In early January we received a visit from Margee, a retired preschool teacher from Wisconson who was touring Guatemala with Farmer to Farmer, a grass-roots organization working in Guatemala to support peace and cross-cultural understanding. As we were just launching our new preschool program at La Puerta Abierta, we were delighted to have a vertran teacher on site.
Margee too, was inspired by her visit to La Puerta Abierta and amongst returning to the US, she started a book and supply drive within her community for our center. She began collecting art supplies and school materials from local libraries, elementary schools, and girl scout troops. She also sent a letter to Scholastic soliciting books in Spanish for our center and....4 months later, two big boxes of donated books showed up on her door step.
I continue to give thanks for our network of friends and supporters around the world who believe in our work at La Puerta Abierta and who not only sustain our programs, but allow them to grow and expand. Two of our biggest fans and supporters, Judy and her son Chris, made their second journey this year to Guatemala. In addition to bringing a suitcase full of donations collected amongst their church friends for the library, they also hauled our new Scholastic books to La Puerta Abierta.
Truly, I have received so much joy in my work...I'm living my dream and find my days filled with purpose and gratitude. I feel blessed that others can also participate in joyful giving from afar, sharing our story of La Puerta Abierta and caring for the children of Santiago Atitlan.
We send a heart felt thank you to Margee, Judy, Chris and SCHOLASTIC BOOKS!
As we continue with our exploration of world cultures, we were so fortunate to receive a visit from Emma's grandmother (aka my mother:) who shared with us her favorite pancake recipe. Anne explained that pancakes are as common in America as tortillas are in Guatemala. We learned how to make pancakes and sampled them with honey for our snack. 
This month we're studying world cultures at La Puerta Abierta and we've invited guests from around the world to share their countries with us. Bree, from Australia, joined us last week and showed us a slide show of beaches, koalas and indigenous crafts from her country. She also taught us how to make vegemite sandwiches which we all tried and some liked:)
