|
CasaShalom San Lucas,Guatemala
|
|
|
|
FEBRUARY 2013
Back to school, new children, construction zone, Santiago's story
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| This month at Casa Shalom |
|
2013 is barely underway, but the month of January was full of blessings and progress
at Casa Shalom. God is moving in a great way among our children, and we feel blessed to be able to play a part in helping them develop into mature, compassionate young people who put Jesus Christ ahead of everything else. We at Casa Shalom have been greatly blessed by many supporters in
 the last month. We received donations to purchase new school uniforms for the children, and to buy them much-needed school supplies. We also received generous donations totaling $5,000 to replace the motor on Casa Shalom's big yellow school bus! To read more about Casa Shalom's current events, check out the stories below.
Grace and peace,
Josh and Jessica Hanson Directors, Casa Shalom Orphanage TheHansonsinGuatemala@gmail.com |
|
|
|
Back to school
A brand new school year has begun in Guatemala, where classes start in January and end in October. As this new year starts, many of our students are school "veterans" and are entering middle or high school. Many of Casa Shalom's newest children are attending school for the very first time in their lives! Although school attendance is mandatory in Guatemala, it is not enforced and many parents never send their children to school. One of Casa Shalom's new children is Yamileth, who at age 13 will be attending school for the first time in her life!
|
New children
In January, 10 new children were taken in by Casa Shalom. They range in age from 7 months to 13-years-old. They include the sweet children seen in the photo above (from left): Rocio with director Jessica Hanson, Josely with social worker Jenny Smith, baby Juliana with director Josh Hanson and Marlon, in front. Other children new to Casa Shalom include Mauricio, age 8, whose mother was murdered by his father, and Yamileth and Ariel, ages 13 and 11, whose mother is a prostitute and sent them to live on the streets. We are grateful to be able to minister to these precious children!
|
|
 Santiago's storySantiago and his brother, pictured left on the day they arrived at the orphanage, came to Casa Shalom one year ago after being removed from what social workers called "the worst conditions they'd ever seen." The boys' mother is mentally disabled and the family was living by the side of a major highway under a plastic tarp. Both boys were severely malnourished and had never been to school. Santiago is mentally disabled and came to us almost non-verbal and afraid of physical touch. One year later, Santiago is a different boy, as you can see in the second photo! He's grown 4 inches and gained 13 pounds. He's outgoing, affectionate and always has a smile on his face. He's attending a special needs school for the first time, where he's already learning to write. For the first time, Santiago can tell you how old he is. We are so grateful to see the healing that is coming to Santiago's life! This is why Casa Shalom exists - to help "the least of these."
|
 Construction zoneCasa Shalom is under construction! Since the fall of 2012, we have been working hard to put a brick face on every building on the orphanage property. As of February 1, we have half of the buildings completed, and several more in progress! The brick face will not only help to regulate the temperature in the buildings, but will drastically reduce annual maintenance and paint costs. We'd like to thank everyone who has donated toward the bricking project. For more info on how to donate toward Casa Shalom remodeling project, please email us at: TheHansonsinGuatemala@gmail.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As missionaries, we must raise our own support to serve as directors of Casa Shalom. We realize you must prayerfully choose where to invest your charitable contributions, so we ask you to pray and consider making a donation toward our ministry. All donations allow us to remain in Guatemala and serve the children of Casa Shalom. We are trusting God for the support we need, and appreciate any donation!
Josh and Jessica Hanson
Checks mail be mailed to: International Orphan Support P.O. Box 31149 Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33420. Please write "the Hansons" in the memo line.
|
|
|
|
