This past week has been a flurry of activity. Sunday we went to a water park where there was a river that naturally heated the water with hot springs. Monday we went shopping at the large market downtown in San Salvador. Tuesday we went on a trip to the beach. The current was very strong. One guy from the Southern group didn't take the warnings seriously enough and ended up getting sucked out by the current. Thankfully he was able to get out of the current and then his buddy was able to help him get back into shore. It was scary. The beach was very interesting because it is black sand. It comes from volcanic rock. We have been so blessed by the church members who have been going all out to make us feel welcome and appreciated. The last few nights we have been getting homemade goodies and vegetarian meals after each meeting.
The meetings each night have been such a blessing for me (Matt). Last night we had our third baptism. The man who was baptized is named Jose. I remember seeing Jose the first night of our meetings. I knew he was a visitor because he sat through the whole meeting slouched down in his seat with his arms crossed. But several nights later when we made the first call for people to give their hearts to Jesus he came forward. It's been neat to see him progressively more peaceful night after night.
My favorite sermons have been "Move Your Hand" about the gospel, "Don't Be Fooled" about the truth of the second coming, and "Your Day in Court" about how Jesus is going to be our defender against Satan in the judgment. I've seen the hope that these sermons have given the people who have listened and it is really neat to be sharing these ideas.
I have been enjoying a growing friendship with Pastor Roberto Aguilar. We are both 25 and share the love of soccer. I'm looking forward to heaven when we can communicate more freely than we can right now with my broken Spanish.

Here is one of the six Volcanoes in El Salvador. We can see this volcanoe from our hotel. The geography and nature here are amazing! The flower shots were taken right in the backyard of the hotel. The last picture was taken on the street in front of the the hotel. We are really enjoying our time here! It's cool to see the people coming to the meetings and being touched by the message God has for them. We'll tell you more about that in our next post. Bye for now!

The children at our church in El Transito are very smiley and friendly. Anna and I wish we knew more Spanish. Matt has been picking it up pretty well, other than the fact that for 2 days he was telling the locals I was his girlfriend thinking he was telling them I was his wife! It's a good thing we have Matt here because he really is doing a great job at translating for Anna and I. Anna and I sang "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" in Spanish one night for special music. At the end of the meeting Matt had the congregation sing with us. We then realized we had jumbled the words together in odd sequences to the tune! Hearing them sing, it sounded so much more graceful and put us to shame! It was the thought that counted though and we are developing our skills! Meanwhile, Matt is busy practicing sermons! We are busy exercising, laughing, and thinking of new things to do in the compound! We spend most of our days here at the hotel. San Salvador is not a safe city. Anna and I walk to the store, but beyond that it is best to have a bigger group. We are enjoying the change of pace though.