September 13, 2014: Owen gets baptized!

So I actually haven't even left on my mission yet. I leave on Wednesday morning, the 17th, and I will fly right to the Mexico City Missionary Training Center where I will spend the first six weeks learning the Spanish language. However that being said I had the AWESOME opportunity to baptize my friend Owen Salyer this past weekend, which is the last weekend before I leave! I went to high school with Owen, and though we were never close during our years together in high school, I have had the chance to become close with him this past summer as I prepare to leave. It has been an extremely cool experience to see the change in his life as he has chosen to enter in the waters of baptism and be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The day of his baptism Owen was just beaming and you could see how happy he was to be making this choice. He was radiating happiness all day long. He has been a great example to me of how to stand up for whats right. It hasn't been easy for Owen to join the church, and he has received much criticism for choosing to be baptized, especially from his own parents. Seeing him go through his trials has made me so grateful for my parents. Unlike Owen's, my parents have been supportive of everything I have chosen to do. Especially in preparing for my mission, they have been with me every step of the way. I am going to miss them very much. It is my hope that we can all follow Owen's example and stand up for whats right, even though it means we might be ridiculed in return.