Greetings.

It's that time again, yes another month has gone by and it has been another busy one for sure. Between breaking my big toe (2nd time playing soccer with the kids in sandals) to the trips tying to get information and documents on our kids that have been with us for the last 2 years we have been busy. We have had a few more court dates and everything has gone well with each one. One day last week we went to get papers for 3 of our kids so that they can continue to study, we needed old diplomas and marks. It was quite the trip. We left at 6am to go to the first school. At 7:30 we arrived when the school was opening, after 2 hours we had the papers for 2 kids but we were still missing another. Here in Guatemala you have to have papers for every grade you pass to move onto the next grade. For example, if you are going into grade 5 you need diplomas from grade 1 to 4. To get these papers you have to go to the school where the child studied, it is a demanding process when the children move a lot. It was a day of much patience! But God allowed us to get all that we needed to get done in the same day… and more! Most Children homes here in Guatemala don’t do this, it is a big expense. Here at Casa Esperanza we believe that through this we are giving the kids a better chance. Also if they don’t have these papers they would never be able to graduate thus never go to University. We want to see doctor, nurses, engineers and much more.

On another note we had our first informative breakfast here in Guatemala with about 50 people from the Capital city. We got the chance to take four of the kids from Casa Esperanza. I have included some pictures so you can see us. It was such a blast. We took the 4 of them to the city the night before and we stayed at a B and B. In the morning we had the breakfast at a 5 star hotel. The kids got to share their testimony and what Casa Esperanza has meant to them. It was so nice to hear the kids talk and to realize how blessed that they are. I had the privilege to translate the whole meeting… which made me go a few shades redder than I am usually. It was great; we went swimming and went in a elevator which was a blast for the kids.

In the shop we have been getting better every day. As you can see from the pictures our furniture is looking more professional. I have been getting lots of help form the kids. I am amazed at what we have been building. We made the one piece for Mothers day for Tere the mother of my family here. She was so blessed she had a broken thing where she use to have her dishes so she was so blessed.

If you would like to help me buy supplies to build shelves for Casa Esperanza and for other projects like putting a wood ceiling in my families house please let me know. I am needing supplies seeing as the shop is running out.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of the different projects and the kids I have been working with.  Click here to see them.

Blessings
Anthony van Engen