The Rev. John H. Bell Jr. lays his hand on Ian during a baptism at Wellshire Presbyterian Church in Denver on July 13, 2008, Ian's mother's birthday. Teri Mercill said the greatest gift she could ask for was to see her son baptized before he deploys to Iraq. "It has given me a lot stronger sense of peace letting him go on deployment," Teri said. "I just feel like he has that little extra in his pocket to watch over him. . . . He might have started out doing it for me, but I think he ended up doing it for himself."