...very confused as to what was happening - cold doesn't happen yet! Its still August!

Bretheren and Sisteren (that's a real word, look it up),

THE TEMPLE OPEN HOUSE HAS BEGUN!!!!
 

Man oh man is it fun too!

This week we started out going to the Temple with our Investigator Jen! With it being about an hour drive to Fort Collins, we got to know one another real well.  Jen is an absolutely incredible person.  One of the most resilient people I know!!! I'm so glad we have the pleasure of teaching her! Anyway, we took her to the open house and it was beautiful. She loved it!! We also had our other investigator, Santana, come with the Elders to the Open House.  It was such a great day! 

 

Wednesday we went and worked at the Temple really early in the morning.  Little did I know there wasn't any scheduled break/meal times for the volunteers.  So for about 11 hours of being on our feet and not eating, we were pretty exhausted! However the experience was one I'll never forget.  

 

Wednesday wasn't the official opening day, but they opened the temple up to VIP guests- mostly people from different religious groups.  A lot of Catholic priests came, Seventh day Adventists, a Christian college group, and much much more.  I got to meet the Mayor of Loveland and also the men who did a lot of the construction on the Temple! They were reallllly excited to see the inside, which made my heart happy!

 

Because it wasn't officially opened it was pretty slow, so we had about 1 group come in each hour.  We started out giving the introduction to the Temple that starts with a video (the video rooms) but then after awhile we moved to the reception tent just outside the temple.  In the tent they had lots of food for the guests and photographers, as well as live soft music to fill the background as they look at pictures of Jesus Christ and Temples.  It was really awesome and we got to talk to alot of people!

Friday was a very different experience. Friday we worked the afternoon/night shift aka opening night.  As soon as we got there we were sent groups to start the tours! Very full and busy this time.  We again started out in the video rooms and then moved to the reception tent.  Lots of people loved the tours and asked lots of questions, so it was really great to meet people, hear their stories, and help them here and there! Friday, however, had been very rainy.  It actually started getting very cold!! I was very confused as to what was happening- cold doesn't happen yet! Its still August! Haha but it was a good relief from the heat I will say.  Anyway, the highlight of my day definitely was when I got to see Sister Morgan and Doug Hiltwine (my convert from my last area)!!!! We got to talk and catch up for a bit and it was just so nice to see how well they were still doing!! The rest of that night the whole Woodglen ward showed up!!! So I got to see a ton of people from my last area! It was a great reunion as we reminisced by the Temple.  You never know how much people mean to you until you don't see them much anymore :)

The temple was so gorgeous at night.  We got to do a tour once we were done with our shifts and man you can just never get enough. 

So this weekend, sweet sweet Howie that we've been teaching was BAPTIZED!!!! His baptism happened Sunday after church and his whole family (who are not members) came to it! It was so great! Also, his brother Saint and sister Alison gave the talks on baptism and confirmation.  Usually this is done by adults or church leaders, but Howie wanted them to do it.  We were all a little nervous but they did AMAZING!!!! It was beautiful and we felt the Spirit so Strong! Alison and Sis' Nielsen and I sang "My Heavenly Father Loves Me", which is one of my favorites, however I probably botched it pretty bad... Oh well haha!

All is going well here in City Park.  Transfers are this Wednesday and I will be......

Staying! With sister Nielsen in fact!! I'm so excited because i wanted to stay here for 6 months, and now i get to!!! Also, the fact that ill be with Sister Nielsen again just makes me so happy.  This is the first time ill be with a companion longer than 6 weeks and I wouldn't want to be with anyone else- so all is well!!  

I appreciate your love, prayers, and compassion! They are felt even from far away!! Thank you so much for all you do! Stay strong, say your prayers, and KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS!! In this there is safety, in this there is peace.

Love you all so much!!! Have a fantastic week!!!!!

Sister Loyd