Hope for El Salvador: How sharing God's love changed my life forever

Gospel singer Jake Cowley believes there is hope for peace and stability in El Salvador

There’s a saying that goes, “It takes more faith to believe in nothing than it does to believe in something."

Singing has been my passion since I was two years old. Nearly 20 years later, I feel blessed to be able to share my faith through my music and through fellowship at my local church in Louisiana. But, last month, I was able to spread God’s love a different way – in a way I never imagined.

I was nervous about going to El Salvador. I remember thinking, “Well, I could just help out at a local mission house or food-bank and serve some food.”

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has already been helping countries like El Salvador through their own efforts.

Through their Adopt‐A‐School Program, private sector and individual partners make contributions that are matched by the program -- which means a sponsored school will have its quality of education strengthened by people willing to help who may not be able to make the unforgettable trip I did.

With that being said, I didn’t think I needed to travel out of my community to help people in need.

But for some reason, I felt I needed to go. It was that gut feeling – that still small voice we sometimes get from the spirit within. When I returned home afterward, I knew my life had changed forever.

In May, I traveled to San Salvador. One of the most powerful moments of my trip was singing in a local church – a Baptist church of 1,200 members – in a dangerous and impoverished area of the capital city.

The sanctuary was a large, open room with concrete walls and few of the adornments common in our houses of worship back in the U.S. There was no air conditioning, no backlighting, no theater seats or plush carpeting.

But much of the experience was the same as I’d find back home. These parishioners’ worship with singing and clapping - and do so many days a week.

I stepped to the front of the sanctuary and sang “How Great Thou Art” – a hymn many of us recognize in English. After I finished, their worship leader led the congregation in a spontaneous rendition of the sweet song in Spanish.

At that moment, sitting back and hearing the same hymn sung so passionately in a different language, I felt a burst of wind hit my face and my eyes filled with tears.

If I hadn’t made that decision to get on that plane, that powerful moment in my life would not exist.

American assistance is felt in the country, through USAID's work which has allocated almost $25 million to a project called Education for Children and Youth.

It provides access to quality education for 370,000 children in high-crime communities. It also provides teaching assistance to administrators and teachers so they can offer their very best to children in their communities.

I visited students in an area like that on my final day in El Salvador.

On our last day in the country, we traveled to a food kitchen. We went through some of the poorest areas of the country, including those places run by the violent MS-13 and San Salvador gangs.

Our mission that day was to provide food and drinks for about 140 children who lived in that very dangerous part of town.

It was amazing to see the faces of these kids. We may not speak the same language or grow up the same way, and yet we shared such a common ground. We were blessed to serve the food to the students, many of whom only have one meal per day.

My father even had the opportunity to take some meals to the gang members standing on the corner, watching over their turfs.

It was certainly emotional to see their faces and the eyes of those children, knowing we made a difference if even for just one day.

I will carry a heart of thanksgiving and a spirit of joy the rest of my life because of the fellowship I had on this trip.

The simple act of listening and helping gave me a new outlook on life, one for which I will always be thankful.

We offer our prayers daily for the children and people of El Salvador.

Jake Cowley is a young artist, he can be reached via twitter @jakecowleymusic