Last Saturday, Chance got baptized into our church. You can get baptized at any age, but the youngest you can get baptized in our faith is at the age of 8 because at that time, you can choose between right and wrong.
It was important that Chance want to get baptized because _he_ wanted to and also that he understood that he was making a covenant with God when getting baptized. It is a very important step, and a very personal one too. Chance has heard from a young age what baptism is and that it is a very important step in his relationship with his Savior. We wanted to ensure that Chance understood what a covenant was, and that he got baptized because he desired to, not just because he had just turned 8.
For months now, Chance has been talking about getting baptized and has told practically everyone he knows that was going to be baptized. We talked about it and made sure that Chance understood what it meant.
It was touching to see how many people both of our faith and those not of our faith who showed up to share this very special day with Chance. He has touched a lot of people and his baptism brought many of these people together.
In our church, you are baptized by immersion after the pattern of Christ, representing rebirth. Since this would mean that Chance would be completely submerged under the water, we planned that I would stand off to the side and as soon as the blessing of baptism was over, I would take the implants right before Chance went under the water. That way, Chance could hear the baptismal prayer. His dad baptized him and told Chance that should he forget and start to put him under the water before the implants were removed, Chance should call out. Chance's dad did not forget, and a towel had actually been thoughtfully laid out off to the side inside the baptismal font. So Chance heard the prayer, and then the implants were laid off to the side just for the immersion part of the baptism. Right after he came out of the water, the implants were put back on his head so that he could hear everything going on around him.
It was a beautiful and touching service. Chance's grandmother and great grandmother offered prayers and Chance's grandfather gave a talk about the Holy Ghost. We believe that after you are baptized, you receive the gift of the Holy Ghost to guide you for the rest of your life. This is done by another prayer which Chance's father also performed. There was also a talk about the baptism itself. The only problem was that there was no microphone in the room we were in. Chance was sitting on the front row since it was his baptismal service, but I was worried at first that Chance would be unable to hear all of his own service. He was close to the piano which was good. And he was only feet away from the speakers. I was watching very closely to if Chance seemed to be catching what was being said. Soon after the service had stared, the speaker asked Chance a question about baptism. Chance answered right away and heard when he was called up to participate with the speaker. I started to rest a little easier as it was clear that Chance was following what was happening.
After the talk on baptism, all of the children in the room stood up to sing,"I Am a Child of God". Chance heard as soon as the children were called up. He also answered other questions that were asked of him so he was obviously hearing what was being said. A man who came to watch Chance be baptized and is deaf himself with hearing aids remarked after the service that he was quite impressed with how well Chance heard. He said, " He was right on. Right on! He answered those questions with out a problem. It is impressive what he is hearing."
I have to agree that it is impressive what Chance can hear. After the service, we had a luncheon at our home and several people joined us there. Chance mingled with people and gave and received many hugs.
It was a great day full of people who have grown to love Chance. Some of them were family and friends. Others were people who knew Chance because they interacted with him as teachers, therapists, bus drivers etc. It was a great outpouring of love and we are very grateful and will hold this special day with those who loved Chance in our hearts forever.
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