Japan Tokyo Temple

Our 13 hour flight landed in Tokyo and our mad dash began to get the Japan Tokyo Temple in time for our 7pm appointment!  We hopped on a train from the airport, checked in and dropped our baggage at the hotel, made a quick change of clothing, and jumped in a taxi.  As we arrived, a group of missionaries were just leaving.  Imagine our surprise to find one of our very own friends from home amongst them.  What a great start to our time in Tokyo!  We love missionaries!

The Optimist fell asleep in the lobby of the temple.  Jet lag had definitely set in for all of us as we headed back to our hotel!  Even in their wearied state, the boys had to spend some time checking out all the buttons on our fancy Japanese potty!  Heated seats!  We could all get used to that!

Spain Madrid Temple

With our quickened pace, we hustled from Barcelona to Madrid to catch our flight home.

A full tour of Madrid will have to wait for another time, but we were grateful to be able to squeeze in the site we most wanted to see, the Spain Madrid temple!

We had a remarkable experience here.  NoFear was able to do service with a branch from Italy.  So while he was surrounded by Italian speakers, the session was conducted in Spanish, and the confirmations were conducted in Portuguese.  I had a similar tri-lingual experience during my service.  We marveled afterward that the gospel of Jesus Christ unites all cultures and languages.  It was such a privilege for us to be in the temple.

La Casa Del Senor - The House of the Lord

A familiar site on the grounds in Spain.  Families are forever.

Italy Rome Temple

"When you come to the temple, you will love your family with a deeper love than you have ever felt before. The temple is about families." - Richard H. Winkel



Visiting the Italy Rome Temple was not an simple prospect, but it was worth it!  

We opted to go to church nearer the temple in hopes that the congregation 

members would be able to give us some helpful information on how to view

the construction site.  They did more than that, one family offered to give us a 

ride to the best viewing spot!  The Visitor's Center and Stake Center appear close to being done.

The temple is already so beautiful!

The white dome behind the temple is the Visitor's Center.

To the left of that are the apartments and to the right, the Stake Center.

We definitely met some brave knights today.

First, the lovely family at church who volunteered to drive us to the temple grounds.

We are so grateful for good and thoughtful people.

The trek home from the temple was not an easy one, but it was a memorable one.  

Our last train change was at Termini station, Rome's main terminal is where all transportation collides.  We were shocked to discover that seemingly every person in Rome travels to Termini on a Sunday evening.  The platform was absolutely packed.  

When the train we planned to catch arrived, it became a madhouse.  

There were so many people waiting to get on the train, that the people who needed to get off could not do so.  The swell of people pushed me and The Optimist on the train, but Grandma and NoFear were still on the platform behind us, so we swam upstream to get back to them.  Suddenly the train

was beeping and the doors were closing, with the swells of the crowd still growing.   

The boys had attracted a lot of attention walking through Rome in their white shirts, ties... and handsome good looks.  I think that is what caught the attention of our next brave knight.

Over the din, I heard someone yelling, when I turned to the sound, I made eye contact with an enormous black man.  His hulking presence seemed to stop everyone in their tracks.  

He did a Samson move, placing his feet on either side of the closing doors at the bottom and his hands at the top and then motioned with his head for us to get on.  

His very presence commanded that everyone else stand still while we did what he asked.  

We scrambled past him, he released the door, and the train sped on.  

I reached through the sardined train car to give him a high five and a heartfelt thank you.

This brave knight flashed a beautiful big smile and a playful wink.  

It was the perfect and memorable end to another wonderful day.

Germany Freiberg Temple

"The temple is the house of the Lord. The basis for every temple ordinance and covenant…is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Every activity, every lesson, all we do in the Church, point to the Lord and His holy house." Russell M. Nelson

After our visit to Prague, we headed to Berlin with a little side trip to see the 

Germany Freiberg Temple.

I'm so grateful for my sweet husband.  This was a wonderful weekend together.

Switzerland Bern Temple

"Everything that occurs in the temple is uplifting and ennobling. It speaks of life here and life beyond the grave. It speaks of the importance of the individual as a child of God. It speaks of the importance of the family and the eternity of the marriage relationship." Gordon B. Hinckley

 

All temples around the world are closed on Mondays so we knew we would not be able to attend on this day, but we were still so excited to be able to drive to Bern for a quick visit.

Denmark Copenhagen Temple

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 

temples are a very important part of our worship.  

We have 143 throughout the world with some 30 more under construction or announced.  

As often as we are able during our travels, we hope to visit and give service in these special places.

We had the wonderful opportunity to attend the temple on Saturday in Copenhagen and then church meetings in the chapel just behind it on Sunday.

When we arrived on Sunday, all of the electronic translators were in use so we prepared ourselves to simply sit and enjoy the service in Danish.  Just as the meeting started, however, some Danish members of the congregation quietly rearranged themselves and volunteered to sit behind us, softly translating the entire meeting for us into English.  We were so grateful for their kindness and enjoyed the meeting even more because of their sweet service.