Meeting Kevin in Guayaquil (Sara)

On Monday, May 24^th Omar and I spent all day in the bus traveling to Guayaquil.

On Tuesday morning, the 25^th, we got up early to have breakfast and at 9:30 we met Kevin, his mom, his little sister, and the project director in the Lobby of the hotel.

Bringing a gift to give right away can break the ice with your children

We took a cab to his neighborhood which is in a more dangerous area in the south of Guayaquil. Once we got there we took a tour of his project….

In front of Kevin’s project



With Kevin and some of the project staff.

In Kevin’s classroom. He attends school in the afternoons and goes to the project

in the mornings on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

And then walked over to the church...

Kevin’s Pastor was there to show us the Church.

Next we went to a local park where we played football (soccer) and a little basketball. Even though I can speak some Spanish I have often found that the best way to get to know my kids is by playing together.

When we visited his house I got to see where he lived, meet his extended family, and give him his gifts.

The opening in the fence was low enough that all of us had to duck to get through it

With Kevin and his family (his dad was working). His mom is 29 years old and already has 5 children.

He had all the letters and photos I had sent carefully organized in his binder.

All four boys share this one bed

Of all the gifts I gave him, the biggest hits were the rocket balloons and the sunglasses.

Kevin, and my Compassion contact Omar

Next we went to lunch and dessert at the Mall. We ate, talked, played with the rocket balloons, and then said our goodbyes.

It was really neat to see the community where Kevin lives and get to know him better. We have been exchanging letters for a year and a half, but there are so many things that I learned during my visit that I may have never known otherwise.

~Sara