A preview

Here's a preview of the Tikal photos to come:

Waltercito, Alex, Yefri and Cesar in front of one of the pyramids at the famous Mayan ruins.

Carousel

While at the mall to see Toy Story 3 a few days ago, Casa Shalom's small kids got a chance to ride a carousel for the first time! Left - the little kids and Mr. Bird from the Minnesota missions team, wait for their chance to ride the carousel.

Some of them loved it right away, but some of them like Linda, right, weren't so excited at first.

Yuliza loved her white horsey.

Cesar and Raquel were all smiles.

Little Josue had a blast.

Anggie waves to everyone watching her

We have arrived safe and sound from our big trip to Tikal! The kids had a blast, and so did the group from Minnesota. Everyone is exhausted, but so happy to have shared this experience. We will post lots of pictures from the trip in the coming days!

Road trip!

BIG Casa Shalom news: tomorrow morning at 4 a.m., we are boarding a bus headed for Peten, Guatemala to see the Mayan ruins at Tikal with a bunch of the Casa Shalom kids! This trip is a reward for those who excelled in their classes during this semester of school. The team from Life Church is providing this amazing trip..., and we can't wait to share this with them. We will return late Thursday, to be praying for all of us who are traveling! (Look for Tikal on the map above, close to the northern border with Mexico)

Helping Hands

Casa Shalom is enjoying a visit from a team from LifeChurch, in Bloomington, Minnesota. The team has been working hard, painting both the gymnasium and the inside of the baby house! A big thanks to the Minnesota team for their hard work.

Pizza party

Tonight, the Casa Shalom kids enjoyed a pizza party courtesy of Mr. Ken Anderson, who is visiting from the USA! Much thanks to Mr. Anderson for providing the pizza, and thanks to the team from Minnesota, who helped serve. The Minnesota group will spend the next few days painting in the gymnasium and in the school. Watch for photos!

A garden update

The Casa Shalom vegetable garden is absolutely loving Guatemala's rainy weather. The Casa Shalom kids are working hard, learning how to use organic fertilizers, weed, and harvest the vegetables.

Sponsorship

As you may have noticed, Casa Shalom has recently received a lot of new children! Most of these kids, like Lester, left, are still waiting for a sponsor. If you are interested in making a difference in the life of one or more of these precious little children, visit www.SponsorAChildAtCasaShalom.blogspot.com or email us at TheHansonsinGuatemala@gmail.com

Devastation

Below is a link to an article about the various natural disasters that have affected Guatemala in the past few weeks. The photos paint a powerful picture of the devastation that has affected tens of thousands in this country. Please take a moment to visit the site below.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/06/a_rough_week_for_guatemala.html

Update

We want to let everyone know that Casa Shalom is doing ok after the volcano eruption and tropical storm last week. Ash is raining down from the eruption, and a lot of rain has fallen, but the kids and staff are all in good health and safe!