Reading · Be of Good Courage

“See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.” Acts 8:36-37 (Photo: Grindelwald, Switzerland)

“I’m ready to do this.”

Early this year, our daughter, Rebekah (18), expressed a desire to be baptized.

As far as her personal faith in Christ, she had been ready for a while, perhaps several years, but socially she’d had hesitations. She didn’t want the whole event to be consumed with one idea – other people are watching me.

“That’s not what baptism should be about”, she said. And I agreed.

So we waited.

Now things were different. Joshua brought up the subject with our pastor, and plans started to take shape.

In Ukraine, many evangelical churches don’t have a.) their own church facility, and b.) a baptismal. Our church, like others, organizes a summertime outdoor event at a hotel pool or rec center for the purpose of celebrating baptisms.

Our pastor (far right) makes opening comments.

When one of Rebekah’s close friends in Ukraine –a girl who, like Rebekah, doesn’t seek the spotlight – expressed her desire to be baptized too, we were delighted. They could do this big event together and feel a sense of solidarity!

Then… 2 teen girls became 3, then 4, and finally 5 participants. Four teen girls and one man from the church, publicly declaring their faith in Jesus Christ. The church was excited!

A special group, L to R: Sonia, Vova, Sandra, Rebekah, and Lydia.

One day, shortly before the baptism, I entered Rebekah’s room where she was sitting on the bed, journaling. “Tell me about your faith in Jesus,” I queried. “I don’t really know your full story.”

She shared with me that, unlike some others, she didn’t have a specific time and place when her faith in Christ started – an identifiable moment when everything changed in a big way. Rebekah had been hearing that Jesus died to save her since her earliest childhood, and it was hard to tell exactly when that belief became her own.

But, somewhere along the way, two voices helped shape her faith.

The first was something Dad had said: it was a metaphor about groceries. “Look in the grocery bag. If you’re not sure whether you got the salt at the store, you don’t need to rack your memory and comb your shopping experience; you simply check your grocery bag to see if the salt is there.”

The take-away was clear: “If you’re not sure you’ve ever put your faith in Jesus alone to save you, look in your heart. Are you believing in Christ now?” And she knew that she did believe. She knew Jesus had paid for her sins and given her everlasting life.

The second helpful voice was a 4-minute excerpt from a sermon by Alistair Begg.

Considering heaven and the dreadful weight of whether she, Rebekah Steele, would be allowed or denied entrance, she frequently reverted to a phrase from that excerpt:

“The Man on the middle cross said I could come.”

If you haven’t seen this powerful excerpt, I highly recommend it; it is worth your 4 minutes! Rebekah simply knew that it was true, and that it was enough: “the Man on the middle cross – Jesus – said I could come.”

Jesus commends the faith of children and tells us to be like them; her simple story demonstrates why: they don’t overcomplicate things!

The day before the baptism was full of challenges; we were all struggling. Among other things, Rebekah had a miserable allergy flare-up. But Saturday morning dawned and all the problems, including the allergies, had greatly eased. She felt great and was ready for her big event, all of which was an answer to prayer.

Wearing a shirt she received specially for this event. It reads “He calls me loved.”

Nothing is so exhilarating as youth expressing a desire to follow Christ, all the more when it’s your own child! (Don’t miss Kathryn’s face in the background.)

The whole day was beautiful.

At the Ukrainian-style BBQ meal, Rebekah gave her first public speech in Ukrainian – a testimony of her thanks to her family and the church for their support. It’s hard to express how much this kind of thing means to a missionary parent.

Third-culture kids face social challenges related to language, friends, and a sense of belonging. Quite often, we don’t know what we’re doing as we try to shepherd our children in a foreign country. The challenges are unique. We have walked with our kids through periods of frustration, awkwardness, and loneliness, praying and trusting as we point them to a good God.

Over the past couple of years, Rebekah has taken on social challenges, completed vigorous language study, and practiced speaking on many occasions when it wasn’t comfortable. She has practiced being a friend to people who weren’t exactly like her.

Rebekah, getting her certificate from our associate pastor, Roman.

All of this, along with her baptism and faith in Christ, is a big reminder to us:

God is absolutely faithful.

The Good and Evil Comic Books, which we’ve used for many years as a ministry tool in Ukraine, are in demand, and the demand is growing!

Last fall, God supplied the funds for a print run of around 11,000 books to restock our supply.

One effective way to get the books into the hands of Ukrainians has been through our Good and Evil Distributor Network, which allows Ukrainian ministry workers from across the country to sign up, receive books, and use them in their own gospel outreaches.

While distributing our previous printing in 2024-25, we ran into some problems.

Keeping track of the distributors and book quantities had become a jumbled assortment of spreadsheets and files. Our goal had been to maintain a feedback loop with each distributor for accountability, but the photos and reports they provided often couldn’t be cleanly linked back to them or their projects.

Something needed to change.

To address this problem, Joshua has worked hard to build a tight little web application, nicknamed ComixDistro.

The app allows us to track the number of books sent out and maintain better communication with the people & ministries using them.

A feedback loop built into the app requires accountability and post-event photos, and each shipment of books is directly linked to a ministry event.

The information above is placeholder data for demonstration purposes.

The ComixDistro app launched just in time for summer ministry in Ukraine!

Many churches and ministries host youth camps, VBS-style children’s events, or other outreaches in which the books can be an asset.

In just a few short weeks, we’ve had a steady stream of people – pastors, ministry & church workers – signing up and placing orders! Many are distributors we’ve worked with before who have been waiting for Good & Evil to become available again.

If you’re interested in more, Joshua has created a handy info page with a quick, concise overview of the Distributor Network.