Before any of you Canadians had gone to bed on Saturday night, we were arriving for the 8:30 am service here at the Saigon congregation. The service started sharp at 8:30 and ended at about 10:40 am. Normally any service over 90 minutes begins to be a little painful for me. But not today.
At about 10:00 am when the sermon ended, we began to prepare for the baptisms. The 31 candidates (17 women, 14 men of all ages) first came to the front and sang a hymn for us. They had attended a baptism and membership class for three months. After they sang, they all repeated from memory the Apostles Creed which is repeated each Sunday in this church. After that, one of the pastors asked them to affirm their belief in several statements of faith.
They then returned to their seats in the front three rows. First to be baptized were three who because of age or illness would not be immersed. In their baptismal robes, one at a time they stood in a large basin and the pastor poured about a third of a large pitcher of water over their heads. More than sprinkling, not nearly immersion. :)
Then one at a time, the other 28 candidates entered the baptismal tank - referred to by our generally excellent translator as "the lake". Several deacons and deaconesses are involved making sure that all is well organized and moves very efficiently. Jan and I affirm that witnessing baptisms in any country, any church still thrills us.
Since there were so many, we did not hear any testimonies. However as I looked into the faces of several of the older candidates, I thought of the difficult decades they have endured here. Some of the pain seemed to be etched on their faces. How wonderful to know they have peace with God and have begun to enjoy the peace of God.
What a joy it was for us to witness our second baptismal service in Ho Chi Minh City. In spite of the competing ideologies, religions and materialism, we rejoice to know that many are coming to faith in Christ here in Vietnam. The church is alive and well - and growing.
At about 10:00 am when the sermon ended, we began to prepare for the baptisms. The 31 candidates (17 women, 14 men of all ages) first came to the front and sang a hymn for us. They had attended a baptism and membership class for three months. After they sang, they all repeated from memory the Apostles Creed which is repeated each Sunday in this church. After that, one of the pastors asked them to affirm their belief in several statements of faith.
They then returned to their seats in the front three rows. First to be baptized were three who because of age or illness would not be immersed. In their baptismal robes, one at a time they stood in a large basin and the pastor poured about a third of a large pitcher of water over their heads. More than sprinkling, not nearly immersion. :)
Then one at a time, the other 28 candidates entered the baptismal tank - referred to by our generally excellent translator as "the lake". Several deacons and deaconesses are involved making sure that all is well organized and moves very efficiently. Jan and I affirm that witnessing baptisms in any country, any church still thrills us.
Since there were so many, we did not hear any testimonies. However as I looked into the faces of several of the older candidates, I thought of the difficult decades they have endured here. Some of the pain seemed to be etched on their faces. How wonderful to know they have peace with God and have begun to enjoy the peace of God.
What a joy it was for us to witness our second baptismal service in Ho Chi Minh City. In spite of the competing ideologies, religions and materialism, we rejoice to know that many are coming to faith in Christ here in Vietnam. The church is alive and well - and growing.
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