Saturday, May 29, 2010

Guys Love to Break Stuff



Last week we tore out the stage in our gym and put in a new floor that is flat all the way across. The goal was to make a place for our kids to play during the rainy season. We were blessed to have a team from Florida at Shalom to help us out. It was a lot of hard work but anytime 10 guys get together and get to tear stuff up with sledge hammers, shovels, a Bobcat and a dump truck, its guaranteed to be a good time!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Never A Lack Of Things To Do.


Last week Casa Shalom was blessed to have a group from Florida for the week. The group spent time with the kids at Shalom, served breakfast to the kids in Rio Bravo and helped with several projects at Shalom. One of things that the group did was paint the outside of our gym and paint the inside of our cafeteria. Thanks guys for being such a blessing!





Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Victor and Hector


Victor and his house dad Hector take a break after working on the gym one afternoon.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Going to Peru

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!
They will also be delivering a donation made by the congregation of Maranatha Church for a feeding /child ministry center in Lima.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Tony thinks his friend Jorge is a horsey!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

5 new blessings!

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.

This evening, siblings Raquel, Yulisa, Josue, and their cousin Lester came to Casa Shalom from Guatemala City. After being declared insane, their mother tried to commit suicide and then tried to murder the children.



Since then, the kids have been living with their grandfather, but he's not able to care for them. We are happy to have a chance to care for these precious little ones!



Yulisa is 4









Raquel is 6











Josue is 3















Lester is 5.







Saturday, May 15, 2010

Under construction

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!



The Casa Shalom boys have already been hard at work on the renovations.
























Friday, May 14, 2010

Giovanni takes a break from his after-school chores to stop and smell the roses!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Preparing for the future

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.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Mother's Day

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.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Waltercito


Please keep little Waltercito, 3, in your thoughts and prayers. Yesterday, he fell off his tricycle and broke his arm. He will be in the hopsital until at least Monday, when it will be determined if he needs surgery.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

New books

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.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

New arrivals

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

Casa Shalom is blessed to have a storeroom of clothes and shoes that have been donated by short-term missions teams, and both Guatemalan and North American churches. The kids arrived with very old, stained clothing and borrowed cheap, plastic sandals, but we were able to outfit them with new clothes and new tennis shoes. The children were so excited to receive these things. Thanks to all who have donated these items!

Monday, May 3, 2010

Sowing

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!


























Sunday, May 2, 2010

ORI


A few days ago, Casa Shalom received a big donation of food from a group called Orphan Resources International (ORI). ORI helps resource 44 oprhanages in Guatemala, and once per month, brings a donation of staples like rice, beans, milk, sugar and cleaning supplies. ORI is one of the many groups that helps Casa Shalom function - check out their website today: http://www.orphanresources.org/