Daniel's Story Chapter 3.

3.1. First Baptism

I myself was not baptized as a baby and had the choice to do it when I became older. I am thankful to my parents that they left the decision up to me, and also Yuki and I felt comfortable with the thought of leaving the choice of a baptism to our children when they would be old enough to understand and make a decision by themselves. But with Daniel being very sick, we started thinking about that it would be a good thing to baptize Daniel even now as a baby. Not that we think that a baptism is a requisite for him to go to heaven in case of his death. This school of thought is not biblical. Nowhere it is written that without a baptism the soul will perish. What is necessary is a belief in Jesus Christ, that he died for my sins on the cross and that he rose from the dead. Except of this, nothing is needed for salvation.
A baptism is the outward sign for a person who has decided to believe in the above. That's all. It is one of the last commandments of Jesus before he rose to heaven - to preach the gospel and baptize people - but baptism alone does not give salvation.
(The gospel of Matthew, Chapter 28, Verses 18-20)

Even though Daniel cannot make this decision by himself,  Yuki and I think that a baptism of Daniel is a proclamation that we entrust him into the hands of our Lord. Thus we plan to have Daniel's baptism in our church in Mainz. Daniel's Godparents are two god friends of us from Mainz. We are aware that by choosing somebody outside of the family and not a relative might be seen as strange, but we decided to do it that way. On September 5th, my grandmother, my aunts and uncles, my brother with his wife and my parents join us for the celebration. Also present is Yuki's mother, Masako, who came all the way from Japan. She was at our wedding last year, and she likes Germany very much. So we asked her if she would like to come and if we take a trip somewhere afterwards. Daniel's baptism is not different from the baptisms of other babies. We light his baptism candle from the big candle that is customarily carried into the church on each Easter Sunday and  lit before all Sunday services. Daniel's name and today's date are inscribed in wax on Daniel's candle. After theSunday service we have the typical party in which Daniel receives presents from everybody, together with the best wishes for his future. We can only pray that the good wishes come true.
The four of us, Masako, Yuki, Daniel and I, then rent a car and drive all the way to the Isle of Fehmarn in the Baltic sea. We chose to go north, since last year on our honeymoon, we went to southern Germany, crossed the border, and went all the way to Vienna.
It never occurred to us that the harsh conditions in northern Germany could have a negative impact on Daniel's health. Strong winds, chilly temperatures even in summer, and the salty air is good for various illnesses, but a doctor later told us that this is not exactly the atmosphere for a kid with a heart condition. But we are protected in our innocence and Daniel is well. He enjoys being carried and taking a sun bath in his baby car. In Fehmarn I first recognized his radiant smile. This smile of his that later on should continue to fascinate so many people. Still toothless, he opens his mouth, the cheeks pop up like small peaches and his eyes are radiant with joy.

It is really amazing how well he is. Not a single case of catching a cold, or having fever during the spring, summer and autumn days. Was this the blessing we were waiting for? We had a wonderful time this summer and autumn. Of course Daniel has to take his everyday medication and we check with the doctors once in a while, but except this, our days go by as a normal family. We can relax and enjoy parenthood. Even though Daniel is physically small and weak, he develops. We can see that as he gets older, he does things that all babies do. We had a wonderful time.

Thus we were really badly prepared for what should come next.