The day began with a simple act of kindness from my husband. We were both loading our separate cars and going our separate ways to pick up the multitudes of people wanting to worship today at Plang Yao Church. I had my copious amounts of things for my children’s Bible class and Doug had his Bible with notes for his sermon, a towel and spare pair of pants (for the baptism) and a special chair for the elderly being baptized today. As Doug started out the gate, he stopped, turned, and walked back in my direction. As he neared me, he opened his arms to give me a hug -- and plop! His Bible with notes, towel, and spare pants fell into a pool of mud. We used the towel to wipe the mud caked on his Bible and gathered all his things. He told me he was coming back just to give me a hug and thank me for working with him on this church plant. He took a few extra minutes to pray over me and went on his muddy way. And then… I saw it… just dropping from Pongo’s mouth. Notes that had fallen from Doug’s Bible had been scooped up by our white retriever. I picked up what was left and tucked them in my purse, fearing that these were Doug’s (now mostly useless) sermon notes. On my way to church I picked up 10 new believers and made it to church just in time for Bible study. The room we use as our sanctuary was already filled with adults waiting for our arrival. Doug arrived close behind with a van full of teens and Ann’s (one of our Ban Pho youth) mom and dad. Doug’s sermon was a blessed time in the Word. The best part of the day was seeing Doug baptize 5 new believers. Here are their stories. First came Nut, an 18 year old young man who came to faith about a month ago after hearing the Gospel at the clinic. Next came Jaw, Ann’s mom. Her husband was baptized 2 weeks ago, and today she joined him in publicly declaring Christ as Lord. Then came Luey, Nut’s mom. While sitting in our clinic waiting for her medicine, my two cleaning ladies shared the Gospel with her. She had relied on witch doctors and spirits to help her, but after hearing the Good News, she put her faith in Jesus and renounced her devotion to demonic spirits. Earlier, she had torn the demon shelf out of her home on which she had offered spirit sacrifices for years. Now she publicly declared her decision to walk with Christ Then came Pa Laum, nearly 80 years old. Her neighbor had shared the Gospel with her, and invited her to my Tuesday Bible study group in their neighborhood. She had been coming for months, until she, too placed her faith in Christ. Hopefully, the rest of her family is not far behind. And finally, Pa Chalaem. All 86 years of her. She is Nut’s grandmother, Luey’s mom. She saw the remarkable change in her daughter and grandson and that moved her to listen to the Gospel, until she, too, placed her faith in Christ. Seeing these 5 baptized today was an absolute joy. And the joy was magnified by the men that you can see in these pictures. The 3 men you see helping Doug with the baptism are Nut – who was baptized today, Joy who was baptized 2 weeks ago, and Gong, who was baptized a few months ago. As we talked about the baptism beforehand, as I watched them help him during the ceremony, and as they talked further afterward, their dear faith, their open devotion to God, and their joy in having a role in seeing others baptized was absolute blessing to Doug and I. The morning began in the mud. But the afternoon was immersed in the waters of baptism for 5 brand new believers. And that was more than enough to wash away our muddy morning memory. What a blessed day.
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