Baptisms in the African Bush

Today a team from the Ship went to a village about an hours' drive away. This village of Hevie (pronounced HEAVY) has a history steeped in VooDoo and idol worship. According to the Pastor - Pastor Theodor, the land around the village was very unproductive, but he had a vision over 10 years ago that the land was to be used for the building of a Church. Pastor Theodor explained that as a result of the Jesus film the people really got inspired and motivated to see the fulfillment of that vision and the church was built. It is a simple structure - an open frame with a zinc roof.

Mercy Ships sends out teams 2 - 3 times a week into the villages around Cotonou to show the Jesus Film. This is done in the Crew's own time, evening & weekends. The Jesus Film is translated into the local languages of French and also Fon.
This is such a powerful way of sharing about Jesus and why He Came, why He died and how He was raised from the dead to save us from our sin, to transform us into Life Eternal. They don't just hear the message but get to see it through this powerful, visual representation of the Gospel message.

It's wonderful to see people responding and giving their lives to Jesus. Our teams ensure local Pastors are present so that any new Christians can be connected into local Churches so that they can be encouraged and grow in their new found Faith. From time to time we get requests to be involved in the Baptism of these new Christians.Andy shares a message before the Baptisms begin.

The visit today was three-fold:
1. It was to Baptize 12 people:
Andy & Arthur (also from the UK - our Chief Electrician) were asked to be those who Baptized the new believers. Other Mercy Ships Crew had some key roles in the proceedings. One of our crew preached the message, Andy & Arthur and Ananda prayed for the new Pastors and various crew prayed at different intervals throughout the service.










2. To dedicate this new Church plant in the Community and to commission the new Pastor. During the service they shared communion. This was a first - no.... not a first to share African communion, but a first where the "wine" was actually Coke!!
3. To dedicate a miracle baby to the Lord.

The testimony about the baby is remarkable. A month before the baby was due the mother went to the local hospital as she had gone into early labour. The hospital sent her home telling her that the baby had died in the womb and that she should wait till the baby was expelled naturally. The Church got together and prayed in earnest for the mother and for this child to be quickly delivered. 15 days ago the mother felt the baby start to move again in the womb and 5 days ago, she gave birth to a normal healthy baby boy that she & her husband have called Joshua. What a day of Joy!
It was such an exciting day, to see what the Lord has done and is doing in this Community.











These two lovely pictures above show Andy & Arthur in prayer at the end of the Baptisms with two African brothers. Andy & Arthur work closely together in Engineering, and are very good friends. Today, however was an extra special blessing for them to share.

At the end they shared a simple meal together of rice an egg and local vegetables.