Guest Post: Jessi's Travels with Compassion

I'm continuing with my series of guest posters sharing about their experiences visiting their Compassion kids! This week we'll hear from Jessi, who blogs at Me and Mr Jones. (My questions are in bold and Jessi's answers are italicized. And the photos are from Jessi's trip!)

Where did you visit? I visited Tanzania in March 2014.

How long were you there? And what did the schedule roughly look like? The whole trip was 10 or 11 days, but it took a long time to get there! We left New York on March 8 and arrived in Tanzania late at night on the 9th. On the 10th, we headed toward the central region of the country, where we'd spend the next several days and nights. The 15th, we started heading north again, stopping midway again to visit another CDC. That night we had a nice dinner with familiar food at our wonderful tented camp, and the morning of the 16th we went on a four hour game drive through Tarangire National Park. That afternoon was spent traveling back to Arusha, where we began our journey. We stayed our last two nights in the same hotel we started at! And on the 17th, we had our sponsor fun day with the kids. The next morning we visited the Compassion field office, had worship, listened to stories and info from the staff, and had lunch with them. We made a quick trip to an outdoor market in Arusha, and then headed to the airport to travel home. The trip was a little long compared to some other trips Compassion takes, but I think that might be in part because they want to make sure you experience plenty since you had to travel so far to get there!

How many kids did you visit and what were their ages? I visited with my three boys: Said (then 15) Bonifas (8) and Elisha (7.)

Did you feel like the language barrier was a hindrance? I didn't feel that way at all! Many people in Tanzania speak English. Most of the Compassion staff do, and several of the kids at the centers did as well (they were a minority, but it was still so helpful!) I also found Swahili to be a pretty easy language to pick up on. We were never really without someone who couldn't help us with translations. The only time I didn't have a translator was for a little bit on the child visit day- like, if my boys' companions from their centers were filling their plates at the lunch buffet, we were alone at our table for a few minutes. Or the twenty minutes or so when I just sat with Said as the little boys ran around like crazy and the project staff talked amongst themselves. It was nice to have a quiet moment sitting together- if Said and I had wanted to converse in that time, it wouldn't have been an issue. He understood enough English to know what I meant when I said that my mom said hi (we took a selfie and texted it to her!) Even in those moments where I was alone with Swahili speakers, we were still able to communicate. I never even opened my little Swahili phrasebook while we were there!

What tips would you share for trying to connect with your child? Any questions you wish you had asked? There are definitely questions I wish I had asked. I think other sponsors spent more time talking with their kids, especially if those kids were older. We spent a lot of time playing! But I also had three kids on my own, and two of them were younger, and they are all very, very active. So our day of play and activity worked well for us. I don't know that we would have had as much fun if I just sat there interviewing them, writing down their answers to my questions about their families. It was an experience, not a question and answer session. But if I had the chance, I would have asked my kids what their families thought about their travelling to come meet me in Arusha, and what they thought about all the letters I send (try to learn how their parents and siblings feel about Compassion and having a friend on the other side of the world!) And I would have tried to Skype with my mom for a moment, or even call her and put her on speakerphone for a minute or two. I know she would have loved it, and I think the boys would have, too!
My recommendation to other sponsors would be to bring your child a photo album. Not only is it a meaningful gift that they will treasure (and can add to later, as you send photos with your letters) it's also a great ice breaker. Bonifas and Said arrived on time, but Elisha was running late (traffic!) So we sat on a broken trampoline and talked for a little bit after our initial greetings. I brought the photo albums out of my backpack and the DEVOURED them. It gave us something to talk about, and I'm not kidding. Both of the boys (one a very quiet teenager) enthusiastically flipped through the pages, and then would nudge me and poke each picture so hard, just itching to know who it depicted and how they were connected to me. We also had fun playing soccer (and were joined by some other sponsors and their kids!) and when I was feeling too hot, we went inside and drew and colored pictures. It was so neat seeing my kids draw pictures in person! That opened up opportunities for conversation, too- I talked to them about the drawings they've sent me in the past, and I also got to show off my Swahili skills I'd picked up during the week. Bonifas smiled a lot, and sometimes Said corrected my pronunciations (and then our main translator would tell me interesting facts about Tanzanian culture and Swahili!)

Was this your first trip? If so, would you go again? It was my first trip. And I would definitely go again. If someone handed me a plane ticket, I'd go right now. I'd move there if I could!


Would you recommend going on a trip with Compassion to see your kids? I would definitely recommend it, especially to people who think "I could never do that" or have fear of travelling/flying/anything like that. I have a panic disorder, severe anxiety, and don't even drive outside a few zipcodes in my city, because I'm so afraid of unfamiliar territory. But I did it! I never, ever, ever would have dreamed I'd fly halfway around the world to do anything. My love for my kids, and prayers from everyone I know, got me through!

What was the most impactful thing you saw? My most challenging day was definitely when we visited TZ229. I had been doing well the whole trip, and hadn't had a "I'm totally broken" moment yet. But this day was hard. The project leader had actually been murdered a few weeks before our visit, the testimony of the kids was particularly moving, and I connected really well with a group of girls who followed me throughout the day. We had heard many stories from the kids and project staff about the challenges they were facing, or how Compassion's program had changed their lives, but on this day we heard testimony from a little girl who shared that she had been used by the devil in her childhood, and had done some very bad things under the influence of sorcery and witchcraft. But she was registered with Compassion and was baptized and the devil no longer has a hold on her! Then at the end of the day, I watched as one of my new friends devoured her entire plate of food at lunch, and accepted food from the "leader" of our little group of girls (an outgoing, English speaking girl named Faustina.) I thought, stupidly, that maybe Faustina had grown tired of the massive piles of rice and other starchy, stomach-destroying foods as I had. But Faustina knew what I didn't realize until later than I want to admit- just because these kids are getting a nutritious and filling meal when they come to the center doesn't mean that they have food security at home. Our friend finished off her meal by dropping an entire chicken wing into her tattered little purse, I assume to take home to her family or save for later. And that's when I lost it. I had to put all my energy into not crying right then and there, and then on the bus back to the hotel. As soon as I got to my room and locked the door, I pulled out my journal and started furiously scribbling down everything that I remembered. But when I got to the bit about the testimonies from that day, I couldn't stand it any longer, and got out my cell phone and called my mom. We had signed up for an international travel plan for my phone, and I had 15 minutes of calling time to save for an emergency. She practically screamed in my ear when she answered, but I just started sobbing and quickly poured out these stories from the day, as fast as I could. That's the day that broke me. I think that anyone who goes on a sponsor tour will have one of these moments or days. It's a day when you realize that yes, reading all the books and articles and blog posts about your child's country can prepare you for some things, like the single room homes with no electricity, or the hole-in-the-floor toilets, but there will be a moment of personal connection with the injustice of poverty, a scourge that is trying to keep these children and families in a place of darkness, down. And you'll take comfort and find hope in the fact that Compassion is doing such an amazing job working to eradicate poverty, and you'll be proud that you're a part of that work, but your heart will break, and you will cry for your child, or the child that you met and came to know and love in such a short span of time. It's been almost a year since my trip, but I still remember this day, my breaking point, more clearly than the time I spent with my own boys. I search for kids from that center on Compassion's website several times a week, sometimes hoping that one of the girls I got to know will be on there so I can snatch them up and sponsor them.

What was the highlight of the trip? Obviously my favorite part of the trip was meeting my sponsor kids, but there's another moment that I'd like to share for my 'highlight.' Aside from the tummy troubles I had toward the end of the trip, I loved every moment of my journey. The most joyous time might have been the day we visited our first project, on the way from Arusha to Singida. I think my heart blew up, I was so happy. The bus pulled up and the children and staff had formed a line leading up to the church, and they were clapping and singing "This is the Day That the Lord Has Made." As we got off the bus and walked to the church, we started clapping and singing, too, and the kids led us into the building and to our seats, sitting among us and taking our hands and grinning from ear to ear. I have never experienced such pure joy and happiness in my life. I had already had a "wow, I actually made it here" moment on the bus from the airport to the hotel the night before, but riding on a dark bus in the middle of the night just does not compare to seeing these faces in the sun, hearing the love in their voices as they praise God and rejoice in our visit. It was mind-blowing. One of our group leaders stopped me on our way into the church and said "Jessi, if you were smiling any bigger I think your face might break." Go on a Compassion trip as soon as you can. Pick a country close to you if you're nervous about the travel. I live in the US. Mexico isn't that far. It's less intimidating to think "I'm going to Texas and then crossing the border" than "I'm flying to another country." Anywhere you're thinking of going, though, just go. It will change your life!

If you missed last week's post, where Jill shared about her trips, click here.