Baptism Sunday

Today we had three baptisms at Black Forest Christian Fellowship. I was blessed to hear testimonies from three students that I have had direct interactions with during my first and second year here at BFA.

The first was one of my current students, Viktor. Last year he was in my math class, and this year he is in my life science class. His mom shared that his name means victory, and his middle name, Emmanuel, means God with us. It has been such a privilege and blessing to see Viktor face victory after victory during his first year at BFA. Check out his testimony:

The second was one of my former students who is now a freshman in high school. Her testimony was written in true Elianna fashion: thoughtful and meaningful, sprinkled with humorous anecdotes. She spoke about how she knew she needed to get baptized but was afraid of getting up in front of everyone. This year God gave her three very clear signs that the time was now, and so she stepped up and handed her life completely over to Him.

Elianna and her parents

The third was a high school student from Maugenhard, the dorm where I spend my Thursday evenings. I've attempted to help him with Calculus homework, baked him cookies, and proofread English papers for him. In his testimony David shared with us the struggles he'd faced all his life as a missionary kid. He'd moved from the Phillipines to Canada to Azerbaijan to Germany, each time against his will and each time his bitterness grew. He confessed he'd made poor choices last year, hurt many people who loved him, and entertained suicidal thoughts. Finally out of desperation he turned to Jesus and found hope. He said, "If I were God, I'd have given up on David a long time ago." How reassuring to know that we are not God, and that God doesn't behave like us. Lane Young, the former Maug dorm dad who walked with David through last year, came to Germany to baptize him since his parents couldn't afford to come.

David, former dorm parents Lane and Michelle, and David's sister Krystal