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All Grown Up

My niece, Alena, was baptized yesterday. Which also means that I have officially been Utah for a whole 8 years. Time has almost flown by. Srsly.

Anyway, Alena is so excited to be a new member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (go to the link to see what we believe). After her confirmation, a counselor from the Bishopric had her stand up on a chair to see the rest of us a little more clearly. I can't really remember what he was talking about exactly, but the Spirit was strong enough that even this newly baptized little girl had tears in her eyes. It was indeed a tender moment. My Uncle Bobby, who's really my 2nd cousin, got up to bare his testimony. Apparently, he was super inactive for a lot of years and when he got of the Air Force, he met someone who knew my Grandpa John - who, coincidentally, was his cousin...I think - and my grandpa took Bobby under his wing and helped him come back to church. My Grandpa John was super inactive for many years and got into some mischief before moving to the mainland from Hawaii with grandma and their "little" brood.

So, to make a longish story short, my niece has a good legacy behind her. A good foundation, as it were, to build her testimony on. Not only from the good people/family in her life, but because she has a healthy desire for knowledge of the gospel. She is only 8 years old and I'm sure she'll make mistakes along the way, but I'm sure that she won't take this new opportunity for granted.

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