Our friends T and J came to us through Sister
Shelley. She had been a friend of this couple for some years when she suggested
they should visit our bilingual services. For a while already T & J had
been convinced of the Gospel truth, so after a while of worshipping with us,
they agreed to get baptized. Just at that time J was pregnant, but things did
not look good. We mobilized the
congregation in prayer, but in the end she gave birth to a child already dead.
I was afraid they would be so disappointed
that God had not given what we had so earnestly asked for, that they would turn
away. Yet, T and J were strengthened in their mutual love and in their faith in
God. For this we were thankful, and we praised Him.
Two years ago we hosted the (Alpha)
Marriage Preparation Course. This material was available in the Christian
bookstores and online at low prices, and we were encouraged to photocopy the participants’
booklets for our use. It was a very good
experience for bonding families and congregation. Several participants told us
later that the course had been a real blessing in their relationships. After the first run, we decided to repeat the
course, this time inviting members of other churches and their friends. This
time, we asked T and J to do part of the teaching. Although our evangelist felt
that they were not mature enough in faith, I suggested that it would be very
important to involve such a couple in the teaching. I felt it would be much
more powerful, for instance, to have this Chinese couple encourage the
participants to hug their partners twice a day than if we were to say such
things! I had hoped that T and J could
teach the course the following year, but by that time other things demanded our
attention.
I guess it was last year in the summer that
we learned that J was pregnant again. Throughout her pregnancy we prayed, and
–thank God- all went well! In the end of
March, she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl!
The second day we went to visit them in the hospital. As we left, three
ladies were waiting at the nurses’ station to go in after us. Sister J greeted
us loudly and came towards us, but I noticed how (our former deacon) Sister G
turned away, apparently to study something on the nurses’ counter. I left J to
Marioka and walked up to G. As I placed my hand on her shoulder, she looked up.
I spoke to her with sincerity and
warmth, “It’s good to see you again, G!”
During our seven-and-a-half year of
ministry, I have only three times spent significant time on the topic of infant
baptism. Our regular audience knew that Marioka and I had been baptized as
babies, and we were not afraid to talk about it. Yet, as none of our Family
seemed to be familiar with this practice, I was careful not to push it or to
demand the introduction of it. The few times I discussed it in some detail, I
was careful to mention the main arguments in favor as well as against, pointing
out the possible misunderstandings for accepting and rejecting it.
Although several babies had been born in
our congregation, we never had any request for their baptism. After a birth, I always made sure to point
out that, as the parents belong to the Good Shepherd, so do their little
lambs! And I would urge the parents to
teach the children to know and to love Jesus.
I was delighted when T and J informed me
that they would like to have their baby baptized. Our Chinese co-workers had no
objections, so, about three weeks after her birth, we were privileged to
baptized little Anna! After the service we all got into cars and went to Sister
J’s restaurant for a wonderful meal and celebration! SDG!
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