Baptism in the Jerusalem community (a late report)

Rather late, we wanted as parents to say thank you for the baptism ceremony of our son, Matan Yoni Yeger, that took place in the Jerusalem community on July 6, 2008. We wanted to thank Father Apolinary for his efforts to coordinate the date and arrange the logistics before his departure. Most of all, we want to thank Reverend Father Custos Pierbattista Pizzaballa for having performed the baptism ceremony for Matan Yoni (or Matan Yonah as he called him). Thank you for the time you gave both him and us. It meant a lot to us. We know how busy you are and that you have precious little time. Thank you to Matan's godmother, Osvalda, and to his godfather, Olaf Strassmann.

Of course, the letter of invitation to the baptism was sent out by e-mail to all the communities and a personal invitation (and an apology) to the community of Beer Sheba, my own mother community for many years. Due to various factors including the tender age of the baby, the ceremony was held in Jerusalem and not in our beloved Beer Sheba community. Thank you to all those who were present and to those few invited guests who were able to be present. To our delight, Matan did not make a lot of noise, and even now - after some months of living in Jerusalem and coming to mass on Sundays and feast days, he is still (relatively) quiet... even though now he helps both with the singing and the homilies sometimes...

A thought goes out also to those who are not with us but rather with God. First of all, my beloved grandmother, Maria Anna Strassmann, who did not live to see her great grandchild. However, I promised her to continue the dynasty and the Catholic faith through me, and I have kept my promise, for her, for us as parents of the child and for my conscience and Israeli Catholic identity. Longing and some sadness that Matan's grandmother, Erez's mother, did not live long enough to see and enjoy her grandchild. Thus, Pierbattista was quite precise when he called Matan Yona and not Yoni! We called Matan after you, dear Yanina (Yona). You are sorely missed for your advice both for the tender years and for us too. We have a request - that both great grandmother Maria and grandmother Yanina continue to watch over us and over Matan Yoni. And so, in short, we thank all those who were present, all those who wanted to come and could not and those who are dear to us and accompany us at the right hand of God the Father.

Thank you and see you soon in the community,

Tali Strassmann, Erez Yeger and Matan Yoni Yeger