In the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit...
Imagine witnessing or attending all in one day the following events - a funeral, the birth of newborn baby, a birthday celebration, and finally a wedding.
Clearly that would be one amazing day! Well, it was that kind of day last week here at MyRefuge House. Right before our very own eyes we witnessed death and burial, and celebratednew life and a union of new loves. Water baptism is all of these and much more. All five of our residents, including our newest girl, who made a decision just that morning, entered into water baptism as a public and subversive declaration of their decision to accept Christ Jesus into their lives as Lord and Savior. With the guidance and support of a local pastor, each girl was able to demonstrate a clear understanding of their decisions.
The service was an intimate gathering, and included staff from International Justice Mission (IJM), members of a partner church, and some of our volunteers. After singing praise and worship, each of the girls were given the opportunity to share their testimony. Some of them were not able to finish, which was fine because their story indeed is not yet finished.
God is continually restoring and redeeming everything around us! He is able to take a life of brokenness and make it into a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). He is turning darkness into hope, as one of the girls testified, “I can now see a tomorrow.” We saw a cesspool of debris and dirty rain water transformed it into glimmering pool with floating plumeria blossoms. All under a nearby a Cross - the terrible yet beautiful Cross - the symbol of His complete work of redemption. We are simply in awe of how our Father is working here at MRH!
Below are some photos of this amazing day with some lyric lines of some of the songs we sang at the service.
"Heir of salvation, purchse of God, born of his Spirit, washed in His blood."
"I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live."
"Not because of who I am, but because of what you've done. Not because of what I've done, but because of who you are."
"My chains are gone, I've been set free, my God my Savior has ransomed me."
"Lord renew my mind as Your will unfolds in my life in living everyday in the power of Your love."
Clearly that would be one amazing day! Well, it was that kind of day last week here at MyRefuge House. Right before our very own eyes we witnessed death and burial, and celebratednew life and a union of new loves. Water baptism is all of these and much more. All five of our residents, including our newest girl, who made a decision just that morning, entered into water baptism as a public and subversive declaration of their decision to accept Christ Jesus into their lives as Lord and Savior. With the guidance and support of a local pastor, each girl was able to demonstrate a clear understanding of their decisions.
The service was an intimate gathering, and included staff from International Justice Mission (IJM), members of a partner church, and some of our volunteers. After singing praise and worship, each of the girls were given the opportunity to share their testimony. Some of them were not able to finish, which was fine because their story indeed is not yet finished.
God is continually restoring and redeeming everything around us! He is able to take a life of brokenness and make it into a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). He is turning darkness into hope, as one of the girls testified, “I can now see a tomorrow.” We saw a cesspool of debris and dirty rain water transformed it into glimmering pool with floating plumeria blossoms. All under a nearby a Cross - the terrible yet beautiful Cross - the symbol of His complete work of redemption. We are simply in awe of how our Father is working here at MRH!
Below are some photos of this amazing day with some lyric lines of some of the songs we sang at the service.
"Heir of salvation, purchse of God, born of his Spirit, washed in His blood."
"I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live."
"Not because of who I am, but because of what you've done. Not because of what I've done, but because of who you are."
"My chains are gone, I've been set free, my God my Savior has ransomed me."
"Lord renew my mind as Your will unfolds in my life in living everyday in the power of Your love."
posted by ERuss at
10:12 PM
3 Comments:
Praise God for the girls commitment to Christ and Baptism! Keep up the great "God" work! You guys are awesome!
Crystal's Friend, Holly
Hey Holly,
Thanks for your encouraging post here and dropping by. I should tell you that Crystal is absolutely the real deal. She has been a huge help to us here at My Refuge House. God has been good in her life too. I'm sure your prayers and support have meant a lot to her. God bless you!
Russ
Very beautiful Russ, just beautiful...
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