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!

All our children

This is the most recent photo of all the kids of Casa Shalom - minus the 4 youngest babies. See if you can spot your sponsored child! Click on the photo to enlarge.

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