Elderly Lady Accepts the Sabbath and Is Baptised

June 2 2011 / ShareHim in Philippines D, May. 13 - May. 28 '11 #483
by Seth Bussey


Personal Testimony of Seth Bussey.

The evangelistic trip to the Philippines was a phenomenal experience for me. The Share Him ministry provides wonderful opportunities for people wanting to serve God and man in unique ways. This is why I loved this trip so much. I met many great people, and had many neat experiences, but there is one that stands out to me beyond all the others. It is the story of an elderly woman who attended my meetings. To be honest, I forgot her name, but the story of how she eventually got baptized at the end of the campaign is truly amazing.

She was a Christian all of her life but felt that something was missing. She attended Christian schools and even became a school teacher in those schools. But at the age of 87, she was invited to attend a Seventh-day Adventist church in Dumaguete and become a believer in the importance of the Sabbath. It was the Central Dumaguete Adventist Church, where I was scheduled to hold an evangelist campaign. My translator told me later on that she had been attending the church for quite some time before I got there, which is another reason to praise God. The person who initially invited her to come to the Adventist church was her friend. The friend was a young female member of the church, and knew her from before.

Upon my arrival to preach at the Central church, the young woman took this elderly woman to hear me. She herself told me near the beginning of the meetings that though she was a Christian there was yet more that she longed for.

Later on, at the end of the first week of my campaign, I made an appeal for baptism. Many people answered the call, but the one that surprised us the most, was this dear old lady. She did not walk up to the front as did the others, but let us know she wanted to be baptized by checking the card that said I want to be baptized. We were all very excited. Here was an 87-year-old woman had just answered the call to be baptized into the Adventist church. I was completely humbled knowing that she had made this decision at an appeal I made. I know it was not of me though, but totally the work of the Holy Spirit in her heart.
Before this particular meeting, I had an impression that I needed to go and pray about the appeal I was going to make. I knew God had something in mind because of the strong feeling I had to spend extra time praying and preparing. Therefore, I know she answered the call that night because of the Holy Spirit working through me.
About three days before the baptism, which happened on the final Sabbath we were there, the young woman (and her boyfriend) took the elderly woman to my meetings. He too had been attending the church shortly before I came to the church. When I made another call for baptism that night, her boyfriend answered and came up to the front. This was the second call for baptism I had made, and he was there that night to answer it.

I do not take the credit for these two baptisms. It was a joint effort of the Holy Spirit, the dedicated young woman who brought them, myself, and the pastors of the Central church, that these two precious souls committed their lives to the Lord all the way to baptism.

The baptism went really well. There were 136 people baptized in the morning, and 2 more in a prison that afternoon. Fifteen precious people from my church were baptized, including the old lady, and the young woman’s boyfriend. Praise be to God!

The baptism alone has changed my life. Upon seeing that many people giving their lives to Jesus all at once was overwhelming.

I grew closer to many of my church members and God because of it. I will never forget these beautiful people who I got to know so well.

Overall, this trip has helped me learn so many things, and has changed me. I never realized how much work an evangelist crusade, such as this one, would be. For some of the sermons, I did not have enough time to prepare before speaking. But in totally surrendering each sermon to God’s will, not one of them was a failure.

This trip has also enabled me to be more confident in front of people, and has allowed me to become friends with some of the most beautiful people I’ve ever known. I am looking forward to the next time I visit Dumaguete City.

I’m presently on the airplane that’s taking us home. It’s a sad thing to say goodbye to close friends you’ve grown to love. The beauty about our hope as Christians is that there are never forever goodbyes. There’s only a “see-you-later.” I will see all of these people again very soon.
Can we improve this page?  Yes  No