Riverside Baptisms at Wilderness Gateway Campground

By Cathy Law 

Kamiah Seventh-day Adventist Church, Communications

“I Want to Go to Heaven” was the succinct theme of a regional campout which included four churches and a company from Upper Columbia Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Tucked away in the Wilderness Gateway Campground of the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests the weekend meetings drew campers from August 13-17. 

Morning and evening devotions challenged campers with the aspects of preparing for Jesus’ coming. Topics included discerning and defending the truth of the Word of God, experiencing the mercy of God and extending that mercy to others, understanding the importance of our cooperative response to Christ’s sacrificial death for us, and the need for continued growth after making a decision for Christ and being baptized.

Up to 150 members and guests from as far away as Arkansas gathered for Sabbath worship. The keynote speaker, Pastor Steve Rogers, encouraged campers to stay connected to God's church for nurture and for protection from those who would try to deceive and draw us away.

In Acts 20:29 it is written, “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.” This admonition from Paul echoes Jesus’ own warning from Matthew 24:4-5, “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name....”

Following a traditional lunch of haystacks (a delectable blend of beans, chips, and a variety of salad toppings), the members from the Kamiah, Orofino, Weippe, and Grangeville churches, Kooskia Company, and other guests gathered on the shore of the beautiful Lochsa River for five baptisms.

John Stinson (from Weippe), Joshua DePaula (from Kooskia Company), Joshua Prado (from Orofino), Caleb Prado (from Orofino), and Angel Padilla (from Kamiah) followed through with their commitment to Christ as Pastor Rogers baptized them “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.”



As the campout ended, members soaked in the beauty of God’s creation, reflected on God’s mercy, and returned home with five words in mind: “I want to go to heaven.”