London, England Temple

Temple #104

London, England

March 1, 2019

    Finally another adventure starts! We started planning this trip a year earlier when we applied to volunteer at an orphanage in Ghana called Ghana Make a Difference. We have always wanted to go to Africa and this was a good way to do it and serve at the same time. Months later we began planning the trip and buying flights. We had a layover in London and so we decided to extend the layover and spend a day in London!

    We arrived fairly late to the Gatwick Airport where we rented a car. Now this was quite the new experience for us. It was a cute little Fiat, but the drivers side was on the right side of the car. We then had to drive on the left side of the road, and to make things better it was a stick shift!

     I drove, and it was scary and intimidating the entire time we were there. Luckily it was midnight there and so there wasn’t much traffic. This, in a way, was a blessing to us so I could get used to the roads. Ivy was supposed to be the driver because her name was under the reservation but she paid the extra $15 to let me drive.

    We arrived at the temple and it was darkened, yet we were able to make out the shape of the temple and we couldn’t wait to go. We parked our car and were let into temple housing.

    I’ll take a few sentences to brag on temple housing now. It may be hard to contact them from another country, but it’s the best place to stay when visiting a temple! The people are always friendly, accommodating and are fellow members. The rooms are like basic hotel rooms, if not better, and you are only a stones throw from the temple. Not to mention the fact that temple housing is usually fairly cheap.

    We went to bed and passed out. We hardly slept on our flight the night before and we were exhausted. Traveling isn’t easy, and it’s fairly tiring, but we still love it.

    We woke up early to get a good start on our day. We got ready and walked a hundred feet to the temple and took some pictures. The grounds were beautiful although it’s still winter and the leaves aren’t on the trees yet. There was large grass fields all around the temple that were spotted by large trees. There was even a little pond next to the temple which made for a good picture. In all the temple grounds cover 32 very green acres. It was all beautiful and we were so ecstatic to be there.

    The temple itself was also pretty but simple. It reminded us of the Helsinki temple with its copper steeple and square style. It’s an older temple, the 12th temple built and was dedicated in 1958. It was later renovated and rededicated in 1992.

    We went into the temple and did a session. It was a small endowment room and was very simple, yet the moment we walked into the Celestial room we were blown away. It was unlike any other Celestial room we had seen! Nearly everything was gold or a bright yellow. There were two gorgeous, large chandeliers that hung from the ceiling and made the room shine. The Celestial room was connected to a few sealing rooms as well. Two of them were up some stairs and had a balcony nearby where we were able to look into the Celestial room.

    The room was beautiful and the spirit was strong. We then left and couldn’t wait to explore London. We only had that day but for us that’s enough time for nearly any city.

    We drove to the outskirts of the city and got to a parking lot. We were suppose to pay at a kiosk but didn’t have coins. We weren’t sure what to do and didn’t want to find an ATM. Suddenly a guy leaving waved us over. We went over and he gave us his old ticket that lasted until the next day! We were so happy and grateful and the man just waved and left. It was a little tender mercy for us.

    We then hopped onto the metro (never drive into London, for multiple reasons). Soon we were walking by the River Thames and checking out the sights. We went to Tower Bridge, saw the palace and Westminster Abbey, and even Big Ben (although it was under renovation). We then went to a broadway show, Aladdin, which was wonderful and very entertaining. Overall it was a great day and we were pleased with our layover.

    The next morning we had just enough time to go back to the temple since we were staying right next to it. We went in and did initiatories real quick. We of course went back into the Celestial room and enjoyed a quiet moment in there to ourselves. It was so peaceful and we felt blessed to be able to go twice.

    We then drove to the airport, ecstatic that we made it safely and dropped our rental car off with no problems. We were sad to be leaving England, but excited for our next stops!