A 21-year-old Texas man drowned shortly after his baptism while trying to save a young girl from his church group who was also drowning. Lincer Lopez had visited Lake Waxahachie with a church group from Garland, Texas, on Saturday afternoon. During the trip, he and several other members were baptized in the lake. Fox News reported.
About an hour later, the group was enjoying the water when a young girl began to drown. Lincer Lopez immediately rushed to help and rushed to her aid.
“He was a hero,” Jacobo Lopez, Lincer Lopez's uncle, said in Spanish. “He didn't think twice about saving someone. He didn't think he was risking his own life, and he risked his life to save someone else.”
The teenager survived. She was pulled from the water by a boater, Jacob Bell, who performed CPR and successfully revived her. Bell later helped recover Lincer Lopez's body.
“I haven't really started it yet – I don't understand it yet,” Bell said. “It's hard.”
Bell, whose brother drowned when he was just three years old, feels deep sympathy for Lincer Lopez's family.
“He was a hero. He had just been baptized and had dedicated his life to the Lord. We pray for his family and the little girl's family. He was a strong young man and they should be very proud of him,” Bell said.
Jacobo Lopez said his nephew was so excited about his baptism that he couldn't sleep the night before. He also mentioned that the 21-year-old worked hard in construction to send money to his siblings in Mexico.
Although Lincer Lopez died young, his uncle believes his legacy will live on and inspire others to serve God and help those in need.
“If they can help like my nephew did,” Jacobo Lopez said in Spanish.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help Lincer Lopez's family raise money to send his body to his parents in Mexico.