The
Haiti ministry of the Manassero family actually began with
their nine year old daughter Ariana's
dream to build an orphanage in Haiti. She had a heart
for and felt God's calling to reach the Haitian people with
the gospel of Jesus Christ. Having traveled extensively with
her dad as part of his evangelical children's music ministry,
she had the opportunity to witness to children all around
the world and grew in her passion to serve the needy.
Motivated
to see the country where she already sponsored two children,
she helped organize a Haiti missions team with her church,
King's Harbor Church in Redondo Beach, California. It was
on that missions team visit that Ariana and her parents encountered
a very special group of children at an orphanage for street
children. They were deeply touched by these "forgotten children"
of Haiti.
Returning
to America, they felt they had left a part of their hearts
in the troubled island nation of Haiti. Shortly after arriving
home, a series of incidents triggered an emergency return
visit to Haiti to help rescue the same street children whose
orphanage they had visited on their missions trip. Their return
visit confirmed the need and God's calling for them to serve
as a family in Haiti. The vision was further revealed to the
Manasseros that these rejected and forgotten children would
one day rise up to become the next generation of Christian
leaders in Haiti -- rising up to one day be used by God to
usher in revival.
It
was from that vision that the name of the orphanage was bore
- Maison de Lumiere or The Light House. That these children
would be like lighthouses to all of Haiti -- sharing the Gospel
and shining the light of Jesus Christ throughout the nation.
The
Manassero family moved to Haiti to run the orphanage in August
of 2004. To do so, they sold everything they had and headed
for this new adventure with much prayer and a truckload of
faith. Today, Maison de Lumiere consists of two separate facilities-
a home for boys and a home for girls. Together, over 40 children
now reside at the orphanage. We also care for two nonresident
children.
