Baptism in the Forest
Posted on December 4, 2008 - Filed Under General News | Leave a Comment
We wait for over an hour for everyone to arrive. Today is a special day; a day in which several Samburu will make a public demonstration of their “new life” in Christ through baptism. As we walk down the hill to the water hole, it begins to rain. It had been cloudy and the rain makes it cooler and very slippery under foot. The men are in front, with us women and children following behind. A woman my age takes Joseph by the hand and though he protests a little, I direct him hold on to her as I’m sure her footing on these narrow paths is much better than mine. I’m worried enough about keeping myself from slipping and falling, let alone holding him up! By the time we arrive at the murky pit, we are cold and dripping wet. (Please see more pictures here)Someone hands me an umbrella. Two pastors roll up their pants legs, remove their watches and enter the water. One man decides he will be first. (The other men will wait until all the women have finished and gone. They do not want them to watch.) As cold and wet as I am, I gaze in admiration at the courage with which each believer steps into the pond that serves as today’s baptismal pool. They are waist deep in cold, dirty water and they know they must be submerged. Samburu are not water loving people. None of them can swim and they rarely get in this much water. There is fear and discomfort, but they will not be deterred. What an awesome sight as one after the other, they step in, declare their faith and identify themselves with Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. One man has walked several hours from another village to be here today. He first heard the news of God when Charlie stopped on the way back from another storying location. He heard what was happening here today and he knew he must come and be baptized. He said that from the time he heard of Jesus, he cannot turn back. He must follow Him. He came to be an example to all the elders in his area. From now on, he will be known as Zaccheus, because he remembers the day when salvation came to his house. —sandra
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