Spots are available for a week in Guatemala led by our Short-Term Groups Coordinator, Sommer Wisher. The trip is scheduled for July 15-21.

From Sommer…

You will have an amazing opportunity to learn about each of the Lemonade International programs that serve the people of La Limonada in Guatemala City. We will be sharing lessons with children at both Schools, visiting the Communities of Faith, the Vocational Training program, the Micro-Enterprise program and the “Mi Casita” Safe Home. We will wrap up the trip on Friday with a day of reflection and relaxation in the ancient city of Antigua.

This trip will give you insight into another culture and an opportunity to get to know the leaders and families in the La Limonada community.

If you’re interested, please contact me at sommer@lemonadeinternational.org for more information!

-Sommer Wisher
Short-Term Groups Coordinator

The students from Colegio Americano were incredibly organized and each one of them engaged in the activities with the children. It was a great day for everyone involved.

In the weeks leading up to the activity day, the eighth graders also collected food and money to donate to the schools. Thanks to everyone at Colegio Americano who made this possible!

Photos: Tina Breshears

Eight Year-Old Megan Jolley, from Raleigh, NC, decided that she wanted to give something back to others for her eighth birthday. When presented with the idea of doing a Lemonade Stand she lit up with excitement.

Her family had been sponsoring a child and supporting the Mi Casita Safe Home… and Megan was so excited to do so much more than the family could do alone. She set a goal to raise $208 through her Lemonade Stand (which was both a literal AND virtual Lemonade Stand).

About a month later she blew away her goal… raising a total of $2,942.84!!

You don’t have to sell lemonade to have a Lemonade Stand… but you can. A Lemonade Stand is your personal fundraising page to support our programs. You can run a 5K, host an art show or a yard sale, give up wedding or birthday presents… or simply set a goal and ask your friends, family members and coworkers to help you reach it.

Sign up to start your Lemonade Stand today!

Allison Fernanda is an energetic six year-old from La Limonada who attends the Limon School. She constantly has a smile on her face and will run to greet anyone who walks through her classroom door. She says she loves going to the school because within its walls she has learned to love her neighbor and share her life with her friends.

Thanks to our scholarship program, she attends formal school in the mornings then she attends the Limon School in La Limonada in the afternoons.

The school provides a warm meal and vitamins, and each day a loving teacher awaits her arrival. In the afternoon, she is one of seventeen six and seven year-olds in her class. Maria, her teacher, provides the class with holistic education – the children learn everything from math to Bible to hygiene.

Allison is the oldest of three children – and a daughter to a single mom. “God is our Daddy,” she says, when asked who He is.

Allison says that although she learns in her formal school, she prefers attending the Limon School in the afternoon because there is more friendship and it is better than other places she knows. “I like to pay attention in class. When I grow up I’d like to be a veterinarian or a photographer. I’d like to help my family, too. It’s nice because my best friends live in La Limonada and they attend the Limon school, too.”

Without an opportunity to be educated and mentored, the children of La Limonada are often neglected and abused. By their teen years the boys are lured into gangs and the girls become pregnant without the means to care for a baby. Children like Allison are provided with an education and hope for a better life through God’s love.

Through The May Campaign you can make a difference in the life of a child just like Allison. Shared Sponsorship is an opportunity to partner with us to invest in the lives of the children we serve by creating sustainable support for the schools in La Limonada.

Recruit a family member, friend or coworker to share the sponsorship of the child or teacher you sponsor or increase your current monthly donation to $70 ($100 for teacher sponsorship).

Go to the Sponsor a Girl, Sponsor a Boy or Sponsor a Teacher page to find the child/teacher you sponsor, click on their photo and share their personal page with the people you know and ask them to join you in sponsorship or Contact Us to let us know if you would like to increase your monthly gift.

In celebration of the International Day of Families, we recognize Ana and the Xiloj family from La Limonada. Ana has been working in the Limón School for the past two years as an assistant teacher in the 4 and 5 year-old classroom. Two of her children attend the Limón School, her youngest child, Alejandro, receives a scholarship to attend pre-school while Ana is working. Thanks to Aaron and Megan from Cincinnati, OH for sponsoring Ana, and Ann from Springboro, OH and the Perry family from Raleigh, NC for sponsoring children from this family.

We’re grateful to announce that Sommer Wisher has recently joined our staff part-time as Short-Term Groups Coordinator. We’re thankful for those who provided the funds specifically to make this happen.

Sommer has been involved with our work since 2008 and has traveled to Guatemala four times since then. We’re excited to have Sommer join our team to provide an even greater experience for the short-term groups who travel to Guatemala to serve with us in La Limonada.

From Sommer:

The work done through Lemonade International has had a grip on my heart strings since I first heard of their work. I have been deeply invested in the ministry that is happening through so many giving people and I’ve been personally changed by the relationships I’ve built through my association with this organization. The word “excited” does not begin to encompass my emotions as I join the staff as the Short-Term Groups Coordinator.

I feel incredibly honored to be in this role and blessed beyond measure that I am afforded the opportunity. I feel compelled to walk alongside individuals/groups as they experience the sights, stories, and lives of those living in LaLimonada. It’s my hope that I can successfully utilize my gifts of organization and love for people to ensure that each person’s experience is lasting and life-changing. Thank you for allowing me to work for such a beautiful purpose!

Sommer’s gift and passions will be a tremendous asset to our work and we believe she’s a great fit for this role. Please join us in welcoming her to the Lemonade International team.

-Bill Cummings

Through The May Campaign you can provide monthly support for our programs in La Limonada by making a commitment to give TEN DOLLARS a month – through TEN2END – our campaign to end hunger for children living in the largest urban slum in Central America.

Would you be one of 50 people who will give $10 a month? By doing so you will help to provide 11 healthy meals per month for a child in one of the schools in La Limonada. That’s less than $1 per meal. TEN DOLLARS can help change a child’s life.

If you’re already a partner of Lemonade International, would you help spread the word by posting the following on Facebook and Twitter:

FACEBOOK: For $10 per month you can become a member of TEN2END – providing meals for a child in La Limonada through Lemonade International. Will you be one of the 50 new members to join us in ending hunger? http://www.lemonadeinternational.org/seasonal-projects/join-ten2end/

TWITTER: For $10 a month you can help end hunger for a child in La Limonada. Be one of 50 to join @lemonadeintl’s TEN2END. http://www.lemonadeinternational.org/seasonal-projects/join-ten2end/

Join TEN2END Today →

Through our work in Guatemala over the past several years I have had the pleasure of getting to know Joel Van Dyke and the work of Estrategia de Transformación. He is a great partner and friend of Tita’s and her ministry has been greatly impacted by his work to develop communities of transformational leaders who serve in difficult places among marginalized people in Guatemala City and throughout Central America.

Joel, and Kris Rocke, the Executive Director of the Center for Transforming Mission, have recently released the book Geography of Grace. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is passionate about serving people living on the margins or interested in learning more about what God calls us to as it relates to His love for the urban poor.

My friend Jeremiah Griswold describes the book well:

“There is no doubt that while this book will challenge those who subscribe to a theology of glory, it will be an important contribution to a smaller body of work regarding theology of the cross, and stand in solidarity with those who suffer and those who walk with the suffering. I felt comforted in reading this book that the Jesus they describe understands being beaten. He understands being called names and accused. He understands being betrayed. And I was challenged by the words of Jesus, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do….Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” I am excited to share this book with friends who have become disenfranchised with the dominant contemporary methods of doing evangelical church yet still seek a spirituality that fits real life.”

“This is a beautiful book and a true book, proving again that they are the same thing! You will get to the essentials quickly here, and in a way that will change you both painlessly and painfully.”
Fr. Richard Rohr, O.F.M.
Author and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation

Geography of Grace will serve as a manual for the Lemonade International team and will be required reading for all who serve with us for many years to come.

-Bill Cummings

Marta, a former prostitute in zone one, celebrates her 76th birthday at a Community of Faith gathering