Personal Message
Dear Friends and Family,
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
who is great beyond all measure.
This will be the last newsletter coming to you from the
States.
Our next will be written in
Haiti.
The last six months have been a challenge, yet, at the same time, a beautiful
time of faith-building, restoration and healing. God has used this difficult time to bring about other healings - deeper changes within each of
us as a family and with others who took this journey with us. As we drew deeper to find strength,
comfort and healing, we found that the Well upon which we draw is deep --
deeper than we ever imagined. Our God not only provides for our every need, He
helps transform us more in His image through the difficult times - if we let
Him.
We praise God for His miraculous healing of Susette and we
praise Him for using this time to build up stronger spiritual convictions and
connections within each of us. We shared
great times together as a family and were encouraged and comforted by incredible
friends. Believe it or not, we found rest in the madness and found treasured
times together as a family. We drew
closer and discovered a renewed love for one another.
Looking back, we saw how busy and active our lives were in
Haiti. There was always more to
accomplish than we could ever hope to achieve in a day. We stretched and God gave us what we
needed. Unfortunately, some of that
effort took its toll.
We love to serve because we
love our God and the Haitian people. But
we believe God has showed us that there is a better way - in His power alone.
God blessed us by sending the Hojaras to step in to
take on the task of running the orphanage.
In that, we realized we could let go and that God will continue to do
His work through whomever He chooses. He also showed us that different people with different gifts can be a tremendous blessing. And in the process He
unexpectedly grabbed a hold of the Hojara's heart - calling them to serve along side us full-time. God is great!
This season helped us experience Romans 8:28 first hand. We saw God's promise fulfilled as "And we know that in all things
God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His
purpose." Blessed be the name of our
Lord!
God bless you dear friends for your prayers and support during this time.
In Christ, and soon in Haiti,
The Manassero Family
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 Meet Pastor Willie
When a miracle occurs it can be a bit difficult to explain. Take, for example, one of our young men named Willie Ettiene. Willie and his brother Richard came to us as orphans. They came to Maison de Lumiere from a family of seven children, right after their only remaining parent, their father, passed away. Both boys, like all of our children, had a history of deep poverty and malnutrition. However, coming from an intact family and not the streets, they were not as street wise and hardened as the other boys. They responded well to and sought after the parental comfort and support from Bill and Susette, holding on to and hugging them every chance they could.
Willie always watched out for his little brother to make sure no one saw them as a burden. This also meant, in his mind, that he had to act hard to make up for his young age. As a result, he developed a rough edge. Over time, he became regarded as a bit of a punk. Picking on little kids smaller than himself, he was always getting in trouble as he tried to maintain his tough boy image. He was becoming a bit of a challenge when something happened...
When it was announced to the children that Susette had cancer Willie was one of the hardest hit. His tough guy image just seemed to melt away as he often wept and kept to himself. He was quiet and depressed. He didn't talk to anyone.
When the kids decided to conduct fervent daily prayer vigils for Susette, Willie got involved. And as he did, he started to change. He was the first into the room to pray and often the last to leave. His face began to light up as he began releasing his fear and sorrow into the arms of a loving Savior. Life and joy returned to him. He would continue praying even after the official prayer meetings ended. He found solace and comfort in his God that he had never known before.
He became a prayer warrior, often praying in the middle of the play yard, in the meal room, on his knees or late into the night. The other children started calling him "Pastor Willie," joking that he would even say a prayer of thanks over each glass of water before drinking.
Known as Willie E., to differentiate him from our other Willie (Willie Blanc), Willie E. began to demonstrate his new transformed life in other ways. He began to help staff and leaders whenever a job needed to be done, often taking on tasks no one else would take. He also now initiated play, support and friendship with the the same little children he used to pick on and harass.
God has truly moved in the life of this special boy. Praise the Lord. Won't you please keep Willie in your prayers, that God continues this amazing, wonderful work He has begun and that Willie will grow up to be a godly man that shines the light of Christ throughout Haiti and the world. Also pray that Willie will get sponsors as well. God is great!
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 Hope Walk Haiti 2008
On October 10-14, a group of adventurous souls will be taking a breathtaking and challenging hike across some of the highest mountains in the Caribbean. The purpose of the hike is to help raise funds for the Hojara family so they can join Child Hope International in Haiti full-time. At 6,000 feet plus elevation, this team will experience a part of Haiti that most Haitians have never even seen. They will meet the very special Haitian mountain people, experience mountaintop terraced farming, walk through pine forests, see plush flora and fauna and eventually end up in Jacmel, one of Haiti's most beautiful coastal villages. The hike will conclude with 2 nights at a wonderful beach resort hotel in Jacmel.
Participants will be picked up at the Port Au Prince airport Friday, Oct. 10 and visit the kids at the orphanage. Early Saturday morning, the team will be trucked up the mountain to the beginning of the traill. The cost of the adventure is $500 and includes all transportation (excluding airfare), 2 nights at the resort hotel, food and drink along the trail, all meals and an experience of a lifetime. For information or to sign-up for the walk, click here and look under the "Haiti" tab.
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 Boys Join Summer English School
This summer, a handful of our MDL boys (in the picture from left to right, Jocelyn, Alex, James, Patrick, Israel and Junior) will be attending a special advanced English School in downtown Port Au Prince to boost their English-speaking skills. The Haitian American English Academy is one of Haiti's best English schools. Besides the basic benefits of this special training, the boys each have personal reasons for learning English. Four of the boys (Israel, Jocelyn, James and Alex) hope to go to America soon. Of that group, Israel is praying that he will soon be approved for surgery in America to repair facial burn scars he has had since he was a child. Jocelyn, James and Alex have been invited by a U.S. host family to attend English school and a trade school in the States. Patrick wants to be a translator and Junior wants to one day attend university and medical school in America. It is very exciting to see these boys give up their summer to better themselves and seek to serve God with their English skills.
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 New Feeding Program
As Haiti's soaring food prices reach crisis stage, we at Child Hope are seeking local solutions to help feed children in the neighborhood of the orphanage. Although we have been feeding local children since we moved there, we are hoping to launch an expanded program that will feed more children, more often. Jim Duggan from Mission Viejo Christian Church is helping to spearhead this effort from the States.
"We call the program - MuTch - Meals and Uncompromised Truth for the Children of Haiti - because every meal will be served up with a good heaping portion of the Gospel as well," said Jim. "People can sponsor a child's daily meals for as little as $10 a month or for whatever the Lord puts on their hearts." The goal is to raise
the needed funds (approximately $18,000) to cover the program for the first year. They hope to serve the first
meal for the program on Thanksgiving week.
We don't expect to solve Haiti's food crisis by this program, but for 30 children, we can fight hunger and share the true Bread of Life. Won't you join us on this important campaign for the children of Haiti?
To find out more, go to http://maisondelumiere.org/feedingprogram.htm. God bless you. |
Haiti Camp in a Box 2008 -- A Smash Hit!
 The team's response was familiar - "We came to minister and ended up being ministered to." The 22-member Haiti Camp in a Box team put together one of the most amazing events we have ever witnessed in Haiti. The team put on an event that touched, moved and transformed the lives of the children of Maison de Lumiere.
The team arrived in Haiti a few days ahead of the camp to meet the
kids, experience their environment and prepare for the camp ahead. After a few days, they packed up all the
children, some of the staff, mattresses and more and trucked them 5 miles away to
the Nazarene Compound . The Nazarene
Compound is a facility that was built by the Nazarene Church in Haiti and had previously hosted missionary families, and visiting missions teams. It currently
only houses a small Bible college. The 5-acre
plus facility is like a retreat resort, complete with kitchen, dining
facilities, 1,000 seat amphitheater, classrooms , dorms and even a soccer
field. The five days that followed were
filled with worship, Bible study, fun events and activities, a talent show, soccer games, a
trip to a beach resort and the building-up of faith and relationships.
The team that brought "Camp in a Box" to Haiti
did an incredible job. We cannot even begin to thank
each and every one involved for all they did.
This was, by far, one of the most amazing events our kids have ever
experienced. They were blessed beyond
measure! We especially want to thank the leaders of the team -- Darin,
Caroline, Jamie and Lonnie Kruse - for hatching this idea, putting in the many many
hours of planning, organizing and development to make this "plug and play"
event actually work.
The children of MDL will never forget this very special week. THANK YOU!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! And may God bless you all abundantly.
For pictures from the camp, here are a few sites you might want to visit:
http://maisondelumiere.org/gallery.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucastheexperience/sets/72157605133107968/
http://haiticampinabox2008.site.shutterfly.com/
http://www.caughtinthemoment.com/
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 Missed an Issue of Our eNewsletter?
If you are new to this newsletter, missed a past issue or
just want to go back to check out a past issue of our Haiti eNewsletters you can now do so at our eNewsletter Archives. There you will find copies of our newsletters for the last 12 months. You also have the
option, after reading an issue or two, to forward it along to as many friends as you
wish. We hope this is helpful.
To check out past issues of our eNewsletters, GO HERE.
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