There have been a few changes in our ward since Nicholas' baptism nearly 3 years ago. For one, the Stake Center where he was baptized is no longer our Stake Center, we now belong to the St. Gallen stake. Our new ward house not only isn't finished, it isn't even started, which means the closest baptismal font in our Stake is either a 45 minute drive north, or a 45 minute drive south. Considering it was the middle of summer vacation and hardly anyone would be in town anyway, I thought it would be a nice way to make the day special by getting baptized in our local lake.
Chris was okay with the idea, now I just had to convince Sarah. She didn't really like the thought of getting baptized where fish and stuff were; thought they would come swim around her and scare her. We explained that as soon as she stepped into the water with Papa the fish would all get scared and swim away. Then one Sunday we took a walk around the lake after church, picking out possible spots where we could hold the baptism. By this time, she was completely sold on the idea and would tell anyone who asked that she was getting baptized in "our lake". Fortunately, Oma was able to fly over from America to be here as well, which made it extra special.
It had rained the day before and all that night, quite heavily actually. Angie and Chris were worried that it would rain during the actual baptism, and they were making contingency plans all evening. "We could do it under that one big group of trees, so there was a little protection." "We will just bring lots of umbrellas and all huddle under them together." But I wasn't worried. Several years ago a Russian couple was baptized in Lake Luzern, and the whole morning of the baptism it was raining, but in the afternoon, as they started to walk down to the water, the skies parted and the sun came out. If Heavenly Father did it for them, He would do it for my Sarah as well. And sure enough, the morning of the baptism there was not a raindrop in sight, and as we all gathered around the fishing dock, the sun came out and shone nice and bright.
It was a small group, but made up of people who really love and care about Sarah. The Bishop came, along with his two youngest children, one of our home teachers and his wife came, Sarah's Primary teacher who she just adores, and our good friend Jenna and her two girls. Since we were out in the open, Chris brought along his guitar for musical accompannient during the opening song.
Jenna said the opening prayer. We had Angie give the talk on baptism, and then Chris hopped into the water first. He was wearing socks to protect his feet from all the branches and things on the bottom of the lake. He lifted Sarah down into the water, and had her stand in a little spot he had cleared for her with his feet.
The water was not that warm, although it was the middle of the summer and the spot we were at was not that deep. Chris didn't want to have to put her under twice, so he made sure to pat down the floaty parts of her dress to get them nice and wet first. That made them heavy enough to stay under the water on their own. Good thinking, Papa!
When Sarah came out of the water, you could tell it had completely taken her breath away. She could hardly speak and her teeth were chattering. We got her out of the water and took her over to a little group of trees a little ways away from the main path.
I held up a large towel while she and Chris stripped behind it, dried off with extra towels and then got redressed. Sarah's teeth were still chattering, but we got her out into the sunshine and she slowly warmed up a little.
I gave the talk on the Holy Ghost and then Chris played his guitar again while we sang the closing song. Nicholas gave a very sweet closing prayer and it was all over with.
We decided to confirm her at church the next day, since there was no real good spot to sit at right there. Afterward, we invited everyone who wanted to over to our house for some food. We had all Sarah's favorites; potato chips, crackers, bread, zucchini and banana bread, a veggie tray with dip and a fruit tray, plus lots of drinks. Sarah was very happy with all the attention, and we were happy to have made such a special memory with her.
