Guest Post: Jill's Travels with Compassion

Have you ever dreamed of visiting your sponsored kids? Eric and I do! And do you have questions about what a visit might look like? I collection some questions about sponsor visits (some that I thought of and others that I've been asked) and a few of my friends who have visited their kids graciously agreed to answer my questions!

~~~
This week we're going to hear from Jill, who blogs at Compassion Family. Jill just recently came back from a trip to Nicaragua! (My questions are in bold and Jill's answers are italicized. And the photos are from all three of Jill's trips!)

Where did you visit? Nicaragua (I've also seen Compassion at work in Peru and Thailand)

How long were you there? And what did the schedule roughly look like? I was there 5 days, but only spent one day with Compassion. It was an individual trip, meaning I scheduled it myself. Compassion picked me up where I was staying and took me to the project I requested to visit. My sponsored kids were there waiting to meet me. We took a short tour of the project and then visited the homes of the kids we were meeting. Then we all went out to eat lunch at a restaraunt. Finally, we returned to the project where I was able to spend a bit more time with my kids before Compassion took me back to where I was staying.

My trip to Peru was a sponsor tour so it was different. We spent 3 days visiting different Compassion projects. At the first we attended church. At the next two we did home visits and learned very specifically how Compassion was working. We met CSP mothers and did a CSP home visit. We learned about CIV and saw how certain funds had been used to improve the buildings. We also had dinner with LDP students and learned about the impact that program was making in their lives. And then our final day was sponsor fun day where we met our kids and spent the day with them at a fun park.

In Thailand we arranged another individual visit and just spent time with our girl at a zoo - no visit to a project.

How many kids did you visit and what were their ages? 5 kids. I traveled with my mom and we both sponsor 2 kids in Nicaragua. We also visited the child of our good friend who attends the same project.
Josseling - 17
Kendry - 11
Maria - 11
Kerlint - 10
Ana - 11

Did you feel like the language barrier was a hindrance? Not at all...you have a translator with you the entire time. I thought we might have 2 translators with 2 sponsors and 5 kids, but we just had the one and it was fine.

What tips would you share for trying to connect with your child? Any questions you wish you had asked? There was so much I wish I had said, but I can still say it - I can write everything I didn't say in a letter. Which might be better because then they have it to read over and over again. I took my violin to Nicaragua and I'm so glad I was able to share that with them. When I went to Peru, I took a soft frisbee and it was fantastic to be able to play with my kids and connect with them that way. Try to think of ways to do something with them that doesn't require talking - playing ball or frisbee, coloring, painting fingernails, blowing bubbles....

Was this your first trip? If so, would you go again? Not my first trip to see Compassion, but my first trip to Nicaragua.

If this wasn't your first trip, why did you decide to go on another? I used to question the value and importance of meeting my sponsored child. I thought the money might be better spent sponsoring another child. But seeing the work of Compassion with your own eyes is life changing. When you see where Compassion works, and how they are making a difference, it changes you. It changed me as a sponsor and it changed me as an advocate. Each of my trips has been different, but this most recent trip to NI was amazing in that I got to do home visits. I was able to take groceries to my families and meet mothers and siblings. And there's nothing quite like getting to hug your sponsored child and hear their voice. - to see them smile and hear them laugh.

Would you recommend going on a trip with Compassion to see your kids? Absolutely - it's a completely different level of investment in their lives.

What was the most impactful thing you saw? To see how Compassion is working through the local church is pretty amazing. Before going I thought the church would also have a big Compassion logo on it, but it was difficult to find visible evidence of "Compassion". They truly take a back seat in terms of having their name visible and it's really about the local church working in the community. These churches are beacons of hope in the midst of extreme poverty. As you walk the streets of the community, you see poverty and despair, but when you walk through the gates of the project, you see an oasis of hope and safety and love.

What was the highlight of the trip? Meeting my kids - seeing them smile.