Abbey get baptized Nov. 15th, 2020

Abbey made the decision that she wanted to be baptized. At our church, that is no small endeavor. She had to meet with a pastor, read a book, have our approval based on conversations, and then meet back with the pastor again! 

The big issue was  presenting her testimony. She had to write it, which she did with no problem. The scary part was reading it before the whole church.She decided that she would trust God to help her. That's exactly what he did! She read wonderfully and her words were inspiring!

She wanted to invite friends, so we did. All of her SNAP friends came, along with Anna, Jamie and their kiddos, John, Jr., Mom and Dad. 

After the baptism, we had s'mores and cupcake....

This was her testimony:

I grew up in a Christian house, so I was familiar with the Bible and its stories, but I didn’t take it as truth until I was about 12 years old. 

 Before I became a child of God, I always felt like I had no worth nor place in this world. I felt like I wasn’t secure and that I didn’t belong. 

 Swimming has always been a huge part of my life. I started swimming right after I was adopted from China at 10 months.  I started competing when I was 3 years old on a summer swim team. I then started year-round swimming when I was 9. I swim every day for at least an hour and a half and during the middle of my training season, I swim twice a day. 

  But, when I was 11 I started having chest pains, shortness of breath and I blacked out during practices. This kept going for about a few weeks and then we went to the doctor. They told me that I had this fluid around my heart that could possibly kill me if I didn’t stop swimming for a little bit. I had to drop out of swimming for about 3 months. During this three months, I became extremely depressed and I felt like my life was worthless. I basically did nothing, but stay inside and do homeschool, read etc. I didn’t get to see any friends and I felt extremally lonely. 

   When I finally was able to get back in swimming, I was beyond thrilled to be back in the water. Then after about a week, I realized how behind everyone I was and how hard it was to come back. I felt like it was all on me to get myself back to where I was before I had to stop swimming. 

During this time of struggling to get back, I went to my first youth group meeting. Micah talked about the sermon and then asked anyone if they felt like they were not a Christian and would like to become one. I raised my hand and a youth leader prayed with me. Once I confessed my sins to the Lord, I felt like the huge weight I had been carrying around for the longest time had been lifted off of me. I gave all my problems to God and trusted him with everything. 

 It was still a struggle to get back to where I was for swimming, but what was different, was that I trusted that God would help me get back. I did get back to where I was and when I did, all I could think about was how God helped me get to this place. 

 Almost every day I think about how God healed me and helped me through everything. I feel secure in my faith and I know that Jesus died for my sins so that I will have eternal life with him in heaven. “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength”- Philippians 4:13, is a verse I recite to myself at every swim meet. I know God is there for me always and he will never leave my side. 

 I want to be baptized to proclaim my faith in Jesus and to show to my friends, family and church the new life he has given me.