Returning from a four-day adventure in the Carpathian Mountains, I hurriedly changed into a clean pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. I was excited to be back in Kiev because a baptismal service had been planned for all the new converts. We boarded the bus and left the city for the lake. It was a huge lake with a beach area around the shore. Most of the people that were going to be baptized had walked the long distance from the city. I took off my shoes and walked along the shore. The local pastors told me that the lake was contaminated. It had radioactive chemicals from the Chernobyl accident that had occurred just north of the lake. The wind had carried the nuclear poison down upon the lake and the city. This had resulted in many of the children dying and many adults had suffered from the nuclear accident.
One of the cruel aims of communism was to poison the people and to sicken them of life. They had hoped that this would only leave the people with the option to lean upon the system in their despair. But the system had fallen a couple of years earlier. This opened up the door for another offer. The Lord desires and invites people to lean upon Him. He is a secure shelter in extreme times of trouble. The people who could not even lift their heads to look at each other were encountering the One who is the lifter of our heads (see Psalms 3:3). They were joyous and they were ready to be baptized as a testimony to the world of a new life.
The minister of the Kiev church hesitantly invited me to assist in the baptismal service. I was informed that upon entering the water that my skin would never be the same. I didn’t hesitate for a second. This was a historical moment and I was born for such a time as this.
The service began with upbeat music and singing that caused many onlookers to stay for the service. Those being baptized were dressed in white robes just above the knee. The water was cold for June and it partially caught my breath. We kept going out into the lake until the water was at the top of my shoulders. Each of the candidates for baptism eagerly waded out as their turn came. They were asked three questions concerning their faith in Christ. They excitedly cried out, “Da, Da!!!” which means, “Yes, Yes!!!” They were so excited about their baptism. The men were baptized first. The Ukrainian pastor and I held up our right hands and he pronounced the declaration. We then took them backwards into the water. This resulted in my getting water in my eyes and upon my face. I had also been told to try to keep from getting the water into my mouth but it was soon in my mouth also.
I still remember so clearly, that as this poisonous water covered my body, I declared in my heart the scriptures that no deadly thing can hurt me (see Mark 16:18). My faith had been overwhelmingly strong on the trip and this was just one more hurdle to jump. I had trusted in scriptures that had not seemed so important back in America. This was good. There were almost a hundred people in the poisonous water proclaiming new life in Christ. I was tired as the last one stepped forward, but my heart’s desire, as recorded that day in my journal, was that I could baptize the entire nation. It was a new day as communism had recently fallen and many were embracing a new life of freedom.
The service lasted about three hours. After the baptisms were over there was a reenactment of the story of Naaman (see II Kings 5). It was a beautiful drama. The man who played the part of Naaman dipped in the water seven times. When he came up the seventh time, to show that he was healed, the people went wild with joy. A man in a boat pulled ashore to watch the story being played out. Many had gathered along the shore. What a great witness to people who had never heard the story before. Jesus is our healer.
Each of the people that were baptized was given a white flower and a Bible. We had acquired the Bibles from some doctors who had been there on mission and were going back to America. Each of our team took part in the presentation of the flowers and Bibles. My clothes were almost dry by then. The sun was hot and I felt like I was burning for Jesus with a passion that I had not yet felt before. I didn’t know it then, but I was rising to a new kind of normal. This passion would consume me in the years ahead. There would be times that it would wane, but with just a little wood thrown onto the embers, the passion would rise and burn.
Leaving out on the bus, I watched the people begin their long journey back into the city. They were waving at us as we passed. I had struggled so hard to understand their language, but nevertheless, I had bonded with them. I loved these people that I had been taught to hate while growing up in America. I remembered as a kid, riding down the road in the back of a truck and hollering out that the Russians were coming. Although we were just having fun, we still feared the Russians because we believed that someday they would conquer us. We had been told that they were our enemies.
My team said to me, “You have made us proud today.” As I looked out the window and saw the lake become smaller behind us and the city looming before us, I began to cry and I heard another voice. So softly the love of God washed over me and I heard Him say, “Someday you can be with them in Heaven and you will understand their language.” There will be no sad farewells. My eyes find tears… even now…. after almost twenty years as I write about that day.
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