiti even more clarity came. We can now say we have seen those robbed, plundered, those taken prey and made a spoil. Yes here they were just an hour and a half flying time from America.

Upon that first trip we knew that this is where God was calling us to take His gospel. The past four years we have learned so much about this tiny nation of Eight million people. Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and the third poorest on this planet. One in every five children dies before their fifth birthday. The national life expectancy is only fifty years of age, 80% of the population lives in abject poverty for every 15,000 people there is only one doctor and most of the doctors are poorly trained. The vast majority of the population never sees a doctor their entire life. Almost all children and adults are consumed with worms and other parasites, due to the polluted water. Over 4 million people practice VooDoo (an African form of witchcraft). “Jesus said the thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly”. John 10:10 KJV

Someone once said, "If we stopped the food aid overnight…. the population would be cut in half .... the rest would starve to death." It has also been said by leaders from many different Governments around the world that the only thing that keeps Haiti from completely imploding on itself is the Christian Missionary. There are many missionary groups in Haiti proclaiming the Gospel but few are those who have stepped to the front to become mightily used of God. One of those being mightily used is Love A Child ministries. God is pouring out His favor on Founders Bobby & Sherry Burnette. Love A Child is getting the job done, all Praise to God.

Upon our last trip we came into fellowship with Bobby and Sherry and have become Love A Child missionaries. We will be full time missionaries working under Bobby & Sherry living in Haiti. So you can better understand just what Bobby and Sherry are accomplishing in Haiti, we urge you to check out the Love A Child web site. We will be greatly involved with everything that you see on this website. You can also watch the Love A Child television program on the following networks: Sky Angel, Day Star, Word, Direct TV, World Harvest and the Inspiration Network.

If you would like more information on how you can help to sponsor our work in Haiti and be a part of God's work and plan for this nation, please contact us at

Randy & Roberta Arnold
P.O. Box 1072
Dundee, FL 33838

Email: rrhaiti at aol dot com