This was my first time to experience visitation day as the hefe (boss) for Angelitos dorm as I was away for the day last month. It was an experience I shall not soon forget as I saw some of the children’s parents for the very first time. Most of them were very poor and resembled so many of the families I have seen in my previous mission trips to Guatemala. Their families had brought food to share with their children as they visited. You could tell that they had probably taken most of the money they had to purchase the food and drink they brought.
All the children, over the entire property, here at Casa have to stay in their dorms during visitation and only the children who receive visits can come out of the room. The dorm parents or hefe is told who has a visitor, they go to their room, get the child and bring them to their parents or relatives. Unless it is their first visit with their child or children, they can go anywhere outside on the property to visit. It was my job as hefe in Angelitos to get the children as their visitor(s) arrived. It is very hard for the children who do not receive a visit from their family. However, it is just as difficult for those who do get a visit because they have to say good-bye after only two hours. We, as a staff, try to plan special activities, for the children who are left in the dorm.Sadly, no activity takes the place of your parents or grandparents coming to see you. Since we have lots of mission teams here right now, Mike asked them to go to the dorms and visit the children who had to stay in their room. After getting several of the children and reuniting them with their families for the two hour visit, I decided to stand at the gate in case any more parents came.
While standing at the gate, one visit that caught my attention was a father who came to visit his two boys who live in Angelitos. The oldest boy, Elfrein, is 4 years old and the youngest, Angel is 2 years old. Since there is another boy by the name Angel in Angelitos, he is known by his nickname‘Pollo’ which means little. He is one of the boys in the nursery who call me ‘Mommi’. Their father, who arrived very early, was grinning from ear to ear as I brought out first Elfrein and then Pollo. He also had several bags with him. He took the boys to a shady place under one of the large Avocado trees near Angelitos and sat them down. Then he lovingly tied a faded bandana around each boy’s neck so they wouldn't soil their clothes as they ate. He brought out fruit for them to eat as well as a citrus punch drink. He so enjoyed watching his boys eat and talked to them the entire time. It was a beautiful sight to behold. I learned later that the boys’ mother had died, the father could not take care of them and so they came to Casa to live. Unfortunately, this story is all too familiar in Guatemala. This father lives four hours away from Casa de Aleluya and walks most of the way here and rides the bus only part of the way. This is probably due to a lack of money. When it was time for the visit to be over, Pollo cried as he was taken back to Angelitos and I found myself crying along with him. The father came up to me and was trying to tell me something. I found out through a translator that he wanted to leave the bags he had brought with him for the boys. I told him I would make sure they got the things in the bags. I then went to the sala (living area) of my dorm, sat at the table and carefully opened the bags. Inside the bag was all kinds of fruit, two packages of cookies, and a few candies as well as what was left of the citrus drink. I thought of the sacrifice he had made, not only to purchase these things for his children but also the time and money it had cost him for the trip here. The love this father has for his children overwhelmed me. I bowed my head at the table and quietly prayed that God, our Heavenly Father, would give this daddy a godly woman to love him and help him take care of his children so that they would never have to be limited to a two hour visit again.
This reminded me of the love our Father has for us, His children. Because of the love He has for you and me, He gave the ultimate sacrifice. He gave His one and only Son, who paid the penalty for the sins of the whole world, on the cross of Calvary for you and me.
He gave His life so that all who accept Him as their Savior and Lord will live for an eternity with Him in Heaven. We, who have received this gift of eternal life in Christ, will never have to say good-bye to our friends and family, who have also accepted this free gift. The good-byes we say here on Earth are only temporary. When we are called ‘home’, we will live together with Christ and our loved ones in Heaven for an eternity.
Just some of my thoughts this week… 