Un Día en los Cielos

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Yesterday was our 26th anniversary! Jim made breakfast and when he sat down to join me he handed me a mini Snickers chocolate bar and wished me a happy anniversary. I hadn't even realized it was August 6th. I asked him if he'd like to go for a walk along the ocean and then go to the Fish Market for an anniversary lunch prior to our temple shift. He said he'd rather just take it easy. So that was the extent of our anniversary celebration, except I did share my mini chocolate with him. : )

Usually the week days are fairly slow at the temple. There have even been a couple of days when the ordinance workers are almost the only patrons. However, Saturdays are always marvellous with people coming Friday night to stay at the Patron apartments so they can be at the temple for the 7 am session. Stakes and/or wards hire buses and the temple is absolutely overflowing!!!! I love Saturdays! 

The Panama temple is closing for two weeks beginning the week of August 18. Traditionally, the temple hosts a new schedule during the two weeks prior to the closure and call it "Un Dia en Los Cielos" (A Day in Heaven). They've added a third session to the morning shift and started the afternoon shift an hour early. Both days, so far, we've had a third session in the afternoon shift as well. Every temple ordinance has been done on both of these days. It is wonderful to have the temple so busy!

The temple presidency requested the regular temple workers to sign up for additional shifts. Many have accepted this request and are coming and working an entire day; some are even working several complete days! We really are working with amazing people! We've been told that if they needed the missionaries for any extra shifts they would notify us. So far we've only been needed for our regular shift. The Panamanian workers have really come through!

I was mentioning to Hermana Bjornason, one of the other senior missionaries, the other day that even when we had to drive three hours to go to the temple I didn't like doing two sessions, as it really tired me. Now I am often in two sessions!

When we were serving as ordinance workers in the Calgary temple Jim and I would come home exhausted. One of the sisters, who served on the same shift as me, said that it took her a year to rest up after serving a temple mission. So when we got our calling I wasn't excited about being temple missionaries initially. I had wanted to work out and about with the people. I'm very glad to be serving in a temple now! We are getting to know wonderful people and have the opportunity to help those who have gone on before to be able to receive their saving ordinances!

Just like any other type of mission, a temple mission has it's challenges. While we're at the temple we do not get any breaks and we're often on our feet, standing, the entire time. Standing is harder than walking. We have a lot of laundry, including folding, which is a strain on the back. We live by a schedule, so do not have the flexibility that many senior missionaries have. Nor do we have a car. The temple is isolated, so if we need to go anywhere we either take a taxi or walk the mile plus to catch a bus. By the end of our day we are tired, yet happy! We love it here!

Yesterday it started to pour, just as we were leaving to begin our shift. We each took an umbrella, but by the time we walked the 150 meters from the door of the apartment complex to the door of the temple we were soaked from the waist down. Our clothing was still wet by the time we left to come home. They have amazing rain storms. We've seen some very near lightening strikes. When the lightening is nearby the thunder shakes the temple. Pretty impressive, because the temple is a very strong building made out of granite. It's currently the winter (rainy season) which begins in May and lasts until between December or May. It generally rains every day, but usually only for a short time and then the sun shines again. It is beautiful here!

Last Monday (P Day) we decided to ride the metro. It's only been in operation for a couple of months. President and Hermana Boren have never even taken a bus, in Panama, and this is their second mission here. (They served as mission president and matron 10 years ago in the Panama Mission.) Anyway...the metro was a good experience. It was a fast and smooth ride, not many seats. We've been impressed, both on the metro and buses, how the youth and men will get up and give their seats to older people and pregnant women. I tried offering my seat to a younger mother with about a 3 year old girl, but they wouldn't take it. It's nice to see that courtesy is still alive. 

My sister and her husband, Brenda and Dave, are also serving a mission. They are serving in the Asia Area as mental health missionaries. They've been in Hong Kong for just over two weeks now. There aren't many opportunities for us to talk as they are 13 hours ahead of us and our schedules make it very difficult. It's nice to be going through this experience at the same time!

Hope you're all doing well!