Please pray for Jessica and her dad, Rick, this week, as tonight, they are leaving for Peru. After landing in Lima on Tuesday, they'll immediately catch a plane to Cuzco, which will serve as their base before they leave to hike the Inca Trail on Friday! The 4-day hike will certainly be a challenge, but will be exciting and rewarding, and will end at Machu Piccu, seen left. Please pray Rick and Jessica's safety, health, and stamina as they climb to a maximum altitude of 14,000 feet!
Casa Shalom received 5 new kids today! Clinton, left, came to Casa Shalom this morning from Antigua, where he'd been abandoned by his grandfather. He'd been living there on the streets for nearly a year. He'll be living in the Luceros house. 
We have begun a big renovation project at Casa Shalom - we are remodeling the gymasium, which was built with a huge, concrete platform taking up half of the floor space. This kept the room from actually being used as a gym, so we've installed bars on the inside of the windows, and are in the process of breaking up and removing the concrete stage and the dirt underneath. This coming week, a missions team from Florida will paint the gym, pour a new (flat) concrete floor, and install brand-new soccer goals and basketball hoops. The renovation comes just in time for the rainy season!
At Casa Shalom, kids like Colim prepare for their future by working in the home's chicken farm, bakery, or garden. Along with receiving a solid primary and high school education, the kids learn life skills that they can use to make a living when they leave the orphanage as adults.
Mother's Day 2010 - a group of boys and girls cooked a lovely Mother's Day dinner for the house mothers and other ladies of Casa Shalom.
We'd like to thank the Men's Bible class from the First Baptist Church in Snyder, Texas for sending down a large donation of Spanish books to Colegio Shalom! Their donation is a big help, as we are trying to develop a love for reading among Casa Shalom's kids. Here, Julio reads one of the donated books.
Meet Casa Shalom's newest residents: Brandon, 16, Marlon, 13, Juan Carlos, 10, and Vivian, 9. A few days ago, the siblings were rescued from the dump in Guatemala City, where they have lived since their mother was murdered on Christmas day 2009. In the dump, the kids searched for food to eat and items to sell. We are excited to be able to care for the 4 children and to give them a whole new future. Please keep the children in prayer as they transition to life at Casa Shalom and school at Colegio Shalom. We will be searching for sponsors for the kids, so if you are interested in helping Casa Shalom care for one or more of the children, please email us at 
TheHansonsinGuatemala@gmail.com
The beginning of the rainy season has come to Guatemala, and now is the perfect time to plant our new garden! A local agricultural business donated a few vegetable cuttings so we can start with already-growing plants. We planted the veggies, and will be sowing the rest of the garden in the coming week!
