‘Well, the words that I am about to write will be so inadequate because the only way to really know how we all felt on our last night was to be there with our disaster relief family. And I do mean FAMILY.
We were about an hour from our hotel on our way back to Savannah when we got a call from the other bus. A great call! In the course of conversation with Ernesto Bautista, Tyler Kozlowski shared that he had been sprinkled as a child, but had never been baptized by immersion. Ernesto asked if he wanted to be baptized and Tyler said yes!!! Tyler met Sarah Smebak on the disaster relief trip to Breezy Point. Tyler is from New York but when Sarah told him about the disaster relief trip to Oklahoma, he came all the way down from New York to help out.
We all got into the pool fully clothed to share the moment with him. Jerry Seltzer baptized him into Christ and all the angels in Heaven plus our team were rejoicing!
After the baptism I noticed that Dori and Mandi McCorkle were still in the pool chatting with each other. Mandi and Dori grew up Lutheran so they were baptized as babies. Dori’s had some tough things happen to her in her life and she says that her and God “weren’t friends for awhile.” Her best friend died of leukemia awhile ago and she just couldn’t reconcile that traumatic event and a loving God. But just over the last week, she has grown so much and gained so much wisdom that she is beginning to have some peace over it. And obviously, her and God are friends again.
Dori said she would argue with people until she was “blue in the face” about baptism and how there was no need to be baptized as an adult. But between this trip and God’s Word, she was convicted that baptism is an adult decision between her and God. Amen, right?? So I swam up to her and said, “Well, Dori, this is between you and God…and you are in a pool…” So she decided that it was time!
Then Mandi asked if I would baptize her as well. Mandi has a little boy named Christopher. She is such a good mother and loves to show off pictures of her precious five year old boy. You can tell from the sparkle in her eyes when she talks about him that he is her everything. And her decision to be baptized is going to bless that little boy even more. She’d been thinking about it for a few weeks and decided that last night was the time.
So, I had the amazing honor of baptizing these two beautiful women into Christ. It was an epic moment for them and also a blessing for me. God has been moving and working and so present during our Oklahoma trip. And He gave us the best ending to an awesome mission trip. Please be praying for these three precious souls. We all know how Satan likes to attack right after someone has been cleansed and handed their life to our God.
“And Peter said to them, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” – Acts 2:38′
– Team Member, Alex Hisey
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