AUGUST 2015

We thank you for visiting our website and facebook page and reading the

latest news from the activities at the Orthodox Residence San Miguel by the

Lake.

1st Mr. Russell gave a class to boys

and girls with videos at the

woodshop. They all enjoyed grandpa

again.

Family visit took place in the afternoon.

Mr. Russell bought five desk

computers for the woodshop so they

can use them with the Aspire program

to design different projects. Thank

you Grandpa!

2nd The Akathist for Holy

Communion was chanted before

the Divine Liturgy celebrated by

Father Antonio. A Trisagion was

prayed for Dr. Manuel Ayau

(Muso) on his fifth anniversary of

his departure to our Lord. Memory

eternal!

Mr. Russell fell at the hotel and after supper he did not feel well so he was

taken to a hospital in the city. The young girls cared very much for him.

3rd Mr. Russell spent the day in the hospital and many of the young girls

came to be with him. Ramón was asked to help and assist him.

The children cleaned their playground from all the weeds that grow so

fast.

4th By medical advice Mr. Russell went back to his home in

Indiana. Everyone at San Miguel was very sad but grandpa needed to

recuperate. Much health for him!

The Indiana Team arrived

leaded by Father David Wey as the

spiritual leader and assisted by

Michael and Helen Young. Other 8

missionaries accompanied the

team. Women stayed at the rooms of

the Tabor House for missionaries and

men stayed at the missionary room at

San Miguel. Welcome!

Many years to Carmen Ayau who came to celebrate

her birthday at San Miguel with all the children!

5th The orientation meeting for

the team took place early in the

morning and the kind donations

they brought were received. A

tour around San Miguel was

appreciated by the new

missionaries who visited us.

The team started their main project of cleaning the walls of the school

to set up the new wooden shelves made at the woodshop.

The last wood that remained at the

Hogar in downtown was brought to San

Miguel for its use at the woodshop. A

wooden shed was constructed for this

purpose.

The Vigil for the Feast of Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ took place

in the church.

6th The Akathist to Our Sweet

Lord Jesus was chanted before the

Divine Liturgy celebrated by Father

David and Father Antonio. At the

end of the Liturgy the fruit donated by

the Indiana team was blessed. Special

prayers were made for Samuel who

graduated from school and Madre

Inés gave him his graduation

diploma. Samuel was happy to

receive the honor of taking the Festal

icon to the comedor.

Brunch was enjoyed by all and

all the fruits were

enjoyed. Pears, grapes and

apples donated by the team;

bananas, pitahayas and limes

grown at the

Monastery. Samuel enjoyed his

special lunch and presents

celebrating his graduation from

school, he will be learning how

to work at the Monastery’s farm

and living with the other young

boys at San Miguel.

Santiago Laverde, his wife Carolina

Zapata and their ten year old son

Alejandro arrived from Houston for the

Shopbot Camp. They stayed at Mayan

Golf Club invited by Dr. Alan

Russell. Later in the afternoon they came

to visit San Miguel and started by giving

maintenance to the Shopbot.

We deeply thank our “Friends

from Norway” sponsor group

as through them Edgar was

able to receive a brand new

pair of Siemens hearing

devices. He is able to hear

much more with the

devices. God bless you our

dear friends!

The girls enjoyed a workshop on how to make lip balm presented by

Panayiota Moe from the team.

The young boys enjoyed their first

iconography class with Father Deacon John

Rigby who came with the team.

7th The Shopbot Camp

(www.shopbot.com) started with

several guests attending. Gloria was

the Master of Ceremonies and guided

the workshop both days. The

schedule went like this:

8:30-9:00 Reception, coffee and

cookies

9:00-9:15 Welcome and Introduction (Madre Ivonne)

9:15:-9:30 Report: San Miguel Woodworking Academy (Astrid

Carrillo, girls + boys)

9:30-9:45 Visitors’ Introduction

9:45-10:00 Report: Shopbot Latin America (Santiago Valverde)

10:00-10:30 Desk Shopbot Show and Tell (Timothy Martini)

10:30-11:00 Handibot presentation (Santiago Valverde)

11:00-11:30 Coffee break

11:30-12:00 Aspire Version 8 (Carolina Laverde)

12:00-12:45 Questions and answers

1:00- 2:00 Lunch

2:00-4:00 Project 1 (Santiago Laverde)

8th The second and last day of the

Shopbot Camp took place with much

hands on time to demonstrate the use

of the several Shopbot units. The

schedule went like this:

8:30-9:00 Reception, coffee and

cookies

9:00-9:15 Welcome and Introduction (Madre Ivonne)

9:15:-9:45 Shopbot Products’ Costs (Michael Young)

9:45-10:15 Aspire Design (Carolina Laverde)

10:15-11:00 Tips and tricks (Santiago Laverde)

11:00-11:30 Coffee break

11:30-12:45 Projects and designs

1:00- 2:00 Lunch

2:00-3:45 Projects and designs

3:45-4:00 Thank you´s and farewells

A certificate was given to all

participates signed by Mother Inés

and Santiago Laverde. The young

ones had a great time and learned a

lot. We thank Dr. Alan Russell for

sponsoring this event (although he

was greatly missed) and thank

Santiago and Carolina for coming to

teach all those who attended.

Gaby turned 10 years old and

celebrated it with a birthday cake

at supper. Father David from the

team gave her a very special

handmade wooden cross. Many

years Gaby!

The Vigil was celebrated rather late at the chapel.

9th The Akathist to Our Sweet

Lord Jesus was chanted prior to the

Divine Liturgy celebrated by Father

David Way.

After brunch, the missionary

presentations took place, an activity the

children enjoy very much. It was made

at the woodshop learning room.

In the afternoon, women from the Indiana team taught the girls under the

direction of Panayiota Moe how to make soap using different ingredients and

aromas. The boys went to clean the castle near the house by the lake.

Supper was enjoyed by all as the team cooked an Italian meal for all

the children and young ones. It was delicious!

10th The team visited Antigua for the day. When they returned they had a

final meeting with a Q and A activity for the young ones that came as part of

the team.

Trufa received a bath and Stiven

learned by participating, he got so

wet he needed a bath too!

11th The children said

farewell to the team from

Indiana at Matins as they

went back to their

homes. All our gratitude to

the missionaries who

continue to come and bring

new people year after

year. Thank you Michael

and Helen for your sincere

love and trust!

A general rehearsal for the play

“Mowgli” by Rudyard Kipling took

place. The children and young ones

enjoy theater so much! It is a wonderful

way for expressing themselves!

12th The young girls at the woodshop worked

hard on wooden boards requested by Mayan

Golf Club for their golf course.

A second general rehearsal for the play “Mowgli” took place in the

afternoon.

13th We thank the parish of Christ the Savior

Orthodox Church in Chicago where Father John

Baker is the priest, for their sponsorship towards

Giselle. Thanks to them she was able to have new

reading glasses!

A third general rehearsal for the play

“Mowgli” was carried out and it’s

amazing how the children and young

ones perform.

The woodshopers gave Mayan Golf

Club the finished designed wooden

board. Amazing work girls!

14th The final rehearsal for the play

“Mowgli” with black dresses and

make up took place. Katya brought

out the best performance from our

children and young

ones! Awesome!!!

The Vigil for the Feast of the

Dormition of the Mother of God was

celebrated with Father Antonio. The

procession took place inside the church

as it was raining. Everyone enjoyed

Lytia and the Lamentations, which are

so deeply powerful.

Jesse Brandow, missionary in Huehuetenango,

Guatemala came to share among us this feast

day. Welcome!

15th The

Akathist to the

Mother of God

was chanted

before the

Divine Liturgy

celebrated by

Father

Antonio. The

blessing of

herbs and

flowers took

place after the

Liturgy. What a

special feast day

this is! On this

Feast day the

city of Guatemala was consecrated to the Mother of God. Oh Holy

Theotokos, pray to God for us!

The big day for the

presentation of the play

“Mowgli” arrived. The

presentation was inside

the comedor as it was

raining. The children

performed wonderfully

and all present who were

invited enjoyed the

play. We thank Katya, a

Russian professional

theater teacher and

Aleksandra our Russian

language teacher, for

preparing this play with so much love and care for our children. Dr. Galina

Ershova, Director of Cemyk (www.cemyk.org) in Guatemala, gave the thank

you words and presented Mother Inés, children, young ones and theater

teachers with flowers. What a joyful day for our beloved children!

The children and young

ones were invited by their theater

teacher to a lunch in their honor at

the house by the lake. They really

enjoyed the tons of roasted beef

and blinis (Russian crepes) they

ate. They played and even got wet

under the rain, what a joy! They

finished this wonderful day with a

dance at the comedor!

Jesse Brandow shared

most of this beautiful

day with us. Please

read Jesse’s newsletter

and support his work with the greeks as a missionary in our beautiful

country. Click here to read the news.

16th The Akathist to the

Mother of God was chanted

prior to the Divine Liturgy

celebrated by Father

Antonio.

After brunch the children and young ones

enjoyed watching television as it was raining

most of the day. At about noon there was like

a small tornado shape in the sky upon the

lake. In the afternoon the rainbow was

beautiful. Nature is such a wonderful

spectacle!

17th The nice wooden displayers

for our gift shop have been

refurbished and they look pretty and

useful.

18th The car used for San

Miguel’s service had a flat tire. So

many came to help! San Miguel is

full of good deeds.

19th On this day they notified that Reina’s

mother, Leticia had slept in the Lord. She was

very sick with cancer and unfortunately they did

not let us know she was in the hospital. A

Trisagion was prayed in the chapel and later on

some of the older girls went with her to the

wake. Memory eternal to Leticia!

20th Another Trisagion was prayed in

the chapel in memory of Leticia. Father

Antonio celebrated the funeral service

and burial in the general

cemetery. Reina was very sad but

coping in a Christian way. May the

Lord comfort Reina!

21st Reina celebrated her 18th

birthday with a great mixture of

emotions. A cake was brought to

cheer her up. In the evening they

had a teenager dinner. Many years

Reina!

22nd Our former nurse Raquel Castillo came to visit with her two

daughters. They stayed for lunch. It was a wonderful visit from someone who

worked so hard for the children!

The Vigil for Sunday was chanted at the chapel.

23rd The Akathist for Holy

Communion was chanted prior to the

Divine Liturgy celebrated by Father

Antonio. Maridelyn who was baptized

and chrismated some time ago came

with her daughter Camila and stayed

for brunch. They live in Moscow and

came to visit Guatemala. Welcome!

After brunch, all the children and young ones went to the house by the lake to

bid farewell to Katya. She did a wonderful job with the children teaching

them how to express themselves through theater. Thank you dearest Katya!

24th Farewell to Katya who returned back to her normal life of studies at the

University of Humane Sciences and theater in Moscow, Russia. Thank you

again Katya!

25th Samuel received from

Mother Inés all his working

equipment. A watch, his

schedule, good working boots

and all he needed.

Reina Marroquín, recently graduated in

Moscow as a Psychologist arrived for a one

month visit. She will be returning to study her

Master’s degree in Moscow as she got a

scholarship. Everyone so happy to see her after

six years of living in Moscow. Welcome and

congratulations for your success dear Reina!

Mother Ivonne presented a

conference entitled “Medicinal

Mushrooms in Guatemala” at

the International Medicinal

Mushroom Conference in

Manizales,

Colombia. (www.immc8.com) The talk reflected the work that has been done

in the past 20 years with the

use of medicinal

mushrooms. Her renowned

Professor Dr. Gastón

Guzmán from México

celebrated this event as well

as his lovely wife

Isabel. Many colleagues

from Italy, Costa Rica, Chile

and other countries were

present. By the way: we

introduce our new web page “Hongos-Mushrooms en el Monastery” that will

be launched in the month of September. You are welcome to visit it as news

and reports about the mushroom world will be displayed for all to learn and

enjoy.

26th Teens continue to work on the bookcases for the school’s

classrooms. They should continue to install them soon.

27th A complete stop in all

activities in the country

happened due to the major

corruption scandals from the

government. The people asked

for the President to resign,

which he finally did. Global

politics are strange. God protect

us!

28th Stiven and Daniela went again to court. The Judge decided to leave

them at this Residence for six more months.

29th Fernanda Guadalupe

celebrated her 7th birthday with

a cake for lunch. Many years!

Rebeca decided to go back to her immediate

family. She went to live to her

grandmother’s and aunt’s home. Sara is

also living there. We wish Rebeca the best

that God might give her! We will miss her

deeply as she came here when she was

almost two years old. Take care of yourself

dear Rebeca and you are ready and

educated to continue through this wonderful

trip that is life! She will continue her College education with IEIRA

www.ieira.edu.gt and will work at a call center. Her first job on her own.

Bravo!

The Vigil for Sunday was chanted in the chapel.

30th The Akathist for Holy Communion was

chanted before the Divine Liturgy celebrated by

Father Antonio.

For brunch, Olga a Russian Engineer

living in Guatemala visited us with two

delicious cakes made by her in order to

celebrate her birthday. Many years

dear Olga!

For Fernanda Guadalupe’s, her

grandmother and God mother

who is a Dentist, brought a

birthday cake and a Minion’s

piñata. After eating the children

enjoyed beating the

piñata. Many years again!

The children enjoyed the rest of Sunday afternoon walking and playing; tv

too! Mean while, Astrid and Gloria went out to celebrate Jember’s 18th

birthday. Many years dear Jember!

31st Mónica and her mother Silvia, our

loyal accountants, had a car accident on their

way to work at the Hogar. Thank God they

were safe and the insurance of the lady using

her cell phone while driving will pay them

repairs. Be safe when you drive, do not use

cell phones!

Vespers for the new Orthodox Liturgical Year were celebrated at the chapel.

And of course, the children attend school regularly, from 8 am to 4

pm.

Last Notes:

Enjoy this video of the Pacific Ocean in Guatemala. It is a wonderful

sea! Click here.

Enjoy this video of our new two year old "priest" Stiven. He loves to

cense and chant as we do in church. Amen. Click Here.

Interesting how our Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch is working with the

Vatican on ecological issues. Read more

at: http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/es/vaticano/dettagliospain/articolo/frances

co-ecologia-42754/

Our gratitude to:

To all our sponsors who support , love and trust our work, abroad and here in Guatemala

Our Prayers for:

All Orthodox Christians around the world, especially where Christians

are being persecuted and murdered.

Bishop Yussef and Bishop Yuhanna who continued to be abducted in

Syria.

We thank everyone for your continued support and love. Your

donations are invaluable, both from Guatemalans and from the missionaries

who visit us and all the supportive people abroad. Your monetary donations

are helpful to run the San Miguel Residence. Please pray for us as we pray for

you!

Remember: if you want to visit our latest news check the following, Facebook

(https://www.facebook.com/hogar.rafaelayau)

Web page of the Residence (www.hogarafaelayau.org)

Foundation Friends of the Hogar (www.friendsofthehogar.org).