I love to see the Temple....

Growing up in Idaho, and only thirty minutes from the Utah border I was always blessed with the opportunity to only be a maximum of thirty minutes away from the temple. I could see the Logan temple out my bedroom window, and just in the past few years two more temples had been added to Idaho. The Rexburg and the Twin Falls. I have never had to live somewhere where the temple wasn´t staring me in the face, reminding me of the things I wanted in life. I once said, “you know, you honestly can´t do anything bad in Logan, because everywhere you turn the lights of the temple are there…reminding you of who you want to become”
So when I moved to Ecuador, I instantly missed the constant presence of the temple. I missed looking out my window and seeing it´s magnificent lights beckoning to me. When our bishop announced a ward temple trip I was ecstatic! I immediately sent for my records in Utah, and started the process to get a temple recommend so that I could go. Well it took about a month to get my records here…everything runs on latin American time, and then after that it took a few tries to get an interview with the bishop. Finally with recommend in hand I paid my 12 dollars to ride the bus to Guayaquil.



However I feel like to fully tell my temple trip story I need to tell about what happened the day before I was heading out. I´ve heard stories about people who are preparing to go to the temple, and how Satan always tries to make it so that they don´t go, or so that they are distracted if they do make it. Thursday morning as I was getting ready to go to school, I threw in my wallet, knowing that I needed to go to the bank before I left to Guayaquil. Also Zoe wanted to go tell the missionaries goodbye before she leaves this week, and right by the mission office there is a Market with things I knew I might want to buy for my family for Christmas. So I had my wallet, and my debit card. I also un packed my mp3 from my temple bag and threw it in my backpack just in case. Well I went to school where my backpack stays with me through out the day, except recreo breaks. After school I caught the Ecovia, where I was riding it to the mission office to meet zoe. Now the ecovia is Full of people, so when I boarded my back pack was behind me, but only for a matter of about two minutes, and in those two minutes I was walking towards the middle of the Ecovia. Once I got situated I turned my bag around to the front of me. We went to the Mission office, told Elder and Hermana Ward good bye, and HErmana G. After our goodbyes, I walked down to the distribution center to buy a Spanish bible. I have a BOM but I wanted a Bible…to read the Christmas Story and things. Well when I reached in my bag to pay for my bible I realized that everything was gone. My mp3, my debit card, my wallet, my Ecuadorian ID, my makeup, and some other things… I panicked.
I immediately called my dad in the states, and had him close my card, while in the mean time I called my mom here and cried to her. Being worried about me she took off work early and met me before I left to the temple. Also my sister here (Kimberly) called me, to make sure I was ok. I knew that I was safe, and that everything that was stolen from me was just material items but I couldn´t help but feel violated. Knowing that who ever took it was probably someone from my class, and that I trusted them all and they were my friends. I was devastated, but I knew that I couldn´t let it affect my temple trip. So I put it out of my mind…and I left to the temple.

Our trip was 8 hours. We pulled out of Quito at about 9:30 on Thursday night, and we arrived at the temple at about 7 the next morning. Everyone who knows me really well knows that sleeping in the car is something that is easy for me. As long as I have my pillow I can easily curl up and sleep the whole eight hours. However I was not prepared for the hot humidity..i woke up drenched in sweat, and wondering where in the heck I was. However I woke up just in time to look out the window and see the temple, big and bold and beautiful on top of the hill. It was an incredible feeling, and it gave me Goosebumps. We pulled into the temple grounds about seven, and the first temple session started at nine, so the adults headed straight in to get ready to go to the session. We stayed at a hotel right on the temple grounds, which was pretty neat. We ate our meals inside the cafeteria at the temple.


The adults never quit, they went to all the sessions offered through out the two days were were there. I was amazed, they only stopped to eat lunch, and then on Saturday morning they headed back in and did two more sessions before we left. I had to wait till six Friday night to go in. We didn´t have very many youth on our trip, and the ones that were there brought family names to do. So when it came time to do baptisms the temple had a large stack of names ready to do. And I ended up doing them all. After ten names I thought I was done, but then we just kept going and going and going. It was incredible. And then I was confirmed for my same names. We had two families sealed together while we were there, and I saw the cutest wedding party come out. Just the bride, her parents, and the groom and his parents. And then they drove off into the night in their taxi.
I spent Friday walking around the temple, taking pictures, and feeling the spirit. It is a feeling I will never forget, and a feeling that I will hold on to during the hard times. There the temple was, in the middle of this huge city, and yet up on the hill, you couldn´t even hear the sounds of the city…it was literally it´s own little world. I didn´t want to return to Quito, far away from the feelings that I had felt…


The Lord takes times like this to show to us his tender mercies. To show to us that life isn´t that bad. He gives us opportunities to be filled with so much love we feel like we will just about burst! And if we take these opportunities we will be changed forever. I don´t know if I’ll ever have the opportunity to return to the Guayaquil temple, but I know that that sacred place will always have a place in my heart. I do love to see the temple, and I can´t wait till the day that I can actually go inside!
I love you all, thank you for your prayers and support in this crazy dream of mine. I miss you all each day. I hope you´re having an amazing Holiday Season. May your live´s be enriched by his spirit and love, and know that someone all the way in Ecuador is praying for you.
Hasta Luego,
Emily