israel post 5

Moving on to Tuesday, 4-30! This post will cover only the first of six things we did that day, but I am excited to share this!!

Tuesday morning, we put on shorts and tshirts and packed a change of clothing. The bus drove us to Yardenit, which is the baptismal site on the Jordan River. But, let me back up.

When we learned that we were blessed to go on this trip, we were told that we would have the opportunity to get baptized or rebaptized in the Jordan River, which is where Jesus himself was baptized. Our immediate thought was, wow! How could we not do THAT!!!!? End of story. However, we looked into it a little more, and heard about it more, and we began to have some doubts. It seemed...well...commercialized. We weren't sure how that could hold any meaning, really. We also had a Jewish man tell us on the plane (he sat next to us) that we wouldn't be impressed with the Jordan River because it was so tiny. So we had conflicting emotions on the topic. We talked about it here and there, and were undecided on what we wanted to do. They asked us the night before to sign up so that they would have an idea of how many to expect...and we were still undecided. The preacher that was on the trip with us spoke about how it would all work in the morning, and then mentioned that it would cost to do it. Only $10 a person, to cover the facilities that they provide for showering/etc afterwards. But that seemed a little "cheapened".

In the end though, we decided we couldn't NOT do it. It was where Jesus had been baptised and it would be our only chance to ever do something like this. So we signed up. I can tell you now, we made the right decision!

We arrived at the site and paid...we were given a towel and a white smock. We put the smock on over our clothing and made our way to the site they had reserved for us. Chris and I had anticipated a very public area with lots of onlookers gawking and making it less personal. However, we had our own little area for our group. Yes, there were "gawkers" from our own group, those who chose not to take part. But they didn't deter from the moment. We had 77 people in our group get baptized! Most were rebaptizing, but three were brand new in Jesus! That was so exciting!!

Once we arrived to our little area, the 77 people being baptized sat in the first three rows and Pastor David spoke to us. The Jordan River was small, but it was so cozy and peaceful and I loved it there. The birds were chirping and the sun was shining brightly and I really felt that God was there with us all. It was surreal. We lined up and peacefully made our way through the line...our CEO Kris and Pastor David were doing most of the baptising. When we arrived at our turn, Chris and I went up together and asked to be baptized together. Pastor David was excited, because he hadn't baptized a couple together before! So that was pretty cool. David asked us if we were rededicating our lives to Jesus, and we both said yes. Then at the same time, David dunked Chris and Kris dunked me...and then we rose out of the water in a stronger covenant with God and within our marriage bond. I can not even begin to describe that feeling!!

Afterwards, Chris and I just hugged and watched others go through it...it was inspiring to watch. It was inspiring to feel so close to Jesus and to Chris. It was amazing that no matter where the people watching were at in their faith, they held no judgment for any of us and were almost bubbling over with excitement as they took photos for us. I am so thankful for Kim, who took photos with out camera and her husband Gary, who took some with their camera. They were really able to capture the whole moment and I am forever grateful for that! Even sweeter, once we were on the bus, Kim and Gary presented Chris and I each with a token gift to commemorate our moment. They gave me a bracelet that says "Jordan River" and Chris a beautiful cross pendant. I was so touched by their thoughtfulness!!!

A little neat thing from the end...Kris and David ended up baptizing 81 people actually. At the end of our line, four women had joined in. They were ethnic, possibly Phillipeans. They asked if Kris and David would mind baptizing them as well. One had sung a beautiful song the entire time she waited in line, just softly and so beautifully.

I would have been so disappointed if we had chosen not to take part in the amazing moment. I will hold it dear to my heart forever.

Such a serene location...not large, but just perfect. Calm. Peaceful. Beautiful.

The metal helped to form the line we created...and offered us something to hold on to so we didn't slip. The water was pretty chilly that morning!

This is Pastor David, explaining everything to us. He is a pretty awesome man. He is the Pastor at the church our CEO attends, and has been to Israel around 13 times!

Listening to David and getting our hearts in the right frame feeling...

David and Kris submerge the "old" us...

And we rise up in Jesus, in a stronger covenant

This feeling right here is one of my favorites, ever.

Me and my wonderful hubby, afterwards.

Watching a few others be baptized...holding on to one another tightly.

This has been so fun to relive!! What a moment! I hope you enjoyed this post :)