Newport Beach Temple

Temple Day with AJ
May 11, 2013


Today was an amazingly spiritual day. I feel so blessed to have been able to have been apart of this day with our daughter.
For our family and friends who are unfamiliar with our church's temples, it is a beautiful building both inside and out. The temple is a very sacred place to us Latter-Day Saints. It's a place where we can go to escape the worries and effects of the world around us and concentrate completely on the things of God.
I am never more at peace than when I'm in the temple totally immersing myself in the teachings of the Lord.

As I sat quietly next to AJ I was so grateful to my Heavenly Father for the knowledge we have of the gospel, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  The knowledge that we have that our families can be together forever. I was grateful that AJ has decided to give 18 months of her life to share this knowledge with the people of the Philippines. 
Make no mistake, she will be greatly missed by her family and friends, but by her desire to serve the Lord she will be blessed, her family will be blessed and most importantly the people in the Philippines will be blessed.


As we get closer to AJ's departure date and as she continues to prepare to serve it seems like the adversary is working overtime to destroy those peaceful spiritual feelings.  Today has been filled with frustration as we start to feel the time crunch of her departure (23 days) and still have so much to do.  AJ and I were starting to snap at each other today, she was snapping at her siblings, they snapped back and then we all took a deep breath and realized that this is what Satan wants. He would love nothing more than to bring contention into our home and ruin what should be a wonderful experience for all of us as we help AJ prepare to serve the Lord.

We decided to not let this be a stressful experience. We will put our faith in the Lord and enjoy each and every one of the next 23 days!

Next week we are planning on taking the family to an authentic Filipino restaurant to try the cuisine of the Philippines and give AJ a little taste of what awaits her. Can't wait!!