Lisa's Baptism...

Monday began our second week of being 'unplugged'  three days out of seven.  Since it had rained and stormed for days on end, we wanted to check the Missouri River and some of the creeks to see how high the water was and if any damage had occurred. 

Our first stop was Portland. The current was super strong leaving the water filled with debris. Trees fought for position in the river, racing with a force of nature I did not want to mess with.  The water was up about ten feet.

Next we drove to the Sand Plant and saw a completely different view of the same river. The current was fast but there wasn't any debris sailing through the water at warp speed.  It looked like a different river and a different day.

 

  At Twin Bridges we saw another view of how Mother Nature seldom plays by the same rules.  She is a very hard lady to predict. In the photo below the water is about six feet from the bridge; normally it is about 10 to 15 feet below the bridge. The water flowing in this creek was headed to the Missouri River as fast as it could get there.
 
                         

  
  
Since we had no plan at the moment, we drove on the very back of the back roads.  We drove  through Hell Hole and crossed over to Broken Bridge Road. We have had a 'new' bridge installed for about 25 years but it will forever be known as "Broken Bridge".

                                

Lisa was baptized in this creek years ago. She was about ten years old.  Actually, it was on the opposite side of the bridge I am standing on. A sandbar usually juts out into the Auxvasse Creek. At the moment the sandbar is covered with about six to eight feet of muddy water. 

 Rick Ballard was the minister of Yucatan  Church and a good friend of ours. He was doing the baptizing.  

It was a hot July, Sunday morning. Not a breeze was stirring. The only sounds were the zipping noise of flies and a few mosquito's.  Tommy and I attended the  Callaway County Fair and Dance the night before...our first and last time to attend.   Dorothy Atterberry kept the girls for us until about 3 a.m. We had to be at church by 10. We needed more time...a lot more time.

Since Lisa was getting baptized,  we HAD to go to church that day even though  we were mad at each other because of something that happened the night before at the fair. Who knows what it was anymore?  To make a long story short, it was the morning after the  night before and we were in bad shape.

I remember I wore dark sunglasses because the light was hurting my eyes,  making what was left of my brain sizzle.  Tommy was more than close to throwing up...and we were still mad at each other.  It was not the best circumstances to be attending our daughters baptism.  We plodded on and were very proud of what had happened in Lisa's life.  We both wished we were in better shape.  We had not intended to end up in this mess.  It sort of slipped up on us. 

Lisa was one of the first converts to be baptized.  After her one of our friends, an older lady, was next in line.  At the last minute she got scared of the water and did not want to be dunked.  She grabbed Rick's hand and yelled "Don't hold me under long preacher I can't swim!!"  I got tickled and started to laugh.  I wasn't the only one laughing...but I was the only one who could not stop. The more I laughed, the more my head hurt and the madder Tommy got at me.  He said and I quote, "I can't take you anywhere without something happening!!"  I covered my mouth trying to stifle the laughter and said, "That's right buddy and don't you forget it!"  I thought for a minute Tommy was going to throw me in the creek. I have the feeling it crossed his mind.  Holding Melodi  probably saved me that day. Jesus did the rest a few weeks later on another Saturday night at revival.  Tommy looked at me with his sick eyes and grinned.  I pulled my sunglasses down on my nose and grinned back. "I'm sorry's" were exchanged and we swore we would never, ever do another night like Saturday night again. 

We learned a valuable lesson that day...keep your priority's straight. Never be afraid of asking for forgiveness. It is something we, personally,  cannot  do without.  Another lesson learned the hard way!