Baptism

Yesterday my grandson was baptized! What a day of rejoicing that was for our family. And the icing on the cake, he asked my son, his uncle, to baptize him.

He and his mother, my beautiful daughter, attend a small extension of a larger church they used to attend when they lived at a different location. My grandson loved his church and eagerly wanted to join the smaller extension when their new condo moved them too far away from his original church home. He sought out baptism and asked his pastor about it. My grandson is blessed to have people on both sides who love the Lord, support him in his young walk with God, and who rejoice in his decision to follow Jesus.  

His baptism brought back memories of my baptism long ago in a faraway land. I was eight years old when I made a profession of faith at the mission Vacation Bible School at the seminary building in Ogbomoso. My parents spoke Yoruba fluently so they/ we attended a Yoruba speaking church. Our pastor at the time had not yet been ordained (a high honor and achievement in Nigeria), so my father asked the hospital chaplain to baptize me. He wrote a letter to my dad shortly after my baptism.

In case you have trouble reading the letter it says:

11/12/67

Dear Dr. & Mrs. T. Keith Edwards,

The occasion of yesterday afternoon was one of those I will never forget in my life for the meaning it has for me and the course of Christ in this land.

Your daughter was the first American Baptist Missionary I had the privilege to baptize. The most important thing about it is this--that oneness in Christ you preach is practicalized. That is to prove to us that you do not say by mouth that you love the Nigerians but you demonstrate it. May the love of Christ continue to flow through you to many more in this land as you dedicate your lives for the service of our Lord. 

I am yours sincerely, 

D. A. Asju

Today, I have so much to be thankful for!