The Best Easter Ever

"Today was my first Easter in Burkina," I started off my brief devotional thought in French, "and I think it was the best one for me!"

They laughed, our whole team of Americans and Burkinabe, as we sat around the table after our big Easter celebration dinner Sunday night. 

It really was the best Easter ever. Normally, my Easter consists of finding candy in my basket first thing in the morning (when exactly am I too old to do that?), going to church with my family, maybe wearing a new dress, eating a big lunch afterwards, and dying eggs. (Am I too old to do that, too? Because it definitely still happens around the Roussel household.)

Here, Easter traditions mean a little bit more. 

For months in advance, people in the village have been hearing the gospel and deciding to follow Jesus. When they do, they begin a class that teaches them about baptism and prepares them to act in obedience to Jesus' command. Then, on Easter morning, the whole church gathers around whatever water they can find - even if it's a knee deep watering hole or mud puddle - for a jubilant baptism ceremony. The people who have been through the class line up, sometimes hundreds of them, and one by one, they wade out into the water and their sins are washed away. 

It's quite a task to get completely immersed in knee deep water when you sink to your ankles in mud...but with a little help and some splashy assistance, it can be done! 

After each baptism, the crowd rejoiced! As each newly resurrected Christian came out of the water, they were greeted by a friend or family member, who would wipe their face with a towel and greet them in a warm embrace. While all this is going on, a constant choir is singing and dancing and praising God, and sometimes the new believers came up out of the water dancing along with them. 

After their baptism, each new believer is given a new set of clothes to put on, and they receive a new name - a Christian name - to represent their new lives in Christ. 

We witnessed over 150 people in two different villages surrender their lives to Christ, act in obedience to him through baptism, and commit to follow Him. I've never seen anything like it! It was by far the best Easter ever, and I am not sure I ever want to go back to new dresses, colorful eggs, and chocolate candies. 

What better way to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, than with the resurrection of others who have given their lives to him.

What a reminder that God is still working. He is still bringing people up from the dead. He is still in the business of resurrection. His kingdom is growing all over the world as people are discovering the true life that is found in Christ. They are abandoning their old ways, burning their fetishes, and showing the world their commitment through baptism. I share their testimony with you. They would want you to know that there is only one true God and that Jesus is the only Savior. 

From the most remote villages in Africa, I bring you great news! Our God is a global God - a God of every tongue and tribe and people and nation. He is bringing his salvation to the farthest corners of the earth, and over 150 people entered the kingdom as a result of his grace. 

Praise the resurrected Savior, who is still bringing the dead to life!