Nathan's Baptism

Nathan turned 8 years old on January 11th, and was baptized on Sunday, January 27, 2013.  It was an amazing day!

When thinking about his baptism beforehand, Nathan had been a bit disappointed that his grandparents and extended family weren't able to come.  We decided it would be a great idea to invite some of his close friends from school and their families.  We sent out 9 invitations, and 8 families came (the ninth planned to come until two of their kids became ill the night before!).  The Gunvad, Curtin, Norris, Patel, Pagliara, Galkin, MacNaughton, and von Wittgenstein families came.  It was so cool!  The families were all anticipating the event and many of them said it was an honor to be invited!

The ward was incredibly kind as well - with so many people volunteering to help and bring food, and Lilly Mueller coordinating this huge apero with 31 different food items!

Nathan was well prepared, having read a book about baptism and talked with the bishop the week before.  Of course, he had actually been preparing for this all his life.

The baptism was really special - with Bishop Uchtdorf conducting.  Ana Da Rocha, the primary president, gave the opening prayer, and I (Mom) gave the talk on baptism.  Then there was a special musical number by William and Meredith, accompanied by Elise.  They sang "I Am a Child of God" in both English and German.  And there was applause from the audience!  It was so sweet.  Dave baptized Nathan with the missionaries as the witnesses, then we had a "Wunschkonzert" while we waited for them to get dressed and come back into the meeting.  Dave gave a talk on the Holy Ghost, then confirmed Nathan, along with Bishop Uchtdorf, Roni Eckart, Sandro Kreisch and Giovanni Lotito, our home teachers.  The bishop then gave a very nice welcome to Nathan and talked to the congregation about feeling the spirit and how we all feel it differently, and about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

The whole meeting was very special - because of the kindness and support of our ward family as well as our non-member friends.  During the wonderful apero afterwards, we had a chance to talk to many of our friends who were so nice to come.  It was really special for them to share the day with us and see firsthand an important part of our religious beliefs.

We're so proud of Nathan and the kind, smart, sensitive boy he is!