Ryan's Baptism

As I looked out my bedroom window on the morning of my baptism, all I saw was wind and rain. Not the ideal conditions for getting baptized. But there was still hope that it would cease as I still had two hours to go. A little while later the rain stopped, but the wind continued to blow. But I still planned to go ahead with it.

Later, down by the river, the wind was still blowing and the water looked colder than ever! :) Before going down to the water, we sang some songs and I gave my testimony. Then the time came when I would go down to the water. The air was cold as I approached the waters edge. Then I stepped in. It was warm! The water was warm! The river hadn’t cooled off from the summer’s heat yet! I thanked God for that. Earlier on during the week, I’d prayed that there would be nice weather for my baptism. And he answered it in a way I didn’t expect. At first I wasn’t happy about the weather. But then Dad told me that with this weather it presented more of a choice. It would be harder to make the choice with that weather. So God answered my prayer better than I’d hoped.

Once down in the water, I was baptized by both Vova, the pastor of my church and Dad. Coming up out of the water, my heart felt like it would burst. I was so happy! No, ‘happy’ isn’t the word. ‘Joyous’ is the word!

Well now that I was baptized, it was time to celebrate! After a quick change, the church, as well as my guests, went back to church where we spent most of the afternoon. All in all it was a very good day. An excellent baptism, weather and all! A fun time at church afterwards. A day full of God!

Ryan
9-Sept-07

P.S. There are pictures of my baptism on our photo site if you are interested