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There are always baptisms here and there, but this one had something special: It was the first baptism and at the same time the first garden party of our „Sing & Praise“ group at Neugraben.

 

Nadine and Maike, our candidates for baptism, had chosen the 11th of June for this special occasion in their lifes. However, at the beginning it was not clear where to baptize them, for a usual baptistry we have neither at Wilhelmsburg nor at Neugraben. Would the weather support a baptism outdoor? One by one the ideas came towards a garden party with a baptism in the swimming pool, and we decided to trust on the good weather, for God not only invented baptisms but can also manage the weather. At 2 pm our 4-part baptism feast started: The baptism itself was performed before a limited group of relatives and friends to the candidates. After some welcoming words by Jan in the living room and a few chorusses we sang, Tadeusz started his speach adding some thoughts to the preliminary talk he had had with the candidates a few weeks before. Meanwhile the swimming pool was filled with water. A few rain clouds come close but desappeared as we went outside. Thus, our candidates entered the pool at a dreamlike sunshine to confess to witnesses that they belonged now to Jesus. Tadeusz asked them to confess and submerged them. Only after this the pool was open to other bathing guests!

 

Then the public parts started and the cake buffet was opened. Many participants had brought cake along with them, thus we had a colorful buffet. Three small tents were combined to a big one with chairs and tables for everybody, but many guests preferred to take their seat outside to enjoy the sun. When about 5 pm our "Sing & Praise" service started, 'high life' was again inside - with a powerful worship lead by Otto, Tina, Nadine and Jan and a sermon spoken by Jan, also dealing with the topic of baptism. Thus we hardly noticed some rain outside, which stopped right in time when we got outside afterwards, where Tadeusz had already prepared the barbecue. So while sharing the delicous sausages and salades within a harmonic society with interesting talks, we once more enjoyed the dreamlike sunshine to end the day. For more than 30 participants this baptism party was a nice and refreshing event - however, for two of them even more: For Maike and Nadine it was an unforgettable experience related to the most important decision of their lifes.

 

Jan Pahl

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