-a recent prayer letter received from Greg Windell (Kenya)

We have a new student at Crossroads Bible Institute in Vipingo.  Samuel Masha introduced himself as the new pastor in Tiwi.  That got my interest immediately, because that church had been struggling for some years, and the previous pastor tried to commit suicide.  It was awful.  The church’s testimony was not magnetic.  But now for a breath of fresh air – Pastor Masha.

Masha told me the good news of how things are turning around in Tiwi, and invited me to preach at a service that would conclude with baptism.  I thought, “Great!” I get to preach, then relax and watch new believers get baptized.

Michelle went with me, which was nice because she took the pictures and kept me company.  It went a lot the way I pictured it: we sang songs, listened to testimonies, gave the offering and then came the message.  I enjoyed preaching to these people.  Most of them stayed awake.  Many kept eye contact, and some even laughed at my jokes.  My sense of humor connects with an exclusive, small minority.  We wrapped it up with a prayer, and I felt pretty good about everything.

We headed over to the baptismal tank under the shade trees.  I watched with interest how they were preparing for this next part of the service. Water was still filling a mostly full tank.  Everybody was slowly wandering over and forming a small crowd.  The pastor was talking to his key men, and some looked anxious to get started.

That’s when Pastor Masha came over and asked if I was ready.  I said “Sure!” Meaning: I’m ready to watch you guys do this.  He said more clearly, “You’re the one doing the baptizing, today.” Immediately, my mind raced for an excuse to decline.  I normally want pastors to baptize their people.  I didn’t bring extra clothes.  I’m not mentally prepared (which is my normal state). After what seemed like minutes in my head, I decided maybe this is what God wants, so I said, “Okay. Let’s go.”

I got into the tank, and the cool water felt great, because I was still sweating from the service and the heat.  Masha asked how old a person should be to get baptized.  So I’m standing in water to my hips, and now it’s time for a quick theology class on the point when someone can receive Christ and then be baptized.  That’s cool.  It’s my job.  It’s just that I usually tackle theological quandaries in drier circumstances.

After that, it seemed they were having difficulty finding the people to baptize.  I’m thinking, “Why am I standing in this water?”, but then people started coming forward.

Since they seemed to be having difficulty finding the candidates to be baptized, I was thinking we would have two or three, but people kept jumping into the tank with me.

Then Pastor Masha asked if I could lead a man to Christ. Sure! I went through a quick plan of salvation, and led the guy in prayer.  Leading someone to Christ from the baptismal tank – that’s another first for me.  On top of that, he hurried to change his clothes and was baptized, too.

In all, we baptized fourteen people that day.  Hallelujah! I don’t think I did anything better than what Masha could have done, but it was a blessing to take part and do something.

Afterward, we ate beans on rice and gave our salutations to everybody as we prepared to head back home.  I’m glad the floor mats in Michelle’s car are clean, because I had to put one on the seat.  My britches were still soaked.  The air conditioner felt extra cool on the way home.  It was a great day.

Thanks to you we get to have these kids of experiences tailor made by our LORD.  Michelle and I can’t thank you enough for your prayer and financial support that makes all this possible.

May God multiply His blessings to you in wonderful and surprising ways!

Greg and Michelle Windell