Personal Message
Greetings in the Name of Our Blessed Lord!
Since coming back from our summer break, we have been very busy. Wonderful Missions Teams came to bless the children and the Manassero family. Interns shared their lives and talents. Back to school time for 70 plus kids kept us on our toes. And then a host of the "other typical day-to-day stuff " -- family illnesses, sick kids, staff challenges, hurricanes, tropical storms and, last but not least, the mechanical, plumbing and other fun challenges that insure we never have a dull moment.
WE LOVE HAITI AND ITS PEOPLE! We feel constantly blessed to have the privilege to serve here. To see God's hand move upon these special kids that he loves so very much.
The end of October and beginning of November are big voodoo times in Haiti. There is much focus on demonic things. But we can't see it because the praises of of children have drowned out the demons and spirits that seek to rob, kill and destroy. Our children's lives are victorious living testimonies to God's awesome power.
God bless you all and thank you for your prayers and support.
In Christ in Haiti,
The Manasseros
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 Meet Clarmond
Clarmond is a very special child with a heart for others and a love for God. His life, however, began with much difficulty. He father died when he was just a baby. His mother and two other siblings were homeless and struggled every day to survive. Fortunately, his mother's strong faith and fervent prayers for God's intervention in the lives of her children continued.
When Clarmond's mother Mari heard about Maison de Lumiere, she thought that it was the answer she had been praying for -- even if it meant giving up her kids for good. She knew that anything would be better than the hunger and suffering they were experiencing. When she came to us, she pleaded that we would take her boys, Clifford and Clarmond. She spoke of how they were "good boys" and that they had no where to live and nothing to eat. The children looked bad. After much prayer and discussion, we agreed.
The boys adjusted well at the home but after a short time, wanted to see their mother. They were worried about her health and their sister. His mother and sister stayed at a different place each night so it was difficult to find them. We finally found them staying in a home nearby. Her illness had progressed and she looked ver.y weak We let her stay at the boys home while we nursed her back to health. As she improved and felt better, she started helping around the house -- cooking, cleaning, whatever was needed. Her godly attitude and heart motivated us to ask her to stay and work with us in exchange for three meals a day, medical care and a safe place to live.
Today, Mari is loved by the children and is the cook at the girls home. She is well loved by all the children. Clarmond is thankful because he can see his mother all the time.
Clarmond loves sports, especially soccer, and his best friend is Elijah Manassero. When they aren't playing basketball or soccer together, they enjoy playing GameCube or just hanging out with the others kids at the home.
Clarmond is a sweet, kind and considerate young man who always thinks of others first. He says, when he grows up he wants to be a missionary. Please keep him in your prayers.
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 Tropical Storm Noel Plummets Haiti
Haiti's most recent tropical storm resulted in significant damage and loss of life in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. According to recent reports, 107 people have died to-date and numerous families have lost homes. Areas near Port Au Prince hit particularly hard include Cite Solei, a poor slum area of Haiti, and Petionville, home for Haiti's elite and wealthy.
At Maison de Lumiere, we were relatively alight, however, the girls home ceilings (which are basically just slabs of cement) sustained considerable damage. The rain water soaked through the roof and through the ceiling, causing significant damage that will require cement repair work, waterproofing and re-painting of most of the ceilings. The only positive result was the water our plants received and our cisterns, which were filled-up dramatically by the rain water captured on our roofs. Roads in the area were also washed out, causing traffic delays and horrible road conditions. Driving the children to a youth retreat in Carefour (which should have taken 20 minutes) took nearly 4 hours. In addition, the kids school was closed for three days.
Please pray for those who lost family members and homes -- that the church and others will step forth to comfort, offer spiritual support and financial aid.
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 Interns Bring Color and Life to MDL
Recently, two of our short-term visiting interns undertook the ambitious project of creating beautiful mural paintings on the walls of the MDL boys home. Both Kristi MacIntosh and Tara Morgan, brought out their brushes and pallets to bring bright colors, beautiful imaginative murals and adventurous environments to the boys home walls to help create a colorful world for the children to enjoy.
Kristi M acIntosh, a visiting intern from Southern California, painted a "family tree" in the hallway area in front of our eating commons. This colorful stately old tree not only brings the outdoors indoors but it created the perfect backdrop to place framed photographs of all the boys that live in the home.
Tara Morgan, a social worker from Brighton England, took on the two younger children's bedrooms downstairs. In one room she created an "underseascape" giving the the appearance of the boys room being submerged in the Caribbean sea, complete with dolphins, sea turtles and a plethora of bright, multi-colored tropical fish.
In the second room, Tara brought the children deep into the Amazon rain fo rest and African jungles, complete with gorillas, parrots, butterflies and colorful fauna and flora cover the walls.
"It's so much fun. It's better than a room. It's a place to dream," said David, one of the boys who lives in the room.
We are so very grateful for the hearts of Kristi and Tara. It took many long hours and a firm commitment to bring adventure, imagination and color through art into the lives of the children at MDL brighter. Thank you.
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 Visiting Team Helps Save Girl's Arm
It was the day before the Southern California King's Harbor Church missions team was scheduled to leave. Her father carried her over in hopes of seeking medical help. Her parents are very poor and her arm was broken so badly that it twisted up behind her back.
The team immediately asked what they could do and immediate medical attention was first thing on the agenda. So Lukas Simmons and some of the MDL staff rushed her off to a nearby hospital. The diagnois was serious. The break was so severe that, within a few days, the little girl would either have to have surgery on an amputation.
Everyone was shocked and the thought of amputation was horrible. The surgery, which would require a pin to hold the bone together was going to cost over $700US.
The emails flew out (with digital files of her xrays) to get secondary medical opinions. The doctor's diagnosis seemed solid.
The next morning, the team pooled their funds and handed us the necessary amount for the operation.
We are happy to report that the surgery was successful, the pin placed and cast made. This week, the doctors x-rayed the arm to see if the cast could be removed. The arm has healed, praise God, but the doctors want to operate again to remove the pin.
We are just so thankful that this precious little angel's arm was spared and the saints rallied to help make that possible. First and foremost -- thank you Jesus for your faithfulness. Next -- thanks to the King's Harbor Missions Team for their heart for this little girl and Jesus. Praise the Lord!
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Manassero Kids Update
It has been a while since we provided an update on what our kids have been doing, so, we thought we would let each child tell, in their own words, what they have doing lately...
 Ariana - Hello all. I miss you all terribly! Life in Haiti has been great. School
just began last month and that has been interesting...ha! Anyway, but it's been
good! Two weeks ago I started up a Purity Class for the girls in my
neighborhood from the ages 11 to about 17. I've been teaching them about
staying pure spiritually and sexually. It has been such a blessing and the
girls have been so responsive. Thank you Jesus! I'm still doing the Bible class
for the neighborhood kids every Thursday. That has been such a blessing as
well. All the kids are so amazing and I just love them so much! Living in
Haiti has been as awesome as ever. There is no other place that I would want to
live and grow up in. I have learned so much living here these last 3 years. God
is so awesome and He is always willing to reveal things to his children! I love
you all! Blessings! -Ari
 Vienna - Hey everyone! I am going tell you all about my life in Haiti. First of all, I just had a birthday on the 25th
of October, I know, whooohhhhoooo! I am now twelve and that is pretty awesome.
I also just got back from a youth retreat this past weekend and it was so amazing.
God is moving in so many ways I can't even describe it. Let me just say that I had
a wonderful time enjoying myself, relaxing, and studying the word of God. I
loved it! Another thing that has really been keeping me busy lately, is that I am
choreographing another dance for Christmas this year. I am really excited about
it and can hardy wait. I just know that
this one is going to be absolutely fantastic. So, that is basically
what has been going on with me lately. I have to go now, I love you all, and keep Haiti
in your prayers. Bye! - Vienna
 Elijah - Hi everyone. I'm Elijah and I'm 7 years old. I really love math (I'm doing 3rd grade math right now). Lately, we've had a few days break from school so I'm going to play with my friends and maybe sell things. My biggest sellers are things I find in the yard like rocks (that I paint). I like to play sports. My favorites are soccer, baseball, tennis and basketball. When I can't play outside I play my GameCube inside. I think I might want to be a software programmer/engineer/game developer. Well, at least this week. Bye.
 Francesca - Hi everyone. Lately,
I've been playing a lot at the girl's home where they have a new slide. The slide is very fun. We like the slide a lot. Thank you everyone who helped get us the
slide. I've been working hard in
school. My favorite subject is reading.
It's been raining A LOT lately. I like
the rain. It is fun to play in the
rain. I played over at the McHoul's
toddler house where they have a trampoline.
That was really fun, too.
Kenson - Hi guys! I like to play on the jumpy thing, too. It is a lot of fun. I go to preschool everyday and do a lot of fun things - I learn my colors and letters, play outside, I eat cookies, play
basketball and soccer. And I like the
new slide, too. I went on it a hundred times! We found some worms and we
gave them to the birds. Elijah, Ti-Bo and Daphne
are my best friends. Bye. See ya later!
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