Unexpected Baptisms

"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." Matthew 3:11 NIV

I will admit when Kevin first received a phone call on our day off, I was a little curious. Then when I found out it was one of our pastors inviting us to a baptism at a river, my response was "how long will this take?" My mood only worsened when we were told the pastor would pick us up in a half-an-hour at a specific location and then we patiently waited for him an hour. Thinking it would be a short trip, we left behind water, snacks, sunscreen, towels and everything desireable for a day at the river.

When our bus did finally come, it was so full of other people we had to stand. I thought to myself, at least we won't go very far. With that in mind, I graciously declined a seat offered to me. 2 1/2 hours later, we arrived at our destination and I was about ready to collapse I felt so tired. I wondered what God could possibly be trying to teach me that morning. All I knew was that I was on the verge of tears and it was supposed to be a wonderful day off.

Thankfully the pastor decided to get the baptisms under way once we had everyone settled at the river. Kevin was asked to assisst the pastor while the rest of us sang "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus". As I watched the first new believer get baptized, my heart began to soften.



As I continued to sing and watch 9 others proceed and display their outward commitment to follow Christ, I noticed their joy as they came out of the water.





Watching these ten new believers reminded me of my own baptism years ago. The significance of my changed life then gave me a glimpse of my attitude that morning. I was reminded that a baptism is only effective when accompanied with an inward change of attitude, leading to a changed life which is the work of the Holy Spirit.

While ten people were baptized that day, I too was baptized by the Holy Spirit inwardly working on my attitude and changing my life. We didn't return home that night until 7pm sunburned, hungry, dirty, wet, thristy and completely exhausted, but we were so thankful for the opportunity. As we were leaving, Kevin asked the pastor if we could help pay for the gas we used that day getting out to the river. The pastor told Kevin to keep the money, that he wanted us to know that our presence on that trip meant so much more than any amount of money we could have given. As we walked home, Kevin and I talked about how we would have spent our day off, and we concluded that was the best way we could have spent it.