Irene's baptism

How glorious it is indeed to praise the Lord!

How much more glorious to praise Him at the beach with the morning sun shining brightly in the horizon!

We (in order of appearance) Auntie Helen, Sue Ann, Rachel, Nichol, Phoebe, Irene, me, Pastor, Yeo Hwa & wife, Eric, Mr & Mrs Liew, Eric's grandma, Sam and Jessel arrived at the Teluk Chempedak beach on the morning of 4th July 2009 (coinciding with America's Independence Day) to witness Irene's baptism.

Of course, we sang and lifted our voices to praise the Lord God! Pastor started off with a prayer and Jessel led us in praise and worship on my old out-of-tune guitar. We aptly sang songs like "From the rising of the sun" and "Come on and celebrate", just to name a couple.

Then, it was down to business -- the baptism rite according to the Methodist Book of Discipline (was it waterproof, Pastor?). After acknowledging her conversion and commitment to Christ, it was time to dip Irene into the waters! Pastor led Irene out into the sea until the water was about waist-high. The waves were not too strong and Irene stood her ground with her feet planted firmly in the sand underneath.

Then Pastor baptized Irene "...in the name of the Father" -- first dip (Pastor placed his hand on Irene as her head went underwater momentarily before reappearing), "...the Son" -- second dip, "...and the Holy Spirit!" -- last dip!

Hallelujah! What a joyous occasion! Irene had made a public declaration of her faith in the Lord Jesus by water baptism! Hallelujah!

Did the celebration end there?

Of course not!

We adjourned to Kopitiam Muar E for a hearty breakfast of toast bread, otak-otak (steamed and fried), cakes, nasi lemak, you name it -- we ate it!

Did the celebration end there?

Of course not....again!

We went for a "durian feast" at my house -- though shabby and unfurnished, the draw of the durian fragrance cannot be resisted by all! Jenny generously provided six (or was it seven?) of the king of the fruits -- the best selection, of course. We discovered that Yeo Hwa had a talent at splitting durians. None of the durians thorny resistance could stand against Yeo Hwa's hands and knife. Evelyn and Jeff joined us, too -- I bet it was the durian fragrance!

We had our fill of the yellow-fleshed durian fruit. Everybody was burping durian breath or letting out durian-tainted air from somewhere. Some of us filled the husk with salt water and drank to "cool the heatiness" of the thorny fruit.

At about lunch time, we each departed to our homes.

Praise the Lord!