Baptism in the Venezuelan jungle

Cassandra Klingenberg
Baptism - Saturday, July 14
posted Friday, June 26

Leaving two hours after our scheduled time of departure, 50 people from the church piled into cattle trucks for the baptism of eight new believers. We traveled for an hour and a half to a nearby indigenous community, consisting of three families, living in the middle of nowhere. They invited us into their school/home built of grass, mud, sticks, and homemade wood planks. Brett, Jeremy, and I wandered around the village, amazed by their simple yet ingenious way of life…drying racks made of sticks, canoes made from hallowed out trees, and outhouse walls made from palm branches. I felt like I had stepped back in time, a time where the land produced not only your own food, but also clothing, shelter, and tools.

As we made our way down to the baptism site, we walked through the remains of a forest that was being cleared for farming, continued on through a wide grassy plain, and then entered into a thick jungle where we could almost smell the anacondas. We came upon a crystal clear stream where the baptisms would be performed. As the congregation gathered on the bank, Pastor Carlos proceeded to take off his prosthetic leg and hobbled into the water assisted by Roberto and Brett, who had been asked moments before to help with the ritual.

One by one, the baptism candidates entered the water and gave a short testimony. Brett and Carlos took turns praying for them and immersing them in the water, baptising them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As each of the new believers left the water, they were welcomed by their brothers and sisters in Christ with singing and thanksgiving.

For me, it was my first time to see anyone baptised by immersion in a river, let alone a river in the Venezuelan jungle. The presence of the Lord was there, as it was on the day of my own baptism, but it is a unique image and experience I will always treasure.