It was about 8:30 AM on 2 May, 2004 - a bright summer Sunday morning. The musicians were setting up and tuning their instruments - banjo, acoustic guitars, electric base, keyboard and drums. The singers were gathering on the platform. Off to the side stood a very large wooden crate lined with plastic, filled with fresh clear water and decorated with a camouflage net around the outside. Improvised steps made of sandbags lay at each end of the makeshift baptismal pool.

Does it sound like a down home, open air church meeting and baptism service? You guessed it! The location was about 60 miles northeast of Baghdad, Iraq. Members of the 30th Enhanced Separate Brigade (ESB), a National Guard unit from South Carolina, gathered on a parade field in the middle of an Iraqi training base to witness the baptism of several members of their unit who had decided to take the plunge and publicly confess their faith in Jesus Christ. And what a celebration it was!

After the opening worship chorus of 'Holy is the Lord' one of the four Chaplains stepped up to the podium and read from Romans, Chapter 6:

". . . 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."

A second chaplain preached from the same text, emphasizing to the assembly the importance of following our Lord in baptism; comparing Christ's physical death and resurrection to the believers death to the old self life in sin and spiritual resurrection to new life in Christ.

The invitation to come to the baptismal pool was given first to the candidates who had a short time previously received Jesus as Savior and extended to the entire assembled host. The choir began to sing again. . . "O happy day, O happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away. . ." while the candidates lined up and one by one climbed into the pool and with the assistance of the chaplains, . . .this time. . . "went under for the Lord." (to quote a country gospel song).

When the last of the new believers had risen anew from the spiritually cleansing waters a third chaplain invited those who desired to renew their vows to our Lord to walk by the water and dip a hand into the pool and perhaps recall the day when they too committed their lives to God. Many of the soldiers leaving the service did exactly that, along with one older gentleman, a civilian contractor who just 'happened' to go to church that morning.

"And when you were baptized, it was the same as being buried with Christ. Then you were raised to life because you had faith in the power of God, who raised Christ from death. You were dead, because you were sinful and were not Gods people. But God let Christ make you alive, when he forgave all our sins." Colossians 2:12-13 (CEV)