A special birthday boy

Today is a very special day for Casa Shalom child Martin Cox Garcia - today is his 14th birthday! In some ways, Martin is just like any other teen boy; he loves pizza, doesn't shower quite often enough, and is a sports fanatic. But unlike other teen boys, Martin asked for some pretty strange birthday presents. He wanted a Biblical Concordance, a study Bible, and a Bible dictionary! You see, Martin has a call to be a preacher, which is a miracle given his background. Martin and his brothers are indigenous Guatemala Indians, and Martin's grandfather was their village's Mayan priest. Before coming to Casa Shalom, the boys saw animal sacrifices and ritual blood lettings, and Martin was in line to become the next village shaman! But when he came to Casa Shalom, he accepted Jesus as his Savior and got a call to preach. He takes his calling very seriously, which is why he already spends much time in prayer and Bible study, and why he wanted such atypical birthday presents!

Casa Shalom on Facebook

We have just uploaded a whole brand-new photo album on Casa Shalom's Facebook page! The photos are of last month's 2-day camp at Florencia park. To check out the whole album, click here: Casa Shalom on Facebook

Camp photos

Last month, a team from Maranatha Church in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and Gates of Praise Church of God, held a 2-day camp for the kids of Casa Shalom. During their trip, they also made s'mores at a night-time bonfire, played lots of games with the kids, and passed out shoes, clothes, socks and underwear to each child. Here a few photos from the trip!

Tony was really excited about his superman underwear!

Abby loved her new pants.

Even baby Mynor got some new clothes - a Florida Gators football jersey!

Jorge was happy about a new shirt.

And Yuliza liked her new pants.

The night of the bonfire, the teen boys found a big lizard, which Vinicio walked around with on his head all night.

Team member David roasts marshmallows.

Andrea enjoyed several s'mores!

So did Victor.

Look out highways, here they come! Thanks to a donation from supporters in the USA, some of our oldest teens are getting a chance to receive their driver’s licenses. This is a big accomplishment for a Guatemalan teenager, and will help many of our young adults as they continue on to higher education. Cesar Antonio, right, is studying to be a mechanic and his newly-obtained driver’s license will help him achieve his goals!

We are in the process of brightening up the walls of Colegio Shalom with some brand-new murals! A professional painter is in the process of painting big, bright shapes on the walls of the school.

The girls were excited to receive new headbands and hair clips from the team from Tennessee that is visiting Casa Shalom.Thanks to Anthony and Caleb for the many ways in which they've blessed the kids of Casa Shalom.

Tikal photos

On Casa Shalom's Facebook page, we have uploaded a whole album with pictures from last month's trip to Tikal! To see the 80+ photos click the link here: Casa Shalom Facebook page

@Casa Shalom

Casa Shalom's July newsletter is packed with photos, info and updates on all that is happening at the orphanage. To access it, click on this link: @Casa Shalom, or you can always access the latest newsletter via link on the left side of this blog!

Castillo San Felipe

Here are some photos of part of last month's trip to Tikal with the team from LifeChurch in Bloomington, Minnesota. These photos are from the San Felipe Castle, which was built by the Spaniards in 1651 to protect Guatemala's coast from pirates. On day 1 of the trip to Tikal, we spent several hours exploring the castle and swimming in Lake Izabal, on which the castle is located.























Ada looks down from one of the castle's many bell towers











Clinton, being a curious boy, gets to know the business end of a (non-functioning) cannon.










That's better!
















Alejandro and Clinton squeeze through some of the castle's narrow tunnels.













Cesar

















One of the castle's dining rooms















Well-worn steps
















Enma entertains little Jennifer Denis


















Santos acting cool











Cesar, Yefri and Alex - little boys love to hunt for seashells and snails!








Cool down time in Lake Izabal