Personal Message
Greetings in the name of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
We are well into 2007 and have hardly had a chance to slow down.
It is very exciting to see how God is working in the lives of all the children at Maison de Lumiere and how the power of the Holy Spirit transforms young hearts from hopelessness and despair to total joy and victory! Our God is an Awesome God!
A number of mission teams, large and small, are scheduled to visit us over the next six months. Please pray that God will work through these dedicated people in a mighty way.
We want to thank you all for your continued prayers and support. You mean more to us than you know.
May the Lord bless you abundantly and cover you with his holy presence.
In Christ in Haiti,
The Manasseros
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 Meet James
James Delva is approximately 15 years of age and was one of
the first residents of Maison de Lumiere.
He loves sports, with basketball and soccer topping his
list. A gentle and quiet young man, with a warm and friendly disposition, but on the soccer field or basketball court -- watch out! His competitiveness and strong athletic abilities make him a force to contend with.
We know very little about James' background and history other than he was dropped off at a Catholic
orphanage as a baby. He later
moved to a boys home run by an American.
This orphanage had a Haitian dance troupe that was part of the orphanage
activities. While only 7 or 8 years of
age, he was recruited to dance with the team and was found to be one of their
best dancers. Incidents at that home,
however, caused him to run away. He ended
up at another boys home run by another American. This one was even worse and was eventually
closed down when the director was arrested and thrown in jail.
He was part of the first group of boys who moved to Maison de Lumiere. Early on, he seldom spoke a word and was very
cautious. After the experiences he had had,
it seemed likely that he was waiting to see if we were "alright." As he began to trust us and see that Christ was truly at the
heart of all we were doing at MDL, he began to open up. During prayer and worship times he truly lost himself in the presence of the Lord. And, as his faith grew, so did his confidence and love for others. Later, he began to improve greatly in
school and then in sports. James has a servant's heart and loves to help people and serve others every chance he gets. James also has a love for carpentry and working with wood. He is always the first one working
side-by-side with Bill or visiting team members everytime there is a new
bookshelf or other wood project to build. We are praying about the possibility of him getting a summer
carpentry internship in the states or Canada.
Today, he is more often found smiling than not. He has a deep commitment to serve and please
the Lord and regularly attends devotions, bible studies and discipleship
classes. He was water baptised recently with a group of his orphanage brothers and sisters. It was a very important event for him.
James is a blessing to MDL and has grown into a very nice,
responsible, trustworthy and godly young man. Please include him in your prayers -- that he will get a summer internship and secondly, that he will one day shake up Haiti
with his deep faith and Christ-filled commitment to serve.
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Trip to the Zoo
It was our first real "field trip" with our new big orphanage truck. We drove all the boys, girls and staff up the hill to the Baptist Mission and zoo (46 kids - plus staff, the Manassero family and 2 dear friends visiting from Canada). We were sort of bringing our own zoo up the hill!
The Baptist Mission is sort of the main tourist attraction here in the Port Au Prince area. It is one of the most visible missionary church plants in the country.
The children were so excited that they could hardly stand it. Some of the boys were literally jumping up and down when we told them we were going to the Baptist Mission and zoo.
The truck was packed but the kids didn't care. They were just excited to get out and do something fun together. When we arrived, after a quick head count, we hiked down to a big park area with a playground where we had a picnic lunch. Then it was off to the zoo! (Now please note: this is not a zoo like you may be thinking. It consists of things like rabbits, goats, pigeons, peacocks, one monkey, one alligator and a boa constrictor). However, for our kids, it might as well have been the San Diego Zoo. They loved it! They stood for hours watching the monkey swing back and forth, teasing the alligator and trying to feed the goats leaves on the ground.
On the way home, they sang praise and worship songs as we drove down the hill. It was a memorable and special day for the kids. We are thankful for our dear friends in Maryland who bought the truck to make this trip (and many ahead) possible. Thank you and God bless you.
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 The Chicks Have Arrived!
What was that movie that said "If you build it, they will come?" Well, we built it and they have come -- all thirty of 'em. We now have 30 new residents at Maison de Lumiere -- not children but chickens - big fat egg-laying chickens. They are white bovans -- a hybrid of the famous white leghorn super-layer.
Thanks to the generosity of our brothers and sisters of New Life Church in Petrolia, Ontario, Canada, we were able to purchase these hens and begin our new egg business.
To give you an idea of how "egg-straordinary" these chickens are, the first group of 20 hens we transported laid three eggs just during the 30 minute ride from the ranch. They have been averaging 20-26 eggs a day ever since.
The boys are "egg-static" (o.k. enough with the puns...)! Israel is going to be our main poule garcon (chicken boy) and we will be training 4 other boys as well on how to care for and manage this new little micro-business. Zachary, one of our managers at the boys home, will be over-seeing the "business" side of the venture.
Of course, we should have figured it would happen, the girls are already saying, "Hey, why don't we get chickens?" So, we're looking at the possibility of housing a rooster and a few hens at the girls home that will help our little chicken family to grow.
It is our prayer that this will teach the children a lot about responsibility, caring for animals, as well as the necessary skills to run a chicken business of their own.
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 Blessings On Wheels
Two dear families (who chose to remain anonymous) - one from Arnold, Maryland and the another from Manhattan Beach, California, blessed Maison de Lumiere with two much-needed vehicles for our growing orphanage. Both trucks will help us to transport the children to special events, community service projects, and outreaches, as well as to transport lumber, plants, chickens and other items necessary for the orphanage operations.
The large truck will be retro-fitted with a special cage and bench seats for safer bus-like transportation. It will hold up to 35-40 children or 25 adults comfortably. It will also be used to transport visiting missions teams.
On behalf of the boys, girls and staff of Maison de Lumiere, we want to thank these two families for their generosity and compassion. God bless you.
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 Girls Enjoying New Home
The girls are settling in to their new home and life very well.
It's hard to believe that these are the same little girls we used to see in torn dresses, matted hair and dirty faces begging on Delmas Street. God is truly faithful.
The first couple of months were primarily a time of adjustment for the girls - getting used to a new environment, structure and schedules. They also were observing us and our staff to see what we are all about.
Over time, they have become more comfortable with their new home. They are enjoying school, new friends, church, special activities and much more. They are also starting to do something they haven't done before -- consider their future. Transitioning from what we call "street survival mode" to living with the hope of a promising future is a big deal. There are still doubts and questions: "How long will this last?" "Are they really going to help me until I grow up?" and "Why does anyone even care?" But as God continues to work and heal, the smiles are more frequent and they are coming to realize it's O.K. to have fun and be a kid.
These precious little blessings are a joy to be around. We still can't believe what God is doing and continues to do in the lives of these young girls. We want to thank you all for your prayers and support that has helped make this happen -- for the rescued transformed lives and for the miracle we are seeing every day. May the Lord bless you abundantly.
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 Toys and Stuff!
If you have extra toys or other recreational items that you would like to send our way we would be very grateful. Besides bikes, soccer and basketballs, there are not a lot of things for the children to play with in their free time.
The types of things that would truly bless the children are as follows: durable toys such as trucks, cars, legos, action figures (no occultic characters please); dolls with long hair, clips, hair items, etc.; jump ropes; jacks; dominoes; checkers; and board games. And they love GameBoys as well.
Outdoor recreation items like skates, skateboards, game tables (bumper pool, foosball, air hockey), ping pong, and all sports balls are also much appreciated.
If you are interested in helping out here by sending something or ordering items via WalMart.com or from other online resources, we would be very grateful. You can ship to us directly in Haiti through our missioanry flight servie at Child Hope International, c/o Agape Flights #PAP16174, 100 Airport Ave., Venice, FL 34285-3901. We are charged $2 per pound for shipped items.
If you have any questions, please call Brooke Herman at 888-808-9595 or email us at childhopeintl@yahoo.com.
Thank you and God bless you.
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