Baptisms!

What an amazing day Sunday was in the Mallasilla Bible Church! We had our very first baptism service with 4 people coming to profess their faith in Jesus- 3 of them having just received this gift of salvation in the last month! It's neat to be a part of something new because all these celebrations are "firsts" and we get to set the tone and the tradition of how we will continue to present these events over the years. Hopefully, before too long we will have our own church building where even more will be able to come and worship and celebrate together. We had the regular service in the morning and then invited the congregation out onto the back porch area of the Alfaros', where we meet. When they designed their house, they believed that God had big plans for it and so built a baptismal on the side for the people they believed in faith would come to know Him in their home. It came in very handy on Sunday! It was a special moment to see these new believers confess their faith in the Lord and come out of the water with huge smiles on their faces, knowing that they have been made new. It was also fun to see my pastor, who typically wears a suit every day of the week, in his shorts and bright orange crocs. :) After they were baptized, they sat before the table of the Lord's supper and we all took communion together, recognizing that our salvation comes from the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, and His resurrection- purely by grace. Then, we all stood around talking and laughing and enjoying "choripan", grilled sausages in thick, chewy buns. We finished off the morning, now the afternoon, with a cake and an "hasta luego" to those that we are growing closer and closer to in our church home. What a joy to see God working out His plan through the church in Mallasilla.

Andrea, Ana, Ivan, and Karen