This is a relfection from Zack.

I’m an associate pastor at a Christian non-denominational church. I’ve spent years of my life overseas as a child of a parent in the military. So I’d consider myself well-traveled on top of my leisure travels. I’ve seen much of the known world. This trip…opened me to a new type of experience. I was invited by members of Wycliffe Bible Translators along with several other church leaders to attend a full Bible dedication. I saw testimony and heard stories of how countless hours and relationships worked together over many years to help bring a Bible to the Isnag community in their own language. It was awesome! They were really excited to have their own complete Bible. This group of people live off the land and have very limited resources. Jesus loves them just as much as you and me…and I could see how he was pursuing them.  This trip made me realize I can play a part in a bigger story and partner with people across the globe to bring the word of God to people. I look forward to the adventures to come!

When I came to Dibagat I was coming as an observer. However they welcomed me with open arms and instead had me participate in several ways. One of those was asking me and another pastor from Virginia to help do the baptisms. What made this so special were two different aspects. First was the percentage of people being baptized. Generally in the US you can have a church of a couple thousand and get 34 baptisms when it's time to celebrate baptisms. Here we saw a church of around 200 having that many baptisms. It was phenomenal to see the spiritual change in them. The second aspect that made this so special was we had to walk down the side of the mountain to a river to hold the baptisms. People ask the way into their 80's were willingly making the physically demanding journey. We were greeted with worship music, and spirit filled hearts. The scene was unforgettable...a calm windy day, minimal cloud cover, blazing and a winding river with a strong current. I could only imagine that was just like the Jordan River in Jesus's day. It was clear this Baptism meant everything to these people. It meant everything to me.