Local missionary known around world killed in Haiti
[gtxvideo vid=”iUPMElxG” playlist=”” pid=”OTSe9U1y” thumb=”http://player.gtxcel.com/thumbs/iUPMElxG.jpg” vtitle=”Missionary Death Follow PKG”]
HENDERSON, Tenn. — A West Tennessee church mourns the loss of one of their own missionaries, Roberta Edwards, who was killed on a mission trip in Haiti. “We cannot measure all the lives that she has touched through all the ways she will be missed,” Estes Church of Christ Minister Dr. Jesse Robertson. The indescribable tragedy thousands of miles away is now hitting close to home for a West Tennessee community and church. “There are thousands of people today who know Roberta and who appreciated her work, who are touched, tearful and prayerful,” Robertson said. Edwards was overseen by the Estes Church of Christ and was on a mission trip in Haiti. However, on Saturday night, that mission turned violent when she was killed by a group of armed gunmen. “It’s been more than once over the years that heartbreaking things have happened in our mission work, and this is the most heartbreaking that we can imagine,” Robertson said. Edwards was the director at SonLight Children’s home in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It’s a place where church leaders say she was called “Mom” by 20 foster children. “The strength of her personality and the strength of her will and her faith produce in her a person to keep going when other people would have quit a long time ago,” Robertson said. Edwards also ran a nutritional center in Haiti, feeding 160 children two meals a day, five days a week. Robertson knew Edwards for more than 15 years. He says in the time since Edwards began being overseen by the church in 2002, she accomplished things that sometimes seemed impossible. “She would accomplish things you just didn’t think could be accomplished out of sheer will,” Robertson said. “She had faith that God would help her. She would start into things that she didn’t know how she was going to accomplish, but she trusted that the Lord would provide.” And in honor of Edwards, Robertson says the church will continue to work in places that need healing and peace. “Our intent is to not let evil win, not to let Satan win, but continue the work of the kingdom of God because that is what this is. It’s that kind of battle,” Robertson said. If you would like to honor Roberta with a memorial gift for the work in Haiti, those may be sent to the Estes Church of Christ, P.O. Box 191, Henderson, TN, 38340, and her family will be notified of your tribute.
