Trip to the baptism site

Our destination was the site of the baptism of Jesus. When we arrived at the place, we found a group of Eritrean Christians who were singing and dancing in the ceremony of the baptism of a small child. When the Eritrean family descended to baptize the child in the waters of the Jordan, we could prepare for our prayer and we celebrated mass. After the mass, we too descended to the water of the River Jordan in order to renew our own baptism. Father Sergey went into the water and he poured some water on the heads of each one of us, conducting the ceremony. As we were leaving the site, we met another Eritrean family bringing their baby to be baptized in the water of the River Jordan, in which Jesus had been baptized by John the Baptist.

After a break for a picnic, we travelled to the Monastery of Saint Gerasimos. There we heard the unique history of this hermit monk, the founder of monastic life in the Jordan Valley. We visited the gardens and the beautiful church, which is under renovation at present.

The trip was a great success and we thank God who blessed us in the renewal of our baptism.