The Coolest Thing

My friends are leaving. And, I'm very, very sad.  This is bad for me, because I don't have a lot of friends here. That's by my choice, and I'm not complaining, but this couple has been instrumental in my time here, and I'm happy for them, but sad for me.  That being said, half of this couple, Michael, and half of another couple, Caleb, have been filling in as interim pastors since Pastor Jimmy left a couple of months ago.  They are incredibly well studied and well spoken, and I love listening to them on Sunday mornings.  The Sunday before last, I had an idea in the morning that I wanted to run by them at church, and I did, and they accepted and ran with it.  I had never been baptized as an adult.  It was something I've been wanting to do but kept putting off., so I asked if they would be willing to baptize me...and we set it up for the next weekend.  The other half of the couple that is leaving, Julie, decided to get baptized as well, and it became this beautiful moment to look forward to. 

So, the following Saturday, 11 of us met at church and drove out to the trail head to a place that Caleb had found for us to do the baptism.  Did I mention it was raining? Because it was really gross outside.

 But since it was only drizzling, we decided we would go ahead with it.  Now, those of you that know me know that I hate to hike. "It's an easy hike," they said.  "No problem," they said. 

Then we got to the part where we had to start going down, and my inner wimp kicked in.  It must have shown on my face, because Martha, Caleb's wife, said to me, "Don't worry, Aimee.  Caleb and I have sworn to protect your face and other bones."  And she was serious.  In their lives before Korea, they were rafting guides and super outdoors kind of people.  Opposite of me. OPPOSITE OF ME.  Martha is about half my size, so while I was concentrating on not dying, I was appreciating the humor of this tiny thing trying to prevent me from dying.  Of course the rain picked up a little on the way down, and of course it was like, rocks and leaves we were hiking down, but we all did it.  I fell once.  Would have been a thousand times if Martha hadn't been in front of me telling me where to put my feet and to just sit down and slide down the rocks.  I feel like I need her to lead me in daily life, just to navigate the sidewalks in this country.

So, we (or maybe just me) are slipping and sliding all the way down. And I hear Hannah say from behind me, "Aimee, this could symbolize your journey in life..."  So, so true.  Ups and downs, slips and falls, no idea where to put my feet, and my gracious savior, leading me through it. 

 After about 10 or 15 minutes, we come to a sizeable pool of water, and ask Caleb, "Is this it?"
"No, it's a little further down."
We come to another good sized pool of water.  "Is this it?"
"No, it's just a little further down.  I can see it from here."
We come to a cliff. Nowhere left to go.  Caleb starts pulling out rope.  "Uh, Caleb? What..."
It's over the cliff.  I blamed the pregnant woman with us and said we shouldn't go down it, even though the pool at the bottom was seriously the perfect baptismal.  Luckily for me, it was raining just a little bit harder, and the others suggested going back to the last pool.  So we turned around.  And on the way back to the last pool, I saw something shiny in the dirt.

 "I think Jesus agrees with the decision to go back!"  Seriously, cool right?  Of all things to find while we're down there?  When we got back to the last pool, I asked Hannah, "Does this qualify as developing hinds' feet?"  She and I have started a study with the two of us of "Hinds Feet on High Places," and the whole process of getting down and up was so fitting! 

One of the things I appreciate most about Caleb and Michael is their ability to prepare.  And prepare they did.  They had an actual ceremony printed out (thankfully put in plastic covers) and we had like a 15 minute deal. I was expecting to go to the beach and get dunked with some friends.  They took time out of their lives to actively look for a cool place to do this, and to prepare a ceremony and print out pages for everyone in attendance to participate. As it started to really rain, we were slightly protected by the trees towering over us.  Michael opened in prayer, and Caleb started by reading some scripture and then explaining what baptism is.  Or isn't, rather.  It's not a magical spell.  It's not what saves us. It isn't even what changes our lives or our hearts.  It doesn't make us better or "more religious" than anyone that isn't baptized.  It is, however, something that God commands his believers to do, along with communion.  It is a public proclamation of faith, and it was something I wanted to do, desperately.  Then, we all recited the Apostle's Creed together, and after, Michael asked Julie (his wife) and I if we affirmed it, and we did.  Then he took Julie in first, and he asked her some questions as to her beliefs which she affirmed, and then he and Caleb baptized her by laying her back, completely under the water, symbolizing the death of her old life, and raising her back up, symbolizing her new life in Christ.  Then it was my turn.  Caleb asked me the questions, and then they both baptized me in the same way.  When we finished, the whole group sang "Before the Throne of God" and then Michael and Caleb prayed for us.  You know when something is really serious, and everyone is having a moment, but something tiny happens to make you laugh and you can't stop, no matter what?  Something caught in Michael's throat as he was praying, and I started giggling and I couldn't stop.  I was shaking, and snorting from trying to hold it back, and I just kept my head down, hoping they would think I was crying and not laughing.  It was terrible.  And hilarious.

After it was over, we gathered our stuff and climbed back up.  (So much easier than coming down, though I did get stuck at one point, just laying on my stomach, having no idea what to do with my hands or feet.  Caleb saved me.)   When we got to the top I looked around...Julie and I had been completely submerged, and we were no more wet than anyone else in the group.  Those are dedicated friends.  The whole thing was so beautiful, I wouldn't change a moment of it. 

I did have the forethought to put my phone in a plastic bag, though the only ones I had were blue.  Hannah was kind enough to take pictures during the ceremony, so here they are through the rain and a blue Ziploc bag.  They aren't exactly crystal clear...but if you squint, you'll get the picture. (Ha!  Get it?  Get the "picture"?)

The trail led down to a valley near this temple.  This is the only temple I've seen this color.

After it was all done, we all went to dinner as a group then hung out and devoured a family bucket of ice cream and a fruity cake.  Michael preached with passion the next morning on being pure in heart, and then the church took us to Outback to say goodbye to Michael and Julie.  It was definitely one of my favorite weekends in this country. 

So, that's the story.  Someday, when I'm ready, I'll lay out my whole testimony, and the long journey it's been to get to this point.  For now, you can watch the video below if you want.  A friend from my church in Bastrop asked me to make a video for their sermon series called, "Warrior."  I don't know if it was shown, but here it is.  I'm sorry if the sound doesn't match up to the video.  It's so annoying, but I don't know how to fix it.  And I don't know why my lip is doing this weird off to the side thing. Do I always look talk like that?  Seriously?



So....this is about as transparent as I've ever been.  If you have questions or comments, feel free to leave them below.  If you're in or around Changwon and are interested in finding a church home, let me know, I'll be glad to talk to you about it. 

Until next time...

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."  Hebrews 11:1