Baptism Sunday

Well, I knew I was going to have exciting news to share with you all today, but I didn't have any idea how exciting!! It has been a good day, that is for sure.
For a few weeks, we've been announcing that today we were going to have church at a small retreat center close to town that has a pool. One of the main reasons for this was that we had a couple of people who'd expressed a desire to be baptized. When you don't have your own baptistry, you have to plan these things in advance. : ) Well, during the invitation, the two people who'd already decided came forward, along with two more!! We were so amazed at how God was working in their hearts. Here they all are with the people who were instrumental in their decision to put on Christ in baptism:

(L to R) Larisa, one of our cell apprentices, is standing next to her cousin, Arcelia; a member of Aldo and Sandy's cell group, Elsa (sitting down because of health issues) was overjoyed when her granddaughter, Silvana, came forward this morning; Herlinda is standing next to Sandy, who's been the one who has studied with her; Hugo stands next to his parents, Pepe and Reina

Let me tell you a little about each of them and then I'll share some more photos of the baptisms and the day.

• Arcelia recently moved to Morelia because she is in the process of divorce. She started coming to church with Larisa, her cousin as soon as she got to town. She told us this is what she's been looking for her entire life. It's been such a joy to see how God is helping her through this hard time and giving her the strength she needs.
• Silvana's grandmother is from Columbia and came to the Lord there. She's been in Morelia for a few years now with her son and daughter-in-law and helps with their laundry mat which is on the same block as our office. Elsa and Silvana rarely miss a cell group and Sandy particularly has seen a lot of growth in Silvana over the past year. Today she decided to follow the path her grandmother has led her in. Praise the Lord for grandmothers like Elsa!
• We first met Herlinda quite some time ago. Her niece, Connie, runs a store in the same building as our office (she's on the first floor and we're on the second floor of a two story building). Sandy has studied with Herlinda on many occasions and counseled her because she's lived through some very overwhelming things in her life. But today, she decided to put all that behind her and move forward with Christ by her side.
• Hugo and his wife attended off and on last year about the same time as his parents began meeting with us. Sam and Ann had studied with them both and seen a real hunger in Hugo, but he was never willing to take that final step. Today, they showed up about 30 minutes late and I must admit I was surprised to see them. But the Lord had more surprise in store for us all and he touched Hugo's heart in a special way and he couldn't put it off anymore.

We are so thrilled to introduce to you these new brothers and sisters and to start out the year with these new commitments. We hope and pray to have more good news in the weeks to come. Please pray for each of those who were baptized today. Pray that the Lord fills each of them up with his presence this week and every day of their life. Pray that he becomes their strength, their first love, their hope, their everything. And praise the Lord while you're at it! He is definitely a God of surprises!!
I can't get the rest of the pictures to load, but I'll go ahead and post this so that the good news of today will officially be online. : ) Thanks for all the prayers!
In Him,
Sara