The real visitation day.

Well, I was wrong about last Sunday, it wasn't really the visitation day. Yesterday was. It was actually a great day. Many parents showed up and even some people who weren't at all related showed up. However Jose's dad still didn't come. Jose told me it was because he was building a house. He wasn't too down about it, but I still hung out and watched some cartoons with him while the other kids in the house were with the visitors. Maribel took some other kids who didn't have visitors to a park.

There was one lady who came to visit the twins, Lenny and Yonell, who wasn't related to them at all. She was a neighbor who lived down the street and cared for them a lot when their mother would disapear. She was extremely nice and brought them spaghettie and pepsi. She assured me that she would come every single visitation day. I'm pretty sure that she wants to adopt them which would be great, however the mother is no where to be found to sign off on custody papers. So in order for her to be able to adopt them, the mother can't come and visit them within the next 6 months and no relatives can show signs of wanting to be their care givers. Then they will be declared abandon and she can adopt them.

Another new boy, Cristofer, had some people show up to visit him as well. An aunt, uncle, grandmother, 2 cousins, and his birthmother. I was a little confused because Maribel told me that the aunt that was there was the one who told authorities that Cristofer and his little baby brother, Walter, should be sent here. So it was that Aunt and the mother that got the kids taken away there together. I'm probably gonna have to clarify that story because it just doesn't sound right. But anyway, he gave me a piece of cake that his grandmother had brought for them all to share. It was actually some really good cake. They also brought Cristofer a giant box of chip and cookie bags, and a big box of diapers for Walter. I was really impressed because most of the time when parent's babys are here they see it as a way to not have to pay for diapers.

Overall it was a good visitation day. Veronica (the social worker) told me that it was the most people they had ever had come to visit in one day.

Tomorrow I'm driving another van full of kids to Trujillo. I was promised this time we will be back before dark. Then wednesday I am taking a local bus to Trujillo for the FINAL judge visit for the case of the Rojas Reyes (Gerson, Yhonson, Joel, Betsy, Sibila). In this case he judge will actually decide whether or not they will stay or go. EVERYONE PLEASE PRAY for that case to go well. If the judge says they have to leave, the only thing we can do is start up the process to do more investigation into the sisters family which they would be going to, to prove that they don't have the financial means or the space in their house for 5 more kids.

Also, please pray for Lourdes. She has a tumor on her abdomen that needs to be operated on. Tomorrow we are going in for the final examination before the surgery. Tomorrow they will set the date for her operation.