Hey all, so this is a week overdue. I wanted to make this thread earlier, but couldn't due to the fact that I was fairly busy - with school and what not. Anyway for spring break I went to El Salvador for a mission trip with my church. This year there were only 11 people going so that was great because if the group is smaller then it's more fun. When I posted the thread earlier that I'm going to be gone for a week some of you said to take pictures, so I took a few and am going to attach them later. Anyway would just like to say that that is the most beautiful place I have ever been to. I have been to quite a few places in my life, and El Salvador has to be the most beautiful one, despite all the barbwire an guards with shotguns. This trip was also very life changing for me personally because it let me grow spiritually and changed me as a person. The day after we got there I was asked to share my testimony and how I came to know Christ. I had to present it with the whole church that evening in a small village in Tepecoyo. At first I was like 
but once I got up in front of the podium it was #CRAY. I had a translator next to me which made the whole process feel better I guess, but I did stop randomly and lost all the words in my mouth That's okay though because once I got finished with it people were all crying because of my story and I was sweating like a pig because it was 93 degrees so despite me messing up on my own testimony people respected me and it all turned out well. The day after that, our group of 11 got divided into threes and the small-groups went evangelizing from door to door. I presented the gospel to eight people. One of the men I presented the gospel to, I began with Romans 3:23 and then went on to Romans 3:26 --- and he finished it all for me because I still had more verses to tell in fact I learned more from him than what I learned in my three month training. The people in the village that we went to were so kind. You could just tell that when presenting the gospel they get into it so much and they invited us in their homes which were nothing fancy at all. They were brick walls with tin roofs and dirt floors. They made us sit down and instead of them sitting down they stood and listened to me (Of course to show respect I stood when presented). Seeing these people and the smiles on their faces made me rethink many things in my life. Evangelizing was my favorite part of the trip. I loved presenting God's word to the people and even though all of them said that they'll do it later and after I presented 2Corinthians 6:2b, they still said that they will do it later. Im fine with that, I got to plant the seed and I gave them the book of Juan (John) and a bookmark of how to invite Christ in your life. We also did other things like held programs for the kids, played skits, had Pinatas etc. - before the trip i had never seen a Pinata in my life so I was temped in joining with the kids . On the last day we went to the beach and that beach was simply stunning. The water was warm, like really warm, the sand was dark and beautiful. My friend Sam and I picked mangos and ate them (Oh man were they good!) and we did other things as well like build benches for the pastor Manuel's church. I remember when I presented the gospel I saw tears rushing down his face because. He came up to me said that he had been waiting for me for five years ever since I came to United States. He was also thankful to see me because my father is one of his best friends. My father helped him build the church after the tragic 2001 earthquake they had, and ever since then missionaries from my church have been helping out Pastor Manuel in Tepecoyo physically, finically and mentally. All in all It was an amazing experience and i could tell that they were people with good hearts. I didn't want to leave at all so the last day after we held the "Goodbye service" everything was emotional. Everyone cried but then I told myself "Matt, you're gonna come back next year" so that calmed me down. We took pictures, hugged, laughed, and just talked. The experience was one of a kind!
P.S - Sorry for the pic quality, they all were taken with my iPhone 5s if that matters I tried my best with them. There are more pics with one of the girls who brought her SLR camera so I will upload moar later
Alright well I guess I can't upload pictures because they don't show up!
so here is the link to the folder with the pictures!
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rwgpw0g5nbhwfma/8o1ZHsSSFN
but once I got up in front of the podium it was #CRAY. I had a translator next to me which made the whole process feel better I guess, but I did stop randomly and lost all the words in my mouth That's okay though because once I got finished with it people were all crying because of my story and I was sweating like a pig because it was 93 degrees so despite me messing up on my own testimony people respected me and it all turned out well. The day after that, our group of 11 got divided into threes and the small-groups went evangelizing from door to door. I presented the gospel to eight people. One of the men I presented the gospel to, I began with Romans 3:23 and then went on to Romans 3:26 --- and he finished it all for me because I still had more verses to tell in fact I learned more from him than what I learned in my three month training. The people in the village that we went to were so kind. You could just tell that when presenting the gospel they get into it so much and they invited us in their homes which were nothing fancy at all. They were brick walls with tin roofs and dirt floors. They made us sit down and instead of them sitting down they stood and listened to me (Of course to show respect I stood when presented). Seeing these people and the smiles on their faces made me rethink many things in my life. Evangelizing was my favorite part of the trip. I loved presenting God's word to the people and even though all of them said that they'll do it later and after I presented 2Corinthians 6:2b, they still said that they will do it later. Im fine with that, I got to plant the seed and I gave them the book of Juan (John) and a bookmark of how to invite Christ in your life. We also did other things like held programs for the kids, played skits, had Pinatas etc. - before the trip i had never seen a Pinata in my life so I was temped in joining with the kids . On the last day we went to the beach and that beach was simply stunning. The water was warm, like really warm, the sand was dark and beautiful. My friend Sam and I picked mangos and ate them (Oh man were they good!) and we did other things as well like build benches for the pastor Manuel's church. I remember when I presented the gospel I saw tears rushing down his face because. He came up to me said that he had been waiting for me for five years ever since I came to United States. He was also thankful to see me because my father is one of his best friends. My father helped him build the church after the tragic 2001 earthquake they had, and ever since then missionaries from my church have been helping out Pastor Manuel in Tepecoyo physically, finically and mentally. All in all It was an amazing experience and i could tell that they were people with good hearts. I didn't want to leave at all so the last day after we held the "Goodbye service" everything was emotional. Everyone cried but then I told myself "Matt, you're gonna come back next year" so that calmed me down. We took pictures, hugged, laughed, and just talked. The experience was one of a kind!P.S - Sorry for the pic quality, they all were taken with my iPhone 5s if that matters
I tried my best with them. There are more pics with one of the girls who brought her SLR camera so I will upload moar later Alright well I guess I can't upload pictures because they don't show up!
so here is the link to the folder with the pictures!
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rwgpw0g5nbhwfma/8o1ZHsSSFN
is too nice.
