216 William’s baptism 2

On the seventh day after William's birth Inola set up the ceremony of naming for William. He made a small fire by the waterfall at the creek. The family gathered and William was dressed in the clothes Salali had made for him. Yona had Salali and Randy on face time do she could watch. Inola takes the baby from Maureen and begins to chant while waving William through the smoke of the fire. Passing him through the smoke four times , he then takes the baby and wades into the water immersing William seven times when he brings the baby back out of the water he announces his name . 

"Today I introduce you to William Wohali, May he be blessed with a long abundant life." They head back to the house to get changed for his church baptism and dedication. Crystal tugs at Inola's leg wanting to ask him. 

"Uncle will the baby my mommy and Yona will have need to go through a naming ceremony to?" Inola tweeks her nose and tells her

"Yes it will when the time comes. You know we Cherokee change our names for different reasons. We may have given William the name Wohali which means eagle., When he gets older if he does something great we may choose another name for him. " 

Crystal looks at him in surprise and asks?

"Does that mean that you could eventually give me a new name as well?" 

Inola knows she is feeling a little left out since she is no longer the only child in the house. Since she is Yona's child she is deserving of a Cherokee name as well. 

" Of course, you are Cherokee also and you are now Yona's daughter. That means our traditions are also yours. So don't worry my sweet you will have your new name when the time comes. " Inola takes her hand and walks her back to the house. 

while talking to Crystal Inola realizes he's and Moll have not discussed names or what they want to do for when the baby comes. It is not that far away now, they will need to have the discussion soon. 

When arriving at the church the priest is waiting for Onacona and Maureen. She introduces him to William and allows him to hold William for a few moments. This way the baby won't cry when the priest does the baptism. 

The priest is surprised when he sees such a large group of people coming in behind them. Noticing the priests face Moll looks at him and tells him

"Our family can be quite the surprise you know and we are not all here. We have some missing that would normally be here to celebrate. I hope you do not mind but We will be FaceTime with a few of those that are not here. " 

The priest smiles and greets the family. 

" I am honored to be here today to baptize little William . It is so nice to see that he is so well loved, today is not going to be a normal service because I will be sharing the time with Reverend John . I want to say that raising a child is the hardest job we will have. Not that I know first hand but I can imagine that it is. Children do not come with instructions though there are a few verses in the Bible that tell us how to teach them. Children are a mixture of both parents and how you interact with each other influences them on how they interact with others. They are unpredictable and unique in their own individuality. The most important job we have is ensuring that they know the ways of God and teaching them to love him. So Maureen, Onacona if you and the child's Godparents will come forward we can baptize little William. " Maureen ,Onacona, Steve ,HeJin,Aisling and Astila go forward. The priest takes the candle and shell from Aisling and HeJin. Lighting the candle he places it in front of the basin of holy water. Taking the shell he fills it with holy water. Steve holding William lays his head above the basin as the priest begins. 

" I baptize William in the name of the father , the son and the Holy Ghost." He makes the sign of the cross on his forehead then pours holy water over his head. William is the perfect baby he doesn't make a sound during any of this just like during his naming ceremony earlier. The priest then calls John up to do the dedication. John stands next to Steve and takes William in his arms. 

" I will ask a few questions and then we will pray over William.  To the six of you I am going to ask will you bring William up in the ways of God and in his will?" They all say yes

"For the Godparents, your job is to be William's parents if something were to prevent his parents from performing their duties. Do you promise to love William as your own and help Maureen and Onacona in times of need. To teach him and show him how to be honest , trustworthy, and a godly man." John winks at his brother as he finishes his statement. The four of them say yes. 

John kneels with William and starts to pray. 

"Heavenly Father we dedicate this child to you . We all in this room promise to love him and help his parents with him. We know that it takes many helping hands to raise a child I ask father that you give William those helping hands when they are needed throughout his life. That he will grow up healthy strong and always be loved . Amen." 

when he stands he hands William back to his mother kissing his forehead. He then jokingly tells his brother 

" I'm jealous , Momo chose you to be his God father but he will have all of us loving him and helping . So I guess you can't do to much damage with your bumbling.

Steve punches his brother arm , laughing they go to say good bye to the priest and thank him for the service today. 

Once back at the house John annouces that there has been a change in plans before eating. That they have a surprise for Crystal. 

they all head over to the lake for Crystal's surprise. There they have an archway filled with flowers. John takes Crystals hand and walks with her to the archway. Crystal notices that there are not just flowers but crystals hanging from it. John begins. 

" As many of you know Remi never had Crystal dedicated, well today is her dedication day. Crystal herself has asked to be dedicated and has chosen her Godparents. So if Remi and Yona will come forward. " Remi and Yona go to stand beside Crystal. John looks at Crystal and asks her 

" Will you ask who you want to be your Godparents and why to come forward. " 

Crystal looks at him and says. 

" Salali isn't here how can we do it today?"

she hears a call from the distance it's Salali and Randy running towards them. 

Salali hugs Maureen and kisses William. Then gives Crystal a tight squeeze. 

"I'm sorry we are late our flight was delayed." 

Crystal looks at them her eyes sparkling with joy, she turns to John and smiles brightly. 

" My Godparents are Salali and My cookie uncle Steve . My cookie is my hero and Salali is the person who I want to be most like. Salali is most like my mommy and since she is my daddy's sister it's perfect and when she marries Randy he will be my Godfather as well. My cookie is just to awesome for words and so is My Auntie Jin. I chose them because they will be perfect in every way." Looking at John and everyone else she blows a kiss to them. 

"I love you all the same but Aisling is going to have her hands full with William, Tannis and Daisy, and her twins coming. I will be happy just helping her. Uncle John you already have so many responsibilities and I can be a handful, no offense to auntie but she always says she can't handle me at times so I think it's best that I stick with these four." Everyone erupts in laughter at how Crystal explains her choices. Already at such a young age she knows to think of others feelings. John nods and begins

"Now Crystal since your a big girl you have to answer as well ok." Crystal nods in agreement. 

"for those gathered here to celebrate this child do you promise to raise her in the ways of God?" They all day yes. john looks at Crystal and asks her. 

"Crystal do you promise to be obedient to your parents and Godparents. To follow the rules and try your best to not be to much of a handful?" 

crystal says yes. John looks at the Godparents 

"Do you promise to be a helpmates to Remi and Yona , to take up their duties as parents if they cannot" they all agree. John kneels and sits Crystal on his knee. 

"Heavenly Father we dedicate this child Crystal to you for your safe keeping and ask that you give her wisdom and grace. Amen" 

he kisses her cheek and looks at everyone and tells them it is time to eat.