I am very far behind on the things I should have blogged. This blog should have been posted back in November, or at least at the beginning of December. Oh well, better late than never. By now this is old news, but you have not seen the pictures!
On November 9, Hallie turned 11. This year she wanted a banana cake. I made it from scratch. which is good because cake mixes have been hard to find in Hangzhou lately.
A couple of weeks after her birthday, Jon found a letter in our room from Hallie. She said that she wanted to be baptized. She felt that she was ready. I am not really sure why she decided to write a letter.....
About a year ago, she thought she was ready, but when we asked her some questions about it, she did not have an answer. Jon told her to study some and do some more praying and thinking on it. I kind of expected something to happen this summer. I kept praying for her but was very careful not to push her. This had to be her decision and it needed to be for the right reasons.
After we found the letter, we talked to her again. She told us why she felt that she was ready this time. She told us that she had read that book twice...Am I Ready to be Baptized? (AP press).
We encouraged her to write all of her reasons down, so that if years from now, she has any doubts, she can look back at her thoughts and decide if she really did know what she was doing.
Then we decided that she would be baptized that coming Sunday. We were all super excited. Jon sent a message to EVERYONE in his phone.
Jay Beamon and his daughter came from Jinghua! Some of Jon's students came.
Here Shelly is showing some of Jon's students how to find the passage we were reading.
The two girls in the front are part of Jon's English corner group.
This is Shelly. She was very happy too!
We all shared gave her encouragement and advice. It was really nice. Jon did not cry (hardly at all).
Margaret and Elaine talked about how Hallie is an example to us all. Margaret had some family in town and they wanted her to not go this morning, but she told them that she HAD to go and could not miss this. They were actually interested and wanted to come to, but Margaret thought it would be too many people.
Lots of smiling faces in the hallway outside of the bathroom. They were all so excited for her and our
family.
I am so proud of her and the young woman she is becoming!
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