Jesus always sent people out in pairs. I've got someone going to the small town with me now. He was a great help and should be a good partner. He has wanted to work in rural areas and learn how to do evangelism, so this was a good start.
We went later than I usually go, so our time was limited. We went to the families on the hill and there I told the story of Phillip and the Etiopian. After I told the story, they asked me to tell it one more time. Following this I asked if they could tell the story back to us. All of them denied that they could do it, but after prodding a little, the head of the family told the story perfectly, maybe even better than I did.
The two major themes they picked up on in this story were the actions of Phillip and the actions of the Etiopian. Phillip helped explain to the other man what he wasn't understanding. (This was the first time this family had heard this story and they recognized Jesus in the Isaiah passage, even before hearing Phillip's response) These families agreed that from now on they will help others that need help understanding about Jesus.
The etiopian, of course, was baptized. Everyone in this group is needing to be baptized. They agreed that baptism is the first step of Christian obedience and that everyone who believes in Jesus should be baptized. The head of the family, however, said that he sees his new faith as confirming the baptism they experienced as infants. He said there is no need to have a second baptism. Their position is very logical and sincere, from what they know. I do believe, though that the story from Acts 19 of Christians being baptized a second time will help inform their thinking more.
We made some other visits, but no other storying last night.
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