Officials Say some Christian missionaries kidnapped in shocking attack in Haiti are still alive

By
Monica Pop
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On October 16, 2021, 17 Christian missionaries associated with Christian Aid Ministries (CAM), based in Ohio, have been kidnapped in Haiti after returning from an orphanage. The missionaries, both from the U.S. and Canada, made up of Amish, Mennonite and other Anabaptist Christians, are believed to still be alive. Five of them are children aged 15, 14, 6, 3 and 8 months.

The people behind the kidnapping are the members of the notorious gang 400 Mawozo who are known for killing, kidnapping, and extortion.

The gang’s leader, Wilson Joseph, asked ransom of $17 million, one million per person.

“The demand was made to the country chief of the Christian Aid Ministries — they asked for $1 million per person,” Justice Minister Liszt Quitel told The New York Times.

“Often these gangs know these demands cannot be met and they will consider a counteroffer from the families, and the negotiations can take a couple of days sometimes, or a couple of weeks.”

If not given what they are asking for, the gang was reported to have said they would put a bullet in the head of each of the missionaries.

The friends and the families of the kidnapped members of CAM are praying for their loved ones to be brought back home safe and sound.

CAM released a statement saying, “It is now the 24th day of this crisis, and our workers and loved ones are still being held hostage in Haiti.

“We, along with government authorities, continue to work hard to bring them home safely. This is our heartfelt desire, but we want to surrender to God’s plan and timing.

“The families of the hostages continue to face long days of waiting for news about their loved ones. The hostages no doubt face long days as well, wondering when they might be released.”

“Your prayers have been a lifeline of hope and encouragement for the families, for us at CAM, and no doubt for the hostages during the past several weeks. Keep praying!”

We all hope for a positive outcome and wait for the missionaries to return home.

Teacher adopts a student whose mom loses battle with cancer

By
Monica Pop
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Life is unpredictable. We never know what the new day will bring and what obstacles would come on the way.

Jean Manning from Florida was a single mother of a boy with Down Syndrome named Jack. Unfortunately, Jean had cancer and was forced to move to Massachusetts in order to get the medical care she needed. That meant that her son needed to change schools.

Jean was worried at first because she assumed that Jack would have a hard time adapting to the new place. Luckily, the teacher at the new school, Kerry Bremer, helped Jake a lot. Over time, she grew fond of the boy.

As Jean was undergoing chemo treatments, Kerry couldn’t help but wonder what would happen to Jake if his mom lost the battle with the cancer. After giving it a lot of thought, she spoke to her husband and asked him what he thought of welcoming Jack in case his mom passes. He loved the idea of stepping in and Kerry told Jean that her son would be at a safe and loving place if the worst happens to her.

Source: WCVB

“Kerry Bremer came to Jeanie as an angel on earth and stepped up and offered to bring Jake into her family of five should Jeanie’s cancer win,” one of Jean’s friends, Cheryl, said.

Jean was relieved to hear that, because at that stage, her cancer progressed and her future was uncertain.

Then one day, after taking a nap following a chemo treatment, Jean never woke up.

Needless to say, Jake was devastated to lose his mother, but he was aware she was now in Heaven where there is no pain.

Source: WCVB

Even when his mom was alive, Jake spent a lot of time with Kerry’s family so he didn’t have a hard time adapting to his new life.

“We shared our boy and she will live on here in this house,” Kerry said.

We are so glad there are still people like Kerry out there. She gave one special boy a home and that’s not something many people would do.

Kyle Rittenhouse testifies at his own trial making admission he knew first victim was unarmed when he shot him

By
Monica Pop
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On the night of August 25, 2020, then 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse killed two people and wounded one. For some reason, he decided to leave his home in Antioch, Illinois, and head to Kenosha, Wisconsin, to be part of the armed group of people who claimed that gathered in order to protect businesses from the rioters protesting against the police in the shooting of Jacob Blake.

Blake was a black man who was left paralyzed from the waist down after a police officer shot him four times.

This incident took place some three months after the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The shooting of Blake only added fuel to the fire and made people even more angry at the police, which resulted in the riots.

Source: Getty Images

After he decided not to speak of the night of the killing, Rittenhouse now testified at his own trial, claiming he only shot two of the rioters and injured another one because he was trying to protect himself. He, however, carried a rifle and a medical kit when he left home.

The previous night, a car dealership owner claimed that rioters caused him $1.5 million in arson damage, and according to Rittenhouse he only went to Kenosha to prevent anything similar from happening.

When asked what he was doing there with a rifle, Rittenhouse answered, “So, people are getting injured, and our job is to protect this business. Part of my job is also to help people. If there is somebody hurt, I’m running into harm’s way. That’s why I have my rifle, because I have to protect myself, obviously. I also have my med kit.”

According to Rittenhouse, he encountered one of his victims, Joseph Rosenbaum, prior to killing him. Apparently, late Rosenbau told Rittenhouse, “If I catch any of you f**kers alone, I’ll f**king kill you.”

After that, the two met again after Rosenbau “ambushed” Rittenhouse at a parking lot. Speaking of this encounter, Rittenhouse, who is now facing charges of first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree recklessly endangering safety, first-degree intentional homicide, and attempted-first degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon, broke in tears at the court.

He then claimed that he heard someone telling Rosenbau to get him and kill him. “I remember his hand on the barrel of my gun,” Rittenhouse said. After that, he shot Rosenbay dead.

What followed was Rittenhouse getting on the ground and another unarmed man approaching him. “I thought if I were to be knocked out, he would have stomped my face in if I didn’t fire,” the defendant said. 26-year-old Anthony Huber hit Rittenhouse with a skateboard and tried taking his rifle from his arms, but he got shot, just like his friend.

After confessing all this, Rittenhouse said he didn’t do anything wrong. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I defended myself,” he told the court.

He also said that he was aware his victims were unarmed, and added, “He was chasing me, I was alone, he threatened to kill me earlier that night. I didn’t want to have to shoot him. I pointed it at him because he kept running at me and I didn’t want him to chase me.

“If I would have let Mr. Rosenbaum take my firearm from me, he would have used it and killed me with it and probably killed more people if I would have let him get my gun.”

Rittenhouse’s lawyers called for a mistrial.

Judge Schroeder accused the lead prosecutor Thomas Binger of violating pre-trial rulings on introducing evidence he had previously ruled not relevant to the trial. Those evidence involve a footage of the teenager talking about shooting men he believed were shoplifting. The video was taken two weeks prior to the Kenosha killings.

“Don’t get brazen with me,” Judge Schroeder told Binger. “You know very well that an attorney can’t go into these types of areas when the judge has already ruled without asking outside the presence of the jury to do so.”

Binger answered that he was acting in good faith to which the judge replied, “When you say you were acting in good faith, I don’t believe you.”

One thing is certain, this trial caught the attention of the public and we are yet to witness the outcome.

Mourning mom sells stillborn baby’s crib for $2: A week later, buyer returns it transformed

By
Monica Pop
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Expecting a baby has to be one of the best feelings in the world. Just thinking of the happy times that follow with the birth of that bundle of joy causes excitement at the parents-to-be.

A woman named Valerie Watts was looking forward to seeing her baby’s face, but her happiness and heart were crushed when she gave birth to a stillborn baby boy.

Her pregnancy was developing great throughout the whole time, but then, all of a sudden, that changed.
“All week, I knew,” Watts reflected. “He wasn’t moving as much. I was very nervous.”
Baby Noah’s umbilical cord become pinched in the womb, and his life ended before it even started. Watts couldn’t get over the sadness. Although her baby didn’t make it, she wasn’t ready to part with the crib she bought for him, and keeping it home was a reminder of the tragedy that struck her.
FOX9
She was kind of hesitant,” Gerald Kumpula recalled. “I knew that maybe she didn’t want to sell it, but yet, she did.” Kumpula lived a few miles away and had a workshop on the outskirt of Cokato. When he spotted the crib at the Watts family garage sale, he was interested in buying it although it wasn’t on sale.
FOX9
“When he asked me if I was selling that, that he made benches, I hesitated,” Watts admitted.
Back then, Kumpulas didn’t know the story behind that crib.
“His wife was there looking through my garage sale — at some of the baby clothes — and asked how old my son was since I don’t use the crib anymore, and I told her that he had passed in July,” Watts explained.
Kumpulas knew that crib belonged to the Watts family, so after he transformed it, he decided to return it back .
“I started crying instantly,” Watts said.
The bench that Kumpulas made out of the crib is a reminder of the sad times, but it also stands as a symbol of comfort for the mourning parents.

Check the video below:

Please SHARE this story with your family and friends on Facebook! Love and Peace

Alec Baldwin calls for police officers on movie sets after “Rust” shooting

By
Monica Pop
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The tragic shooting during the filming of the movie Rust in which cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed triggered many actors and others involved in the film industry to speak out of the need of police officers monitoring the safety on set.

Actor Alec Baldwin was in a scene in which he was supposed to fire a shot towards the camera using a prop gun when a real bullet was fired and it ended with Hutchins, who was a wife and a mother, losing her life on the way to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque.

Her husband, Matt Hutchins, asked for privacy and said that he spoke to Baldwin who was very supportive.

He shared three photos of his late wife in which she is seen smiling in the company of her son. “Halyna inspired us all with her passion and vision, and her legacy is too meaningful to encapsulate in words,” he tweeted.

According to Hutchins’ father, her 9-year-old son Andros didn’t speak for two days when he learned that his mother was killed on set. “Andros was incredibly close to his mother and fell silent when told she was dead,” the father told The Sun. “Matt was really worried because the boy withdrew into himself and couldn’t say a word for two days.”

After the accident, Baldwin released a statement. “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours. I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.”

LA Times reported that prior to the fatal shot, a group of camera crew workers walked off set because safety protocols weren’t strictly followed. Camera operator Lane Luper was among those who left and was reported saying, “This set was unsafe simply because they didn’t have the wherewithal to follow safety rules that we have in this industry that we’ve been following for decades,” as per Sky News.

Now, reports are that Alec Baldwin has been sued by a crew member for negligence.

Source: GoFundMe

As the investigation is still ongoing, Baldwin calls for police officers to monitor weapon safety on movie sets. The actor tweeted, “Every film/TV set that uses guns, fake or otherwise, should have a police officer on set, hired by the production, to specifically monitor weapons safety.” Other celebrities joined him in his request, including Dwayne Johnson.

The New Mexico police said that they haven’t ruled out bringing criminal charges over the shooting.

The producers of Rust, including Baldwin himself, wrote in a statement, “The safety of our cast and crew is the top priority of Rust Productions and everyone associated with the company.

“Though we were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set, we will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down.

“We will continue to cooperate with the Santa Fe authorities in their investigation and offer mental health services to the cast and crew during this tragic time.”

We are deeply saddened by this awful tragedy which could have been avoided if safety measures were strictly followed.

Brave Yorkie mix fends off a coyote to save her 10-year-old owner

By
Monica Pop
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Dogs are the best friends a person can have. What makes these animals so special is their loyalty towards their owners.

The saying that dogs love their humans more than they love themselves turned out to be true once again. Well, it’s not like we ever doubted that, but still, stumbling upon stories in which canines have the main role and show their love and loyalty are always heartwarming.

Macy is a six-year-old Yorkie mix from Scarborough, Toronto. She lives with a loving family and has a 10-year-old human sister who enjoys spending time with her dog. One day, while taking a walk, Macy and the girl came across a coyote.

Source: GoFundMe

Despite being much smaller compared to the wild animal, Macy didn’t hesitate before standing between it and the girl. As the coyote attacks the girl, Macy starts barking without stopping. Eventually, the coyote runs away, leaving Macy severely injured.

The owner, Dorothy Kwan, shared the video of the attack and told blogTO, “You can see our dog putting herself between my daughter and the coyote. Even after she was seriously injured, she continued to bark and chase the coyote away. She fought back.”

Luckily, Macy was rushed to the emergency animal hospital where she received the so much needed medical care. She needed to undergo a surgery as well.

Source: GoFundMe

“My heart is breaking for both my little one and our dog whom we rescued 5 years ago. I’m a single mom of two and my children and our dog mean everything to me,” Dorothy added.

Because of the huge medical expenses, the family set up a GoFundMe page. Currently, around $38,000 have been raised, which is almost double the initial goal.

At the time, Macy is doing fine and is recovering from the injuries.

“Her fever is gone and she’s got her appetite back,” Dorothy wrote. “I am so very proud of her. No coyotes will want to mess with her when she comes home. My feisty girl is a true fighter. I love you so very much. You can do this!”

Source: GoFundMe

We wish this brave little dog a fast recovery.

Below is the video of Macy’s heroic act. Before you continue have in mind that some viewers may find it disturbing.

Grandparents have no idea their son had twins

By
Monica Pop
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0

A new baby isn’t only a blessing for the parents, but for the entire family. These sweet bundles of joy spread happiness and smiles, and everyone is eager to hold them.

The grandparents from this cute story knew that their son and his wife were expecting a baby, but they had no idea they welcomed twins.

Due to the current coronavirus restriction when no social contact has been allowed and the visitations have been limited to none, the proud parents decided to keep it a secret that they had two babies instead of one and then surprise everyone.

In the video below, we see the father presenting the baby to his parents. They are overly excited and can’t get their eyes off of the little one, but then, he enters the place once again holding the other baby in his arms.

Needles to say, they are surprised beyond belief. The proud grandma even asks if he’s holding a real baby.

This is definitely something you don’t want to miss. What a surprise! You can see the cute reaction in the video below.

Girl, 11, survives shooting by playing dead after ex-marine kills her family

By
Monica Pop
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0

Bryan Riley, an ex-marine now charged with four counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder, and seven counts of attempted first-degree murder on a law enforcement officer, claimed that God talked to him and told him that a girl named Amber was attempting suicide.

So, just after he convinced himself that God had sent him a message, Riley approached a Florida man named Justice Gleason, who was moving the lawn, and told him about Amber. Gleason said there was no one by the name Amber who lived in the house and asked Riley to leave, not knowing that he would later return and kill almost everyone in the house.

Riley got angry with Gleason and left home. He then told his girlfriend about the incident and when she told him he couldn’t possibly speak to God, his answer was “There’s no room for doubters in my life,” as quoted by The Sun.

When his girlfriend went to bed, Riley got dressed in full body armor, took his weapon and headed to Gleason’s house at about 4:30 am. Once there, he shot Gleason’s girlfriend’s mother and went on to kill Gleason, his girlfriend Theresa Lanham, 33, and their 3-month-old baby.

Riley then turned to Gleason’s 11-year-old daughter and asked her to tell him where Amber was. When she said there was no Amber in the house, he shot her in the stomach and then proceeded in firing at her multiple times until he believed she was dead.

Riley eventually surrendered. When officers entered the house, they noticed the girl was still alive. She was rushed to the hospital and was treated for the severe gunshots she sustained. Luckily, she survived.

“She did tell some of her relatives, who told us how she did survive. She said, ‘I played dead and I prayed,'” said Sheriff Grady Judd.

When they asked the shooter why he did what he did, his answer was, “the guy on the lawnmower made me really really mad, so I decided to put an ops plan together, and you know when you put an ops plan together, you have to kill everyone.”

Source: GoFundMe

A GoFundMe page was set up to help the 11-year-old girl who was forced to suffer an unspeakable tragedy and lose all her family.

“There is a confirmed amount of 11 gun shot wounds most are below the waist and a broken leg. She also has some damage to her pinky finger and her big toe,” the page says. “Even through this tragedy, somehow this little girl still manages to smile.”

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