With school out this week for Easter, our schedule has changed a bit, and here are some of the highlights:

Clara is a girl who grew up at Casa Shalom along with her brother and sister, and Yuli use to be her teacher.  She’s now living on her own, and we’ve had her stay with us in the past.  Unfortunately Clara got pregnant last fall, and the dad doesn’t want to help out.  But we’re happy that she gave birth to a healthy girl last week, and on Friday we were able to bring her siblings over to see her and meet their new niece.

Carlos, Clara and Flora with Clara’s new baby

After the death of their mom, Clara took over the role with Flora and Carlos.  Young, unwed pregnancies are a huge problem in Guatemala, and it’s sad to see Clara in the same situation.  Earlier this year were hoping to get her enrolled in school this year because she only needs one more year to finish high school. We would appreciate your prayers for Clara and her new baby.  We’ve given her some baby supplies, and we’re praying about how else we can best help her out.

Then last weekend we had our friend and fellow missionary Elizabeth stay with us.  She works with Yuli’s sister at another orphanage called La Senda. We had a big sleep over with a bunch of Yuli’s family and enjoyed each other’s company. We also met up with Santos and José (the boys we’re sending to school) and helped them with some school projects.

Guatemala has a bunch of traditions for Holy Week, and my favorite is the foods!  On Wednesday I drove with Yuli’s dad over to his hometown of San Cristobal, Totonicapan.  It’s about 3 hours away, and every year her dad likes to visit there in order to buy a special bread from there.  This year the date fell right on his birthday, and his brother and sister and two grandkids joined us for the journey. I got to meet a bunch more family, and they gave us a wonderful lunch of ribs and Guatemalan sausages. The highlight was definitely that I got to see where they grew up, and it also let me spend a really fun day together with my father-in-law.

Yuli’s father, aunt and uncle in front of their old house

So on Thursday morning we ate the bread with hot chocolate, and lunch was a chicken and vegetable dish.  Today we had a fish dinner. It was all fabulous! But the weirdest thing I ate was a sweet syrup made with garbanzo beans. (not one of my favorites)

This weekend we’re having our buddy Edwin over again to stay with us for Easter, and then on Monday it’s back to Casa Shalom!

Can you feel the excitement???

The seasons in Guatemala are very different than in the USA. There are basically just two here: the rainy season and the dry season. The rainy season starts in May and goes until October. Because the rain and the clouds keep the temperature cooler, they call it winter. The rest of the year is called summer. So even though we’re still in the northern hemisphere, the season names are swapped!

This week is Holy Week, and the kids all get off from school for it. Also, because it’s one of the final weeks before the rainy season starts and cools the temperature down, this week is especially referred to as summer. Throughout the year, the temperature doesn’t change that much, though. (the highs during their winter average around 70 degrees, while the highs currently are around 85 degrees)

The kids at Casa Shalom were ultra excited yesterday to be starting their “summer” vacation. Some get the chance to spend the week with their family, while the rest of the children are visiting a few supporting churches in Guatemala and are also going to the beach for a few days.

I encourage you to read this page and pray for the Freed family.  They serve here in Guatemala and help orphanages all over the country, including Casa Shalom. The adoption system here is so messed up, and it’s heartbreaking to see things like this happen.

• Shyanne’s Story

Edwin turned 15 in March, and Alejandro turns 15 in May. So we brought both over to our place for the weekend to celebrate their birthdays.  Neither one has any siblings at Casa Shalom or family that visits them, and so we wanted them to have a special time with us.

If you haven’t noticed, we celebrate a lot of birthdays!  But we feel that it’s so important that each kid comes to know how special they are to God. Like David wrote in Psalm 139:13-16, He created each one of them and has a plan for each one of them.

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Yuli’s family has also been such a huge help and blessing with these celebrations.  Veronica was their teacher before and enjoys hanging out with them.  And Yuli’s nephews Christian and Manuel had a great time playing soccer and goofing off with them.