Philadelphia Temple

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we build temples as special places of worship. They are different than the meetinghouses where we meet and worship together every week and we consider them to be sacred, holy places where special ordinances (such as weddings) are performed. 

When I was growing up in Minnesota, our family drove 24-hours to the nearest temple in Salt Lake or Washington DC. That distance meant that we could only go once a year, at most. When I was a teen, they built a temple in Chicago, which then made it only an 8-hour drive to get to. This was a HUGE blessing for my family and all the people who lived in the midwest. 

When I was in college there were about 50 temples throughout the world, which meant that people in many places still had significant distances to travel to get to a temple. In the mid-90's an announcement was made that they were going to start building smaller temples in more places, to get them closer to the people. Twentyish years later there are now 150 temples throughout the world and these temples continue to bless the people and the communities where they are located. 

We are in Philadelphia right now, where a brand new temple was just built. It's right in the heart of the city and quite a beautiful sight to behold! The architecture resembles that of other historic buildings in the area and THEY ARE GIVING FREE TOURS RIGHT NOW for anyone (church member or not) who is interested in seeing the inside of a temple! Tours are available now through early September. 

We took our tour yesterday and really enjoyed seeing the unique interior of this lovely building. {Pictures were not allowed to be taken in the interior, so the following pictures are from this website} 

This is the baptismal font where vicarious baptismal ordinances are performed for those who died without a knowledge of the gospel. Of course, this isn't a forced baptism, since we also believe that the deceased person has the opportunity to accept or reject the baptism in the afterlife. 

This is the celestial room, where no ordinances are performed, but people go to contemplate and enjoy the quiet and peace found there. 

This is an instruction room where we learn more about God's plan for us. 

This is a "sealing room" where marriages are performed for time AND eternity. Glen and I were married in a very similar looking room in the Denver temple in 1993. 

We also loved all the nods throughout the temple to the history of the area. There are pieces of art depicting the founding of our country and some of the great historical events that took place here in Philadelphia. 

It really was a joy to bring the kids there and answer questions they had about the temple. We've also been enjoying our Jack/Lincoln/Ben time, which is slightly easing my missing-Cami-ache! 

My nephew, visiting from England (on top of the dog pile here) is getting baptized here in Pennsylvania tomorrow, which is why we were lucky enough to get them to come hang out with us for a while! 

"There exists a righteous unity between the temple and the home. Understanding the eternal nature of the temple will draw you to your family; understanding the eternal nature of the family will draw you to the temple." —Gary E. Stevenson

I love my family and am so grateful for the blessings of the temple in our lives! 

Houston....

HOUSTON! 

We have another driver in the house!

********************************

Life Along the Way

Here are a few more random pics of the last couple of weeks: 

First, the week before we left, we went on one more excursion to the temple with Cami.    It is a great feeling to be able to spend time with a child in the temple.  

My visiting teachers brought me a little lemony care basket of cheer to help in the process of saying goodbye to Cam.   They also visit teach Andrea S., whose son, Christian, was going into the MTC the same day as Cami, so they had double duty.  

When we were in Utah, I went on a couple of long walks with my sister, Kristina.  We may or may not have played a little Pokemon Go along the way.   Cami snapped this picture of us.  :) 

The next walk we went on, we dressed to match!

Here's a selfie with my mom and dad right before I left Utah.  

 On Friday, Cami had her first P-day and and sent us this  picture of her MTC district.  I don't know much of  the Elders yet, including their  names, but she is quite happy with all of the Sisters.

Here's a picture of Cami and her roommates (Soeurs Allen, Goold, Huntsman, Jones).  Sister Jones is Cami's companion and was actually in her ward at BYU.  They are also both in the nursing program, which meant they have a lot in common and were very excited to be companions.  

So life has been going full-speed ahead since our trip to Europe.   Now that Cami is off, it should be slowing down significantly now and I hope to regain a little of my brain function back.   We will see how that plan actually works.

****************************************

Sending Cami Off

I will try to keep this blog updated at least somewhat with Cami's mission experiences, however if you want the full story, you'll want to subscribe to her mission blog. 

*******************

Cami's spent the last couple of weeks madly trying to finish up all of the preparations for her mission.   She's  been shopping, gathering items that she needs, visiting with friends, and making long late-night FaceTime calls to people, which is actually really only one special person that she's really going to miss.  

She also met with as many friends and relatives as possible to say her "see ya laters"!   

We ate up our Cami time as much as we could and planned and did little else (hence the lack of posting on this blog).

We did, however, throw in a family photo shoot...

as well as a trip to see Phantom of the Opera at the Kennedy Center.

Then on Sunday, July 31st, Cami was set apart as an official missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, after which the late phone calls stopped and we started calling her Sister Goold.

  It was an emotional day, but we could't be happier about the adventure she's embarking on for the next 18-months.

Then the next day on August 1st, Cami  and I hopped on a plane to Utah.  Glen and the kids said their goodbyes there at the curb...

and waved as Cami went off on her 18-month adventure!   

After we landed in Utah late on Monday night, it quickly became a whirlwind of activity getting ready to drop Sister Goold off at the Missionary Training Center on Wednesday afternoon.

We had some shopping to do, some things to gather, etc.    But for as much as she tried to stay focused on actually getting ready, really at this point, she just wanted to eat up her last few hours being a semi-normal 19-year-old.     We (and I do mean she AND I, since she was already a set apart missionary) went out to lunch and met a friend at the temple for a session.

Then we came back (later than we'd expected) to my parent's home to hang out with lots of relatives at the open house my mom and sisters planned.

Cami's friends stayed later at the open house than everyone else and she enjoyed one more night of being social.  

She practiced her missionary safe goodbyes, but ended up laughing more than anything else.  

Wednesday morning dawned too early and eventually it was time to get in the car and head to Provo.

Cami randomly ran into one of her favorite babysitting families in the parking lot at BYU.   The Welch's hold a special place in Cami's heart and I think she was as excited to see them as they were to see her.   

We spent the last hour before I dropped her off at the MTC, at the Wilkinson Center, so she could say her last goodbyes for the next 18-months.   Sister Welch (the mom of the kids above) even ran from the class she was teaching, so she could join in on the fun! 

There were no tears here, just some great friends (one of whom you've probably noticed has shown up in a lot of these pictures and may or may not have something to do with all the late-night FaceTime calls)  really happy to spend a few more minutes together.

Leaving time came all too soon though...

and Sister Goold and I reluctantly jumped in the car for the 2 minute drive to the Missionary Training Center.   She made a few phone calls (to Glen and her siblings) along the way...

and before I knew it I was leaving a piece of my heart behind there in the drop-off lane.  

Goodbyes are quick at the MTC, but that didn't stop the floodgates from opening.   I had to quickly pull over after leaving the MTC  and regain my composure before it was safe for me to drive again.  

I am thrilled beyond belief for Cami and know that great adventures lie ahead for her, but, man, we sure are going to miss her for the next year-and-a-half.  

********************************

Fun facts: 

*August 3rd was a big day at the Provo MTC and 819 other missionaries also started their missions that day.  

*Cami's first companion, Sister Jones,  is the niece of a good friend of ours.  They were in the same ward at BYU and are also both in the nursing program. They had connected beforehand and Cami was very excited about having her as a companion. 

*Sister Goold's P-Day (short for preparation day) while she is in the MTC is on Fridays.  Basically that means, that's the only day she'll have access to email, so make sure you send your emails before then.