BAPTISM!

Look what we got to be a part of...another baptism! 

 

If you’ve been following our blog and newsletters, the names Mariza and Ceasar may sound familiar to you as they have been featured in several stories which began with Mariza’s baptism in May (the first in our town).  Mariza and her husband-to-be, Ceasar, are hungry for God’s word.  In the 6 months since Mariza’s baptism we’ve started a weekly Bible study in their barrio  with their extended family, they also faithfully attend (and Ceasar has even helped to lead) the weekly Bible study at our house, and they have come to church services and praise services in San Francisco.  They both attended a Timothy Training and they both told Bible stories at a recent encuentro church service.  Now they come weekly to our house for fellowship and pre-marital counseling.

We were elated when Ceasar asked to be baptized in living water, like Jesus.  We trudged through the fields behind our house, found a suitable and deep enough spot in the river, listened to Ceasar’s testimony and watched as he was baptized.

 

Please keep praying for Ceasar and his wife, Mariza.  They have taken a bold step just associating with us and now an even bolder step being baptized.  Being only 2 of three baptized believers in town and 2 of only a handful who have made a profession of faith in Christ, they are in the minority and therefore face an uphill battle. 

 

Ceasar and Mariza are also in the minority by deciding to get married.  Marriages are rare around here.  Out of all the people we knew and work with, we have only heard of a handful of wedding ceremonies (I’m not exaggerating).  The commitment to love someone for life is virtually unheard of.  Their desire to get married is a direct result of the Holy Spirit’s working and convicting them of sin. 

Jeff and I started pre-marital classes with them and have been working through 1 Corinthians 13.  Over and over again they have said, “We have never even heard of these qualities applied to a relationship and we certainly have never seen anyone model anything close to the marriage God desires”.