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| Child Hope International | February 2011 |
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Thank you, Jesus!
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Greetings in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, who is the same yesterday, today and forever!
We are very excited to see all that God is doing in 2011 - First and foremost, seeing the Spirit of God moving in the lives of the children at the Light House is incredible. We have seen tremendous spiritual fruit and maturity in the last year that is awe inspiring.
This March, we will experience our first Haiti Celebration Dinner, an opportunity to bring together the family of Child Hope to celebrate all that God is doing. It is special in that we seldom see the people who are praying and supporting the ministry together in one venue. Wow!
The growth and development of our Transition Program is another new and exciting area of promise. Through this program we are seeing the young men and women who grew up at the Light House become independent adults -- not just surviving but becoming active contributing members of society and a beacon of light for Jesus Christ.
Also in March, we will see the grand opening of our new guest house and expanded girls home -- thus allowing us to take-in more at-risk girls and allowing for expanded mission teams.
God is revealing a mighty movement of His Spirit in Haiti! It is our prayer that His hand move across this island nation with a fury that transforms hearts and minds for the glory of His Kingdom.
We say it often but not often enough --- Pray! Pray! Pray! and Watch! Watch! Watch! as God moves miraculously through Child Hope, through the Light House and through these very special children He loves so very much here in Haiti!
God bless you.
In Christ in Haiti, The Manasseros
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Transition Program Update
One of our most exciting new programs at Child Hope is our Transition Program. Thanks to a grant from Haiti Youth Relief Fund (HYRF), this dynamic new program is allowing us to better prepare and
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Matt, Emillian and Willie B. and some of their furniture projects
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orient MDL graduates. Entering into independent life in Haiti is not easy with 80% unemployment and a host of other challenges for any young man or women. The goal of the program is four-fold: establish and build upon a strong Christ-centered foundation; learn how to operate a micro-business; develop a trade or vocation and establish solid life skills (personal finances, self direction and becoming a strong contributing member of a community.) Matt Littles is the manager of the program and is actively working with our recent 2010 graduates (Willie B., Emillian, Schneider and Israel) as well as up-and-coming graduates. All our graduates are very busy through the transition. Schneider is an employee of Maison de Lumiere, who, along with house mom Cindy Ahrensen, helps care for the youngest residents of our boys home. He also goes to school full-time. Israel, who has his own apartment, is taking care of his mother and is also a full-time student , is working on developing an electronics business. Willie B. and Emillian are learning furniture making and reside at the Center. Their business is already making a profit and has a backlog of product orders. Matt has regular meetings with all the kids which also includes business classes, life-skills classes, goal-making, hands-on vocational skills training and development, bible studies and devotionals. "Helping Haitian youth to become positive members of society (both spiritually and professionally) is one of the things I'm most excited about," said Matt. "Christ calls us to not only meet the spiritual needs of the needy, but to help meet their physical needs as well. Having the opportunity to work, provide for their families, and have a venue in which to live out their ministry is one of the greatest needs I see for Christian young people in Haiti. I'm excited to see that, as we begin to exam opportunities for the future, they learn to trust more in God's provision for their future." Thanks to the HYRF grant, we have been able to rent a home that is our Vocational Training Center. The Center has vocational training equipment that allows the young people hands-on experience to learn and perfect their vocational skills. It also serves as a place to host classes, bible studies and serve as a temporarily home for some of the graduates. Currently, the Center is in the process of acquiring tools and equipment for the following businesses: Furniture Making, Silk Screening, Sewing, a Bakery, Portable Electronics repair, Internet and Computer Sciences.  | |
Jeremy Whatley
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Matt will be joined, at the end of March, by Jeremy Whatley, an entrepreneur/small businessman, mechanic, electrician, plumber, welder, computer programmer, solar installer and farmer, to assist with training and mentoring. We look forward to the exciting developments ahead and toward seeing our young men and women grow in their faith and skills as they seek to impact their world for Christ.
Please join us in prayier for Matt and Jeremy, our recent and upcoming graduates. 2010 Graduates - Schneider, Israel, Willie B and Emillian. 2011 Graduates (August 2011) - Semy, Jeff, Anderson, Jonas and Patrick.
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New Guest House - Open for Business in March!
Thanks to the unwavering dedication and hard work of Chad Youngquist and his band of mighty men (and women) the new Guest House is nearly completed. Chad Youngquist, a builder from Washington State, took on the ominous task of completing the construction of our new Guest House. Over the course of nearly five weeks, Chad coordinated five visiting work teams that took on electrical, plumbing, construction, carpentry, painting and a host of other detail-oriented tasks to see the new Guest House through completion. Although he was not able  | | Chad taking charge of the situation |
to see the final finished product, he completed 85% of the major tasks necessary to get the home operable before he had to go back to Washington. The final work is being completed by our dear friend Angelo and a host of skilled Haitian workers and friends. We hope the first mission teams will be utilizing the guest house as early as March. The new guest house makes it possible for us to expand our girls home into our old guest house. We will now be able to take in more girls and provide expanded living quarters and growing space for our girls. The old girls home will become a staff house for short- and long-term missionaries. Please pray that this effort allows us to provide refuge for the most needy of young girls and that the Lord directs our efforts to minister and share the love and hope of Jesus Christ more effectively. |
Haiti Celebration Dinner - Registration Deadline - March 1st
The deadline to reserve seats for the Celebration Dinner is March 1st. If you are interested in attending, please make sure you book your reservation before March 1, 2011.
This dinner is an opportunity for individuals, churches and families who have been a part of Child Hope's efforts in Haiti, and even those who have not, to come together for this very special time of celebration and gratitude for all God has done and continues to do in Haiti.
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Kathy Ireland
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 Bill and Susette Manassero will be sharing much about what has been happening in the ministry, their personal
trials, as well as the miracles experienced since the earthquake and in the lives of the kids that make up the Light House. Other special friends will also share how the ministry has impacted their lives, including Kathy Ireland. You may sign-up to attend online or by mailing in a donation for $75 per seat to Haiti Celebration Dinner, P.O. Box 3677, Redondo Beach, CA 90277 or by calling 888-808-9595. We hope you can make it.
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 | | Mika in Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
Mika Book
We are very excited to announced the publication of a very special new childrens book written by Brittany Volpei and illustrated by Neal Parrow. The fictional book tells the story of a little Haitian girl - Mika - who ends up on the streets of Port-au-Prince and is rescued by the Light House orphanage. Brittany Volpei, the author of the story, has never been to Haiti but is very familiar with the ministry through her father and sister who have visited. She also knows Brittany Meadth (formerly Brittany Bohlinger) who attended her church, Reality Ventura, in California. Brittany Meadth is a featured character in the story as the one instrumental in rescuing little Mika. This very sweet story is based on real life accounts of some of the children at the Light House. It tells of how Mika's mother dies and how she is sent to live with her grandmother in the countryside. Unfortunately, Mika's grandmother becomes ill and can no longer care for Mika so she sends her to live with her aunt in Port-au-Prince. The aunt, unfortunately, is not a nice person and puts her out on the streets to beg for money, to "earn her way." On the streets of Port-au-Prince, desperate and alone, she encounters Brittany Meadth who takes her to Child Hope's Light House orphanage. The story has a beautiful ending and is an excellent way to share the plight of Haiti's children in an inspiring way for young children. The book is beautifully illustrated by Neal Parrow, an enormously talented artist, who is also known as the artist who painted Jesus' image at the Light House's "Ben's" soccer and sports center. The book will be available for the first time at the Celebration Dinner on March 13th. It is also available online at littleonesofnations.com. |
The New 2011 Child Hope Calendars Are Here!
 Our new 2011 Child Hope calendars are now available and ready to order for quick delivery online. Featuring recent photos of the children at Maison de Lumiere orphanage, listing their birthdays, Haitian holidays and Child Hope events, these popular calendars are a great way to remember to lift up the children in prayer and praise God for the good work He is doing in and through Child Hope.
To order online just click here.
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Recent Visiting Teams
Here are just of a few of our recent wonderful visiting teams to the Light House.
 | | A team from Ireland and the house they built for a needy ravine family. |
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Upcoming Events
Feb 19-26 - World Vision team
March 5-12 - Ranch Church (CA)/Hillcrest Covenant Church (KS)
March 13 - Haiti Celebration Dinner - Long Beach, California
March 19-26 - Reality L.A. Church/UCLA Team (CA)
July 28 - August 6 - Camp-in-a-Box
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Contact Info
Stephanie Smolkin Financial (sponsor payments, donations) accounting@childhope.org
Jessica Selga General information, Internships, Donations Jessica@childhope.org
Lucas Simmons Missions Teams, Guest House, Web Site Lucas@childhope.org
Child Hope International P.O. Box 3677 Redondo Beach, CA 90277 888-808-9595 info@childhope.org
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