Updates

Ah, it´s wonderful to have the internet back. Ok, we don´t actually have it back in our apartment, but for some reason it has started working in the Colegio Shalom office.
Here´s an update on what´s been going on this week

1. Water....the water situation has improved greatly. Quite a bit more water has started coming from the local city supply, which has eased our burden. We actually saved up enough to have a ¨water day¨on the last day of VBS...I have lots of great photos that I´ll post as soon as the internet is working quickly enough to post photos.

2. The well....the Casa Shalom well has had some cave ins and tubing issues and has not been working properly. We are extremely blessed to have received a donation from a church Virginia to fix the well. This should end our water woes once and for all!

3. VBS....we finised Casa Shalom´s vacation Bible school yesterday. The event ended with a bang....a water filled bang! Check back for photos!

Vacation Bible School - Day 1

Today was day one of Casa Shalom's Vacation Bible School! The kids sang praise and worship songs, did crafts, practiced choreography and had snacks! Photo 1: Antonio, Sarai, Cesar and Evelyn eat chicharrones (huge pork rinds) with ketchup - notice the ketchup on Sarai's nose and forehead! Photo 2: Praise and worship Photo 3: The kids practice their choreography a performance on the final day of VBS Photo 4: The kids thank South Metro Ministries for all their presents and love! Video 1: Learning choreography
Video 2: House mom Marina makes chicharrones for the kids' snack

Adoption Awareness Month

November is Adoption Awareness Month. In honor of that, please check out the video and website below - even if we can't adopt, we can make a difference in the life of an orphan!

Narrated by little Shaohannah Chapman, Steven Curtis Chapman's adopted daughter from China, the video makes us aware of the plight of orphans worldwide.




This website tells just how we can all help these precious children of God!
Cry of the Orphan

Presents for All and a Prayer Request

Tonight, the team from South Metro Ministries handed out the mountain of gifts they brought for Casa Shalom's kids. Each child got a bright, shiny bag filled with toys, candy, clothes and shoes. They were overjoyed and we loved hearing the cries of "que chilero" (how cool!) and "gracias" (thank you). Photos: 1 - Celia shows off her new orange fuzzy hat 2 - Princess Sarai wears her crown proudly 3 - Enma said, "Thanks so much - I really needed some new bracelets!" 4 - Casa Shalom's newest child, Brandon, was so excited about his teddy bear and stickers 5 - Eddy, Elias and Carlos with their Transformers 6 - Henry shows off his brand new shoes. We also have a prayer request for all those who are holding the orphanage up in prayer - For about 4 days, the water supply has been running very low. It is the dry season and most of the houses have had very small amounts of water coming out of the faucets. Not a drop of water has come from the faucet in our apartment for 4 days! Today, the water in the entire home completely ran out. We are currently hauling water from the local community tap in 55-gallon drums, but this water's quality is suspect at best. This problem stems from a lack of rain, which causes local farmers to use the city's water supply for their crops. This in turn creates a lack of water for the surrounding area, and the orphanage and nearby neighborhood are feeling the effects. Yesterday, many of the boys walked to the community water spigot, stripped down to their underwear and lathered up with soap. They weren't the least bit concerned about bathing right out in the open. All of us don't have that luxury, so please pray that the Lord will bring a quick end to our H2O issues!

Friday's Featured Child

This Friday's Featured Child is Rosendo. Rosendo came to Casa Shalom a few years ago and is part of our largest sibling group at the home - his 3 brothers also live here. Rosendo is 11-years-old and enjoys hunting for bugs on Casa Shalom's property. He also likes to draw and play marbles with his friends. Rosendo says that one day, he would like to work at Casa Shalom as a security guard so he can keep the children safe.

Rosendo and his brothers are at Casa Shalom because they were taken away from their family by the government. Rosendo and his family lived in one of Guatemala City's primary garbage dumps and the family made their living by sifting through the trash for items to sell. After arriving at Shalom, the staff had to work hard to teach all 4 boys not to dig in the garbage - they were so used to surviving this way that it was a difficult habit to break!

If you would like to help Casa Shalom provide Rosendo with nutritious food, school supplies, medicine, clothes and shoes, please contact us at TheHansonsinGuatemala@gmail.com

In other news, a group from South Metro Ministries in Atlanta arrived yesterday and will spend the next 6 days ministering to the children. Tonight, they held a pizza party for the kids and the kids ate until they were more than full - Tony, 2 and half, ate 3 pieces of pizza!

And tomorrow night, the group will be handing out bags with some special pre-Christmas presents for the kids....but shhhhhh, don't tell - it's a surprise for the kids!