One week from today, two Hearts at Home team members and my two daughters and I will have a unique opportunity. We will be traveling with Compassion, International to the country of El Salvador.
For the past few years Hearts at Home has partnered with Compassion, International in an effort to find sponsors for children all over the world who live in poverty. These are children who just need a chance in life. My family and I sponsor a young boy in Honduras. The Hearts at Home staff sponsors a young woman (most likely a future mom!) in Tanzania. Our daughter Anne and her husband sponsor a child in South America. And on this upcoming trip, our daughter Erica who is 17 has made the decision to sponsor a child in El Salvador completely on her own. She is excited to meet her child next week!
I plan to blog during the trip so hopefully you’ll be able to partner with us in prayer and join us in the journey via blog-land! We will be leaving on May 11 and returning on May 16. For those of you who are in the Bloomington-Normal, Illinois area, we will be collecting items for us to share with the children and mothers we will be meeting on our trip. This week a box will be placed in the Hearts at Home office at 1509 N. Clinton Blvd to collect any of the following items (for those of you at our church, I’ll have a box in the Crosswinds foyer next Sunday morning, too!):
Jump ropes
Frisbees
Small bottles of bubbles (like the kind used at weddings)
Small toys (magna doodle, etch-a-sketch, nerf balls, etc)
Soap (bars)
Kitchen items (dish towels, wooden spoons, serving spoons, etc)
toothbrushes and toothpaste
Educational toys/books in Spanish
(Please remember that we need small items that don’t weigh alot. We don’t want to have overweight suitcases!)
Right now we’re preparing our hearts and minds for the trip. I’ve had the opportunity to see alot of the world, but I’ve never been in the poorest of poorest parts of the world. My understanding is that this can be a very emotional experience. Please be praying for us as we get ready to see the reality of poverty and as we attempt to do our part to make life different for the children who are ministered to through Compassion, International.
