I Love to See the Temple

Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the Kiev, Ukraine temple and do baptisms for the dead.  I met up with Katie and Sarah at the end of the red line of the metro.  We hopped on a marshrutka (that's what they call smaller buses here) and road it down the highway to the temple.  We arrived at the temple grounds at about 2 in the afternoon.  As we were walking towards the entrance we saw a bride and groom taking pictures out on the lawn.  They were so cute!  Then we headed inside.  The matron met us at the front desk and told us that the next baptism session was at 5pm.  We had a lot of time to kill so we decided to walk around the grounds.  It is not a very big temple so it didn't take much time, but we did see the temple from every angle.  After that the matron invited us to sit in the lunch room inside the temple.  We had some snacks to munch on, so we sat inside the warm temple and enjoyed the peaceful feeling that it brings and each other company.  We also got to meet a few of the temple workers (American and Ukrainian) that walking in and out of the kitchen.  As it got closer to 5pm we headed to the sitting room where we hung up our coats and waited for them to invite us back to change.  We were eventually brought back to the baptistry and did confirmations and baptisms.  It was so cool because all the ordinances are preformed in Russian.  Even though I could not understand them, I still knew what was being said and I felt the spirit so strong.  The temple president had a short meeting with us.  Because there were a few Ukrainians with us, he had a translator.  I loved just being able to sit inside the temple.  I have been feeling very homesick this past week.  I am so far away from home, but being in the temple felt so familiar to me and made me feel like I was home.  As I was in the Kiev temple yesterday I realized something.  I have taken the temple for granted.  In America, we have so many temples and I have lived close to a temple all my life.  The LA temple is not far from my home and I live just down the street from the Rexburg temple when I am at school.  And now here in Ukraine it takes me about an hour to get to the temple.  Why do I not go more often?  There were families there yesterday who have traveled days to get to the Kiev temple and they are so excited and so willing to make the trip.  I should be doing it much more often.  I found out that the Kiev, Ukraine temple serves 9 countries.  That is so amazing!  We are so blessed in America to have so many temples.  My testimony was really strengthened though by the examples of the European people who put aside their time to travel to the temple.  I have made myself a goal to go at least once a week when I get back up to school in the winter and I want to go to the Kiev temple at least two more times before I leave in December.  After we were finished we headed back outside.  It was dark by that time and the temple is so breathtaking by night.  I truly do love to see the temple.  This was a very rejuvenating day for me.