The Shumaker Family's Blog

Baptism at Ying Toako

I just realized that this blog was left on draft and never published.  It is from a few months ago but in my opinion it is still worth posting.

 

My family and I started out the day by leaving the house at 6:30 am. The plan was to travel to Pissila and find pastor Salif who would then lead us to the Village of Ying Toako for the first baptismal service to ever happen in this village. The road to Pissila is mostly good, but after we get to Pissila there is no real road to Ying Toako, only small paths for bikes or pedestrians. It takes roughly 2.5 hours to get to Pissila. After meeting up with Pastor Salif in Pissila we followed him while he drove the motorcycle. After about 45 min of winding around trees, scraping bushes, and bumping up and down, we saw a large group of people gathered under a tree.

 

When we arrived they had already began to sing. You could feel the excitement in the air. Just a few months earlier we were privileged to be the first people to ever preach the Gospel to these people. Many had made professions of faith and now they had a great desire to follow the Lord in believer’s baptism. After preaching we made our way to the baptistery. I decided to climb on top of my car so that I could get some good pictures and video. After getting on top of my car I realized that Pastor Salif wasn’t the one baptizing, but that it was Dominique. Dominique is the disciple of Salif, and he is currently in our Bible College that we have started in the tribal language. The joy that gripped my heart when I saw Dominique baptizing was great. I have been asked a few times if I don’t like to baptize. I love it but I got so much more joy out of seeing my disciple’s (Salif) disciple (Dominique) baptizing. I can’t wait until the day when I see Dominique’s disciple baptizing another.

 

The youngest girl baptized was 8 years old the oldest woman was around 80.  There was a total of 34 baptized on this wonderful day.  In spite of being poor, no running water anywhere close, and no electricity they made a feast for us. Even though I have seen God work miracles many times and he has done great things, I am still amazed. It is amazing to hear people sing and praise God in their tribal tongue when just a few months earlier not one of them was saved. For those of you who pray for us, thank you. For those who support us, thanks. You have such a big part of what God is doing in Burkina Faso.

 

Church service at Ying-Toako

Church service at Ying-Toako

The start of the baptismal service.

The start of the baptismal service.

Pastor Domonique baptizing.

Pastor Dominique baptizing.

Pastor Salif and Dominique with all those who were baptized.
Pastor Salif and Dominique with all those who were baptized.
The oldest and the youngest who were baptized.
The oldest and the youngest who were baptized.

4 Responses to “Baptism at Ying Toako”

  1. Andrea Fortner Says:

    What an awesome work God, through you, is doing. Praise the Lord!

  2. Keith Says:

    Thanks so much for kind words. God is good.

  3. Bonnie Peace Says:

    Thank you for the ‘lost’ letter. It was a blessing to read (even) the rough travel and the welcome singing and baptism. May God continue to bless you-all, and your students, and you-all serve Him.

  4. Keith Says:

    Thanks for taking the time to read the blog post. Thanks also for the encouraging words.

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  • More Information

    SENDING CHURCH
    Rome Baptist Temple
    P.O. Box 1023
    Rome, GA 30162
    Pastor: Dr. Billy Goolesby
    Phone: (706)232-8969

    FIELD ADDRESS
    06 BP 9460 Ouagadougou 06
    Burkina Faso
    Phone: (706)534-8965
    keith@theharvest.net
    www.theharvest.net


    MISSION BOARD
    Macedonia World Baptist Missions Inc.
    P. O. Box 519
    Braselton, GA 30517
    706.654.2818

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