Day 9: Baptizing 87 in the River
Quote of the Day: “God's
work done in God's way will never lack God's supply” -Hudson Taylor
Verse of the Day: “Therefore
put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and
stand your ground on the evil day of danger, and, having done all the crisis
demands, to stand firmly in your place.” Ephesians 6: 13
The
invitation arrived from my dear friend Jerome Ndayisaba. He wanted me to
accompany him on a scouting trip. I prayed and felt that this was God’s will
for my Saturday even though it involved quite a drive. I jumped into my Toyota
Hilux pick-up paid for by the youth of Oklahoma and headed into the hills of
Burundi.
We sped off down a bumpy road
into the heart of Africa. Our destination was the little town of Nyabihanga
situated in the literal middle of nowhere. After driving down a dirt track for
about an hour we arrived at an outcropping of random buildings.
We found a rented mud building
comprising two rooms—the roof was corrugated iron sheeting with tarps stretched
taunt as an awning. The two rooms could accommodate about 40 people. As we
pulled in, I was surprised to see over a hundred people sitting patiently on
the ground awaiting our arrival. I assumed we had come to investigate the
possibility of assisting with a new building project. Clearly, the church
building was in trouble; by contrast, the congregation seemed alive.
It was a Saturday and I wasn’t
expecting anyone but the pastor and a few key leaders in the congregation to
turn out. As we approached, they began to sing and dance. Pastor Daniel greeted
us: “Welcome! We are now ready to start the evangelistic meeting.”
I looked at Jerome, “Evangelistic
meeting?”
“Missionary Steve we want
you to preach.”
“Preach?”
“Then we will have the
baptismal service.”
“Baptismal service?” I asked out loud.
“Then we will eat a meal
together and go look at new properties for the church.”
“New properties?”
Things had clearly evolved
significantly—this was going to be an all day event and maybe then some. Praise
and worship started. People danced and sang with great enthusiasm under the
tarps. News had spread throughout the area of our arrival. People started
coming from everywhere. I knew that I would soon need to preach the word.
I felt the Lord whisper to my
heart, “Speak on the Second Coming.”
It would be the first time in
my life I had preached on the Second Coming. I launched into the Word God had
placed in my heart from I Thessalonians chapter 4. I spoke in Swahili; Jerome
translated into Kirundi. The message was very short, lasting less than 25
minutes.
It was so cool to see God work.
I had never really spoken much in a mass evangelism context. This was my first
time. It was so amazing to feel the Spirit of God sweep through the crowd. As
we closed in prayer and gave the invitation, Pastor Jerome made it clear, “We
are going to baptize those of you who are responding.”
Less than five minutes later we
were headed towards the nearby river. Hundreds stood on the riverbanks to watch
as Jerome and I divided those desiring to be baptized. He took half and I took
half. We stood in the frigid mountain stream up to our waists. After a prayer
of instruction, people waded into the river one after the other.
“Muri zina ya Data. Muri
muzina ya Mwana. Muri zina ya Mpwemu.” In the name of the Father, the Son and
the Holy Spirit.
Down they went one after the
other. For at least 45 minutes it
continued unabated. Jerome handled one side of the river as I baptized the
other side. After all was said and done 87 people had made a public declaration
of their faith in Christ. I have no idea how many were already members of the
church and how many had responded in the evangelistic meeting.
All I know is that it was
awesome: one of the most rewarding afternoons of my entire life. I felt so energized—doing God’s will
that Saturday had fired me up. We changed clothes in the bushes underneath a
little tarp and headed back into Nyabigina to look for pieces of land for the
church.
We never found anything. To my
knowledge no missionary ever went back. It wasn’t too much after this that I
had to leave the country. I never saw Pastor Daniel again and I think that the
church is still meeting in the two little rooms. Someday I want to go back and
facilitate the construction of a permanent structure.
Obviously, God’s will that day
wasn’t to build a church; it was to build the Church!
Question of the Day: What is God’s will for your life? Does this thought scare
you or excite you? How do you search
out God’s will for you?
Musings: “What is the will of God for my life?” Have you ever asked that question? From an early age I
constantly thought about it. Growing up the enemy tried everything possible to
convince me that the will of God for my life was something heavy, difficult,
dull, and dreadful.
Have you ever felt that way? Once
I started doubting God’s intentions towards me the enemy would capitalize on my
insecurity. He threw every lie in the book my way—trying to get me off track
with God’s purpose for my life.
Thank God I never explored these
options very far simply because Holy Spirit was so faithful to show me the lies
and the danger awaiting me on the other side of them. They were nothing but a
scam to steal and destroy my God given purpose. One day the light came on for me as I was reading Romans
12:2. “Do not be conformed to
the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Sounds good, but why do I need to
have my mind renewed? The answer hit me between the eyes, “then you will be
able to discern what is the good,
pleasing, and acceptable will of the Lord.”
Since that moment I have never doubted that His intentions and plans for my
life are for my good! His will, when accepted with a renewed heart and mind, is
pleasing and acceptable! God has good things in store for you. Don’t fall for
the enemy’s scams and lies. Let your heart, mind, and spirit be renewed in His
Word and Presence and soon you will be able to see clearly again.
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