The day of my baptism

In May of 2002 during my Erasmus exchange, I was baptized at Pentecostal church of Karlstad, Sweden. I would like to share some memories of the day, which was very meaningful to me.

I was baptized before as a child aged one year or so. However, it was more like a tradition of blessing and I did not have a memory of that. As I was fellowshipping with believers in Karlstad, at one point it came up about biblical baptism, which is being baptized after you have received Jesus as your Savior and by fully being immersed under water. They encouraged me to consider that seriously. As I did, I felt in my heart that it would be important to do, and arrangements were made at the church.

On that Sunday morning of my baptism, I was wearing a white long robe. There were some other people being baptized on the same day. Few course mates from university also came for the service that day, upon my invitation. Each of us who were about to be baptized, gave our testimonies. I shared that Jesus is my King and is worthy of my praise and that I want to shut the doors to my old life. I said that in English and my Swedish friend was interpreting into Swedish for local congregation members to understand. I was taken under water by pastor and after emerging up went to back room for change. Then I joined my friends and course mates to sit through the rest of the service. Some people greeted me and I was also given a tape recording of the baptism.

With the help of a friend, a room in the neighborhood had been booked where I and friends gathered for a little celebration afterwards. We had a meal and played some games. There were some people from church youth group, from women’s Bible study, and from my course at the university. After that, we still went to a home of one friend from Bolivia and watched the movie Shrek. J I somehow especially remember and liked the moment when the snake was picked up, blown into, twisted and then became like a balloon toy flying in the air. It felt like a freeing parable of being victorious over something evil and scary.

On the way back, I gathered some blossoming branches (it was late spring) and put them in the vase. Wonderful fragrance filled the room. I went to sleep. That night, I had a dream. I was dressed in white and it was as if my funeral. However, I was alive, and people gathered around me were happy for me. There were mostly my family members. The atmosphere was as in a garden party, with very much light and joy. I interpret a dream as being dead to the old life and my family members accepting me following Jesus.

Passing through the water in the Bible in several places is associated with being saved. Noa built the ark and was saved from the flood; Israel went through the Red Sea and escaped the Egyptians. In Mark 16, 16, it says: “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved.” The mystery of baptism is that it is both about the death of old and about the new life: “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6, 3-4) Prior to my baptism, I had been Christian for some years, but in some ways I was struggling. After the baptism it appeared as if some kind of spiritual door to the old was shut and there was much more confidence and finality about my decision and about not turning back.