[MUSIC PLAYING] My name's Chris. Katy and I've been married for 11 years. Chris and I met in California. Our parents worked together, and we met at Take Your Child to Work Day. When we were 20, we got married. And we've just been together ever since. Religion--I can't really say that I'm necessarily religious, but spiritual. We searched for a long time. We went to many different churches. And we were ready to give up. Chris has been on my mind for quite a while. We grew up with each other since grade school. But I never told him I was a member of the Church. I remember just crying out to God, asking for guidance and help. And about a week or two later--I have a childhood friend of mine. His name's KB. He called me. And I hadn't spoken to him in over 13 years. And I informed them that I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When he told me, I was a little taken back. But I know the type of man that he is. And I know that if he's a member of the Church, that there's obviously a reason why he's a member. I met Chris through a common friend named KB Boggs. KB called me and said, "Hey, I want you to meet some friends of mine, and religion is going to come up." Chris came out, and he started asking questions. Afterwards he came up and said, "Hey, Mike, I really want to know more about the Church." The gospel became very attractive to Chris. The truth was really, like, talking to his soul. And it was just a great feeling because I want him to feel the things that I feel since I've joined the Church. And it was really fun because he eventually said, "Hey, Mike, how do you join your Church?" I said, "Well, you've got to meet two friends of mine first." Yeah, we just got a referral. The day we received the referral for the Bush family, we received a text message. And we saw that there was a referring member. I sent it off and 30 seconds later, I get a call from Washington. I said, "No way." Sounds like you have a referral for us. Mike actually contacted the missionaries on our behalf. They called me not even 30 minutes later. The way they went about this was perfect for me. And I knew instantly from talking to them, I can trust these elders. I couldn't imagine any other two missionaries in the world coming to our home except for the two that came. I mean, they were that significant. And they mean that much to us and our family. Chris was really hard on them at first. He was--yeah, he asked them a lot of tough questions that I wouldn't even ask them. Well, thank you, Chris and Katy, for welcoming us into your home. And thank you, KB, and thank you, Brother Madsen, for joining us. Well, thanks, elders. Yeah, thanks, guys. Absolutely. Absolutely. It's so good to be here. The day in which we live is incredible because my friend KB and I were able to be involved in every missionary lesson. Mike and I were on videoconference calls. And their little phones were set on the table. It was almost as if we were in the room. This message can be delivered across the world now due to technology. I think this is the future of missionary work. No matter where you live in the world, you can be a part of an experience with a dear friend of yours in helping them in this wonderful journey of learning about the restored gospel. You guys ready? Yes. Going to the ward for the very first time, you feel out of place. You don't know what's going to happen. It's hard having three kids. And we're in a new environment. We knew the Bush family was coming to church. "So go say hi and make them feel welcome, and make them feel comfortable." "This family will be coming to church. Will you please be sure to show the children to Primary?" The ward did an amazing job with being able to welcome the whole family, not just the parents but also the kids. My friend Coen made me not feel nervous. People are really nice there. It's a wonderful experience to just feel immediately welcomed and supported. (Singing)--were present there in love. One day Chris said, "Can you come out to Washington and baptize me?" I was like, "Oh, OK. So this is happening." The day we got baptized, I was expecting maybe 10 people there, if we were lucky. They had over 100 people show up at the baptism. It was amazing to have so many other members of the ward to be there to support the Bush family in this--such an amazing event in their lives. So many people came out to support us. It was truly overwhelming.

To see Chris go through this experience, it brought me so much joy. I wasn't just baptizing him. I was baptizing his whole family. I was so grateful to be there, to be a part of it, and to witness this family come into the Church. Everything that we've been through, everything we've experienced as a family, it led us up to that very moment. We've been members for about three weeks now. And tomorrow we'll go to the temple for the very first time. Chris was thrilled to get on to FamilySearch and begin to discover his ancestors. To be able to do this, I just feel that I'm going to be able to reconnect with my ancestors in a way that I would have otherwise not done so. Actually searching for them, to be able to baptize them, it really brings it all together. Going with us to the temple will be many members of our ward. And they're very excited, too. For me to witness that and to see Chris feel that Spirit and feel that connection--I mean, I don't think there was a dry eye in the baptismal area. It was the sweetest experience to watch Chris baptize Katy for his grandma. We felt closer to our ancestors today than we ever thought possible. I felt almost like I had accomplished something that I was sent here to do in this life. It was a beautiful experience for us. Overall it's been just an amazing blessing. And to think that our journey is really just beginning, it's a really exciting thing for us. [MUSIC PLAYING]