Writings

El Salvador 2004 Missions Trip

I recently traveled to El Salvador on a missions trip with my church. I have gone on four other such trips in the last four summers, and love participating in them. This last trip has been wonderful. We had a great team and even had the pleasure of working with another great team from Texas. For months we prepared, and a few weeks ago we set out on an ambitious trip. The trip had several challenges everyone had to overcome, but there we exprienced no significant obstacles. The trip lasted twelve days. We had a ministry and construction team. The construction team did work on the parsonage while the ministry team traveled daily to various locations presenting programs featuring the gospel. The trip was rough yet enjoyable. Overall it was a very positive experience for all of us.

Early in the year, those in the congregation were given the option to participate in this summer's missions trip to El Salvador. We all made the decision whether to go some time in February. Every year we have a different team, consisitng of various personalities, experiences, and abilities. We had those who have been on several trips and some who have never been on such a trip. There were some who were missing from teams of previous years and some who have not yet taken the leap to going on a missions trip. There were both young and old, some planning to do ministry and others called to do construction. God had put together a wonderful team that would demonstrate a great unity and commitment throughout the trip.

During the following months from March until we left in June, the entire team worked together to prepare for the trip ahead. There were routine meetings, reading and written requirements, a code of conduct in effect, and several fundraisers. Such preparation is also crucial as the team binds together. Finally in June, we were commissioned and sent from our church to El Salvador.

We were not exactly sure what we were in for when we took off from Baltimore, but we soon found ourselves in a hot, humid, and very poor country. We were without certain comforts of home, such as warm showers. Our schedule was busy every day as we traveled and performed. We were exposed to many new things in this trip: poverty, a language barrier, children who 80% of which were in abusive homes, food, culture, and more. We worked hard every day in a very hot climate. Some slept on hard tile floors, and everyone had to be careful not to drink the water.

Looking back, this trip ranks high for me when considering the last few trips. Everything went smoothly for the most part. The conditions were not ideal, but the team worked together splendidly. Everyone got along, even with a team from Texas that we had just met. We all handled the condition well and there was no complacency. Though there were new challenges for us, it was nothing we could not handle and made the trip more memorable and meaningful in some ways. We spread the good news to parks, schools, and even to remote villages in every corner of Candelaria, reaching thousands of people across El Salvador.

Have I come back changed? I'm not really sure. I don't particularly believe too much in short-term events causing life changes except in rare circumstances. I have come back with a determination to continue serving God in whatever ways I can. I have a few plans I need to carry out now that I am back. Also, I used Spanish a lot during the trip but realized there is a lot that I do not yet know. I think perhaps I will study it more in the future. It was good to have a reminder of how some people in such distant places live. It's hard to change though considering how used to certain luxuries we have become. But at any rate it is good to be exposed to that, to not be ignorant to the economic conditions elsewhere in the world.

The trip was great and was what I consider to be a great success. We have brought back some great memories, met some wonderful people, and touched a lot of El Salvadorians. We perservered through heat and other conditions, but still had a great time doing it. It has been a pleausre doing what we did in El Salvador this summer.

To view pictures, an itinerary, funny quotes, and my journal, visit my El Salvador 2004 page.