A birthday party gone to the dogs

Last night, we held a special birthday party. Guests included both people and some of Casa Shalom's favorite pets. Between yesterday and the day before, we had lots of birthday boys and girls. Here's a list -

Ana -7 years Maria (the director's daughter) - 16 years Alejandro - 14 years Max - 14 years Walter (house dad to the teen boys)- we didn't feel it was polite to ask Our dog Burrito - 1 year To celebrate these birthdays, we threw a hot dog cookout and invited everyone at Casa Shalom! The kids and pets chowed down on lots of hot dogs and chips and had a great time!

Photos - 1 - The boys help set up for the party by hauling benches
2 - Our dog Burrito wears a party hat made for him by some of the kids
3 - Cesar helps man the grill 4 - Santos, Benjamin, Wilson and Edwin

5 - Birthday boy Alejandro and his dog Spike 6 - Birthday girl Maria and her dog Snoopy

Baby house

We wanted to share with you some news regarding the baby house, so you can be praying with us. The house parents we had working full-time in the baby house had to leave Casa Shalom for personal reasons. We are praying that the Lord will send a Godly married couple to care for the orphanage's littlest children. We ask that you please pray with us that a set of house parents will be found as quickly as possible! Until then, the rest of the staff is taking turns caring for the children.

Great leaps

Check out this great video of Victor, 7, attempting to do a back flip off of a tree stump!

Tikal

We have returned home safely from our trip to Peten, in northern Guatemala. There, we visited two national parks to see ruins of Guatemala's indigenous Mayan culture. During our two day trip, we first visited the ruins at Quirigua, below. The elaborately carved monoliths display Mayan carvings and writings. In photo 3, you can see the Mayan system of writing, which used pictures instead of letters. Photo 4 is of a carvings of a giant snake's head!

We also visited the ruins at Tikal National Park, he most important site featuring Mayan ruins. The site features many different pyramids and temples, as well as gravesites and altars. In one of the photos below, you can just get a glimpse of a howler monkey, one of the many kinds of wildlife that can be found in the park!

And finally, enjoy some videos we took at Tikal. In video 3, you can hear the loud call of the howler monkeys!

Headed to Tikal

On a personal note, we are excited to tell you all that tomorrow, we are headed to Northern Guatemala! The president of Casa Shalom's Board, Pastor Miguel Lima, has invited us to accompany him and wife on a trip until Saturday. We will be visiting Tikal, Guatemala's largest and most important archaeological site. Tikal is a large national park and is one to ancient Mayan pyramids and ruins! We are excited to see this national treasure. If you are interested on more information on the park, check out this link: Tikal Park

With our personal note is a personal picture - this is our dog Burrito, a one-year-old cocker spaniel. He's using a trash bag as a rain coat to avoid getting drenched when going outside during this very rainy season!

~ Josh and Jessica