One of the benefits of going on a Compassion Sponsor Tour is the ability to take gifts to your sponsored child and his/her family. Before our trip to Mexico in January, our family went shopping to find gifts to fill a backpack for Felix. Here is a list of some of the items we brought with us:
- The Jesus Storybook Bible in Spanish
- picture books in Spanish
- t-shirts
- deflated soccer ball and pump (it is much easier to pack a deflated soccer ball!)
- Hot Wheels cars
- photo albums with photos of our family
- various school supplies
We also brought items for his family which included:
- flat sheet
- wash cloths
- toothbrushes and toothpaste
- bars of soap
- couple pairs of flip-flops
- bag of candy
- reusable bags
- gift bags for his two siblings
We ended up pulling this all together in just a couple of weeks before our trip. The other thing you should know if you have the opportunity to go on a sponsor tour to visit your Compassion child, Compassion does a wonderful job of giving you ideas in your pre-trip information packet you receive a couple of months before your trip.
In preparation for my trip to Colombia to visit Lina in February, I have already purchased a couple of items for her.
Since Lina will be turning 16 just a couple of months after my visit, I thought she might appreciate a messenger bag instead of a backpack. I found this one at IKEA, but you can find these types of bags at many places, especially this time of year with school starting again.
Unfortunately, I missed Old Navy's $1 flip-flop sale earlier this summer, but they did have a buy one, get one free sale over the weekend, so I picked up a couple of pairs of flip-flops for Lina. Are they going to be the right size? I don't know. When shopping for items like this for your sponsored child, just take your best guess. There is no use stressing over whether things will fit or not. If they don't fit your sponsored child, they may have a sibling or friend who can use the items which will be a blessing to them.
We also found some fun bracelets on clearance at Payless Shoe Source. With so many of them, I am thinking that Lina can share these with her friends that she writes about in her letters.
Another thing to consider when shopping for items is your luggage space. There is a limit. Although I have heard that some people will bring an extra suitcase to fill with all of the gifts, then they will leave that extra suitcase in the country they are visiting for a family who may need it. Definitely something to consider!
In the upcoming months, I plan to share with you some of the other items I will be bringing along with me to help you in planning for your own Compassion Sponsor Tour.