Down to the River to Pray (Tom)

For a long time, Daniel has told us that he wanted to be baptized in Ethiopia. Benjamin had been baptized here and Daniel wanted a similar experience. Benjamin's' baptism was north of Addis in a park with an ancient bridge made of eggshells and a tributary of the Blue Nile. We had found a crater full of water that our good friend Rob Tennant had used to do the baptism. It had been a magical moment, and our hope had been to return to the same location.

Unfortunately, because of civil unrest in that part of the country, it was unsafe for us to return there. Instead, we had made arrangements to do the baptism in Sidama when we went to visit Tamenech's birth family. I had written a couple of days ago that we had gone to a church service and done Daniel's baptism afterwards.

Now if there's one thing to know about Daniel, it's that he is very low key. He doesn't want a lot of fuss or commotion made about him. He's demonstrated this preference many times, and it was our intention to keep his preference in mind for this event.

During the planning, we had first heard there was a nearby river, and we were going to take a few people there for the baptism. Then we were told the day before that it was going to be right after church and they were preparing for it. We assumed that met there was a baptismal in the church that they had to fill with water.

We've also learned that Daniel does not like surprises. His preference is to know ahead of time what's going to happen. We try to accommodate that as best we can. However...we've learned on every one of our visits to Ethiopia, that sometimes you just have to go with the flow!

After Sunday's service was complete, Firew (remember the jokester?) told us that we were going to walk to the river and oh, by the way, the choir was going to follow behind us and sing. I looked at Daniel, awaiting a reaction and asked if he was okay. He said, "I'm good!" 

We're taken to a small room behind the church to change into swimsuits and t-shirts and then start the trek along the rocky road to the river, choir singing as we walked. Surprisingly, (which I guess shouldn't have been a surprise, the crowd continued to grow and grow. I don't know the size of the village, but there were people as far back as you could see. The road went up and down, left and right, for what seemed awhile. 

 

 

There were also people running in front of us, who appeared to know exactly where we were going because suddenly they turned off of the road towards a small creek (or crick as we say it in western Pennsylvania). The creek was rocky and the water babbled and splashed as it made it's way down the hill. The people in front of us started jumping on the stones across the waterway and then waiting on the other side.

My first thoughts were that this was where we were going to do the baptism, but surely the water was not deep enough. I had been told that the church practiced baptism by submersion and I couldn't figure out how that was going to be possible.

As soon as Daniel and I got across the creek, the folks in front of us turned around and continued moving. I guess they were just watching to see if the old man made it without falling in (I made it across, thank you very much!)

 

We continued walking, and walking, and walking until we finally came to another spot in the creek. This part of the creek had been dammed with rocks, which created a small pool. The pool was at the bottom of a grass covered, gentle hill at least 50 feet long. There were already tons of people there, so many that it was hard for Daniel and me to get through them to get to the pool. In the water were two members of the congregation directing us where to stand and which direction to submerge Daniel. There was a huge rock slightly under one part of the water, and it would have not been good to drop him back only to crack the back of his head.

I got into the water and found it to be quite comfortable. The bottom was a little rocky, but stable enough that I felt my footing was firm. As we were preparing, I looked up the hill and saw that this was not going to be a small gathering. Lots and lots of faces were watching us. The choir was still singing, and people were taking and laughing. This was an event, and we were the main attraction. Daniel, to his credit, was taking it all in stride and seemed very comfortable with what was going on around him.

Now, I'm going to say, that when you watch this video, it's going to be evident that this is the first time I've done something like this. I was allowed to be in the baptismal tub for Allison and Sara's baptism, but I didn't have to say anything. I just participated in the dunk. This time, though, I had been told I was responsible for everything. Give me some grace as you watch it, because I was a) nervous, b) overwhelmed, and c) forgetting from one second to the next what I had prepared to say. 

 

After the baptism, Daniel and I exited the pool. You'll see in the video that as we were getting out, some men immediately began removing the rocks forming the dam. Turns out that this is the place where the church does its baptisms so when Firew said they needed to prepare, he meant that they needed to build up the rock wall.

Baptizing Daniel was an amazing experience. It will be one of the most memorable moments of my life, and I couldn't be prouder of Daniel for a) his decision to be baptized, and b) the way he handled the situation. (I'm tearing up as I'm typing this...). I am so grateful for Firew, the church elders, and the community for making Daniel's baptism so special. Being able to be baptized in his birth country means a lot to him, and I'm so glad they were able to make this happen.

Daniel's baptism certificate