A visiting missionary spoke of...
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A visiting missionary spoke of witnessing the baptism of a number of new Christians in a remote region of Africa. These new Christians were offered several choices by the pastor who would perform their baptisms. He suggested they could either wait several months until they attended a meeting in another village, and be baptized in the river there, or be baptized through pouring or sprinkling of water in their own village home. There was also a third choice: baptism in the river near their own village. This last option, however, was considered to be extremely dangerous, as this section of river was home to many crocodiles who had often "stolen" farm animals from the village and occasionally attacked villagers. After considering these options, the villagers asked to be baptized in their own river, in spite of the danger from crocodiles that might be lurking there. They felt so strongly about their faith and the importance of baptism in their lives that they didn't feel it would be right to postpone the ritual; they also wanted to go all the way into the river rather than have the water brought to them. While this special event took place under greater tension than might normally be the case, no crocodiles appeared to disturb the proceedings. Probably not many of us would have made the same choice as these villagers or assumed such a risk in our own baptisms. Even fewer of us would have chosen to trade places with the officiating pastor, who had to stand in the river longer than any of the persons he baptized! -- Parker
