Volunteer Flor, Edwin, Clara Alicia and Ada do their best tough guy impression!

New baby

There is a brand new baby girl at Casa Shalom! Staff members Walter and Jenny are celebrating the arrival of their daughter, who was born last week. The little girl hasn't been named yet, and at birth weighed 8 lbs and 5 ounces, which is a very big baby here in Guatemala! The baby joins older brother Waltercito, who is three-years-old. Please keep Walter, Jenny, Waltercito and the new baby in your prayers.

Soccer camp

For the past 3 days, there has been a lot of hard work and a lot of play at Casa Shalom! 2 professional soccer trainers from the Guatemalan national league and a professional soccer player from Honduras donated their time to run a 3-day soccer camp for Casa Shalom's kids. The kids studied the fundamentals of soccer, practiced new techniques and finished the camp with a skirmish! What a unique and amazing experience this has been for Casa Shalom's kids.

The kids get warmed up

Stretch!

Windmills

The basics of passing and receiving

The pro player and one of the trainers demonstrate dribbling technique

Rosendo and Martin practice passing

Marvin and Santos practice chest bumps

Gato and Edwin show off!

Dribbling practice

Hector is quite talented!

Sweating!
Working hard

Tough goodbyes

Last week, we at Casa Shalom had to say goodbye to 4 great kids who left the orphanage to live with their families. First Max left to live with his mother, which had been anticipated for some time. But it was a surprise when the courts ordered siblings Celia, Ana and Jose Marcelino back to their mother and father, who they say now have enough income to care for the 3 children. It was an emotional week, and saying goodbye to 4 great kids was tough for everyone. Please pray for Max, Celia, Ana and Jose as they readjust to life outside of Casa Shalom.

Photo: The Rayos house Left: House parents Maby and Josue, back row from left: Jose Alfredo, Marvin, Rolando, Carlos, Martin. Front row from left: Edwin, Obed, Max, Eddy

Celia, Ana and Jose Marcelino right before they left with their parents

Bounce house fun!

Last week, the whole orphanage got to enjoy 3 hours of bounce house fun, thanks to the Sparks family from Tennessee. The Sparks rented two giant inflatable toys, one for the big kids and one for the smaller kids. The kids jumped and slid for 3 hours straight and enjoyed a pizza party after that. They all slept well that night! Enjoy the photos and video from the bounce house party.

The big kids enjoyed a giant inflatable slide






Sarai mid-bounce













Cesar gearing up to slide















The toddlers jumped and jumped in an inflatable castle










Eddy and Maby help some of the youngest babies get in on the jumping action. Monserrat and Abagail were happy to get to play too!













Eduardo helps Jorge navigate the slide















Henry takes a break from jumping













The big kids' slide












Sarai has no fear - she tumbled down the little slide head first!














Eliza and baby Monserrat















Tony played so hard that he fell asleep right on the gym floor















Victor fell asleep at the pizza party








Roland helps Linda Lucerito and Eddy helps Abagail be a part of the bouncing fun!