Compassion International Visit

Two days ago I had the privilege to visit the boy I have sponsored through Compassion for more than five years now. His name is Yunior and he live with his family just north of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. I brought him a Cubs hat as a gift for him and some towels for his family.

I got a little tour of the Compassion site and saw that they have a few hundred kids who take part in their program on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. They have them divided based on age groups, and each group was very excited to see a visitor! It is nice that since I speak Spanish I was able to communicate with them. When I got to the Compassion office early that morning, I was greeted by my translator--pretty ironic because I was a translator the two days preceding that. I kindly told her in Spanish that I would not need a translator (I guess the office didn't get the email).

I think I was different than most sponsors (patrocinador in Spanish) because I am young, have lived in the DR for 3 months, and speak Spanish. I can only imagine that 90% of the sponsors who visit their children are elderly and instead of speaking Spanish just talk really loud and slow to try and fight the language barrier. "HI MY NAME IS KEVIN, WHAT IS YOUR NAME?"

Ironically the Compassion office where I needed to meet in the morning was literally two blocks from where I was staying, and in Santo Domingo, a city of around 2.25 million, that is very convenient.

After my tour we went to Yunior's home. Yunior is on the quiet side, and it took many questions for him to start talking. He is 13 and lives with his mother, her parents, his brother and cousins. They share a small house and do not own very much. His mom works from time to time as a housekeeper but at times is without work.

My conversation with Yunior's family was a little short and was mainly the Compassion guy talking with Yunior's grandfather, but it was still really good meeting the family and seeing their living situation. Yunior told me that in his free time he likes playing sports and spending time with friends. He likes to play baseball at the local baseball field which made me pleased to hear. I know that God is allowing Compassion and myself to give him an opportunity he would not normally have, and I am thankful for it.

In my time at Compassion, I told a woman that I am a volunteer with Esperanza International, and it turns out that not only does she receive a loan from us, but her bank meets in the very room we were in! I filmed a little interview with her for the video I am making, and when I am done I will post a link on my blog.

One of our loan officers at the Puerto Plata Esperanza office was a Compassion kid when she was younger and said she is so very thankful for the opportunity she had with Compassion. Compassion gave her a scholarship up through the end of high school. She is very thankful for all Compassion gave her, and she even remember her sponsor's name! I am going to help her try and contact him too.

I am very thankful that I could meet Yunior and see his family. Another plus for this trip was that I made a connection with a few Compassion workers and told them about our ministry in Puerto Plata, and they seem eager to help.