Before I accepted Jesus as my Savior, I went to church often and joined VBS. I pretty much grew up in a Christian family in which almost all of my relatives were believers. I didn't really understand why I went to church though. There was a day after school when I was in 6th grade, and I remember walking home that day and seeing an elderly man who was passing out Bibles for people who came out of my school. I don・t remember if I had been a believer that day, but I hope to serve others in the unique way God has blessed me with.  

            The time that I realized that I needed Jesus was when, at Sunday school in May, we were doing a little booklet about accepting Jesus. The first Sunday, we were to say a prayer. I didn't since I didn't know exactly why we were doing it because I wasn・t taking it seriously. The next week came and I prayed that prayer. As I did, I realized just how much I didn't understand about me going to church. I suddenly realized that being a believer took more than just going to church. There was going to be many steps of faith and choices for me later on.

             Psalm 19:14 was a verse that helped me understand that baptism was pretty much just the beginning of being a follower of Jesus. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord my Rock and my Redeemer.

             I was starting to understand that every moment of my life was planned to praise God and try to lead the sheep to the Shepard.

             I think that it was a great opportunity for me to have read the 40 Days of Purpose by Rick Warren. After reading the first day, I was beginning to wonder if I really understood why God had put us on this earth. I was starting to realize that even though I was saved, there are people out there who don・t even know that there was Someone made a precious choice to die for them and that He is coming again. They had no idea that there would be a time in which Jesus would rise again and we would finally have a reconnected relationship with God in Heaven.

          Even though I had sprained my ankle a week before baptism and I had crutches, I knew that God wanted me to go ahead with the baptism even though I was not fully well. Some of the people that I knew did not disagree about me getting baptized even if I had an injury. God was telling me that baptism was a very important step of faith. He was telling me that even though I had sprained my ankle a week before December 30th, I should still get baptized since I had decided to do it a couple of months ago. God is trying to help me understand and trust to see his plans in a positive way because he knows what is best for me and for others. God shines and wants me to serve others for his purpose.  

          I considered baptism since I understood that baptism was a public declaration from the inside out of my inward belief in Jesus dying on the cross, being buried, and then resurrected to be with the Father.