It was Branch Temple Day and I was stoked!!!
It was actually planned for June 26th (and I was looking forward to it then) but got cancelled because Ghana ended up having a game that night and it was a worry that people would not want to go to the temple if they were going to miss the game.
So two weeks later we finally got to go and even at 3:30 in the morning I was excited!
We met the branch out at the main road
There were a lot of us there and everyone seemed to be in great spirits
When the tro tro drivers showed up it was not a surprise when the two vans looked like they were going to die any minute - it's not really anything new around here so we all piled it. After our long journey of like 3 1/2 hours our van finally made it - but upon arriving and waiting for the next van of members to show up we were told that their van broke down and they were all stuck in the rain and completely soaked.
I've always heard stories or trials when people are taking trips to the temple and I had actually had the thought that it was quite a good possibility considering the state of our transportation - so it was so sad to hear that the others weren't going to be able to make it. The branch president was the only one who was going to continue on because the youth in our van needed him for their limited-use recommend.
So now that we'd found out the rest weren't coming we had already missed the planned session we were going to attend so we had another hour and a half to wait for the next one to start. This actually ended up being a blessing because Spencer's passport pictures had gotten lost in the mess of our lives here and so we needed to get him 2 of those to renew our visas. Luckily there was a place just a couple minutes away and we were able to catch a quick taxi and get him a true "one minute passport photo". It was so quick and easy and relieved a lot of stress for us as we had spent a good majority of the night before looking for those pictures and worrying that we wouldn't be able to get him pictures before leaving Accra.
We even got back in time to take some great pictures! I love the temple!!!
These palm trees are SO cool! They are like massive fans and how it works that they are all facing the same way is amazing and we spent much time speculating how it was done.
We wanted a picture with us in front of the temple...
But Spencer decided our regular pose was "boring" and tried to get creative :)
Because the other van broke down, Spencer and I were the only ones who were actually able to go into a session because the youth needed priesthood holders so they could do baptisms. Our friend, Gloria, who lives at the Abus with us and helps around the house was baptized about a month and a half ago and she got to go for her first time! It was so good for our van to have made it because it was the first visit to the temple for most of the youth in the van. What a special experience for them!
I was so grateful that we got to go in and do a session and I felt so wonderful and peaceful afterwards. The power and spirit in the temple never ceases to amaze me, and I am so grateful to have such a wonderful blessing in our lives and to be able to share the blessings with my amazing husband, Spencer. He is so kind and wonderful and seeing him with the perspective that the gospel and the temple gives us makes me love and appreciate him, and the love we share so much more.
**Pictures of our journey home in the next post - an attempt to not drag one post out ridiculously long**
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