Bonnie Continues Art Classes

Bonnie continues to visit both Casas and work on art projects with the kids. Padre Marvin accompanies her and help out with materials. I know the kids are enjoying the classes.

Honor Guard

Here are our older students at San Lucas with the school banner. Our José from Sagrada Familia did a great job with the flag. He is REALLY into sports and would love to be a professional athlete.

Mothers' Day at Colegio Anglicano San Lucas

Our kids participated in the Mothers´ Day festivities at San Lucas yesterday. We made sure that all the Casas kids participated in the "parillada" or plate lunch that the parents´club sold to help raise money for the new buildings. Nati told me this morning that they had sold all that they prepared and had raised $254 for the project. A lot of hard work, but it paid off! Of course the festivities began with a eucharist celebrated by Padre Juan Carlos assisted by Deacon Justo.

Bonnie Helps with Art

Bonnie has been visiting the Casas and doing art projects. We'll show you some of them in the near future. P. Marvin and Vicki have been accompanying her to both Casa Hogar Sagrada Familia and Casa Hogar San José. It will be fun to see the self-portraits that the Sag Fam kids are working on! Bright butterflies were in process at San José.

Please keep our kids in your prayers as we will have six kids to move up next year from San José to Sagrada Familia. We are asking the Lord how to reconfigure our space to accommodate this change. They will be Maricruz, Waldir, Hermelinda, Xavier,Margooth, and Miguel Angel.

Tercero de Secundario

Yippee! Edgar and Giovanna just started 9th grade this week. Their school year ends in December, and they will then enter 10th grade. Eleventh grade is as far as high school goes here. I think Susana and Margot are a little envious,to tell the truth! We're pressing Edgar to find himself and clarify what area he is interested in. We'll need to get him into some trade school soon. Giovanna is doing cosmotology right now and seems to like it. She is eager, too, to have a Quinceñera or 15th birthday party. We´ll start planning it soon.

Adios, Tíos

It is always hard to say goodbye to friends, but we have had a great time with these Tíos and they have made our surroundings a bit more cheerful with their painting and their laughter. Adios, tíos y tías! It was a blessing to have this team from St. Matthew's Cathedral, Dallas, with us again this year. Hasta el próximo. See ya next year!! :)

Godly Play

Many thanks to Nina for leading the sessions at San Jose. Calm, godly play that engaged the kids was such a blessing.

Smiles

Here are some smiles from Casa Hogar San Jose. Juan Diego, making the most of this photo op, is Marta's (Casa Hogar Sagrada Familia) little brother. And I wish that Arelis, Hermelinda, and Daniela didn't take everything so seriously!

Growing Up

Can you guess who I am? I'm a lot taller than I was last year. I'm Katiuska and next to me in a rare serious moment is my little sister Tamara. Hugs to the Tios!

Here Fishie, Here Fishie

Manuel was the first to check out the new "pond" in the corner of the patio. (Actually it was built for baptisms, but Padre Juan Carlos found out right away how COLD that water could be!) Now we have a rock corner with ferns and a pool underneath. Fish were just introduced and Manuel proudly announced that there were 18 1-inch fish in it. Margot looked mildly interested then said she was looking forward to reading a book this afternoon! To each his own!

Back in the Saddle

Actually, the pictures have nothing to do with this entry! They are three versions of the Peruvian Hairless Dogs sometimes called "Calatos" that I thought you might find interesting.

Padre Ron has met with both directors from the Casas. I think they have him up to speed on everyone and the needs of each house. Of course the falling $$ doesn't help! Padre is working hard to get all the financials done in a timely way as he has a meeting of the ONG (Non-Profit Organization)on the 24th in Lima and he wants to be "up to date" on our funding and expenses. It is incredible to see how generous are the hearts of our supporters. Thank you

P.S. We will be able to use the new van to transport the St.Matthew's team about town this week. A mutually agreeable arrangement. The team will get to their sites and the kids will get some fuel money for the van.

Sunday Hugs

I think our kids always look forward to Sunday and some extra hugs. They enjoyed Lydia Mudge, too. We are hoping to establish more relationships between individual kids and individual familes. Keep this in your prayers, please.

Directors

Our two directors, María Perez and Pedro Huamani are to be commended on their great job! María informed me today at our meeting that Hepatitis B vaccinations will soon be offered free to minors so we will sign up right away. Additionally, we are starting the paper work to get ID cards for each child. This is something new the goverment is allowing and will really help us out. Padre Ron intends to issue employee IDs to the staff. Pedro and María came through vacation time successfully. When the kids are out of school we must have houseparents present so they have arrange extra hours with the staff. In addition numerous excursions need to be planned. I know that some of the kids were disappointed in not going to the beach this year, but we didn´t have all the health issues we´ve had in past years, either! Just like parents everywhere, there was a sigh of relief from Pedro and María when school started up! I really appreciate you both! Thanks, Pedro and María.

Saturdays

Saturday afternoon is when our Cristo Redentor youth group meets. As you can see, it is a solemn and formal occasion for the Casas kids-NOT!

Bienvenidos! Welcome Home!

Huge signs, shouts, waves and jumping up and down greeted us as we stepped off the plane. Such warmth and care is truly overwhelming! We love you, arequipeños, and your commitment al Señor!

Celebration of the Resurrection

Can little girls celebrate Easter without eggs and hats? I don't think so!

Why so Long Since You Updated??

Well, sorry, but we were playing with our granddaughter Sadie. Sadie walked Via Crucis with us on Good Friday but on Sat. we were off to the botanical gardens of Dallas. Here you can see some of our outting. We had a great time before we left for Peru on Easter Monday.

First Happening

Some of our teens attended the first "Happening" in Arequipa. It was a great event and I'm sure our kids benefited from it. Padre Ron has been making people aware of the great work done by the Casas and encouraging them to get involved through financial support and maybe even coming down on a mission team. Some of our seminarians were leaders of the event, too.

SPLISH, SPLASH!

Besides the Happening, Casas kids have been been visiting local points of interest and taking a dip in the pool. Summertime can be fun! Jose and Manuel catch a few rays as houseparent Tio Ricardo looks on.

HAPPENING, Arequipa Style

Some of our teens attended the first Happening in Arequipa. It sounds like it was a rollicking success! Manuel, Diego, Margot, and Vicky were part of the action. The happening movement tries to open up teens to a deeper relationship with Jesus. One where Jesus really transforms their lives and empowers them to share God's Love with others. Great job, kids!