Next came a barrage of people turning to Christ, or returning to Christ. Some of them I've not got freedom to announce their names online, but others include Solomon, Marc, Abhay & Leo. At various times these young men all turned to Christ during our last days of the school year.
And so one morning during my devotions, I was praying about it all. I was, honestly, skeptical. I asked God if these were all genuine heart changes or if there was some type of fad going on at HIS. And He reminded me that when I was saved at (ahem) 4 (yup) during a Vacation Bible School, I didn't know everything about Christianity at that age, and it took years, discipleship, Sunday school classes, youth group, fellowship, friends, family, pastors, sermons, Bible school and university as well as so many life lessons and further surrenders to Christ... before I could feel as strong in faith as I do now. So salvation prayers are a place to begin that life of faith, and these kids had done that! So I continued praying, and asked the Lord, "Well, I was baptized pretty soon after I was saved. Should that be something we could offer our teens?"... and I left it at that.
I checked with a few people at school that day, but hadn't made any decisions except to continue praying about it.
That next morning, during our chapel service for the secondary, Peace (the one who shared that morning) confirmed my baptism question by sharing some challenges including the baptism of Christ... and to me it was a confirmation that I was indeed to offer a baptism service.
When I made the suggestion at the end of that chapel time, I invited the teens to come speak to me if they were interested. So many of them don't have easy access to regular church attendance with their families, or don't have many Christian influences outside of school. This was, for some, the first opportunity they had to be baptized. It ended up at that time that we had about 10 kids asking for baptism. And when we opened up the opportunity to others in the elementary, the total to be baptized were 14, with 4 from the elementary joining our 10 secondary kids.
Once again before the baptism service, the Lord confirmed to me during a prayer and devotional time, that indeed these salvations and the baptisms were His real deal, and that these spiritual leaps were His blessing to all of us. Praise Him!
On the last day of school, we held a special chapel for the baptisms. A local missionary pastor, John, came to help out, as well as Keeley (our principal) and Tim, our HIS board chair, a pastor and Logan's dad... and these folks helped us get the 14 baptized while the school family, and many parents, watched. First we heard their testimonies- all brief but personal, and what a blessing to hear those kids share their hearts. After the service was over, we divided across the field and prayed for each of the kids. It was a wonderful way to end that service, and the Lord really blessed hearts as we prayed, shared, hugged, and witnessed Christ's work in hearts. It was a wonderful testimony to non-Christian and Christians alike who were somehow attached to the school.
Above: Lydia shares her testimony. Below: the whole group of "baptizees".
Above: Lubega being baptized by Tim & John. Below: Bertha's baptism by Keeley and John.
Above: Lubega's mom and Logan's parents joined to watch the service and see their sons (who are best friends) baptized.
Below: Holly prays for Marc.
Above: Mirelle praying for Star. Below: Brent prays for Kahan.
Below: Our 3 Seniors from the class of 2010; Lydia, Kahan and Bertha. They were all baptized on the same day they graduated from HIS! God is GOOD.
