Visitor Sunday

Most of the children at Casa Shalom are not “true” orphans because they still have some connection to their family. But they are at the home because of poverty, abandonment, or death of their parents.  So the last Sunday of every month is visitor Sunday where their families can come see them.  We have a short church service in the morning, and then they spend time together, typically eating a picnic lunch that their families brought them.  It’s a great way to keep the kids connected to their families.

Unfortunately, this day is not so fun for the kids who don’t have any family or whose family doesn’t come to visit. We’ve made a decision to come every visiter Sunday to hang out with those kids.  Yuli makes a bunch of sandwiches for them and we play games together all afternoon.  Here’s a picture from this Sunday.

Our message to them is simple: “No matter if it feels like everyone who should love you has abandoned you, God hasn’t forgotten you or abandoned you. He loves you and cares for you, and He sent us to show His love for you.”

Alex’s Second Visit

We enjoyed having Alex stay with us last month that we brought him back with us this past weekend to stay with us. Here’s a picture of him playing with our nephew Jorge Pablo on Saturday.

We would appreciate you praying for Alex as he gets sick very frequently.  He’s gone through a bunch of tests to make sure that he’s ok, and so far they haven’t found anything wrong with him.  They’re also concerned because he hasn’t grown at all in the past year. It’s a little harder to know because he has no parental history.

Alex is such a joy to have in our house with us, and it’s a blessing to get to minister to kids like him!