Amrit becoming a deacon
Shanta and Min’s church is meeting temporarily here at the Center until they find a place to build or rent. Saturday was a momentous day for several reasons. First of all, their church and another church merged and Saturday was the first time they met together. This truly is something to celebrate since it is more the norm for congregations to split than come together.
Secondly, Amrit, who does follow-up for the girls returning to their villages, was made a deacon. I Timothy 3:6-10 says, “In the same way deacons bust be well respected and have integrity. They must not be heavy drinkers or dishonest with money. They must be committed to the mystery of the faith now revealed and must live with a clear conscience. Before they are appointed as deacons let them be closely examined. If they pass the test then let them serve as deacons.” Amrit is in his mid-twenties, single and has had 2 1/2 years of Bible School training as well as attending a 6-month YWAM Discipleship Training Course. He is one of the most humble young men I have ever met and has proven he is committed to serving the Lord. When asked if he was excited to become a deacon he said, “I am excited to serve the Lord, not to become a deacon!”
Pastor, elder and deacon praying before the baptisms
Immediately following that service we took a twenty-minute hike down to the nearby river to do the baptisms of 8 people-5 women and 3 men. Shanta and MIn’s church is, as far as we know, the first Nepali church to be registered with the government. That means the government has signed an agreement saying the church can openly do church activities and baptize those whom have freely made that choice. The procession to the river was one of excitement and celebration! Once we reached the river there was some time spent searching for just the right spot. Then the pastor gathered together those who were going to be baptized to reiterate the meaning of baptism and ask them if they truly wanted to take this step. The pastor, an elder and the new deacon got into the water and prayed together before beginning the baptisms. Each person was immersed in the river and baptized in the name of the Triune God. We rejoiced as we witnessed Romans 6:3-4, “Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father now we also may live new lives.” We all returned to the center to celebrate their new lives in Christ with a feast.
Baptism by immersion in the river
The “worship team” began with a rousing Nepali rendition of This is the Day that the Lord Has Made. I knew that one! Well, in English I knew it. The next song, I knew also. The next 8 songs I had to just clap along to. Then we had a time of prayer. Prayer in Nepal is a much more group event than prayer in the States. Everyone is praying, out loud, and quite fervently for a good length of time. I can’t keep up! And this was the first time of prayer. We sang and prayed and then we stood for the reading of the Scripture. Oh that was bliss! After an hour the pastor began his sermon. I think it was something about who the church is. He began with the question, “Who is the church? You are. C-H-U-R-C-H.” I wondered if that example translated well into Nepali. For not understanding the language, I was surprised how engaged I was able to be with the service. Church ended, and I had to come upstairs to take a couple of tylenol! My hips can’t take 2 hours on the cement floor. Tea and donuts (pronounced do nots) were the social hour. And sell roti were snack after that. We spent an hour or so looking at pictures on Carmen’s computer and taking more pictures with each of the girls. Now Carmen is making chicken tika masala for supper tonight.
