In our stay here in Peru, we have been blessed to be able to visit many Temples, old and new. In fact, we recently were blessed to be able to attend the Trujillo Temple Open House (Puertas Abiertas, Open Doors, in Spanish). What a beautiful addition to this wonderful land and what a blessing for these faithful saints. They expect to have about 80,000 visitors before the open house closes on May 30th.
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| Trujillo, Peru |
We were blessed to be able to visit with our friends Romulo and Marlene Casos who served with us in the Area Offices in Lima. Brother Casos has been called as the President and Sister Casos as the Matron of this beautiful building. The temple has made such an impact that the Catholic Cathedral on the main square had a sign by the door that read "This temple is a house of prayer."
We also visited the Temples of the Moon and Sun from the Moche culture and Chan Chan of the Chimu culture.
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| Moon Temple in Trujillo |
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| Chan Chan in Trujillo |
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| Sun Temple at Macchu Pichu |
In our many travels we have been blessed to see the ruins of ancient temples (Huacas) dedicated to the worship of the gods of ancient cultures. In Arequipa, Lima, Macchu Pichu, Cusco and the Sacred Valley, just to name a few. Each one reminded us of how people throughout history have payed homage to "God" and built temples. Some cultures included the sacrifice of innocent people in this worship. I am grateful that all I have to sacrifice is a willing heart and a contrite spirit.
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| Pachacamac, our first Huaca visit |
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| Koricancha in Cusco |
In Cusco and the Sacred Valley there were so many places to see, that I decided to include only a few.
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| Sacsayhuaman, Sacred Valley |
In all of our visits we have also toured many Cathedrals. Every main square we have visited included a beautiful, large Cathedral. One in Quito was covered inside with gold leafing, and all of the others feature large stained-glass windows, whose colors, unfortunately let in very little light.
But of all these places and buildings we have seen, our favorites have to be our beautiful temples. They are filled with light, so that when you enter you feel as though you have entered Heaven.
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| Lima, Peru |
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| Guayaquil, Ecuador |
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| Bogota, Colombia |
In Barranquilla, Colombia and in Arequipa, Peru we were blessed to be able to visit the future temple sites there. Sister Zobrist even shared with us a small bottle filled with dirt from the Arequipa site. So we have a treasured bottle of "Temple Dirt".
What a blessing to be able to attend and to feel the spirit in these beautiful Houses of the Lord. Each month, we attend a session of the temple in Lima with many of our dear Senior Missionary friends and with the Peruvian saints. We have heard many stories of the sacrifices people make in order to attend the temple. While visiting Puno, we spent time with a young returned missionary who was planning to take a trip with his family and many members of their stake to visit the temple in Cochabamba, Bolivia. He was going to be sealed to his family. These people sacrifice much of their time and money to participate in the blessings of the temple. It often takes them days to travel to the temple. We have been blessed to be only minutes away from a temple in all of the places we have lived. I need to commit to better temple attendance!!
