I listened as the only sounds that could be heard were the voice of my Dad as he said, “We baptize you…” and the splash and someone was buried beneath the waters of the sea and raised to a new life.
I thought of all the difficulties and trials and stress of the past 5 weeks. Yet as I saw man after man, woman after woman and child after child being baptized, the trials seemed so small and insignificant! They all paled in comparison to the joy of seeing those that we worked for giving their lives! It was so worth it!
Praise God that 79 new members were added to the Seventh-Day Adventist churches here in Iloilo! It was so exciting to watch as they all walked hand in hand out into the sea and then were baptized by the 10 or so Pastors.
It was just perfect weather, too! This is the summer season here and can be very, very hot, but it was cloudy, cooler, and no rain fell. God provided just what we needed to make this service a special occasion! The service was held at the Adventist beach about 20 minutes drive from Iloilo. It was clean and a wonderful spot for a baptism.
Lots of people came to watch and after all the candidates were baptized, they all knelt on the shore and Pastor Esico (the former President of the Conference) had the consecration prayer. My heart was bursting with happiness to know that all heaven was rejoicing in the new lives started that afternoon!
After the consecration prayer, all the church members filed by and greeted the new members and welcomed them into the family. About 1/3 of them were children, most of whom I knew. Then there were lots of pictures with the new members and their friends and family.
As I brushed the sand from my feet and prepared to jump in the car for leaving, I thought to myself, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Thank you, God, for having a small part in all of this!” To see more pictures of the baptism, click here.
