Blessings!
Greetings in the name of our Wonderful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! We just passed the six month anniversary of the Quake which hit January 12, 2010. There is much to learn from what has happened. We have written a brief six month update at our website. We are so very grateful for our Lord who has covered us during this difficult season. We praise and honor Him and trust in His provision. Please join us in prayer as the tragedy still remains. It is more important than ever to turn to hearts to our Lord and continue to pray and seek his will. ___________________
...if my people, who are called by my name, will humbles themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and will heal their land.2 Chronicles 7:14 _________________ Please join us in prayer for the following: Praise the Lord for being our
Fortress, Stronghold and Deliverer and for His protection of all our
children. That from this tragedy God would
provide new opportunities to rebuild Haiti for His
glory. That Haitians would unite in peace
and solidarity of purpose to rebuild
Haiti. That gangs would lay down their
arms for tools to join the
rebuilding. There there would be a spiritual
awakening in Haiti and among those who are moved to
help. That God would protect and
strengthen all the aid workers faced with so much tragedy. That the leadership of Child Hope would be
united as we undergo a discernment process regarding our role in rebuilding
Haiti and the future of our children. That the Lord would continue to
protect our children and secure our properties from further
damage. That we
would be strengthened and renewed, that we would not grow weary as we deal
with this tragedy on the
ground, day-to-day. That God would renew His call on
each of us and strengthen us to do His work, His will whenever and wherever He
calls. Thank you dear friends. God bless you. The Manasseros |
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A Few New Faces at The Lighthouse
Lukenson's classic smile  |
As children at Maison de Lumiere (MDL or the Lighthouse) orphanage grow up and graduate out of the
orphanage new children are brought in as the Lord leads. Since the earthquake, we have added three new children at our boys home. They are Lukenson, Davidson and Emmanuel. Lukenson
has been with us a few months now and is actually the youngest brother of MDL
long-time resident Junior Fan Fan. When Junior's parents passed away
Junior ended up on the street while his younger brother, a baby at the time,
stayed with Junior's sister. She had no job and no way to support him but
did her best to care for him over the last 4 to 5 years. Recently, she
learned of our vacancies and asked if we could take him. Since the earthquake things had become worse and he was not
eating regularly nor attending school. After prayer and much discussion we
decided to take him in. Luckenson is a very sweet boy who who has a heart for others. We look forward to how the Lord will work in this special young boy. We met Davidson, 12 years old, immediately
after the earthquake. The house he and his mother lived in had collapsed and they had nowhere to live. We let Davidson enjoying computer lab time at school  | them live
in Ben's (our sports area) on the soccer field with the rest of the MDL kids and other displaced
families. Later we helped them rent a house for the year. Five
months later his mother became seriously ill and passed away. Her
relatives, who lived in Cite Solei (Port-au-Prince's largest slum) were poor
and . could not afford a funeral. They paid someone to bury his
mother's body on the beach. Immediately after the so-called funeral he walked all
the way to the orphanage. Still, in his funeral clothes (all he owned) he
stood out front of the boys home waiting. He wanted to speak with Susette
and Bill because he knew and trusted them. He had no where else to go.
Unfortunately, they were out of town. Noticing he had been waiting outside for a long time, orphanage manager Fritz asked him to stay
at the home until they arrived. When they returned, they prayed, discussed and
again said yes. Emmanuel enjoying craft time with a visiting team  | The very newest resident is a little boy who lost his family in the quake. IBESR, Haiti's version of Child Protective Services, asked if he could stay at the home while they tried to locate relatives. We prayed and said yes. Emmanuel is a very nice young boy who really doesn't know what to make of all this, but he's loving the three great meals a day, all the love, school and lots of play time. We have very little information on his background or length of stay. It could be six months or six years. Either way, please pray that Emmanuel, as well as Davidson and Lukenson, can come to know, love and trust in their Savior while at The Lighthouse.Also, pray that sponsors will help these kids out as well. To sponsor one of these boys, go to our sponsor page and sign-up online. |
 Camp-in-a-Box 2010
"Rebuild-Restore-Revive"
Can you believe it -- we had our first camp complaint in
three years? And here's the complaint -
"it's too cold here!" Can you imagine
anyone saying that about Haiti in July!
But it's true. It was cold at times... but it was sooo worth it! The camp took place at a beautiful
mountain resort called Le Montcel (at 5,000 ft elevation), an hour and a
half uphill from
Port-Au-Prince. It
was held at a stunning 20-acre mountain resort, complete with horses, tennis courts, and Swiss
Chalet-style cabins, nestled in a plush, picturesque landscape. It was breathtaking. The theme for our third annual Camp-in-a-Box was "Rebuild-Restore-Revive" and the camp verse was Isaiah 58:12, "...then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of home." The teaching during the camp was from the book of Nehemiah. The 40-member camp team who put on the event arrived in Port-au-Prince a few
days early and drove up to the Carmina Eddowes and Ariana Manassero - hug time
 | resort a day before the children were scheduled
to arrive. To their surprise, they were
met by fierce thunderstorms and lightning as they tried to navigate their way
on unpaved, rough mountain roads that were nearly impassable. At times, the team would have to climb out of
the large truck transport and walk on slippery, muddy, and rocky roads. The treacherous 8 km. drive, that should have
taken 30 minutes, took hours. By the
grace of God and after much prayer, the team finally arrived at the resort. At the resort, the staff was waiting with towels, hot tea and two large
blazing fireplaces. With that rousing start, we knew the rest of the camp would
be a breeze. The kids arrived the next
day with no problem and the camp moved forward (with a few Katrina painted and ready to compete  | alterations to the original schedule, due to weather issues). Campers had their typical Red, Green, Yellow and Red team sports games,
awesome teaching (led by Aaron Cameron) and worship times (led by Rocky Gunderson)
and, of course, the third annual "Haiti's Got Talent" talent show. However, the new camp venue blew the typical
"camp food" stereotype right out of the water with its non-stop gourmet Haitian/French cuisine. Despite the rain and cold weather, it was a blessed camp
experience with a few special surprises (a fireworks show the last night and a
special gift presentation to us by the camp owner as we left the resort). The kids and staff at Maison de Lumiere had an incredible time and want to thank Robert Taylor,
the camp leader, and the entire camp team for a beautiful, memorable camp
experience that will live in everyone's hearts for years to come. |
Rebuild Update
Child Hope remains very active in rebuilding/relief efforts. Right now, our top priority is relocating those who lost homes in the quake. For this effort we are renting homes for those in need, rebuilding broken and damaged homes and building new pre-fab houses for those whose homes were beyond repair. We are also directly assisting those with physical needs such as food, water, clothing and medical care. Here are a few highlights of our current relief/rebuilding efforts: Care Provided for 30 OrphansOrphans made homeless by the quake  | Recently, we found out about an orphanage of 30 orphans living under a tarp in a vacant lot. The orphanage, which originally had over 150 kids, collapsed during the quake. By the grace of God, no children were killed. The orphanage director, a Haitian pastor, sent all of the kids with relatives to their family members. 30 children remained who had no family to contact. Mostly boys under the age of 10 (there are three girls), the children live with a nanny under a makeshift tent near their old orphanage. The owner of the building they lived in is not fixing the facility so a neighbor let them live on the lot. We let them stay at Maison de Lumiere on and off but cannot accommodate them permanently. The children had not been eating so we immediately plugged them into our feeding program and added Tuesday and Thursday feedings as well. We are in the process of trying to rent a new facility for the children. Their had support at one time from an individual or church in the states but they lost contact. They have received aide from various NGOs but it has been sporadic at best. It is our prayer that another church or other group would come along side and assist these children. If you are interested in helping out, please contact us at the Child Hope office. Also, a special fund has been set up at eDivvy. New Homes Continue to be Built We just completed our third pre-fab house for a family near Carefour (near the epicenter of the quake). A team from Trinity Church in Washington state, along with our Haitian power building team, put the house together. Prior to that another house was built on the ravine by the Kings Harbor Church team. Truck Still Being Sought For Relief We are continuing to pray for a truck to assist with transporting the 30 orphans and continue our relief efforts. We have currently raised 50% of our goal. If you, your church or other group would like to help out with this effort, we would greatly appreciate your prayers and assistance. We also have a special eDivvy account set up to receive contributions. Go here to donate. |
Transition Program
 Child Hope International was recently blessed with a special
grant to launch our MDL graduate transition program. The grant allows us to better
transition our graduates out of the orphanage and into independent life. Some of the highlights of the new program include: A Graduate Starter Kit - Each MDL graduate will receive a graduate "start-up" kit which includes basic furniture and living items needed for their new home, one year's rent, food assistance, financial assistance for education or vocational training for one year and other items to help them in their first year of independent living. Micro-businesses - In that Haiti has an 80% unemployment rate, we believe many have to start their own business to survive. Each graduate from our program will learn how to start, manage and maintain a small business that
will help them to support themselves and achieve specific career goals. The business will help teach the graduate
about money, time management, the value of hard work and self-discipline. Their will also learn and apply biblical principles regarding finances. Education and Vocational Training - Some graduates will be attending special vocational training courses to help them in their career goals. Others may continue their school education and move on to more professional or advanced educational opportunities at universities or colleges. Micro-business Loans - For those seeking to launch businesses requiring additional funding, we have established a low interest micro-business loan program with very affordable re-payment options and terms. The small profit generated by these loans will help sustain an ongoing loan program. Graduates of the orphanage will be required to meet twice
weekly with orphanage staff. One meeting
will be a bible study with other MDL graduates to help deal with the challenges and temptations of independent living, to pray for
one another, to encourage and to be encouraged. The
second meeting will be with their "business coach" who will help them with the management and technical aspects of running their small business. We are excited about this new program and are seeking a
Transition Program Manager to oversee the program. Pray that the Lord sends the right individual
for the job. Pray also that the children
making this important move will be blessed, comforted, encouraged and excited
about this new phase of their lives. Please pray that their faith be strengthened and that they truly become a "Lighthouse for Jesus." |
Visiting Teams & IndividualsOne of the tremendous blessings of this year has been the incredible missions teams and individuals who have come forth to help Child Hope's efforts in Haiti. Here are just of few of those special folks who gave of their time, funds and talents to assist the people of Haiti. To see other teams that have visited The Lighthouse go to http://www.childhope.org/news/photos/photos.html.
Precious Cindy reading a book with Kathy Ireland  | Our awesome MDL School summer teacher team  | Sam Welton's Canadian Rebuild Team  | The Kings Harbor Missions Team "riding the cage" in Haiti
 | John White's Firefighters for Christ were one of the first teams to arrive at the orphanage after the earthquake.  | After the Rescued documentary aired, Soledad O'Brien returned to Haiti on a personal visit to share the Lighthouse with her daughter Sophia.
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Adriano Update
Those who have been following Child Hope International's
ministry closely know about a very special baby who has captured the hearts of
everyone who works at or has come to serve at The Lighthouse orphanage in
Haiti. His name is Adriano and he was brought to us through Ariana.
Here are her words from her blog to describe this special little child: "Adriano is a twin
and was born much weaker than his sister, Adriana. We had known him and his
family for some time now, and after a couple visits to his place, myself and a
couple others began to realize that he wasn't doing too well. His sister was
getting plump and beautiful and he was skin and bones. I think because he was
born weak, his mom thought he was gonna die, so she decided to at least take
care of his sister. Coming in and seeing the situation was so sad. After
visiting a couple of times, the little baby boy became so heavy upon my heart,
that I asked if we could take care of him and help his mom out, at least for a
couple of months. Our friend, doctor Eddie looked at him and said that he was
gonna die if something wasn't done, so we asked the mother if we could nurse
him back to health and then when he's all better, give him back to her. She
agreed and gave us her little boy. This little child has been the joy of
my life. Seeing him get better everyday, watching him grow stronger and seeing
him eat so well, has been the most amazing thing I've ever seen. He's
absolutely beautiful; he's like a little Angel that shines love wherever he
goes. Having this opportunity to be his caregiver has absolutely changed my
life...I don't even know how to describe it." That was when he first arrived. Here's what happened next... Adriano in the STATES!"Sweet little Adriano is in the States
now, getting medical treatment. After much much Ariana with her special little boy right before he left for the U.S.  | prayer and the amazing help of
our nurses at MDL, Ashley and Brooke, the Lord provided a visa for him to go.
The Lord is SO faithful! He is staying in PA with a sweet family for the next couple of months. He will
be getting surgery on his heart soon, so if you all could all be praying for
him, that would be wonderful! We're not quite sure yet when his surgery will
be, but as soon I find out I will definitely post it on here. My heart aches so much from missing him and saying goodbye was painful- but I
know that this is God's plan, and my little one, that all of us love so much,
will be back here soon." Thanks to lots of prayer, faithful servants both in Haiti and the states, and a mighty God Adriano is in the states getting surgery and treatment that will restore him to good health. Praise the Lord! |
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