Graduation

This weekend, Colegio Shalom celebrated another very special graduation - this time, from sixth grade and tercero basico, the Guatemalan equivalent of ninth grade (the last year of high school here). We had many graduates from sixth grade, pictured on the right: Edgar, Karen, Edwin, Max, Abraham (son of Colegio Shalom's director), Marvin and Wilson. And from tercero basico, the orphanage had one graduate - Elias.









Jessica served as the Director of Ceremonies. Also pictured are the students with the 3 highest grades in their class - Max, Etelvina from the local HIV/AIDS hospice, and Elias.







Jessica with Casa Shalom founders Rick and Janice Waldrop, who were able to attend the ceremony.

Zoo fun

Last week, all the kids of Casa Shalom went to the zoo in Guatemala City to see the animals! This was the first visit to the zoo for many of the kids and they were excited to see lions, hippos, alligators, monkeys and many more animals! Check out the photos below (click on a photo to enlarge).

From left: Sara, Victor, Jorge Ana and Alex in front of the giraffes

Alfonso, Josh and Jose Marcelino in front of the giraffes

Alfonso in front of the elephants

From left: Eduardo with baby Monserrat, Martin, Carlos, Sergio Brandon and Santos in front of the alligator exhibit

The tiger was napping!

From left: volunteer Flor, Victor, Alex, Ana and Maria, daughter of director Jorge Mario, in front of the monkey exhibit

Edwin and Waltercito in front of the monkey exhibit

From left: Hector, Marvin, Jose Alfredo and Julio in front of the llama exhibit

Eddy, Angel and Rosendo in front of the owls

Kevin, Wilson and Brayan in front of the parrot exhibit

Eliza and Flora do their best flamingo impression

Vinicio and Max in front of the parrots

From left: Alejandra, Ada, Enma and Clara Alicia pose in front of the giraffe exhibit

The babies really enjoyed the mini-farm inside the zoo

Tony and Sarai check out the donkey

Tony and Sarai in front of the cows

From left: Evelyn, Jorge, Tony, and Sarai

Carlos, Jose Marcelino and Martin loved the gator exhibit!

3 men, a baby and a stroller: Benjamin, Edgar and Edwin patiently led Anggie around to see all the animals

From left: Karen, Sergio Brandon, Flora, Santos, Colim and Celia

First International Casa Shalom Assembly - a review

This past weekend, Casa Shalom held its First International Assembly! Attendees came from all across Gautemala and the USA to hear about Casa Shalom's history, current status and needs, and our plans for the future. With over 200 attendees, the event was a huge success. We appreciate all your prayers for this event. Enjoy some pictures and video of the conference.


Jessica served as one of 2 translators for the conference

























Many of the kids, like Martin, got all dressed up!












Alex and Ana show off their new Casa Shalom polo shirts
















Casa Shalom founders Jan and Rick Waldrop gave a moving presentation on the 2nd day of the conference






Some of the older children prepared a song and dance for the conference

The youngest children sang "Jesus loves me"

First Annual Casa Shalom Assembly

This Wednesday and Thursday, we will be hosting the First Annual Casa Shalom International Assembly. We are excited to host participants from all over Guatemala and the United States during our two-day event. At the conference, we will be discussing the history and finances of Casa Shalom, as well as presenting our 10-year plan for the orphanage's future. Watch for posts from the conference this week!

This week is the final week of classes at Colegio Shalom, as the Guatemalan school year runs from January to October. In celebration of the end of the school year, check out the latest photo of all the students of Colegio Shalom!