A Baptism in Tok, Alaska
Over my close to twenty-five years of pastoring, the highlight is always baptizing people into the body of Christ: His remnant church. Many have been memorable: from baptizing a woman in her eighties in the Missouri River at Pierre, South Dakota, to baptizing three young women in Harding Lake at Interior Alaska Camp Meeting-with approximately twenty non-SDA swimmers and boaters watching with amazement. However, the most memorable by far has to be the one that I performed on September 11, 2004, just north of Tok, Alaska.
The baptism would take place at Moon Lake, just off the Alaska Highway. Since there was no baptismal tank available at the Tok SDA Church, baptisms were usually done either in rivers or lakes during the summer season. Ten year old Ashley Cuber was the young person to be baptized. I had studied with Ashley for two months in preparation for the big day. That September 11 fell on a Sabbath, and so the members and family would drive the ten miles up to Moon Lake after the worship service. There were picnic tables at the lake, which would be perfect for a church potluck celebrating Ashley’s baptism. Heidi’s parents were visiting us from South Carolina and would also be present for the big event.
Suffice to say, September 11, 2004 in Interior Alaska turned out to be a chilly Alaskan fall day, with a high of 40 degrees and winds blowing upwards of 15-20 mph. (In less than a week’s time, the region would receive around 10-14 inches of wet snow). On that day, I had brought some black sweats and a black turtleneck shirt to wear in the chilly waters of Moon Lake. With the preparation of her parents, Mike and Andreanna, Ashley arrived fully prepared wearing a wet suit to help insulate her from the icy lake water. I knew this baptism would be “memorable “ when as Ashley and I approached Moon Lake, I saw that ice was forming on the edge of the lake. Both of us bravely broke through the ice and advanced about ten-fifteen feet out into the lake.
I never felt as cold in my life! For a normal baptism, the entire time usually takes from three-five minutes. I decided to interview the candidate not in the water but on the lakeshore. Once we climbed down into the lake, the whole time for the baptism took no more than two minutes. The church members and family watching the event on the shore were enjoying the spectacle of viewing the “frozen chosen”. Both Ashley and I could not wait to get out of the icy waters (and Ashley, despite the wet suit, was the one who actually got dunked into the freezing, cold water), and back up on the beach and then to the primitive shelters to take off our cold, icy clothes.
It has been close to nineteen years since that baptism, and over seventeen years since Heidi and I said goodbye to those wonderful members of the Tok SDA Church. Ashley and I will always share a precious and unforgettable memory of that chilly day in September when Ashley was buried in the waters of Moon Lake, through the ordinance of baptism, following the example of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.