Baptism at Hartney Bay

So, this past week has been pretty good other than it has been raining since last Sunday. Someone said it rained over 2 feet here this past week. There is one of those 3 gallon buckets outside the church and it was completely full. Every time we walked outside we got drenched. I forgot to tell you when I talked to you (Mother's Day) that we have 2 new investigators. One of them is named Cody, he is 18 and just graduated from high school on Saturday. The other one is named Jasmen, she is 16 and is living with some members here, so that's good news. We also had a run in with a wolf the other day...it was pretty sweet. And, no there are no bear safety classes, Mom, you either get killed or not, when you run into a bear, that's it. (I had asked him in an earlier letter if they went to bear education classes...I think they should....hello, they live in Alaska. I guess I will have to stop watching all the Alaska shows on tv).

On Saturday, May 15, 2010, Sean participated, along with Elder Giles, in his first baptism. Harrison (Harry) Cain was baptized by his uncle in the ocean at Hartney Bay. He is a senior at Cordova High School. He has been attending church for over a year, but had been waiting to receive missionary lessons, which Sean and Elder Giles taught. This was the report that Sean gave us:

So on Saturday, we were pretty much doing nothing all day, waiting for the baptism. We were suppose to umpire baseball games, but they got cancelled because the weather was so bad. Harry's Uncle was flying into Cordova from Anchorage and his plane was late and didn't arrive until 4:45. (We had to wait at the church until he arrived to give them their baptism clothes). At 5:00 Elder Giles and I left the church to drive to Hartney Bay (Elder Giles was driving). It was already raining, but began hailing and the wind was blowing at least 60 mph...it was intense. When we arrived at the Bay, the entire branch of about 70 people, including some family from Anchorage, were there for the baptism. Out of nowhere, the weather just stopped....it was pretty cool. We had to make the baptism fast because Harry had to get back for graduation by 6:00. So for 15 minutes or so during the baptism, the rained stopped and the weather calmed down. As everyone was getting into their cars to leave, the rain started pouring again. It was really cool to see a baptism in the ocean. I was able to get some cool pictures of it.

Sean also told us that Harry's immediate family also attended, although they are not members and don't want anything to do with the church. It was Harry's choice to be baptized by his uncle and to be baptized in the ocean. I asked him if he thought they were cold. His response was that their lips were purple when they got out....so I take that as yes.

Sean and Elder Giles also attended Harry and Cody's graduation. It was very small and short...only 20 kids graduating and lasted about an hour.

Mother's Day

I was so excited to receive the long awaited phone call. He had told us he would be calling at 3:30 Utah time. So we went to church...it seemed to last forever. I heard different stories from missionary mom's. Some said their son called 3 times during that day...another told me she had talked to her son for hours. So needless to say I didn't think there was not going to be a time limit on the call.


Before church, I had made sure that the phone had been put on the charger and double checked it when I got home. At 3:25 the phone rang and I ran right to it, or where it should have been, but it wasn't there. Robert was sitting in the recliner and held it up to show me that he had it...laughing. He said "hello" and I hovered over him for the longest 1 minute and then he told Sean he had better give me the phone. It was so good to hear his voice. It sounded the same, but so different. He seemed very happy. We talked about living in the church...he sleeps in the top bunk (Lexie and I really wanted to know), Elder Giles...he is very regimented (that is good) and he told me about the beautiful wildlife and scenery. He didn't think he had gained any weight, but didn't have a scale to weigh himself. I reminded him that he could gain as much as he wanted, but couldn't grow out of his suits. I couldn't afford to buy new ones. They drive a Chevy Malibu....I forgot to ask him what year. Although he had gotten his Alaskan driver's license, Elder Giles is the designated driver for now. We talked about the Thomas Family coming to visit. We talked about Harry and the upcoming baptism.


Sometime during our conversation, Lexie took her turn to talk. There there ended up being a "he said, she said" conversation with Jake mixed in, so he tried to take the phone from Lexie so he could talk and they ended up hanging up on Sean. He called back within a few seconds and Jake had his turn. I reminded him that nothing had changed as far as the brother/sister bickering.


After we had all talked for about 35 - 40 minutes. He informed me that he only had 5 more minutes to talk. I went from being so happy to absolutely devastated. I wish he had told me when he first called....maybe. He talked to Robert for a minute more and then we all told him good-bye. When he calls for Christmas, I will be sure to ask how long he has to talk.