The Hearts at Home Compassion Team

L-R: Megan Kaeb, Erica Savage, Jill Savage, Anne (Savage) McClane, Kathy Harper

We’ve arrived in El Salvador! I can’t say it’s been uneventful, however. Right now our luggage is lost, but they believe they’ve found it in Houston and we just might get it by late tonight. Please pray that we do!

We arrived around noon today but it took well over an hour to stand in a long line about our luggage. We’re with a group of about 35 people–most who are with ministries that partner with Compassion, International. We ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant (of all places!) and had the privilege of hearing from the Director of Compassion International in El Salvador. His passion about helping children who simply do not have opportunity to become all they can be due to poverty brought me to tears several times throughout the lunch.

After lunch we had the opportunity to tour the local Compassion office. What a vision this cast as we saw where the sponsor letters are processed (when the children write their sponsor and the sponsor writes to the children). The local Compassion staff have such an ownership in what they are doing to minister to families through the children in their programs. Each area communicated to us in broken English about their role and responsibility in the ministry.

At lunch my daughter Erica chose a child to sponsor. Her little girl is three years old and they share the same birthdate! Erica will get to meet her this week!

Here are some highlights from our day:

These workers manage the 140 projects in the country of El Salvador. Each project ministers to hundreds of children.

This woman reads every single letter that sponsors send to children to make sure there is nothing inappropriate being said to the children.

This is a stack of letters from sponsors in the U.S. to their sponsored children in El Salvador.

Tomorrow begins bright and early at 7am. We’re praying our luggage will be here by then! Thank you for your prayers!