...Every Tribe, Every Tongue, Every Nation
It was our joy and privilege to participate in the first Baptism service of Cornerstone Church of All Nations. For those of you who aren't aware of this, a key part of our ministry this year has been helping with the formation of an International Church here in UB. Bernie is serving in the capacity of Interim Pastor and Renee' is helping out with miscellaneous committees, like planning the first church picnic and baptism service.
The original date was a Saturday afternoon, but that was canceled due to rain and cold weather. Monday afternoon the sun was shining through the blue Mongolian sky. And the change of plans worked its way quickly and effectively through the grapevine, so we were pleasantly surprised that the turnout did not seem to be affected at all.
In typical fashion the directions we had mapped out three weeks previously were no longer accurate but with the help of cell phones we all congregated relatively easily. Jan proved he was as adept with a grill as he was the electric guitar. Our Filipino girls whipped out some chicken that was so good Jonathan was eating it off the grill and the ground. Of course, Bernie's hamburgers were as tasty as ever even though they did get a little mutilated by being turned with a knife because we forgot the spatula.
There was baseballs and gloves, footballs and frisbees and Cori and the girls managed to entertain themselves without any of those, which was fine with the guys.
The rain that canceled the picnic on Saturday did a good job answering our prayer of three weeks ago – “Lord, please send more water so we can find a deep enough spot for dunkin'!” Well, the pictures prove that was answered abundantly, as we searched for a place where the baptismees wouldn't get swept down river in the current.
But nothing can compare to the joy of hearing the testimonies of the five young people being baptized. Bernie baptized his first Mongolian believer, then two friends of Cori's, one Dutch, one American and also the children of our Swiss friends, Marcus and Gertrud. Even the icy cold water couldn't dampen their spirits. Our Mongolian sister came up from the water and clapped. It is awesome to see that kind of spirit.
So...enjoy our pictures and rejoice with us in the small role we played in this kingdom process and know that we are grateful from the bottom of our hearts to those of you whose prayers, gifts, support and sacrifice made it possible for us to be here.