Day 5

Wow.

So here I am, exhausted, ready to be home, and dreading the drive to get there. However, something is lingering in my thoughts, stirring a passionate excitement for the work the Lord has done in our time here on the island.

My approach to church group time (at the end of the day) is simply to give the students a platform to express what the Lord is doing in their lives, be it victories, celebrations, or a time to request encouragement. We've seen God do some stunning things the past few evenings and He seemingly gave us such an amazing blessing in our last time together this evening.

As we were finishing up concluding our time in prayer and about to head in to pack, one of our students spoke up with something that was pressing on their hearts. After having their first authentic encounter with the Lord last night that led to their surrender, they requested to be baptized. It didn't take long to realize that they weren't hinting at getting it done Sunday morning during the service. With our pants already rolled up due to the sand, we headed down to the water. Standing in the dark water as the tide continued to rise, illuminated by tonight's full moon, we saw our first student baptized in my time here with the Ridge.

The night's events weren't done just yet...another student was prompted to take the step of baptism after being a believer for some time. Even with the random circumstances, and the painful pinch on the toe from a large crab, we were able to give them the chance to give their public profession of faith. On the way back through the sand we were stopped by a random bystander and asked what was going on. After telling him the situation, he told us how great our God is and how awesome he thought tonight's events were.

Thanks for making it possible for all of our students to be a part of what God did during this week. The stories and moments scribed are most definitely not the only ones from the week. God left his mark on our group, leaving us transformed and challenged. Watch out for us as we return...we're on a mission.

We're planning on hitting the road around 6 AM, hopefully putting us at the church right around 5 pm. Please have your phones on you throughout the day. We will also try to update the web along the way to let you guys know where we're at.