Last week I stayed with a fellow teacher at her house for the
weekend. She lives with her 3 younger
siblings, parents and grandmother. They are
very much involved in their church. That
Sunday I had the privilege of doing two really awesome things with them. The first: witness and participate in a river
baptism! The second: work at her family’s
taqueria (aka taco stand). Let’s go back
to that first one, shall we? That
Sunday the church was going to baptize 10 people, it had been 5 months since the
last baptism. Abigail (my friend, the
teacher) told me that here most churches baptize in pools but there are a good
number as well that baptize in El Rio Bravo (The Bravo River) which runs along
the border and divides the United States of America from Mexico. I have heard many a story about old times
(before things became so dangerous here) when young people, families, everyone,
used to head down to the river to fish, swim and just hang out. They’d stay out late into the night and have
a grand old time. But when things got
really bad here, all of that changed. These
days people still visit the river and do those types of things but much less
often and with greater caution. Whenever
I heard those stories I always felt a little sad that I wouldn’t get to enjoy
the river as they had before. So, you
can imagine my joy when I found out we’d be going to the river for the
baptism! It was SUPER hot that day and
the sun was shining EXTRA bright. But it
was a day to celebrate as 10 new hermanos (brothers and sisters), young and
old, were going to take this next step of faith. The Pastor waded into the water with 2 other
able-bodied men (haha, I’ve never used that phrase). Then the hermanos lined up. One by one they were completely submerged in
the waters of Rio Bravo as a symbol of being washed clean of sin and further
committing their lives to Christ. I
remember the pastor’s words “…any anger you have, jealousy you have, addictions
you have, leave it under that water.
When you come up, remember that you are a new creation. In Christ we are all new creations, ‘the old
is gone, and the new has come.’” Each
time they came up, we as a congregation sang a baptismal chorus. I enjoyed it so much. I was pretty moved that day. Afterwards we congratulated those who had
been baptized. And after that, we got in
the river too! The little kids jumped in
first, then the young people followed.
Yeah, the water wasn’t really clean and we couldn’t get that deep
because of rough currents but we didn’t care.
I didn’t care. I was swimming in
a river dividing two countries after seeing people baptized in it…I mean, come
on! For Abigail, her family
and her congregation, it may have just been any other day. But I told her later on that I felt it a true
privilege to have been able to participate with them.
As for awesome thing
#2: that same night I went with Abigail to help out at her family’s taco
stand. It is a literal stand – a cart on
wheels, outside a pharmacy, located on the main street of Miguel Aleman. The cart has two large gas griddles where
they heat up the meat and tortillas. They
set up 4 tables around the cart with chairs and wait on customers from 7 pm to
2 am (sometimes 6 am on Saturdays).
Thankfully that day we only stayed until 1 am. Anyway, it was me, Abigail, her brother and another
guy named Max. Max made the tacos while
Abigail, her brother and I waited the tables.
I didn’t actually take any orders but I served food, drinks, and cleaned
the tables. I also shredded cheese and
did a few other odd jobs. And as I said
before, this was just any old day to Abi, her brother and Max. But for me – it was a joy to experience. Doing new things, learning new things from
people who are kind and willing to show me and explain things patiently makes
me feel alive. Sharing experiences with
people where I can help or lend a hand in any way makes me feel alive. I feel joy and purpose when I can learn a
skill, when I can meet the need of another in some way. I don’t know if any of that makes sense – and
I surely couldn’t express that clearly to Abi in Spanish, as hard as I’ve tried,
but God, He knows. He knows how much
that day meant to me and He will honor Abi and her family for inviting me into those
experiences with them. He knows that I
haven’t always felt useful or needed here and yet He still provides me with beautiful
moments like those where I can celebrate with others or lend a helping
hand. And He knows how unique those
experiences were, and reminds me not to forget them and not to forget His
faithful and constant provision.
Lord, thank you for being so thoughtful. Thank you for caring for each one of us enough
to find ways to bring us joy, to introduce us to new things, and to show us
Your face in the invitations of others.
Open my eyes to always recognize Your gifts. Help me to feel alive, even in the small
things. I reject the lie that I am
useless and trust You to bring me into places where You will use me to glorify Your
name. In Jesus name, amen.
