What a Day!

This is my little brother, Ryan. Obviously, we look a little different from one another, but he's still my brother. My parents adopted Ryan when he was five years old in 1989, right before I graduated from high school. He has a pretty severe form of cerebral palsy where his muscles seize up and make most tasks extremely difficult for him. He has been in a wheelchair his entire life, and because of his limitations he has had to live with my parents that entire time as well. Last winter my parents moved here to be closer to us, and so Ryan got to move closer to us as well.

Today Ryan was baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

I have to admit that I would not have expected this if you asked me about it two or three or twenty years ago. But all on his own Ryan started asking Herman lots of questions about the church, and one day Herman spoke with the missionaries and suggested that they stop by and speak to Ryan. So they did. This was a few months ago, and from what I understand, Ryan told them that he was ready to be baptized right away. We decided that it would be best if he waited awhile to make sure that this was exactly what he wanted to do. When he saw JoJo's baptism last month he let Herman know that he was impatient to be baptized, and we decided that it had been long enough.

Ryan had a missionary who really worked with him a lot. This missionary was Elder Gregory. Elder Gregory worked with Ryan for a long time, but before Christmas he was transferred to the Tulsa area. Before Elder Gregory left the area Herman promised Ryan that we would find a way to get him back to the area to see Ryan baptized. And Herman made it happen. The mission president gave Elder Gregory permission to travel back to St. Robert to baptize Ryan, and he was finally able to come here tonight. As a bonus the mission president came along as well and brought several missionaries with him. That was super sweet!

Elder Gregory and Ryan

Because of Ryan's disability the baptism process had to be adapted. Normally there is one person in the water with the person being baptized, but because Ryan is unable to stand up on his own they actually had three guys in the water with him. Elder Staley and Elder Lee have been teaching Ryan most recently, and they were in the water holding him up while Elder Gregory performed the ordinance. 

Elders Gregory, Lee, and Staley with Ryan before the baptism.

The baptism was flawless. They had a good system set up, and there were no problems. I expected that it would take forever for Ryan to get changed back into regular clothes, so I had a whole bunch of excellent Mormon Message videos put together to show people as we waited, but Ryan was super speedy. 

I was able to speak about the Holy Ghost before Ryan received that gift, and I could really feel guided by the Spirit as I spoke. I really focused on the role of the Holy Ghost as a comforter. Because of His atoning sacrifice Jesus Christ also understands all of our weaknesses and our struggles, our sicknesses and our infirmities, our fears and our difficulties. Because He understands, He is uniquely qualified to offer comfort when no one else does. That comfort comes through the influence of the Holy Ghost. I thought that this is something that would be especially meaningful to Ryan. He has had so many struggles and difficulties in his life, and those struggles will not end today. They will continue throughout his life, but he now has the gift of a constant companion to offer him strength, comfort, and companionship in his most difficult moments. I hope he appreciated my words.

As quick as the evening began, it was over. I was so grateful to have it go as smoothly as it did. My mom did great! She has been struggling for the past several weeks with her bi-polar and stroke related issues. Her medications were not working as they needed to, so we just didn't know how she would act tonight. I hoped for the best but prepared for the worst. But it was great. I think that my parents really appreciated everything, and if Ryan is happy, they are happy.

Today as we left the church Herman turned to me as said, "For twenty-three years you have been the only member of the church in your family. You can't say that any more." Tender mercies of the Lord. I am so grateful for tender mercies. Life is good!

Elder Gregory and Ryan raising their hands to God.
I think it's an inside joke with them.