Unless someone explains it to me!

“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me! So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: … “As they travelled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized? …then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.”

Acts 8:31, 32, 36, 39

A group of people from various villages in and around Sakpe were prepared for baptism but had to wait a number of months just because we could not find an appropriate water source to fulfill this commandment of our Lord. Where we live and work we have one rainy season, thus making water a precious commodity. Most of our water bodies like the rivers and dams are heavily protected for human consumption because of lack of sources of clean drinking water. To prevent the contamination of water and the spread of water-borne diseases, human beings are not allowed to use the water for washing or bathing. Therefore we are also not able to use these water bodies for baptism. For many weeks we had been looking for water for this ceremony. Just when we were about to give up and postpone it until the next rainy season, we found water in a gravel pit that was just right for the ceremony. However, we had some competitors – cows!

Church service before the Baptism

Walking from the Church to the gravel pit

Competing with the cows

Like the Eunuch in Acts 8, the people of Naasoni, Sakpe and Fuseini Kura villages had heard a little about the Gospel but were not sure what or who it was talking about. They have been asking, “Tell us, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Over the past year or so, just like Philip, we took the people from the unknown to the known, telling them the Good News about Jesus. As a result of these teachings many Muslims and idol worshippers gave their lives to Jesus Christ.

It was all joy last month to witness thirty people both men and women publicly proclaiming Jesus as their Lord and Saviour through baptism. What an in depth joy to be a channel in ushering these people into the Kingdom of God.



The Baptism (1)

The Baptism (2)

The Baptism (3)

Sharing the grace

Sharing some food after the Baptism before the people walk back to their villages

We know it is not going to be easy for these new converts in their new found faith. We can foresee family and community rejection and discrimination awaiting them. Please, pray for God’s grace and strength for all of them. Also, pray that God will give us the grace and the joy to share in their burdens.