Nesochukwu's Baptism (Faith Stories)

Baptism for Nesochukwu

Patience and Osita met about 10 years ago when we were University students in Nigeria. We became friends and after a while we began dating. My wife and I are from traditional Catholic families and became deeply rooted in the faith through the sacraments of baptism as infants and first holy communion & confirmation in our pre-teen years.

We got married on Easter Monday 2019 and moved to Canada in December of the same year. Shortly after our arrival, we discovered that we were pregnant. We were excited and petrified at the same time! Thrilled to be becoming new parents but scared because we already had a fight on our hands to settle into a new country - find jobs, housing, transport, weather etc. Then the pandemic struck, and life got even more complicated.

Pre Covid 19, we attended Sunday mass every week. I worked 12-hour shifts through Saturday nights and needed to take 3 buses to get home. Still, my wife urged me to make a stop in downtown Ottawa and attend the early mass before heading home. In a bid to encourage me, she would always meet me in church even as her bun in the oven grew, and public transport became harder. It was very tough to do, considering all other challenges as newcomers to Canada, but we persevered by the grace of God.

Our daughter arrived in August 2020, after months of virtual pregnancy courses and hospital appointments. We named her Nesochukwu (literal translation means “Always follow God”) and her middle name is Heaven.

We feel blessed to be part of St. Augustine parish and look forward to the baptism of our first child in this beautiful church community.