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Casa de Gracia

Name: CasaDeGracia
Address: Ciudad Vieja, Indiana, 46112, GT
Telephone: +502 4910-4098

Mentor | Disciple | Equip

A transition home and program for young people in Guatemala aging out of systems of protection (orphanages) at age 18.

About Us

2026 has officially been kicked off!
Our Casa de Gracia team enjoyed an excellent All-Day Retreat to kick off our new year together!
It was a day full of planning, praying, and preparing our hearts and minds for the year ahead of us.
And we needed it, it’s gonna be a huge year!

We spent time talking about books we want to read together on Godly wisdom, Gospel based leadership principles and other ways to keep our hearts and minds focused on our Lord and Redeemer as the year progresses and life gets crazier!

There was much updating, project planning plus brainstorming and troubleshooting sessions that will keep us busy in our weekly meetings for some time to come as we work through topics to create protocols and employee handbook, etc.
But first and foremost, we praise God for the work He has given us and the team He has given us to do it with 🙌🏼 2025 was truly amazing and 2026 is already looking great!

“Many hands make light work”
This saying is so old and yet still so true! And @athurber1125 and her team from @southtulsabaptist really brought this to life for us with their recent visit as they came alongside us to help us in our efforts to make our campus beautiful again, bit by bit!
At our Casa de Gracia site, we have made so much progress but there is still an overwhelming amount of work to be done.

So our team would like to say a special Thank You to each one on this team that worked so hard toiling in the dirt and sweating in order to help us! They helped us clean, maintain and weed around trees and flowers that others have helped us plant and even helped plant some new trees plus put much needed water on all of them (cause dry season is real and rough 😅).

Thank You for joining us in our efforts to steward well this beautiful property God has provided us. And in making this a place of beauty and healing for each young person that will be part of our program.
It’s worth all the toiling!

What an amazing way to start the New Year! We were blessed with an all day visit from @athurber1125 and her team from @southtulsabaptist and our first ever opportunity to worship together with music and encouragement from God’s word!
Along with all that, we talked, we shared testimonies of God’s goodness and grace in our lives, we toured the site and we toiled together!! (More about the toiling coming Soon 😉)
Thank you again for spending your day with us, listening, sharing, worshipping, sweating in the dirt and most of all, praying over us! It was a beautiful and blessed day!
📸 @ea.fotografo 🫶

¡Gracias Jose Salazar!
On behalf of our LDAVC Board of Directors and our Casa de Gracia Team, we would like to say a really big thank you to Jose Salazar of @iglesiareforma for joining us as our special guest in our December 2025 meeting. Thank you for the encouraging and challenging message you prepared for us!

From Luke 24 we were able to see some comforting and convicting truths.
1) Jesus is WITH us even when we are struggling, tired, angry…He is alongside us in this journey not just waiting for us at the finish line!
2) Jesus joins us as we walk and work together in Unity~Unity through His Spirit!
3) Jesus teaches us to re-center our heart by spending time with the Father, in His Word!

Thank you for leading us through this beautiful passage of Scripture.
Thank you for asking us good and sometimes hard questions.
Thank you for your intentionality in all your preparation even in the current sleep deprived season you are in 😉
We pray God will bless you just a you blessed us!

A few Updates for You!
With these more recent Pics of the Home we wanted to give an Update on our Wish List Campaign to help fill the homes!

We have basically created 3 wish lists for what we will need~
1) Wish Lists for the furnishings we will need for the homes (kitchen appliances, tables, chairs, sofas, mattresses, etc). These we will need to purchase in country so we have a donation link for this!

2) Wish Lists for the Welcome Kits we want to make for each girl for the day she arrives, we are very excited about these! (Bibles, journals, pens, highlighters, coffee mug) These items are being purchased on Amazon Wish Lists and on our Donation link

3) Wish Lists for the items we want to have ready in the small ‘store’ we will have on site for the girls to visit upon arrival (a variety of sheets and towels to choose from, pillows, personal hygiene products, undergarments, etc)
These items are being purchased on Amazon Wish Lists and on our Donation link.
Most items on the Amazon Wish List have already been purchased! We will be adding more as we continue to identify needs.
We already know we want a small library on site for the young people so stay tuned! Those kinds of resources will begin being added next!
THANK YOU TO EACH ONE WHO IS PARTICIPATING!! We can’t tell you what a huge encouragement you have been!

What a joy to share a meal together with our Board of Directors and our Team IN THE HOME!
It was the best way to wrap up a great year-end board meeting and a great year of work!

We loved the chance to tour the site; the upper and lower homes, the trade school and key points of infrastructure together.
We rejoiced together to see how much progress has been made in 2025!
We praise God for this Board of Directors, our amazing team and all God is doing!

With much joy we share a few moments from our 2025 year-end Board Meeting for Los de Atrás Vienen Conmigo (LDAVC). It was a beautiful time of gathering and celebrating along with our Casa de Gracia Team! We talked about and rejoiced over all that God has done this year at the Casa de Gracia site and with the development of our LDAVC program that the young people on site will be a part of!
We enjoyed food, fellowship and much encouragement from our special guest speaker Jose Salazar! He shared from Luke 24, led us through activities and gave us opportunities to share our thoughts, our hearts, our highs and lows from the year.
A beautiful and much needed time together!

Next we all headed to the site! Stay tuned for more about that!

We Have Big News! A new partnership has emerged and it’s a win-win for everyone ☕️

Village Collective Roasters has chosen Casa de Gracia to be the recipient of 100% of their profits! This is not only an amazing blessing but we promise you, this Guatemala fair trade, directly sourced coffee is DELICIOUS! ☕️

Some really great news is that we now have 2 ways to purchase this amazing coffee to enjoy at home plus help Casa de Gracia at the same time!!
1)You can buy it on site from us when you visit! We love your visits!!
2) You can go to their website and order this amazing coffee to be delivered to your door in the US!! Incredible right?!? 🙌🏼

Village Collective Roasters was created specifically to help the people of Guatemala. So the farming, roasting and shipping is all about helping local farmers (all females) and their communities. And their heart is for the profits to go to help vulnerable young women in Guatemala…which is where Casa de Gracia comes into the picture. And we are truly grateful!

We’d love for you to visit their website and learn more about them and their mission.
{ https://www.villagecoroasters.com }

You can also learn more about them and this partnership on our Casa de Gracia website; on our home page, partner page and blog post! {link in bio}

Our team has been hard at work along with the team from Vco to get all the details and logistics in place for this partnership!

We praise God for the way He works. Partnerships like this are a great example of how He helps and encourages us through the body of Christ!

A sneak peek of something new and exciting our team has been working on! New Partnership in the works! Stay Tuned!

Casa de Gracia would love to be on your 2025 Christmas List 🎄here’s a little sneak peek inside the houses as we invite you to help us get these homes ready!

Clearly it’s gonna be about 6 more months until move-ins begin but even now we are working to collect items and furniture we know the homes will need and personal items that the girls will need immediately upon their arrival.
If you want to help, we are providing 2 ways…
-Amazon Wish List link if you want to do some of the shopping
-Donation Link if you want to help us buy in country items like mattresses, kitchen appliances, furniture, etc!
We are adding new items to our Wish List every week as we talk about the different rooms,the Welcome Kits, the on site Store/Tienda we will have for them to choose needed items.
Then larger items we will buy in country 🇬🇹

Please join us in getting everything ready for the young ladies God will bring!

Redeemed Steel Trade School construction is on schedule and looking great!
Our on-site crew is preparing all of the infrastructure work that includes massive amounts of rebar and concrete deep underground for the strength needed to withstand all the seismic activity we have here. They are also building the block walls and the concrete posts that the metal structure will sit on. This very large structure of metal beams and panels is being constructed at an off site factory that specializes in these types of buildings.
It is truly impressive to see the incredible amount of details and labor that is going into this trade school.
Every time we see the progress on site, we think of the young people, most likely young men, that will benefit from this place. They will they learn incredibly needed and valuable trade skills like welding, wood working, leather working, knife forging, etc. They will also be able to be discipled as they participate in Bible studies. As well, they will be mentored in our Life Skills program. We are so grateful for the learning and community this place is going to provide to young people who desperately need it!
Construction is estimated to finish May 2026!!
Please pray with us for every provision needed to fully furnish this place with all the needed equipment that will be purchased, shipped down on a shipping container and installed. We still have a ways to go but we are truly rejoicing in where we are today!

Just a glimpse of the countless hours of ‘behind the scenes’ work that have gone on for several years and continue to this day.

These planning and design meetings for every aspect, every detail of what will be needed at the Casa de Gracia campus have been mountains of work and tons of fun all at the same time!
Casa de Gracia architect and site manager @byronochali is so incredibly talented and such a huge blessing to work with.

We praise God for each one who pours so much into the planning of Casa de Gracia.
May God be pleased and honored by it all ❤️

Big News! We are inviting you to put Casa de Gracia on your 2025 Christmas List! 🌲
Construction of the first set of transition homes is scheduled to wrap up June/July 2026!
That means that the Smith family can begin moving in mid-summer and begin preparing everything to receive girls in the months that follow!

If you have visited the Casa de Gracia site at any point or been following along with us in this adventure via videos, photos and social media, you know what a truly Big Deal this is for all of us!
You’ve probably heard us talk about things we Know we will Need to provide for the girls upon their arrival. We have also talked about the things we Want to provide for them in order that from their first moments at Casa de Gracia, they begin to feel a love and dignity that they may not yet have known.
For instance,
-We want to have a simple selection of sheets and towels so they can choose a color or pattern they like rather than the institutional white they have likely always been assigned.
-We want them to have their own new pillow, not just an old, used one.
-And we absolutely want them to have their own mattress, likely for the first time in their life. Again, not something old and used, but theirs as part of their first steps into a new life!
-We will need to have a selection of bathroom, hygiene and basic clothing items that they will not likely have with them upon arrival.
-We want to have welcome kits that will include a Bible, journal, pens, highlighters,etc!
These are just a few things that we have been dreaming of for these girls.

Of course, the home will need furniture, appliances, desks, lamps, and so on!

💥This is where we would love to involve all of you!
💥 We will be putting together wish list items with Amazon links for things that can be brought down as we or others are able.
💥 We will also have a list of needed furnishings that can be donated towards that we will purchase in-country.
So stay tuned! We will be posting about this throughout November and December and invite you to put Casa de Gracia on your Christmas List!

This year has been a season of building at Casa de Gracia. Our team has been hard at work writing lesson plans, developing our program timeline, and receiving training to ensure we serve with excellence.
•Our Discipleship curriculum dives into topics like identity in Christ, the Gospel of John, how to study the bible, and healthy relationships with others.
•Our Life Skills lesson plans are geared to equip young adults in areas such as personal finance, communication, health & hygiene, and guidance on independent living.

Alongside this, we are strengthening our Mentorship pillar — participating in trainings, receiving counsel from professionals in trauma-informed care, and workshopping a mentorship structure that will support each young adult in a meaningful and consistent way.
Every step brings us closer to opening our doors and walking with these young men and women as they take their next steps towards a future and hope.

Please pray for wisdom and diligence as we seek to provide the best possible program for our young people. 🤍🏡🇬🇹

We are so excited to share these latest drone images of the progress on the Casa de Gracia Transition Home!

Every week more details of the beautiful and intentional design of this home come to life.

Our team continues equipping ourselves as we prepare for each young person we will welcome to Casa de Gracia!
Over the last several months we have worked through this training together with our instructors, individually watching the training videos and as a team, working to outline specific requirements and expectations related to this crucial topic for us at Casa de Gracia.
We are so grateful for the ministry of Nicodemus that offers such carefully created, quality training on Biblical Mentorship. Mentoring will be a critical part of our program therefore it is of the utmost importance to us that we as a team are well trained for this and have this resource for any mentors who will come alongside to accompany our participants in the program.

Great job, Team! And Big Thank you to the amazing team at Nicodemus for this great program!

Check out these recent drone photos! Every day things are taking shape more and more as construction continues progressing more and more every day!

From these photos you can see how much the transition home is coming together! Both the upper and lower complete homes are looking great with hundreds of details being worked on every day!
We are also really excited that construction has begun on the Redeemed Steel trade school!
Also, the well drilling is complete and final details are being worked on, we praise God for this provision!
As well, the septic tanks are installed and the system is connected!
Plus, you can see the all the platforms created for each building to come.

We celebrate all this progress and ask you to join us in thanking God for all that’s happened and for all that is still needed.
Projected Timeline;
May 2026- Trade School construction done…praying for logistics and provision in getting all equipment on site.
June/July 2026- Transition Home done and ready for Smith family to move into lower home as house parents and prepare to receive girls into upper home.
Please Pray with us in all of this 🙏🏼

September started with some great news….Construction Work has begun on the @redeemedsteel Trade School!
And our Casa de Gracia Crew is truly Celebrating!!
The US based ministry, Redeemed Steel, is funding and equipping this super important part of our program.

The need for this facility in our context is huge! Being able to partner with this ministry will really help us at Casa de Gracia be able to provide not only MUCH needed skills for job opportunities but also very much needed discipleship and a healthy community for the young people in our program and even the community around us!

“How can we help?”
We love that question!
Our wish list is long so we are super grateful for those who ask!

We were recently really blessed by a visit from Focus Group, who asked us this very question.
They came to serve, to listen and understand our mission and vision and even brought gifts to the girls who will soon call this place home!

We are truly thankful to Brenda Sandoval, Tom McAdams and their group for 2 big things;
1)They cleaned, prepped and planted!
26 more colorful bougainvillea are now making Casa de Gracia a little more beautiful!
2)Knowing that most young people in this context so often have all their belongings in plastic bags, they brought nice, new luggage for each girl to take with her when she completes her time at Casa de Gracia and moves on into her new future!

¡Muchisimas Gracias Focus Group!

Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it
Recent Visits left us with prayers that confront and encourage!
Thank you to @imn.casadefuego and Calvary Chapel Franklin in Tennessee for bringing such a thoughtful and beautiful group! We loved their great questions, their clear understanding of the need and their love for the Lord and His Gospel to be at the heart of everything! You all were a blessing!
Thank you, also, to Ned and Kari Henn of First Baptist Church Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. This is our team member, Betsy Baker’s home church. It was a privilege to have her Elder, Ned and family come tour the site and pray for our team, our work crew and for the young people who will be joining us!
These prayers often feel like they are coming straight to us from the heart of our God and Father.
Ned prayed these words from Psalm 127…
“Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.”

These prayers stick in our hearts and minds.
These words from God’s word guide us, confront us and encourage us all at once!
These words in these visits bless us and fuel us on. Thank you, friends!

Casa de Gracia is much more than a physical place; it is a safe refuge where the youth of the community find the opportunity to grow, learn, and dream of a different future. Our desire is to provide them with a space where they can discover practical trades and acquire life skills that open doors to new opportunities.
We know that Ciudad Vieja, despite its beauty and cultural richness, faces great challenges that shape the lives of many of its inhabitants. Among them, alcoholism has become one of the most common struggles, bringing pain, limitations, and cycles that are difficult to break within families.
At Casa de Gracia, we firmly believe that the story of each young man and woman can change. Through our discipleship program, we not only show them the importance of recognizing and confronting the problem of alcoholism, but we also share with them the transforming message of the Gospel. We are convinced that only with hope, faith, and spiritual guidance is it possible to break the cycles that have affected entire generations.
Our longing is to raise up a new generation of young men and women who dare to dream beyond the limitations of their environment, who recognize their value, and who can become agents of change within their own community. Every workshop, every teaching, and every moment shared at Casa de Gracia will be a seed of transformation that we trust will bear fruit in the future.
We believe that together we can impact lives, restore hearts, and build a different future for Ciudad Vieja.

Tuvimos un vistazo al futuro… ¡y fue hermoso!
Este mes tuvimos la alegría de recibir a los jóvenes de Ministerios Buena Vista en House of Grace. La mayoría de ellos están en la misma etapa de vida que los jóvenes que pronto estaremos acompañando en nuestro hogar de transición y programa de independencia. Nuestro equipo ha estado reuniéndose con estos jóvenes cada semana por casi dos años para estudios bíblicos y discipulado. Muchos de ellos están trabajando para dar el paso hacia una vida adulta independiente, así que ¡esta visita fue muy especial!
Mientras caminaban por la casa—soñando, riendo, imaginando cómo sería vivir aquí—fue como ver la visión hecha realidad. Por primera vez, pudimos sentir cómo será cuando este hogar esté lleno de jóvenes creciendo, sanando y preparándose para una vida independiente.
¡Hasta trajeron un pastel y celebramos nuestro primer cumpleaños en la sala común de la casa! Llenaron el espacio de alegría, risas y esperanza. ¡Esperamos que sea la primera de muchas reuniones y celebraciones aquí!
Gracias, MBV, por ayudarnos a ver el futuro con más claridad. ¡Estamos emocionados por todo lo que viene!

We had a glimpse into the future…and it was beautiful!
Recently , we had the joy of hosting the young adult staff from Ministerios Buena Vista at houseofgrace.gt! Most of them are in the same season of life as the young men and women we’ll be serving in our transition home and independence program. Our team has been meeting with these young people weekly for almost two years for bible studies & discipleship. Many of them are working towards launching into independent adulthood, so this was a special visit!
As they walked through the house—dreaming, laughing, imagining life here—it was like seeing the vision come to life. For the first time, we could feel what it will be like when this home is full of young women growing, healing, and preparing for independence.
They even brought a cake to celebrate our first birthday party in the shared living room—filling the space with joy, laughter, and hope for what’s to come!

#HouseOfGraceGT #HogarDeTransición #Guatemala #Jóvenes #ProgramaDeIndependencia #RompiendoCiclos #EsperanzaEnAcción

¡Our Team!
We talk a lot about our great team and today want to take a moment to recognize them!
Every day, each one puts in so much work on developing the program, writing curriculum, improving communications, design work and planning, fundraising and needed technology details!
On top of all that, we have weekly meetings and trainings on necessary topics of trauma care, biblical mentoring, etc.
But the best part is the heart of each one! Each one on this team comes not only with amazing experience and skill sets, but also a passion and commitment to the mission and vision of Casa de Gracia. Each one works every day as if the work they are doing is for their own sister or daughter and as unto the Lord.
A few team members that do more ‘behind the scenes ‘ work are not pictured here but we are truly grateful for them!
¡We praise the Lord for our Team!

¡Hablamos mucho de nuestro gran equipo y hoy queremos tomarnos un momento para reconocerlos!
Todos los días, cada uno trabaja mucho en el desarrollo del programa, la redacción del plan de estudios, la mejora de las comunicaciones, el trabajo de diseño y planificación, la recaudación de fondos y los detalles tecnológicos necesarios.
Además de todo eso, tenemos reuniones y capacitaciones semanales sobre temas necesarios de ser cuidadores del trauma, Mentores bíblicos, etc.
¡Pero la mejor parte es el corazón de cada uno! Cada uno de los miembros de este equipo viene no solo con una experiencia y habilidades increíbles, sino también con una pasión y un compromiso con la misión y visión de Casa de Gracia. Cada uno trabaja todos los días como si el trabajo que están haciendo fuera para su propia hermana o hija y como para el Señor.

Visits that involve family members of our staff plus first time visitors to Casa de Gracia are extra meaningful 🤍 Thank You @athurber1125 for your intentionality in those you bring to come visit us. It was a really great day!

Queremos aprovechar esta oportunidad no solo para agradecer profundamente al increíble equipo de perforación de pozos por su arduo y dedicado trabajo, sino también para resaltar su admirable perseverancia. Perforar este pozo en este terreno no fue una tarea sencilla. El equipo enfrentó enormes desafíos: se perdieron en cavernas de arena, tuvieron que reiniciar en distintos puntos, se toparon con rocas gigantes que desgastaron las brocas, intentaron diversos métodos y trabajaron incansablemente.

Pero a pesar de todos los obstáculos… ¡perseveraron y prevalecieron!

Hoy, con alegría inmensa, anunciamos que a 195 metros de profundidad se ha encontrado agua abundante y limpia.

¡Gracias a todos que se unieron en oración con nosotros! Nuestro equipo de oración, el staff, los equipos que han visitado recientemente Casa de Gracia, amigos y familiares… todos se unieron en oración, pidiéndole al Señor que nos regalara agua.

Dios ha sido tan bueno con nosotros, y seguimos agradeciéndole día tras día por todo lo que está haciendo.

¡Celebra con nosotros!

Summit Church came to listen, learn and LOVE! They listened to testimonies of our ‘why and how’, they toured, took down a tree, Prayed, planted new things and prayed some more. It was a really great day! Thank you again @summitchurch.tv for everything! You encouraged our hearts so much ❤️

“Thank You for dreaming for those who can’t.”

These insightful words were spoken to Edwin recently by a visitor to Casa de Gracia.

Who are those who don’t dare to dream?
The invisible around us. Those who basically have no rights, no one has their backs, they have nearly no resources.
Those who are simply surviving.
And there is nothing simple about living in survival mode.
Different members of our Casa de Gracia team have their own personal and deep reasons within their hearts for dreaming this Dream for those who can’t. And at the end of the day, as Edwin always says, this Dream was loaned to him by God. It’s from God’s heart and placed in Edwin’s and then to ours for us to carry out for those who don’t dare to dream.

We thank God for visitors with beautiful hearts who share beautiful words of wisdom and insight. They encourage us and fill our tanks to keep pressing on into this need!

“Gracias por soñar por los que no pueden”.

Estas perspicaces palabras le fueron dichas a Edwin recientemente por un visitante de Casa de Gracia.
¿Quiénes son los que no se atreven a soñar?
Lo invisible a nuestro alrededor.
Aquellos que básicamente no tienen derechos, nadie los respalda, casi no tienen recursos. Los que simplemente sobreviven. Y no hay nada simple en vivir en modo de supervivencia.
Diferentes miembros de nuestro equipo de Casa de Gracia tienen sus propias razones personales y profundas dentro de sus corazones para soñar este sueño para aquellos que no pueden.
Y al final del día, como siempre dice Edwin, este Sueño le fue prestado por Dios. Es del corazón de Dios y se coloca en el de Edwin y luego en el nuestro para que lo llevemos a cabo para aquellos que no se atreven a soñar.
Visitantes con hermosos corazones que comparten hermosas palabras de sabiduría y perspicacia, nos animan y llenan nuestros tanques para seguir adelante con esta necesidad.
Damos gracias a Dios por ellos.

Latest Podcast: ‘Architect, Mentor, Friend’
Edwin recently hosted @byronochali, Casa de Gracia architect, site manager and board member to talk about the history of their 9 year friendship! We think you will love hearing this story. The podcast is in Spanish so for those who don’t speak Spanish, here is a summary!

At age 19, Edwin had already aged out of his system of protection and was trying hard to find his way in the world. He had primarily been in survival mode and things were very difficult. Edwin reconnected with his mentor who was helping him significantly. His mentor introduced him to Byron (9 years ago now). Byron was the architect for the coffee shop his mentor was designing and preparing to open. Edwin shared with him that he was a photographer and Byron offered him office space in his building. ‘Come show up to work everyday and see what work develops for you.’ Byron helped him from everything from teaching him how to put a resume together to editing to introductions to other people that led to work opportunities. And work did come along, really good work. And Byron, Edwin and his mentor decided he was ready to launch into the next steps of independence. Edwin explains that this has been a friendship that empowers and teaches you to see potential within yourself you may not have even realized.

A recurring conversation that they had was dreaming about someday designing and building a transition home. How amazing that we are exactly in that place right now! Only God can create these kinds of relationships and weave these kinds of dreams within them!

This podcast is a true testimony to the power of mentorship and leadership. It is also a perfect picture of the amazing ways God works in our lives to accomplish His purposes and plans!

Our Casa de Gracia staff was invited to join the Los de Atrás Vienen Conmigo Board of Directors semi-annual board meeting.

The Theme : Let all things be done decently and in order.
1 Cor 14:40.

To make this time together even more amazing, we had the opportunity to hear from pastor Claudio Fuentes! His words encouraged and confronted our hearts to stay strong in this calling , do it all with excellence and always remember that none of this is about us, it all belongs to the Lord!
It is always a true joy and privilege to join together with hearts and minds so dedicated to serving the most vulnerable in our communities.

The education, expertise and experience of this group serving in this realm are beyond impressive and invaluable. Big Thank You to Claudio and each board member and staff for all of your contributions.

Recent Updates to our website are definitely worth checking out! Big Thank You to @seanmaxon and @chicafromguate for your huge help in this!! Thank you so much (siempre) to our website designer @lovie.aldana! And to @ea.fotografo, Sean and Catherine for your contributions! We are so grateful for each one who dedicates time and talent to support Casa de Gracia, Such an amazing team!

We had so much fun filming this latest update IN THE HOUSE! The 2nd Transition Home is currently under construction and we took advantage of the opportunity to record our latest update On Site, on top of the 1st home and inside the 2nd home!
We hope you enjoy not just hearing the updates of where we are in the process and what’s next and How We Got Here!
Plus {Bonus} video footage of the whole Casa de Gracia site and all that’s going on! Enjoy!!

You can find this podcast update on our Spotify ‘Los de Atrás Vienen Conmigo’ 🎙️

This is Our Mission.
And there is much urgency behind this mission statement. These words don’t show the faces, the hearts and souls of these young people who are aging out at 18 years old into this country and becoming invisible. They are cared for, fed, sheltered and protected in one way or another within their system of protection. Once they step outside, the vulnerability of these young people goes to a whole other level. To a place most of us cannot even imagine.
So this is our mission. And we are working tirelessly to make it happen because these young people are precious in the eyes of their Creator and they deserve this.

Esta es Nuestra Misión.
Y hay mucha urgencia detrás de esta declaración de misión. Estas palabras no muestran los rostros, los corazones y las almas de estos jóvenes que están envejeciendo a los 18 años en este país y se están volviendo invisibles. Son cuidados, alimentados,
cobijados y protegidos de una u otra forma dentro de su sistema de protección. Una vez que salen, la vulnerabilidad de estos jóvenes pasa a otro nivel. A un lugar que la mayoría de nosotros ni siquiera podemos imaginar.
Así que esta es nuestra misión.

Podcast recording continues!

This week, our friends Jonnie and Kim of @nicodemus_latam along with Casa de Gracia team member @betsyjbaker address the importance of Mentoring when talking about Breaking generational cycles! There is so much wisdom, knowledge and experience with these three, you don’t want to miss this! Now on Spotify… ¡Go check it out!

Casa de Gracia Design Meetings Continue!
These kinds of meetings began over 3 years ago and continue to today!
It’s truly incredible to see the thousands of details, the hours upon hours of conversations, thought, and prayer that has gone into all of these plans! Everything from placement of the well to placement of every window. From drainage pipes to dryer vents to healing views and spaces that bring dignity.

_And now we are seeing the fruit of it all as buildings are being constructed and these dreams are becoming reality_!

We praise God for all the hard work of our architects Byron and Julia Chali and our founder, Rich Smith. You all work as into the Lord and we know that this is honors Him!

Proverbs 16:3
Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

Listen!
We live in a world that demands to be heard, but rarely do we stop to listen. Listening to those around us.
Listening to the needs of those God puts in front of us.
Even more importantly, listening to God in our times of prayer….then having the courage and faith (in Him) to act on the direction He gives us.

We thank God for the encouragement of those He brings to visit Casa de Gracia. We thank Him for the words of wisdom spoken during these times together.
Thank You, George and team for the encouragement of your visit!

Thank you for taking time to see what God is doing here!

Planting beauty and hope.
We are beyond grateful for @athurber1125 and her amazing team from First Baptist Church Pottsville! They came to serve us here at Casa de Gracia by planting beautiful things and providing meals to the workers and our team! This kind of love encourages us in this current stage and will continue to bless the lives who will be live here for years to come! Thank You!

May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands.
Psalm 90:17

At a recent all-team meeting, Edwin led us through Psalm 90, a powerful prayer.
It was a good reminder of all we have to be humbly thanking God for…
We thank God for the literally countless hours of planning that @byronochali and his talented wife, Julia have put into every detail that will be Casa de Gracia. And we thank God for each person working hard to make these plans become a reality before our eyes!
We thank God for our team (@betsyjbaker @chicafromguate @ea.fotografo @monicafuentes1 @cherry_smith66 ) working hard every week to write program materials and think and pray through hard topics we will face.
We thank God for every prayer warrior, every generous donor and every encouraging visitor!

We humbly come before God, thanking Him for all that He has done and ask Him to continue establishing the work of our hands!

¡Sean manifiestas tus obras a tus siervos, y tu esplendor a sus descendientes!
Que el favor del Señor nuestro Dios
esté sobre nosotros.
Confirma en nosotros la obra de nuestras manos; sì, confirma la obra de nuestras manos.
Salmo 90: 16-17

Nuestra Oración 🙏🏼

When you show up for podcast recording day accidentally twinning 🎙️Casa de Gracia team is getting truly synchronized over here 👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼

Welcome to Casa de Gracia this week!! Check it out—the Casa is actually becoming a reality!

God is truly shining His love and hope over this place! (See the last foto!)

We invite you to enjoy these recent beautiful pics and rejoice with us! God is moving and this dream becomes more real every day 🙌🏼

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” It’s one of the most read and repeated verses of the Bible, and although it sounds hopeful, it is sometimes hard to truly believe.

Yet when we have young ladies living at Casa de Gracia, this will be a verse we would like our girls to study so that they can come to understand and believe the fact that God’s thoughts for their lives are good, and their past — no matter how painful it has been — does not define them, but rather the thoughts that God has toward them of peace.

We can only truly understand this peace by being close to God: the perfect God, the loving God, the God who gave his life out of love for his children, a God who redeems our pain and gives it purpose.

At Casa de Gracia, our desire is to see our young ladies physically well, enjoying good health, academically fulfilled, successfully reintegrated into society, and enjoying life to the fullest.

But we’re also aware that merely helping to make that possible is not enough.

Our legacy goes beyond the roof over their heads, the walls that protect them, and the support we offer.

The best thing we can do is to guide them with love and grace to finding their identity in Christ.

May that be our legacy!

He is risen indeed! Thankful that Jesus not only came to earth to live a sinless life and pay our death penalty, but that he defeated death and rose again so that we might have eternal life with him!!

Construction Update!
We are loving seeing all this incredible work being done to make the 1st Transition Home as safe and sturdy as possible!
We are committed to every aspect of construction of Casa de Gracia…from strong and lovely homes to strong and well-equipped staff to Gospel centered programs to help each person find their identity as a beautiful creation of God with a unique purpose in this world!

Latest Drone Footage showing the new ‘post excavation’ look of Casa de Gracia! Enjoy glimpses the beginning stages of Construction work on the 1st Transition Home, the well drilling equipment in place and the new platforms created for all future buildings 🙌🏼

Thank You @tysonherald for joining our team and visiting the site together with us!
We were especially blessed by the truth and challenge shared with us from God’s Word. We appreciate your time and encouragement more than we can say!

CONSTRUCTION HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN 🙌🏼

Now that all the levels and platforms have been created for each building that will be constructed (now and in the future) during the infrastructure phase, the actual construction has begun on the Transition Home! The workers have been digging out the trenches for the footers, putting up the forms, and building all the rebar posts that are needed to keep everything nice and strong with all the earthquakes and tremors we get here in Guatemala. All this is prep work so they can start pouring the concrete foundation soon.

So . . . here we go and stay tuned!!!

This Team 👊🏼 We are loving learning, laughing, planning and praying together!
We are growing and going strong!
At our last all-team meeting we were blessed to have the first of several training sessions with @nicodemus_latam! We enjoyed the interactive learning on this hugely important topic of mentoring. Thank you for your time, Friends, we look forward to continuing to learn from your expertise!

Meet our newest team member, Madelyn!

“I have volunteered with Ministerio Buena Vista providing food and education to underserved children since 2021. I teach the kids Bible lessons, help them complete tasks, and organize recreational activities.

My greatest desire is to help the most vulnerable people.“

Want to know the heart, the standard, the driving force behind the hours of thought and effort we put in each week to develop the discipleship and life skills programs for the girls that will be part of Casa de Gracia?

⭐️ That the quality of our work would be as if this were a labor of love for our own sister or our own daughter. ⭐️

THAT is the heart behind all the hours, whether in a coffee shop, around the dining room table, in a group, or plugging away by ourselves.

Did you know we actually have TWO new team members?? Meet Mónica, who is helping develop the program the young ladies will be walking through during their time at Casa de Gracia.

Mónica has mentored teenagers in at-risk areas and young ladies transitioning out of children’s homes since 2018. In 2015, she cofounded Asociación AVIV, which works to share the gospel through after-school programs in at-risk areas.

We are so grateful for the insight and drive that Mónica brings to our team.

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2025 Board Meeting

With much joy we want to share a few special moments from our 2025 year-end Board Meeting for Los de Atrás Vienen Conmigo (LDAVC) board of directors. It was a beautiful time of gathering together and celebrating alongside our Casa de Gracia Team! We talked about and rejoiced over all that God has done this year at the Casa de Gracia site and with the development of our LDAVC program that the young people on site will be a part of! For a bit of clarification, the physical site

Dec 16, 2025

CASA DE GRACIA

Casa de Gracia

Mentor | Disciple | Equip

A transition home and program for young people in Guatemala aging out of systems of protection (orphanages) at age 18.

Follow us on Instagram

Great Coffee. Real Impact.

Read about what we're doing.

2025 Board Meeting

CONTACT US
We'd love to hear from you!

Ciudad Vieja, Sacatepéquez, Guatemala

casadegracia.love.gt@gmail.com

+502 4910-4098 Direct Guatemala number, or
(317) 704-4584 U.S.-based MagicJack number

Casa de Gracia

Mentor | Disciple | Equip​

A transition home and program for young people in Guatemala aging out of systems of protection (orphanages) at age 18.

​

Follow us on Instagram

Great Coffee. Real Impact.

Read about what we're doing.

2025 Board Meeting

CONTACT US We'd love to hear from you!

Ciudad Vieja, Sacatepéquez, Guatemala

casadegracia.love.gt@gmail.com

+502 4910-4098 Direct Guatemala number, or (317) 704-4584 U.S.-based MagicJack number

Mentor | Disciple | Equip

CONTACT US
We'd love to hear from you!

+502 4910-4098 Direct Guatemala number, or
(317) 704-4584 U.S.-based MagicJack number