A letter for Ayla

Dear Ayla,

I'm breaking my own rule about not naming the people who are mentioned in this blog, but I have some really great news to share!

Even before you were born, your parents loved you very much. Shortly after you entered this world, they wanted to share the most precious gift with you: their faith. It took a bit of planning to find a date that would be convenient, but finally that day arrived.

Since your uncle (the priest) isn't assigned to one of the local parishes, he had to travel and arrived only hours before the planned start of the ceremony. Your grandparents, parents and many of their extended families also came to the church to witness this significant moment, the beginning of your life in faith.

There were a number of other families who had also asked for baptism on the same day, but one of the priests who is assigned to the parish celebrated with them, and only once that ceremony was complete did you enter on the scene, along with the rest of your invited guests.

It was Sunday, January 24, 2010, two months after your birth that all this took place. The ceremony began shortly after 3:00 pm, and about an hour later, you had been inserted into the list of those who are pilgrims on the journey of faith, saints in the making if you will.

After the ceremony was complete, your family got together to celebrate. There was a wonderful meal and so many people were there that there was hardly enough room to move in grandpa and grandma's house, but it was lots of fun because everyone was there, and yes, you were the centre of attention of course. After dinner, they all shared your baptism cake and a variety of other desserts, and because most people had to work the next day, the party broke up rather early. That's OK because you were very tired (and so were they).

That first day of your faith life was a wonderful occasion, and we'll be thanking God for quite some time to come. Mom and dad, along with many others will do our very best to teach you all about God, about his Son Jesus, and about the wonderful love they have for you. We'll also teach you how to love others, how to forgive when someone hurts you, and how to greet everyone with joy. We'll try our very best to teach you about peace, the special gift that Jesus offers each of us, and of course we'll teach you a whole lot of other things.

Hang on for the ride little one ... it's going to be lots of fun.
We love you so so much.
Uncle Tony