Where did you visit? I visited Honduras, in the city of San Pedro Sula. We stayed in that city the whole trip.
How long were you there? And what did the schedule roughly look like? The whole trip, including a travel day to Honduras and a travel day back, was only 5 days. We were basically only in the country for 3 days. I chose a shorter trip because the price was significantly cheaper than the longer trips and I only had to take a long weekend off from work, as it was a Friday-Tuesday trip. Friday was a travel day. We were supposed to get to Honduras in the early afternoon to have time to settle in, but our flight to Honduras was delayed by several hours. We got to our hotel with just enough time to throw our bags in our rooms and head to dinner. At dinner, we met the pastor (and his family) from project HO-372. He told us all about what goes on at the project and gave us time to ask questions.
The next day, Saturday, we spent the whole day at project HO-372. We were greeted to the project by children dancing in traditional clothing. After that, we spent a few hours (in the crazy heat!) playing with the kids. We did several large circle games/songs to break the ice and then we were allowed to just play on our own; playing soccer, blowing bubbles, painting nails, etc. After playtime, we served the children lunch and sat with them while they ate. The children all went home after lunch and our group gathered to eat our lunch and learn more about the project. We got to look through some of the children's files. After lunch we split into small groups to visit the home of one of the children that attended the project.
On Sunday, we returned back to project HO-372 for their church service. I had expected a long church service, but I was shocked anyway. We sang worship songs and danced for about TWO FULL HOURS. Then there was sermon. The sermon was extra long because the pastor would say one sentence and then it was translated into English. After that, we had communion together and there was an offering. We traveled to another city for lunch at a beautiful, seaside restaurant. We were served fresh fish and rice. After lunch, we traveled back to San Pedro Sula for a little bit of souvenir shopping in a market and then returned to the hotel wash up and change for dinner. That night, we had dinner with two LDP students and heard about how Compassion has made a difference in their lives and how life is going in university for them.
Monday was our last day in country and it was CHILD VISIT DAY! It was about a 45 minute drive to the area where we would be spending the day with our children. When we got there, everyone on our bus was an instant nervous/excited wreck while we waited for our names to be called, one at a time, to meet our children. We got a few hours with our children to swim in the ocean, swim in the pool, eat ice cream, chat, have lunch together, exchange gifts, and spend time with family members/project workers.
How many kids did you visit and what were their ages? I visited one child, my girl Celeste. She was 11 years old when I met her, in 2013. I was worried it would be hard to connect with her because I'm a bit of an awkward person. I don't do well with new social situations and often can't think of anything to say. But, God sure paired us up well because I basically didn't have to talk at all. Celeste is what I like to call "my firecracker". She chatted non-stop the entire time we were together. She certainly gave our translator a run for her money that day. As a way to break the ice, though, at the very beginning, I showed Celeste the matching necklaces that I had brought for us. I had also brought a swimsuit for Celeste and she was very happy, because she didn't own one.
Did you feel like the language barrier was a hindrance? With Celeste, I didn't feel like language was a barrier at all. Our translator was awesome, though, and was with us the whole time, so nothing was missed. It felt very natural. However, it was bit of a hindrance with Celeste's grandma. I think her and I were both nervous to chat to each other, so we didn't spend much time in conversation. I wish I would have put forth more effort into getting to know Celeste's grandma. If I had a chance to redo it, I would ask more about how things are at home and how they make money to survive.
Would you recommend going on a trip with Compassion to see your kids? This was my first trip with Compassion and my first trip to see one of my children. I would absolutely go on another trip with Compassion and I'm actually working on praying for and saving up for another trip in the next year or two, to another country. I would also love to make it back to Honduras before Celeste is 18 and graduates from the program. I would absolutely recommend a Compassion trip to any sponsor. As you can see, you certainly get bang for your buck. Compassion had us constantly busy, experiencing the culture, learning what Compassion does, and sharing time with our child.
What was the most impactful part for you? There were a few things that impacted me about this trip. I would say the biggest thing that impacted me was the sheer poverty in Honduras. The hotel we stayed at was in a middle class area of the city, near restaurants, fast food, the mall, electronics stores, etc. It was only a 5 MINUTE bus ride to the slums, where people were living in homes made out of cardboard boxes, tin sheets, and barbed wire. The disparity between the two locations was heartbreaking. Like there was an invisible line drawn on the ground between the two places. Another thing that impacted me were the children that weren't enrolled in the Compassion project. While we were playing in the "yard" area of the project, having fun, singing songs, etc, there were children gathered outside the fence, looking in at something they couldn't participate in. I know that Compassion can't help everybody at all times, but my heart broke for the kids without hope, literally outside the fence.
What was the highlight of the trip? I would be lying if I didn't say that meeting Celeste wasn't the highlight of trip. It absolutely was! But, instead of the obvious answer, there was another highlight for me. Celeste came to child visit day with her grandmother and the wife of the pastor at her project. The pastor's wife wrote me a full page letter (front and back) about how much her and her family, and the rest of the project appreciates me. She read it aloud to me at the table and we both cried. It will forever be a treasured possession of mine.
And if you missed the previous posts, I encourage you to read about
* Jill's Travels to Nicaragua
* Jessi's Travels to Tanzania
* Terri's Travels to Haiti
* Katie's Travels to El Salvador
* Kerri's Travels to Nicaragua
* Judy's Travels with Compassion
* Megan's Travels to Honduras
* Shelley's Travels to Kenya
