On Saturday at Spiritual/Shouter Baptist Day Celebrations in Moruga, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad Bissessar shared how she was baptized in the Spiritual Baptist Faith.

She stated “Over the years I have said many times that I was baptized in your faith. I will share with you how this came to be.”

She added “As you know, I was raised in a multicultural society. My parents were Hindus, but very liberal, so we were taught to embrace all religions and ethnicities. When I was a little child, in 1961, living in Siparia, my late father, Lilraj Persad, became very ill. San Fernando General Hospital doctors did many tests but could not find out what was wrong. He was bedridden at home, and possibly dying.”

“One day, my Aunty Margaret visited and convinced him to attend the Spiritual Shouter Baptist Church in Quarry Village. He went for many weeks to receive blessings and prayers, and he miraculously began to get better. So he decided to be baptized, along with his wife and children, in the Spiritual Shouter Baptist faith, and we began attending the church on Sundays.”

“There was an Elder Mother, in charge of the congregation, and she held my hand when our family went to Quinam Beach with many other members of the Congregation for baptism. As she ducked my head into the ocean, she announced that I was one of God’s children now, under His care and protection.

And as my head emerged from the waters, Mother said to me: “From this day forward, Child, you must put God in front and walk behind.”

“And all my life, I have put God in front and walked behind,” she added.