Baptized in Lake Winnipeg

On June 14, North Kildonan Mennonite Brethren Church held a special Sunday service at Camp Arnes. Twenty-three people were baptized in Lake Winnipeg with their family, friends, and congregation gathered on the beach to support them. 

Baptism provides an opportunity to share meaningful stories of how God has been working in someone’s life and their faith journey up to this point. We wanted to learn more about the stories of those baptized in Lake Winnipeg and what it was like being in the lake on that day. Here’s what we heard.

Thomas Niessen

Why did you decide to be baptized?

I decided to get baptized to publicly declare my faith for Jesus, and share my testimony about how he has transformed my life. My decision to get baptized when I did truly came suddenly. Although baptism had been on my mind for some time, as I was reading my Bible on the Thursday before the Sunday I got baptized, I felt what I can only describe as the Holy Spirit calling me to contact someone about getting baptized. So I had a long prayer talking to God and asking him if this was the right decision. After my prayer I texted Pastor Ivo saying I felt a call to be baptized and asked if they would baptize me the following Sunday, and he said yes! I think this was such a great representation of The Lord's timing in our life, and that when we feel that overwhelming call from the Holy Spirit, to trust and obey him.

Was there a verse that stood out to you during this journey?

There was a verse that stuck out to me throughout my experience of getting baptized, and it still impacts me now. It is 2 Corinthians 5:17, and it reads, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" This verse was and is so important to me because it is a constant reminder that the man I once was is no longer my identity, but that my identity is now in Christ. I am forgiven for the things I have done in the past, and I am born again. 

What was this experience like for you?

My experience with getting baptized in Lake Winnipeg was nothing short of a blessing! I was able to be alongside 2 of my great friends who were also getting baptized which was so awesome to see them take that step in their faith as well. It was extra special because since it was such a quick decision for me, I wasn't able to share my testimony in church with all the others that were getting baptized that day. But, with that, came the opportunity to share it with even more people at Camp Arnes! The water was cold! That just made it so much more special for me. It was so awesome to have my parents and siblings there and enjoy the day with them.

What is a moment from this day that you will never forget?

A moment I will never forget would be when I was sharing my testimony, and my brother was able to stand alongside me supporting me. It was such a blessing to have him share a verse of encouragement for me. He read Matthew 7:7-8, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." I have looked up to my younger brother Jordan in my faith journey for a long time. He is so strong in his faith and has been such a great impact on me, and my journey coming back to Christ. So for him to be up there and sharing that moment with me was so special.

Lisa Taron

What led you to be baptized?

I chose to be baptized as I began to recognize what God had done for me in my bumpy life. I have had my struggles with mental illness, and there were many times I felt God was helping me along the way. Being baptized means to me a commitment to Jesus Christ and to our Holy Father. It seemed absolutely crucial to me to be baptized in order to grow my faith and live a life of love and purpose. 

Where did you see or feel God during your baptism? 

When Ivo brought me up out of the water, I felt pure joy and acceptance. A release from my emotional pain and worries. I had zero doubt that God was there with me. 

Was there significance for you in being baptized in Lake Winnipeg? 

I grew up in Winnipeg, and my family spent summers at a cottage in Ontario on Longbow Lake. We owned the cottage from when I was 5 up until 2011, after my father passed away. I often say my childhood at the cottage was the best years of my life. From my teenage years and through my adult years, life has been a struggle for me mentally. Being baptized in a lake carried significant meaning to me, given the hours I spent swimming as a child. I love swimming in lakes. Always have.

I was actually set to be baptized at a church only three blocks away from me, Gateway South. But I had fallen into a mental health crisis and had ended up in the hospital. I had a life-threatening seizure in the waiting room at the Victoria Hospital, and if someone hadn't called the police for a Wellness Check, I would have most likely died. I truly believe Jesus saved me. 

When I found out that my bestie Heather’s church was doing baptisms (Gateway was not doing them again until November) I asked if I could attend the classes and the lake baptism.   I can't say enough just how wonderful Ivo was in guiding us through the classes and being there for all of us on that glorious day.

What is a moment from this day that you will never forget?

I will never forget the peace and joy I felt in my heart that day, and to have my bestie there to support me. I had “Besties in Christ” t-shirts made for us! Heather was baptized there 7 years ago.

Nataliya Zhukov

Why did you decide to be baptized?

I was baptised as a baby in a catholic church with the faith of those who baptised me. As I grew in Jesus, I came to realize- since it is my salvation at stake, it should be my own faith leading to it. I believe I am the only one who is accountable to God for my life. I grew up knowing Jesus but I wandered off His path to pursue selfish ambitions. When our son died in infancy, followed by three pregnancy losses, my unstable world shattered to pieces. I knew then that this world could not offer me any firm foundation to lean on. God has invited me back into His loving arms, and healed my brokenness, and I was born again. 

My Lord has poured His grace on me and awakened my soul from sleepwalking. He put a burning desire in my heart to seek Him and know Him and be experiencing Him alive in my life. It started with reading the bible daily as a commitment, and eventually transformed into experiencing the living and holy word of God as my daily food, through the works of the Holy Spirit within me. Regular fasting and time alone for prayer and reflection help me silence many of the noises of life and create a space where I can hear God. My Lord invited me into a closer relationship with Him and I eagerly accepted. 

Where did you see or feel God during your baptism?

I now realize that I had hopes of something incredible happening during my baptism. Something like enlightenment, being overwhelmed by feelings of love, joy and peace, seeing a vision or hearing God speak... but none of that happened. I went into the water and came out of it. I was happy to be baptised but didn't feel anything supernaturally exciting, instead I noticed all feelings vanished, except one, which I didn't understand. People were happily congratulating me and asking how I felt. But I didn't know what to answer, and I didn't want to speak. I longed to be alone with God.

I went to a quiet spot in nature, and just stood there for a while, motionless. I tried praying like I usually do. But this time I felt an overwhelming sense that words were not worthy and not needed. This overwhelming desire to be alone, in stillness, to just lay face down to the ground in full submission to the Almighty. There were no words, just a prayer, a prayer without words or sounds, prayer without thoughts. A prayer of stillness. Stillness to everything including breathing and heartbeat… no feelings… only a feeling of complete absence of everything, absence of self. And the presence of God. I remembered a scripture - "be still and know that I am God". And I was still. And God was God. 

After some time, I humbly asked the Lord to allow me to feel Him through His Holy Spirit. And I felt the ground, and the trees, and little creatures of His creation. I felt the playfulness of the sunlight and the wind through the dancing leaves. I was part of it like never before. Then I felt a gentle breath of wind embracing me with the sunlight, and it appeared in my mind with clarity: "remain in me and I in you."

Was there significance for you in being baptized in Lake Winnipeg?

Originally it didn't matter to me where I would be baptised. Whether it was the church, the lake, or the bathtub. The only thing that mattered was the baptism itself as an act of obedience, and an intense desire to be closer with God through carrying out His will for me. 

However, being baptised in a lake had something very special: being surrounded and immersed in God's creation, rather than a man-made environment. It felt as if I were a part of something much bigger than me, bigger than the church, bigger than the city. Something more powerful than human hands can ever make. I was reminded that nature is alive and its Creator is in every little detail of it. When I stepped into the cold waters of the lake, I stepped in faith into God's powerful presence.

My biological and church families were there with me along with a few friends. It was very special that my loving husband, Vasyl, was baptised first by pastor Ivo, and then he baptised me.

Vasyl Zhukov

What does being baptized mean to you? 

It's very simple for me, it is my personal statement that I believe in Jesus, he is the perfect role model. I accepted all the challenges that will come with it and hope with his strength to bring more light to this world.

Was there a verse that stood out to you during this journey?

For some reason this part of the Bible associated the most for me: Jesus calls Peter to walk on water in Matthew 14:29. When Peter asks Jesus to command him to come out on the water, Jesus responds simply, "Come".

What was this experience like for you?

Me and my wife were the first ones from our whole family, friends, and close relatives who moved from the Catholic religion, so there weren't too many people with us. The whole experience, I wouldn't have enough words to describe it; excitement, anticipation, challenge, and then peace, happiness, lifted spirit. Hard to compare with church baptism, we have seen only one. I think after all, location is not that important but I think a lake or river is the best possible idea, for a minute, to feel the way people felt it in times when Jesus walked on Earth.

What is a moment from this day that you will never forget?

This whole day had a lot of moments, it's almost like it got engraved in my memory, but one thing stands out a bit. I had the privilege to baptise my wife right after my own baptism. Because we were ready to do it a long time ago, waiting was so long and almost impossible at times. We really wanted to enjoy that split second of transformation that happens when you go under water and come up as a new person. So my wife asked me if I could hold her under water for a few seconds, just a bit longer than "quick in and out"  and I fulfilled her wish.