When Jeremy Moore came from Michigan to Spokane to visit his grandpa, Stan Moore, he did not know where it would lead. His two-week stay turned into three months and during this time Jeremy, 19, attended Spokane Countryside Church each week with his Grandpa.
One day Bob Wesner, a member from his grandpa’s church, asked Jeremy if he would like to preach in Guatemala.
“Sure, I’ll try that,” said Jeremy.
He worked hard, reading through the scripts, rehearsing his talks and practicing with a Spanish interpreter.
The church had already committed to pray for the team traveling to Guatemala and even before Jeremy had come to visit Grandpa Moore, he was already on their prayer list.
The team flew into San Luis, Guatemala. Jeremy, the other speakers, well-drillers and volunteers traveled 20 miles north to Poptun where they worked for six weeks completing reservoirs for a water system at ICAP, an Adventist secondary school. The evangelistic meetings were held during the last two weeks of the trip.
At first Jeremy wondered why he had signed on to do this. But he kept on preaching and when the meetings had to be moved to a new location he did not get ruffled. He was praying and studying every morning, working hard to do his part. One of the chief well-drillers, Lynn Bartholomew, kept a close eye on Jeremy. He knew that Jeremy hadn't been baptized yet. “I was a bit concerned with taking a young man who had never been baptized down to Guatemala to preach sermons,” said Bartholomew. “I did not want people to be offended. Jeremy had not been attending an Adventist church before coming to visit his grandpa.
Halfway through the meetings the local pastor discovered Jeremy had not been baptized. So he asked him if he would like to be baptized with some others. Jeremy said, “When I started giving the evangelism meetings, they helped me to grasp what I needed to know.” The words he preached made their way into his heart and Jeremy was happy to say, “Yes,” to the local pastor’s question.
It was a high Sabbath when 38 people, including the evangelist, were baptized—making their decisions through the meetings held in five locations near San Luis. Jeremy now wants to attend evangelism school. His parents were surprised, but excited to learn of his baptism.
The trip was part of an ongoing effort started by the Bartholomew brothers to bring water to International Children’s Care in Guatemala. Over the years, their ministry has grown and is committed to bringing not only water, but the water of life to the people.
Jeremy Moore (second from left) is baptized in the Machaquila River in Guatemala after preaching the evangelistic sermons.
Jeremy Moore shares his testimony prior to his baptism in the Machaquila River in Guatemala.
