A Compassion Sponsor Tour to this unique country is designed to provide you and your family, if you choose to bring them, with a safe yet rich cultural experience while allowing you the opportunity to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty.

Have you wondered who greets the child you sponsor when he or she arrives at the Compassion child development center? What is his community like? Does my sponsorship really make a difference in her life? Well, wonder no more! Join us on this Sponsor Tour to El Salvador where these questions and many more will be answered. When you return from this adventure, you will certainly never look at this country the same way again.

While you will certainly see some remarkable tourist sites, our adventure will also take you to see Compassion-assisted child development centers like the one your child attends. We'll venture even deeper into the heart of the community, the home, where you will learn what poverty looks like in the developing world and how your partnership with Compassion International not only benefits a child, but that child's whole family and his or her greater community as well. And as great as these experiences will be, nothing can compare with the opportunity to meet the child you sponsor and spend the whole day making memories.

This tour will fill up quickly and space is limited so don't delay, register today!

Day 1: Our Journey Begins

Our journey begins with a brief orientation to help us get to know each other and prepare ourselves for what God has in store for us. We arrive in San Salvador in the early evening in time to get a good night of rest and prepare for the life-changing week ahead.

Day 2: Expand Your Heart

We will begin the day with worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ at a church that Compassion partners with in ministry. This church also hosts a Compassion Child Survival Program, so you'll get to learn more about this unique aspect of Compassion's ministry while visiting some of the families who are served by it. After lunch we will set out to see some new sites.

Day 3: Experience Compassion in Action

This morning we will make our way to the Compassion El Salvador country office for a fantastic overview of this unique country and how the ministry of Compassion El Salvador is poised to literally change this nation. At lunch we will meet an emerging young leader/Compassion graduate who has recently been selected for Compassion's Leadership Development Program. He or she will take us back to the home where they grew up and the child development center that gave them the opportunity to grow, thrive and develop aspirations for a professional career through a university education. We will also learn how the center functions and spend some time playing with the children and engaging in a simple vacation Bible school-style activity with them.

Day 4: Connecting With Your Child

You'll spend a very special day filled with laughter, hugs, stories and fun with the incredible child or children you sponsor. The Compassion staff has planned a day that you and your sponsored child will never forget. This is what you've waited for, so treasure every moment! Tonight, with the memories of the week still fresh, we will spend some time celebrating our brief yet profound experiences together.

Day 5: Bringing the Experience to a Close

After a few days in the beauty and grandeur of this beautiful country, tasting a bit of the culture through our visits to the Compassion child development centers, and investing in the lives of children, it is time to return to our lives back home. Yet as we return, our outlook on poverty and our response to it returns with us to fan into flame a life-long investment as champions who work together to release children from poverty in Jesus' name!

Tour Schedule Details:

Registration: Our trips fill up quickly on a first-come basis, so it is important to register by Dec. 9, 2009. Once we have received your registration along with a deposit of $180, we will confirm your place on the tour and you may then purchase your domestic air ticket. The final payment of $1,620 is due no later than Feb. 26, 2010.

Please click on the Register Now button below to complete the registration form online. If you'd rather register by mail, click on the link to the printable Registration Form above right, below the photo.

Price: The cost of this tour is $1,800 per person for double occupancy.

Included in our tour price are round-trip airfare between Houston International Airport and San Salvador, El Salvador, lodging, all meals, travel within El Salvador, tips, your child's travel, guides and translators during the tour, admission fees, departure tax and administrative costs.

Costs not included in the tour price are transportation to and from Houston International Airport, passport and incidentals such as snacks, additional beverages, laundry, phone calls, film and other personal items. You may want to bring extra spending money for shopping at the local markets.

Safety and Preparation: This tour will be moderate in difficulty because of impoverished conditions. Also, there will be some walking, rides on bumpy roads, and long days. We will have a light work element in this tour.

Compassion constantly monitors the safety of our destination countries and will make any adjustments necessary to protect our tour participants, sponsored children and in-country staff. We believe it is important to provide safe, comfortable accommodations, traditional meals and reliable transportation so that your focus can be on what God is teaching you and the impact of the experience rather than concern for your personal safety and well-being.

Please read the Tour Conditions and General Information document before finalizing your decision.

BACKGROUND CHECK: 
In order to ensure the safety of our children and determine eligibility to travel with Compassion, we now require all travelers (over the age of 18) to complete a criminal background check. Please visit https://www.ministryopportunities.org/USCITours to complete your online background check at the time of registration. If you are unable to complete this online, please contact us and we will send you a paper form for you to fill out and return. Compassion uses a third-party vendor, Protect My Ministry (www.protectmyministry.com) to process background checks. The results of your background check are confidential and all personal information is encrypted and secure. 

RESERVATIONS should be made well in advance and require a nonrefundable deposit of $180 per person. Final payment of $1,620 is due no later than Feb. 26, 2010. 

AIR TRANSPORTATION and FUEL SURCHARGES: 
Air transportation as included in the tour is based on economy-class transportation and is subject to all rules and regulations governing these fares. Fuel surcharges are added on a per-ticket basis at time of confirmation. In the event these surcharges are increasingly higher than budget estimates, we may require additional funds to cover these surcharges. We will communicate any pricing changes immediately. 

In the event that you need to cancel your trip, please refer to our cancellation policy below:

All deposits are nonrefundable.

Fifty percent of the tour cost will be required for cancellations 59-31 days prior to the Sponsor Tour.

One hundred percent of the tour cost will be required for cancellations 30-0 days prior to the Sponsor Tour.

Only written cancellations accepted.         

IMPORTANT NOTICE: COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL reserves the right to adjust or alter any travel program when necessary or desirable for the protection, safety or improvement of said travel program, or when local conditions do not permit operation as published. COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL reserves the right to accept or deny participants application at its sole discretion.
RESPONSIBILITY: COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL makes arrangements with airlines, hotels and other independent parties to provide you with the travel services you purchase. These parties are independent suppliers over whom we have no direct control. In the absence of negligence on our part, we are not responsible for any claims, losses, damages, costs or expenses arising out of injury, accident or death; damage, loss or delay of baggage or other property; or delay, inconvenience, loss of enjoyment, upset, disappointment, distress or frustration, whether physical or mental, resulting from (1) the act or omission of any party other than COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL or its employees; (2) mechanical breakdown, government actions, weather or other factors beyond our control; (3) failure to obtain documents, passports, visas and health certificates valid through the date of reentry, when required, in which case a cancellation charge will be assessed; (4) failure to follow instructions including but not limited to check-in and checkout times and baggage handling; (5) cancellation or change for any reason in the travel services offered; and (6) medical or health problems or physical disabilities. COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL reserves the right to cancel or alter the travel services at its discretion, except as otherwise noted herein. In the event of change, COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL will try to substitute comparable services; in the event of complete cancellation by COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL, we shall refund all monies paid to us. COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL will not be responsible for any other cost incurred by participants.