Meet middle school student Rebecca Kampmann & watch her get #dunked Baptism Weekend:
Hi my name is Rebecca Kampmann and I’m 13 years old. I have been taking dancing classes for 10 years now, I love going to the beach with my family, hanging out with my friends and I love attending Grace, I have made a lot of wonderful friends here.
Before I started coming to Grace, I went to another church that was farther away from my house, and it was hard to go to church every Sunday. My mom wanted to find church closer to home, but she didn’t look for a while, so I was asking my mom all the time to look for a new church. Finally, after a lot of asking , she found Grace. We immediately fell in love! My Mom, sister, and I started to attend regularly. Being at Grace really helped me learn more about Jesus.
I was diagnosed with dyslexia, a learning disorder that affected my reading and writing, at the end of 5th grade. When I found out I asked God, “why did you do this to me and why did we just find out about it now?” It took time for me to understand that God had a plan for me, and I can’t begin to understand how great it is. My parents and teachers put me in a class after school to help me with my reading and writing. After a while, my family and I saw signs of improvement. When I ended the class, I could read and write on grade level. My faith really helped me through this time.
In my life I have seen a lot of people get baptized. First, it was my mom who got baptized. I really didn’t understand it at the time. But when my friends started to get baptized and I listened to their amazing stories, it got me thinking about my relationship with Jesus. In the spring I attended Grace’s retreat for middle school students. It was really fun, but it also made me think, is it time for me to get baptized? I talked to my mom and my D-team leader, Sarah, and I started to dig deep into this idea.
After taking time to talk with Sara and learn about baptism, it really put things into perspective for me. I started reading the Bible and talking to my mom more about God, and I’ve seen him impact my life more and more.
The one thing I’m very proud of is when one night I was talking to a very good friend of mine about something he was dealing with, and he started to question the Word of God. I told him that God had a plan for him and he can’t begin to imagine how great it is. I know it’s hard, but God is real and he is there for you every step of the way – I’ve seen it. My friend said, “Thank you, I really needed that.” I was proud to share my faith then, that God chose me to be a light to my friend, and I want to continue to tell others about Jesus. He died for our sins and gives us the strength to get through whatever comes our way. I look forward to seeing the path that God has in store for me.
I want to be baptized because I know that Jesus is my Lord and Savior and I was inspired by great people in my life to grow in a relationship with him. I want to live a life where Jesus is my guiding light and I can spread his love.