June 1, 2009
Tita has known “J” since she was a little girl. Now at 19 she calms her pain by sniffing glue (the drug of choice in La Limonada because it is cheap and easy to get). She does this to numb herself from the pain she is devastated by. J was raised by her grandmother. Her […]
June 1, 2009
Last week a desperate mother called Tita and let her know that her 12 year old son, “M”, has been going out regularly at night stealing from people with three other boys (ages 10, 18 & 19). This is not uncommon for boys from La Limonada, but this mother was distraught because now it was […]
May 28, 2009
The basic renovations at Escuelita Mandarina are nearing completion. With the help of some generous donors we’ve made it this far… and it looks like we’re going to be able to get the roof on in the next couple weeks before rainy season is in full swing. We have a pledge from donors to cover […]
May 27, 2009
Every day new stories emerge of what life is like for the people of La Limonada. Tita and her team meet people, listen to their stories and do what they can to help… trusting God to meet needs they are not able to. She is malnourished and pregnant with her ninth child. Her husband is […]
May 26, 2009
My good friend, Joe, told me last week that he has been praying for our TEN2END Campaign every Tuesday… and as a reminder he refers to it as “TEN2END Tuesday”. So I thought we would follow Joe’s lead and focus on TEN2END every Tuesday between now and June 30 when we hope to reach our […]
May 20, 2009
The past few days, I’ve been able to hear the stories of various women throughout La Limonada. While visiting people and listening to their stories is something we do often, this week just seemed different to me. And today I realized that I’ve been impacted by how powerful it is for people to have the […]
May 17, 2009
This past week international attention was directed toward Guatemala as the murder of a prominent lawyer in Guatemala City shed light on presumed corruption in the Guatemalan government. On Sunday, May 10 Rodrigo Rosenberg Marzano was shot to death as he was riding his bicycle on a busy avenue in the city. Murders of lawyers […]
May 12, 2009
Lemonade International seeks to serve our donors with the highest level of professionalism and integrity. To reach this goal we now partner with The Christian Foundation of the Triangle (CFT) to assist you in your gift planning. Lemonade International uses a Ministry Fund – The Lemonade International Single Charity Fund – at CFT to facilitate […]
May 11, 2009
So many exciting things have been happening over the past few months. Our work has been expanding and more children are being reached and given opportunities to be off the streets of La Limonada. A second school building is being renovated and when it is completed 200 or more children will be able to attend. […]
May 10, 2009
There are so many stories of so many children and families that we are working with in La Limonada. At times it’s tough to decide what to write about. It’s important to be sensitive to their hurt, their privacy, and the fact that these stories are reality for them. But I also think it’s just […]
May 6, 2009
In November of last year we expanded our work by establishing a second school – “Escuelita Mandarina” – in another barrio in La Limonada. With a $15,000 donation we received we were able to purchase the building for approximately $9,000, as well as purchase new desks and chairs for the classrooms and all the needed […]
May 6, 2009
On Monday, while we were here in Guatemala the elderly lady Tita told us about last week passed away. Later that day and again on Tuesday we took some time to visit her husband. We prayed for him as he was lying in his bed crying while the casket with his wife’s body was in […]
May 4, 2009
We are here in Guatemala along with some friends from Cincinnati this week. It has been a great time so far and we’ll post more stories and photos in the days to come from our time here. But I wanted to share this with you… Our friends DG and Tiffany Hollums from Florence UMC in […]
May 1, 2009
We had a great opportunity to set up a kiosk at the ARC All Access Conference at C3 Church in Clayton, NC this week. We met people from all over the country who lead church communities who want to make a difference in the world. We also got to meet other vendors from great organizations […]
April 28, 2009
Tita shared this with us today. She visited the home of an elderly couple (“viejitos”)… an 80 year old woman and her 82 year old husband. She has a broken hip and he has a broken clavicle and knee. They have no money, no family and no access to medical treatment. Their neighbors (who are […]
April 27, 2009
This past week we took the first of four groups of students to the Zoo here in Guatemala City. There are 2 schools with 2 shifts (morning and afternoon), so we’re taking one group at a time. The first to go was the morning shift at Escuelita Mandarina… and watching how excited they were made […]
April 22, 2009
Thanks to James Walters of Walters & Walters here are some great photos from the Fund-Raising Gala. Contact James and Meridith to talk to them about providing their amazing photography for an upcoming engagement or wedding…
April 21, 2009
We are so thankful for everyone who attended the Lemonade Int’l Fund-Raising Gala this past Tuesday night! We are blown away by the hearts of compassion for the people of La Limonada and by the stories that came out of the evening we spent together. Here are some highlights from the night: A couple originally […]
April 20, 2009
Lemonade International will be at the “Brickyard” at NC State University this Thursday, April 24 from 10am – 2:30pm to share our TEN2END Campaign with students. TEN2END is a campaign of LI… providing people with an opportunity to engage in the alleviation of extreme poverty in the La Limonada community of Guatemala City. Help us […]
April 20, 2009
If you are on Facebook and have sponsored a child in La Limonada through Lemonade International you are invited to join our new Facebook Group* that was created just for you. The Lemonade International – Child Sponsors Group* is a place where you can share photos, excerpts from letters to or from your children, ideas […]
April 16, 2009
Our friend Chris Waluk, of Waluk’s World, traveled to Guatemala and visited with the children and families of La Limonada last week during his spring break (he is a high school science teacher). Chris initiated a project he called “Painting Lemonade” in the beginning of the school year where he asked high school art students […]
April 6, 2009
While the renovations are happening at Esculita Mandarina, the teachers are getting very creative in how they teach their classes and what materials and supplies they are using. Ronal is one of the new assistant teachers at the school. He is the son of another teacher and he has personally experienced the impact that the […]
April 1, 2009
Kate Dundon spent a few months in Guatemala last year teaching children in a rural village. She met Tita and her team as her time in Guatemala was coming to a close. She spent a couple weeks in La Limonada and fell in love with the children and people of the community. She returned home […]
March 31, 2009
We are just two weeks away from our Fund-Raising Gala… and the excitement is building! We have some great Silent Auction items (a Beach House for 4 days/3 nights, a hockey stick signed by the Carolina Hurricanes team, an authentic jersey signed by Cam Ward, 4 Durham Bulls tickets, beautiful artwork, photography packages, etc). The […]
March 26, 2009
As Leah sharred recently, a team from Carterville Christian Church in Joplin, MO spent last week in La Limonada and were a huge help to the children, families, teachers and the La Limonada community. They purchased almost $2,000 worth of tools needed for the renovations happening at Escuelita Mandarina and work boots for the workers; […]
March 23, 2009
Now there is a way almost everyone can get involved in our work among the urban poor in Guatemala City. Introducing… TEN2END. We’re inviting everyone to… Set aside TEN minutes a week to pray for the people of La Limonada Give TEN dollars a month to help the Lemonade Int’l team END poverty… injustice… hunger… […]
March 21, 2009
This morning at 5 am (still yawning) I dropped off the team of 7 from Carterville Christian Church at the airport for their flight home. They were here for a week working with us at the schools in La Limonada and they were such a huge help and blessing to all of us. They helped […]
March 18, 2009
Since beginning our child sponsorship program last summer we have seen a huge impact being made in the lives of the children in La Limonada… but we have also witnessed a tremendous difference in the lives of the individuals and families here in the US who are sponsoring children. Here are a some quotes from […]
March 17, 2009
On a recent trip to Guatemala I met Alejandro* as our group walked with Tita from Escuelita Mandarina to Escuelita Limon. He was just returning from work at a legitimate business in the city… which is rare for the people of La Limonada. Business owners in the city rarely hire people who live in “the […]
March 10, 2009
Be on the lookout for an inexpensive new way to support the work of Lemonade International as we seek to bring hope to the people of La Limonada. ten2end is coming soon…
March 6, 2009
Our good friends from Life Of Hope in Joplin, Missouri took a team to La Limonada to conduct medical clinics at Escuelita Limon and Escuealita Mandarina this week. The team is from Tomoka Christian Church in Ormond Beach, FL. Tita said they have been an awesome group of people to work with the whole week. […]
March 5, 2009
An article appeared on the website of the News & Observer newspaper here in Raleigh today describing the violent killing of a teacher at a Guatemalan juvenile prison. On Tuesday a riot broke out among the inmates as they protested the transfer of fellow inmates to another facility. Prior to the police gaining control of […]
March 4, 2009
My childhood friend, Denny Sant, just published his second novel, and has chosen to have all the proceeds from the sale of the book go to Lemonade International. “Double Dipp”, the sequel to “Bean Dipp”, is available at www.lulu.com/dennysant. I’ve known Denny since we were about 10 years old. When we started Lemonade International he […]
March 2, 2009
Since the second school was established on “the other side” in La Limonada we have been referring to it as “the second school”, “School #2”, “Esculeita #2”,and “the school on the other side”. This was getting a little confusing and it was becoming a challenge in our communication with people in La Limonada and here […]
February 25, 2009
Renovations began today on the new school building on “The Other Side”. The “crew” came this morning to start the work. They began by tearing down walls of old rusted tin, carrying in all the necessary tools and supplies and making room for new windows and walls. For the duration of the construction both classrooms […]
February 25, 2009
When Lemonade International was getting started early last year, our friend, Chris Waluk (a local high school science teacher) had a great idea to connect local high school students to the students at the schools in La Limonada. He asked art teachers from high schools all over the district to consider having art students paint […]
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