Back to the Temple

[March 8, 2016]

It was good to be back to the temple after two weeks off. They really worked hard to paint the exterior of the temple, get the lawn spruced up, etc. This was a picture I took just as we were leaving Monday morning to get some shopping done.

Along the way, we went by a park that has some "exercise" equipment, so Molly decided to do the circuit:

Some Bolivians saw her trying out the equipment, and as we walked away, they had started to copy what she was doing on one of the pieces. It was like they'd never seen such a thing, and didn't know how it worked until they saw her.

On another walk, we saw these - selling cotton candy on a six-foot pole, and painting stripes and crosswalks on the street near the temple:

Carrying cotton candy to sell.

Hand-painted crosswalks!

Sunday, we went to the home of Hna. Vargas, Saul Montaño's sister. The Montaños have been our good friends for many, many years. Saul served his mission here in Bolivia at the same time I did, and I got to know him then. He is from La Paz. We spent a few days with one of his sister's family in La Paz during the closure, so getting to know another sister and her family was very nice.

They served us a very tasty dinner of lasagna, salad, and a mango mousse. Two of their daughters were there, with four of their grandchildren. It was fun visiting with them.

The temple has been slow this week - not many groups come during the school year, but when they come, it's always fun to serve them. We had one group come from Santa Cruz, and they filled the temple for two days. They had five individuals receiving their endowments in one session, with four of them getting sealed the same day.

The baptistry isn't as busy, but we make special efforts to help those who have come with their own family names. It's always enjoyable to help them serve their ancestors as they do the baptisms and confirmations, and then the endowments and sealings.

[This is Molly - I had the sweet opportunity today to do the proxy baptisms for a sister who brought names of her ancestors but needed someone to do the baptisms. I really enjoyed that. I also got to serve in the baptistry two days in a row when the group was here from Santa Cruz. It's fun to see the same kids from the day before. They are so fun and energetic. I often think of our grandson Gordon, who will be turning 12 in May. He will be old enough then to go to the temple and do baptisms for those who have passed on. I can just picture him in his white clothes. What a special young man he is.]  

So, as you can see, we're still enjoying it here. It's getting on into Fall, although it looks just like Spring and Summer. This is a lovely place, and there is a special spirit here that we love completely.