Big day for Colsen and Rayna

Last Sunday Rayna and Colsen took their vows to join Church of the Redeemer!  They have taken a long class about what it means to be a Christian, and after they both decided they wanted to continue on this path, they were each interviewed by a pair of elders to make sure they full understood what they were saying.

Then, with a group of other kids, they stood in front of the congregation and promised to love the church and obey its authority.  Dr. Milton gave a very emotional explanation for how significant it all was, and took the time to speak to each child, presenting them Bibles which had their names engraved on them.

Then, Kai was baptized, too -- quite a big day!

That weekend was also the playoff-tournament weekend for Colsen's soccer team, so he ended up having games both before and after the special ceremony!  (Quick changes in the car!)  His team ended up WINNING their bracket, so it was a very big day indeed.

Colsen talked about this big day for weeks ahead of time and days afterwards, repeating things like, "This was HUGE.  I mean, when I was baptized as a baby, I didn't even know what was going on.  But taking my vows is a BIG DEAL!"  and "I should be congratulated a LOT today... for taking my vows AND for winning the soccer tournament."

And this was my favorite conversation about it with him, a few days afterwards--

Colsen:  Mom, Dr. Milton was really nice on Sunday.  Have you ever hugged him?
Me:  No, I don't think so.
Colsen, with a big grin:  He's warm.