The Water Has No Power
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The river roared to life and the crowd of Siawis pushed in, straining to hear the voices of the people in the center of the river. The words, nearly drowned by the frothy surge, resonated in the souls listening. The Siawis were celebrating. They were living and believing in the salvation of their souls through the death of Jesus Christ.
Fifty-nine believers chose to be baptized as an outward profession of their new-found faith in Christ. Fifty-nine believers understood and accepted His death on the cross. Fifty-nine believers stood small compared to their vast surroundings, but bright and clean and declaring the undeniable grace of God.
Missionary Tom Brendle, weak with malaria fever, barely made it to the event, but the sight moved him. Other missionaries were ill as well. Shannon Swanson, with great determination, arrived in time despite her swollen ankle from a recent infection.
Upon arrival, the Siawis and the missionaries were faced with a low water level in the river. The location could be moved further up the river to where the water was deeper, but the distance was significant. Siawi women, their arms full of food, and the missionaries suffering from illness and injury did not like the idea of leaving the initial spot.
The Siawis were not discouraged. "It gave them an opportunity to trust that God would provide a solution," Tom said. A few Siawi men trudged back and forth, constructing a simple dam of large rocks, leaves and mud. After a few hours of labor, the men were able to raise the water level to waist-deep in one spot of the river.
"Praise God. It is all of Him and none of us," Tom said. "Each believer shared their faith and trust in Christ and were baptized."
Tom and fellow missionary Jason Swanson were amazed at some of the men who stepped forward to be baptized. Young men such as Noa, Sek and Ekebauele had caused a lot of mischief for the church in the past.
"Ekebauele has always been a hot-head," Tom said. "Even when he was a young teenager, he was always getting his way through fear and intimidation."
But a godly reaction turned away Ekebauele's attempts to intimidate the believers.
He threw rocks at the church building while the believers met, in an attempt to get a reaction. The culturally appropriate reaction would have been to ignore him. Despite cultural norms, a more common reaction would have been to get angry and possibly attack him. The Siawi believers did neither. They shared Christ with him.
"The work of those men … brought him to the realization that he was a sinner in need of a savior," Tom said. Ekebauele began to show great change and started frequenting the teaching. Through more conversations, Tom and Jason learned how he came to believe in Jesus.
"Oh yes, before I wasn't a believer in Christ. I didn't care about God's road, but as I listened to the teaching on Acts, my thinking became clear," Ekebauele told Tom and Jason one day. "I understand that Christ's death made the way for me to go to Heaven. His blood was shed for me and there is no other way for my sins to be paid for. I want to be baptized because it is what Jesus said should happen to those who believe in Him. I want to follow Jesus's talk."
The Siawis have experienced the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the significance He has in their lives. Now they want to represent it, they want to wear it, be washed anew in it. They want to experience and live it.
"Our lives should be lived as an act of worship to God," Tom said. "The people are being confronted with their sin in contrast to Christ's righteousness." The Siawis learned the significance of their baptisms and their participation showed everyone in attendance that they belong to Christ now, that they believe in Him and that they've placed their faith in Him as their only Savior.
"We explained … that baptism doesn't save [them]," Tom said. "The water has no power."
But God does. In a crowd of 59 new believers the faces were diverse, representing different ethnicities and customs, symbolizing the wide extent of God's kingdom. Tom and Jason baptized their children as Siawi believers Kwaelom and Someliae baptized theirs. Missionaries and Siawis stood together, joined under Christ's unifying salvation.
"There are now around 100 Siawi believers who have been baptized," Tom wrote. "Our desire is for them to begin to see that they are one body in Christ."
The missionaries continue teaching and the Siawis continue soaking in the Word of God, letting it seep through the pores of their spirits and into their minds and hearts. They patiently wait for God to provide another opportunity for baptism so more souls can rejoice through experiencing the symbolic sanctification of their spirits and take great pleasure and delight -- through worship, faith and service -- in the glory of Jesus Christ.
Fifty-nine believers chose to be baptized as an outward profession of their new-found faith in Christ. Fifty-nine believers understood and accepted His death on the cross. Fifty-nine believers stood small compared to their vast surroundings, but bright and clean and declaring the undeniable grace of God.
Missionary Tom Brendle, weak with malaria fever, barely made it to the event, but the sight moved him. Other missionaries were ill as well. Shannon Swanson, with great determination, arrived in time despite her swollen ankle from a recent infection.
Upon arrival, the Siawis and the missionaries were faced with a low water level in the river. The location could be moved further up the river to where the water was deeper, but the distance was significant. Siawi women, their arms full of food, and the missionaries suffering from illness and injury did not like the idea of leaving the initial spot.
The Siawis were not discouraged. "It gave them an opportunity to trust that God would provide a solution," Tom said. A few Siawi men trudged back and forth, constructing a simple dam of large rocks, leaves and mud. After a few hours of labor, the men were able to raise the water level to waist-deep in one spot of the river.
"Praise God. It is all of Him and none of us," Tom said. "Each believer shared their faith and trust in Christ and were baptized."
Tom and fellow missionary Jason Swanson were amazed at some of the men who stepped forward to be baptized. Young men such as Noa, Sek and Ekebauele had caused a lot of mischief for the church in the past.
"Ekebauele has always been a hot-head," Tom said. "Even when he was a young teenager, he was always getting his way through fear and intimidation."
But a godly reaction turned away Ekebauele's attempts to intimidate the believers.
He threw rocks at the church building while the believers met, in an attempt to get a reaction. The culturally appropriate reaction would have been to ignore him. Despite cultural norms, a more common reaction would have been to get angry and possibly attack him. The Siawi believers did neither. They shared Christ with him.
"The work of those men … brought him to the realization that he was a sinner in need of a savior," Tom said. Ekebauele began to show great change and started frequenting the teaching. Through more conversations, Tom and Jason learned how he came to believe in Jesus.
"Oh yes, before I wasn't a believer in Christ. I didn't care about God's road, but as I listened to the teaching on Acts, my thinking became clear," Ekebauele told Tom and Jason one day. "I understand that Christ's death made the way for me to go to Heaven. His blood was shed for me and there is no other way for my sins to be paid for. I want to be baptized because it is what Jesus said should happen to those who believe in Him. I want to follow Jesus's talk."
The Siawis have experienced the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the significance He has in their lives. Now they want to represent it, they want to wear it, be washed anew in it. They want to experience and live it.
"Our lives should be lived as an act of worship to God," Tom said. "The people are being confronted with their sin in contrast to Christ's righteousness." The Siawis learned the significance of their baptisms and their participation showed everyone in attendance that they belong to Christ now, that they believe in Him and that they've placed their faith in Him as their only Savior.
"We explained … that baptism doesn't save [them]," Tom said. "The water has no power."
But God does. In a crowd of 59 new believers the faces were diverse, representing different ethnicities and customs, symbolizing the wide extent of God's kingdom. Tom and Jason baptized their children as Siawi believers Kwaelom and Someliae baptized theirs. Missionaries and Siawis stood together, joined under Christ's unifying salvation.
"There are now around 100 Siawi believers who have been baptized," Tom wrote. "Our desire is for them to begin to see that they are one body in Christ."
The missionaries continue teaching and the Siawis continue soaking in the Word of God, letting it seep through the pores of their spirits and into their minds and hearts. They patiently wait for God to provide another opportunity for baptism so more souls can rejoice through experiencing the symbolic sanctification of their spirits and take great pleasure and delight -- through worship, faith and service -- in the glory of Jesus Christ.