Taylor came to know the Lord the summer before kindergarten at a Charlotte Eagles soccer camp. Coach Witte was his main counselor, and I consider her crucial to his salvation. His faith in God grew as a result of prayers and the influence of many godly people at church and school. When he was in second grade he took the Bible Discovery class at church and learned even more about what it meant to be a Christian. He wasn't ready to be baptized at that time, so we started praying that God would move in his heart in His perfect timing. A few times a year we would ask him if he had any desire to be baptized, and he would tell us that he was still thinking and praying about it.
Claire asked Jesus into her heart about 7 months ago at the end of first grade. She was IMMEDIATELY ready to be baptized. Our church requires completion of the Bible Discovery class before being baptized, and since it was not offered in the summer, she had to wait until fall. She was very patient in waiting and completed the class in October but had to wait until December to be baptized because Mike was traveling on the weekends baptism was offered.
Once Claire was ready, Taylor decided to walk forward and be baptized at the same time. Maybe for him, there was comfort in numbers. Mike's mom flew into town for the baptism which was special for the kids. We had gone back and forth about how to celebrate "post-baptism" and finally settled on a drop-in party following church. Our children's director, Sean Lee, really encouraged us to make baptism a special and memorable occasion for the kids. We had about 50 people (adults & kids) over that day and it was really fun! We feel so blessed that our children have both accepted the Lord and will live with Him for eternity.
Here are a few pictures from our special day.
