We experienced a momentous occasion, two of the young adults who live with us were baptized in the Pacific Ocean. Aroldo and Darcy chose to publicly declare that they had made a choice to serve the Lord Jesus.
Our pastor and pastora, Jose and Danny, arranged for members of the church to accompany them on an outing to Las Penitas Beach a short distance from Leon. Various members, young and old climbed aboard a chartered ruta bus for the 15-minute trip to the beach. It's always fun to huddle together and travel as a group. We stopped at various points in the city to pick up members as we headed out. There were approximately 30 of us in the bus and other members joined us at the beach via their own transportation. The day was perfect, clear skies, mild temperatures and light breeze.
Before the baptism, we all gathered in the ranchero for a time of prayer and a short teaching by Pastor Preston. Pastor Jose prayed for Aroldo to have the chains of bondage broken off him. There are pictures (in the accompanying video) that clearly depict Aroldo symbolically trying to break the chains, you see the strength in his arms. He struggles with addiction to substances. In the last couple of weeks, with each touch of the Lord upon him, there follows temptations and setbacks to a life that he is desperately wanting to leave behind.
Prior to stepping into the water, the condition of the ocean changed dramatically. The waves became very strong and very high. Many times, the pastors along with Aroldo and Darcy were swept off their feet by the strength of the waves. Later, the Lord showed me that the waves were symbolic of the storms in their "former" lives; always being knocked off their feet by the conditions that they found themselves in or that were self-inflicted. Like the sea that will polish rock and smooth it like glass, the water was washing over them to do away with their past. Then came a moment when there was a break in the crashing of waves and the pastors gently lowered each one into the water, just like the Lord lovingly draws them to Him. As they arose out of the water, new creations were brought forth into the Kingdom of God.
Afterwards, there was a feast of fish prepared by Pastor Jose. This was a true miracle. He did not have enough fish to feed the entire group. But as each time he put his hand into the bowl to retrieve a fish to put into the fry pan, he'd thank the Lord and ask Him to multiply the fish; there was always another, an endless supply.
Unfortunately, Aroldo and I (Sandra) were not able to stay and eat with the group. Aroldo has a job and we had to get him back into town. So, we hopped on a bus that would take us back into Leon. It was a beautiful, warm night with the wind blowing in our faces as we stood in the aisle of the very crowded bus. When we got off the bus in Leon, we walked the last couple of blocks to his work, holding hands, and many times Aroldo would look at me and say, "Feliz, muy feliz".
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