The lyrics of the pop song came to mind recently when the Roma of the church in Ilk celebrated a baptism. The Roma enjoy celebrations and baptisms are very good reasons to come together for such a joyous fellowship. The day began early with a sense of excitement. The ladies began arriving at the church with their cooking ware. They laughed and talked as they prepared a meal of “bab gulyas” (bean soup) and stuffed cabbage. As each group of guests arrived they were ushered into the tiny room overflowing with tables, chairs, an assortment of dishes on loan from each household, and warm delicious food. With each new arrival there were shouts of greetings and rounds of kisses exchanged.
Soon we were arranging car rides to travel to a nearby Hungarian Baptist church for the baptism. The nine candidates, dressed in white, were presented to the group and three gave their testimonies. Then they made their way to the baptismal pool. As the first candidate made her way into the water the Roma rose and made their way to the front of the church, crowding around, not wanting to sit quietly in the pews. There were smiles, shouts of “Amen” and “Hallelujah” as the candidate confirmed her belief in Jesus Christ. Then as she emerged from the water the group broke into joyous song. This was repeated with each of the nine candidates. The service ended with the new Christians coming before the congregation on bowed knees to be prayed over.
Leaving the church ended the formal service but there was much celebrating still to be done. We gathered in the small worship room of Ilk to praise God through worship, testimonies, and sharing of personal thoughts by the Roma believers. The evening ended with coffee and dessert. It was a full day of celebrating and being excited about the new life in Christ of their Roma brothers and sisters. Celebrate Good Times… Come On…
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