the single missionary woman: roberta edwards article...
TRANSCRIPT
Service Times For the Record - 11.29.15 Ashley Glen – 8:30 a.m.
Sunday School – 9:30 a.m.
AM Worship – 10:30 a.m.
PM Worship – 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday – 7:00 p.m.
Contribution – $10,118.00
Sunday School – 206
AM Worship – 275
PM Worship – Not available
Wednesday – Not available
December 13th AM PM
Song Leader Kim Cline Kim Cline
Opening Prayer Bryan Adams Paul Cold
Scripture Reading Jason Breeding Jason Cagle
Closing Prayer Elders Bill Macke
Nursery Gail Sims/Debbie Higgins Abbie Huber
(Monthly) Audio-Visual Joe Henry Stace Fauske
Presiding at the Table Chris Caltrider
Greeters D. Boyd/Menet
Card Pick-up Bo Fauske
Ashley Glen Growth Group 2
Opening Prayer John Hayes
Song Leader Thomas Cagle
Devotional Brian Boyett
Closing Prayer Mike Elliott
(Monthly) Communion Preparation Angela Casey/Dottie Humphries
(Monthly) Building Lock-up Higgins/Long
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12/12 Christmas Party
12/20 Area Wide Devo at Tara
12/27-30 Exposure Youth Camp
12/31 New Year’s Eve Lock-in
A s many of you know the display in the foyer is often used to share
announcements, pictures from past events, special projects, etc.
Now we want this display to be used for even more. We are asking
for pictures of your family and kids so that we can display them in
the foyer before and after services. You may have recent or old pictures from
t-ball games, band competitions, dance recitals, or any other sort of activity.
We want to compile these and regularly display them so that the congregation
knows a little bit more about what is going on in your family. We may also
from time to time make special requests for baby pictures or pictures with
mom or dad for different occasions like Mother’s and Father’s day throughout
the year. We believe this could be a simple but great way to learn more about
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Phil (but mostly Peyton)
Assisting in Worship
Announcements
Chris Parker
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AM -K. Cline PM - K. Weinhardt
Opening Prayer
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PM Tim Thomas
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John Hayes
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Harvey Boyd
Chris Caltrider
John Dale
Joshua Dale
Keith Ellis
Gary Ellis
Trent Burnett
Vic Long
John Hancock
Ken Machemehl
Kyle Weathers
Ray Sims
Card Pickup
Jackson O’Brien
Closing Prayer
AM Elders
PM Brian Boyd
Nursery
AM Sheri Ellis
Anita Elliott
PM Lana Parker
Greeters
Rode/Casey
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly
–John 10:10
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Office Phone 770-487-9246 Email: [email protected]
December 6, 2015
Today’s Sermons, December 6
AM – The Tale of the Empty Table (Matt. 22.1-3), Aubrey Johnson
PM – Love Bears All Things (I Cor. 13.7), Aubrey Johnson
The Single Missionary Woman: Roberta Edwards (1960-2015) - Article Reprint
O ne of the great female mission-aries of the 20th century was Sarah Andrews, who devoted
the last two-thirds of her life to God’s work in Japan. The year before a stroke ended Sarah’s distinguished missionary service, a baby girl was born in the USA who was destined to become one of the great female missionaries of the 21st century. There’s a Call Comes Ringing Roberta was the only daughter of Robert (Bob) and Laura Edwards. Raised in a military family, she was smart, disci-plined, and determined. She was a homecoming queen, a college graduate, a department store manager, and a homeowner. By the world’s standards Roberta was a successful young woman. She also had a heart for Christ and his cause. She married Robert Aldate and left her comfortable life in North Carolina to serve the Lord in Robert’s homeland of Haiti in 1995. Roberta learned the lan-guage and adapted to the culture of one
of the least developed nations in the world, where four out of five people live in abject poverty. For about six years the Aldates were an effective missionary team, teaching the gospel, ministering to the Haitian people, and helping the church grow. For Such is the Kingdom of Heaven One day a desperate Haitian mother left her two baby boys outside the Adalte’s home in the hopes that the starving infants would be cared for. Not long thereafter Robert, who had been
unfaithful to his marriage vows, abandoned his family responsibilities, leaving Roberta to care for the children alone. Church support ended. But Roberta refused to leave. Jesse Robertson knew of Roberta’s plight, and he man-aged to secure $100 per month support for her. Destitute children continued to be brought to Roberta’s house and placed in her care. The Estes church of Christ in Hender-son, TN took oversight of this work in 2003, and with a facility provided by Manna Global Ministries, the Son-Light Children’s Home in Port-au-Prince was secured. At least 31 children have been taken into the Home, and the oldest (Widlord Thomas, now 29) figures that some 50 to 60 children have passed through at various times. Chris-tian Woman magazine featured Roberta on the cover of the January/ February 2010 issue, and in the feature arti-cle Debbie Bumbalough observes: “Roberta looks at eve-ry child as a gift from God. Her home is filled with those who not only have found food and security but also have found the true meaning of being loved and being able to return that love to others. Each of Roberta’s children has come to her with a past life of shame, regret, hurt, abuse or loss. Roberta has restored their self-worth and the support of a loving family atmosphere”. Woman of Hope Roberta has homeschooled the children and taught daily Bible lessons. They have grown their own crops on the small property, raised egg-laying hens, and initiated a variety of business ventures to supplement their income. They have worshiped and worked with the Santo church of Christ, as well as assisting nearby congregations. They have translated Bible study materials. The boys have been trained to serve as interpreters for visiting preach-ers, while Roberta and the girls have likewise assisted visiting lady teachers. In addition to her “adopted” kids, Roberta has also provided two meals a day, five days a week, for around 160 neighborhood children through her nutrition center, in operation since 1997. This work was originally over-seen by the Amory, MS church of Christ and later taken over by the Estes congregation. Moreover, Roberta has administered funds to enable these kids to attend school, which is a very big deal. Due to the expense of supplies and uniforms, fewer than 15 percent of Haitian children aged 6 to 11 are enrolled in public school. Consequently
the country’s illiteracy rate is an estimated 52 percent. Roberta has organized ladies classes, mentored in-terns, and coordinated several short-term mission and medical teams each year that have served the poor and up to 15 congregations at a time. The people of Haiti have suffered from numerous natural disasters, and Rob-erta has always been available to help facilitate relief efforts from North American churches. One of Roberta’s kids was killed in the devastating earthquake that hit Hai-ti in 2010, and despite significant property damage, Rob-erta’s home became a center for aid distribution that helped save thousands of lives. Since then Roberta’s work expanded to other development projects to help the poverty-stricken community. In 2011 she was named “Woman of Hope” at the annual Women of Hope confer-ence in Nashville, TN. O Death, Where is Your Victory? On the evening of October 10, 2015, the day after a 29-member medical mission team had arrived from the States, the unthinkable happened. Roberta was stopped by armed gunmen and shot to death, while her 4-year-old foster son JoJo was abducted. Although the case is still under investigation, JoJo has reportedly been found alive and well, and two suspects are in custody. More than a thousand people attended Roberta’s fu-neral in Haiti, and two more memorial services were held in the United States: one in Henderson, TN and the other in Wilmington, NC. At the Oct. 29th service in Henderson, Jesse Robertson read a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay, aptly describing Roberta’s life: “My candle burns at both ends; It will not last the night; But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends – It gives a lovely light.” Although Roberta’s candle is no longer burning, its radiant light continues to shine in the multitudes of lives she has impacted. Through her devoted ministry and lasting influence, the God she faithfully served for over five decades has provided love to the unloved and hope to the hopeless. Roberta’s work will carry on in Haiti thanks to the commitment of the Estes church and nu-merous other supporters, Widlord Thomas and his new bride Karen, the Haitian Christians, and the children Rob-erta molded and cherished. She is painfully missed. Thank God for the heavenly rest. --Kevin L. Moore
And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be
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those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come.
~ Matthew 22.1-3
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