Visitation Sunday

The first Sunday of every month is visitation Sunday. It’s the one day a month that the families of the children here at Agua Viva can come to visit the children. There is a special church service, and then the families have the afternoon to eat and share together. This Sunday, Eduardo prepared a very important message to both the parents and the children that were there. He preached about the 5 Love Languages, a book by Dr. Gary Chapman. Eduardo, wise for his age, told the parents and children that when he was growing up here in Agua Viva, that he did not use the visitation Sundays as he should have. He stressed to the parents that this is the one day each month that they have to show their children that they love them. He challenged the children the same way, saying they need to show their parents they love them, and appreciate the sacrifices they have made to come visit them. He gave them concrete examples of how to show love using the 5 love languages. We loved that Eduardo used his own life as an example, and shared personal stories about growing up in Agua Viva. We also loved that he knew his audience to be parents who could not raise their children or necessarily know how to show them their love. For this, the examples he gave were wonderful. It reflected Agua Viva’s mission which is to provide for the children in the hope that someday they can be reunited with their families. Lastly, Eduardo showed examples in scripture where God shows his love for us using the 5 love languages.
Visitation Sunday is always a little difficult for us to see. It is tough on the kids who do not have anyone come to visit them, and also hard on those who do have family to visit. Some are dealing with very serious emotional issues, and it is painful to see them working through those feelings. After a visitation Sunday, it’s always a few days before things seem to settle back into normalcy. It is just one of those things that everyone here has to deal with as a part of being here at Agua Viva and there’s no good way to explain or process it.