Ana Takes the Plunge..

This morning during worship service, Ana Maria took the "plunge" into the baptismal pool at my home church, Bethlehem Baptist. Ana was raised Catholic, as most Portuguese are. But her hunger for a deeper knowledge of God lead her to visit other churches outside the Catholic faith over the years. For the last few years, we would go to her church and to my church each Sunday. Although, Ana considers herself a "Bible only" believer, the tradition of her family made it difficult to leave the Catholic church. Also, we love the choir members at the local Catholic church, and we truly hated not being a part of their choir any longer. As time went by, Ana and I became convicted that we needed to be dedicated and committed to one church -- a church that believed in solo scriptura and solo fide.

It was wonderful this morning watching Ana being immersed in the baptismal waters and enter into the local fellowship of believers - called Baptists. I am thankful for the Baptist tradition that exists in my family. And I'm grateful that I'm bonded with a Christian spouse, who has known the Lord for many years. We can now jointly immerse ourselves in the work of our Lord with our church family at Bethlehem Baptist.

In these pictures, Ana is holding a handerchief monogrammed with my initials. Natalie gave that hanky to me years ago. Today it was used to cover Ana's nose and mouth as she was baptized

:-)