November 4, 2008
This past weekend I had the opportunity to be with the The Edge in Atco, NJ – where my childhood friend, Dennt Sant, is the pastor. What a great group of people… with a heart for their community and for the world. So far, three more children were sponsored from our time together… and our […]
October 27, 2008
Leaving La Limonada is always an emotional experience. After all that happens in the days while we are there… our hearts and minds are racing… trying to process it all… and dreaming of how we can do more for the community. At Lemonade International we have committed to make child sponsorship our top priority for […]
October 23, 2008
In just a few days in La Limonada it is amazing how much happens… Home visits spark conversations, deepened relationships and prayer. Walking through the community we stop to provide water and pray for an older woman that is clearly dehydrated, malnourished, and high from sniffing glue. Former gang members are visited in their homes […]
October 16, 2008
Up until this past Monday Alberto was a child in Sommer’s heart, and a picture on her fridge to remind her to pray for him. Sommer was a photo to Alberto of someone in the U.S. who cared about him. When they got to meet face to face while Sommer was in La Limonada, I […]
October 9, 2008
We are finally finished with all of the sponsor cards for over 200 students at La Escuelita, this is such an exciting thing!!! It has been months of getting organized, getting birthdays, and this week, finishing up all of the photos. If you would like to sponsor a child, on the Lemonade Website, simply click […]
October 6, 2008
Leah here. (in case you were wondering!) There’s something about being here and working on Lemonade first-hand on the Guatemalan side that is just so intoxicating to me. There is SO MUCH to be done with taking children’s pictures, making support cards, etc. but it barely even feels like work because this is our heart: […]
October 4, 2008
In Guatemala, the first day of October is “El Día del Niño” (or “Children’s Day”)… it is just as big of a deal in Guatemalan culture as our Mother’s day and Father’s Day. On Wednesday at both schools in La Limonada there was a big celebration for the kids. Here are some photos from the […]
October 3, 2008
In preparation for being in Guatemala for all of 2009, Leah Craver is leaving for Guatemala today and will be there for most of the month of October. Since meeting Tita and spending nine days in La Limonada a little more than four years ago, Leah has spent a significant amount of time in Guatemala […]
October 2, 2008
This past weekend we had the privilege of sharing about the work of LI at two churches in the Manchester, NH area. On Sunday morning we were at Goffstown Harvest (where Cherie’s parents attend) and on Sunday Night we were at Pulse – the young adult church that is part of Shiloh (where Cherie’s sister […]
September 29, 2008
Thanks again for the generous donations for the desks & chairs for “The Other Side”! The desks arrived at the new school (we have begun to call it “Vidas Plenas 2”) the other day and I just got photos from Tita tonight. So, beginning this week the children will no longer be sitting on the […]
September 29, 2008
My sister, Corinne, has an 11-year-old daughter, Molly. She has an incredible heart of compassion. When she found out what we were doing with Lemonade International, she decided that she wanted to do something to help the children of La Limonada. Her 11th birthday was coming up, so she decided (on her own) to ask […]
September 25, 2008
September 24, 2008
While in the Allentown, PA area (where I spent 12 years as a youth pastor and associate pastor) for a wedding this past weekend, Donnie and I were invited to share the work of Lemonade International with the people of Valley Church. Eric, Craig and the people there great! It ended up being a reunion […]
September 23, 2008
Mi Guatemalan people, mis amados “Chapines”… A long time ago I asked God: “please, give me people like Jeremiah 3:15, people according to Your heart”. For a long time the only one that walked with me faithfully was Jesus, but not any more. I can tell that God has lifted up or raised up people […]
September 17, 2008
Thanks to the generous donations we received over the past couple weeks… Tita was able to order the desks and chairs yesterday! Thanks so much for helping to provide the children on “The Other Side” an environment where they are valued, loved and able to learn and grow! Everything should be ready in a few […]
September 14, 2008
We had our first House Party here in Raleigh tonight… thanks to Ward & Cynthia! Cherie watches their daughter as a part-time job and has really connected with the family…. and they were so generous to host a Lemonade House Party. They opened up their home to Leah, Cherie and me… and invited family and […]
September 12, 2008
There are about ten different “barrios” (or neighborhoods) in La Limonada and all of them are ruled by gangs. Violence has been a way of life especially for the young men there. Boys join gangs when they are as young as 13 years old. One gang will kill the member of another gang which sparks […]
September 11, 2008
Amaralis lives on “The Other Side” where the new school has recently been established – where there is new life in a barrio of La Limonada that has for so long been ruled by gangs, drugs and hopelessness. She has two children being loved, taught, cared for and fed by the teachers. After giving birth […]
August 31, 2008
For a long time Tita and her team have been praying that there would be an open door to expand their work with the children in a neighboring “barrio” in La Limonada (referred to in La Limonada as “The Other Side”). But, for so long it was controlled by a gang and the danger was […]
August 27, 2008
This is Tita Evertsz and the teachers at “La Escuelita”. They are an amazing group of people who have given their lives to serve and invest in the lives of the children of La Limonada.Beginning in 1994, Tita (in the middle of the photo with the glasses) began working with gang members and the people […]
August 25, 2008
Our new friend DG Hollums hosts a podcast called Praxis… and recently interviewed (along with Jeremiah Griswold) our good friend Monica (who serves at “La Escuelita” in La Limonada along with Tita) while she is spending time in the states (in the Cincinnati, OH area). You can listen to the interview here: http://praxispodcast.com/
August 21, 2008
When I was about to graduate from high school in Brewster, NY in the late 1980’s, my church, Grace Assembly of God, began a Spanish service to meet the needs of the growing Central American population in the town. More than 20 years later, the Lemonade team was invited to share about our work in […]
August 19, 2008
My sister and brother-in-law and their family hosted the first ever Lemonade House Party last night. Their friends Tony and Lisa were there… as well as a big part of the Mellett clan (which turned it into a big reunion of sorts). Ray Mellett was my pastor when I was a teenager when I attended […]
August 15, 2008
Lemonade International has gotten off to an exciting and hectic start! Up until the past month we had spent the previous six months doing all the background stuff it takes to get an organization up and running (articles of incorporation, bylaws, 501(c)(3) paperwork, etc. Now we are in full swing… While our friend Tita Evertsz […]
August 13, 2008
In the coming weeks, months and years this blog will be a place where you can stay connected to the community of people we have come to know and love in La Limonada in Guatemala City. We will do our best to update it on a regular basis with stories of the lives of people […]
August 1, 2008
Do you want to impact the life of a child living in poverty? Do you want to inspire hope in that same child’s heart? You can be the one who dramatically changes one child’s life forever. Here’s how: 1. Go the the Lemonade International website. 2. Choose a child to sponsor from “The Kids” section. […]
Sign up to receive exclusive stories and updates from the field in Guatemala!