Redemption in the Shade

by Ben Whitehead

While on an island in Lake Victoria, surrounded by fellow believers, I was told, "No."

I had hoped to help baptize the villagers who had recently crossed the line of faith into new life in Christ. Instead, I was warned not to enter the lake. The water contained bacteria that could make me seriously ill. The local pastors had no such concern. They had grown up in these waters, but my fair skin and lack of immunity made it too dangerous.

The answer cut me to the core. I wanted nothing more than to take part in the baptism service that would take place the next day.

So the following morning, I stood on the shore as a spectator. One by one, the new believers walked into the water and publicly declared their faith in Jesus Christ. While my heart longed to be in the lake with them, God had another assignment waiting for me.

As dozens of villagers were being baptized behind me, I noticed a group of men gathered beneath a few trees, quietly watching from the shade. I walked over to meet them.

There, I met the town drunk.

He offered me a drink from a dirty bottle. I politely declined and told him I didn't need what was in that bottle anymore because I had found something far better. I told him about Jesus.

Without saying another word, he threw his half empty bottle to the ground, lifted his hands toward heaven, and said he wanted what I had found.

I wrapped my arms around him and began to pray. As the words left my lips, tears filled my eyes. The Holy Spirit was at work. When I finished praying, tears were streaming down his face as well.

"I want Jesus," he said.

Then he turned and walked back into the village.

A few minutes later, he returned wearing clothes prepared for baptism. With a local pastor by his side, he walked into the waters of Lake Victoria, confessed Jesus Christ as his Savior, and was baptized.

When he came back to shore, he stood before the crowd and declared that his old life was gone. He said his old name no longer fit who he had become. From that day forward, the man once known as the town drunk would be known as Blessing.

Later, a nearby pastor told me this man had troubled the island for more than twenty years. Everyone knew him by his addiction.

That day, everything changed.

God reminded me that although I wasn't allowed to step into the water, He had already prepared another ministry for me on the shore. Sometimes our greatest assignment isn't where we planned to serve, but where God quietly leads us.

All it took was one conversation, one embrace, and the love of Christ to change a life forever.