Tijuana Mexico Temple

 Temple 115

March 10, 2020

Tijuana, Mexico

 

     It’s finally time to post another blog! We did the Tijuana temple over a year and a half ago but I’m finally getting to posting about it. It was our last trip before Zoey was born, and so for us it seemed as if it’d be our last trip for a long time, and it was, but for a different reason thanks to covid.

    After our fun trip to Hawaii we flew back to Las Angeles. Unfortunately our flight was delayed two hours, so we got in around 11. We then rented a car and drove two hours through a rainstorm down to San Diego where we stayed the night with friends of Ivy's family, Kim and Becky Thomas.

    In the morning we left early and drove down to the border and walked across the border. We had to get our passports checked which felt more secure than when we went across the border at Ciudad Juarez. We were once again in Mexico and were excited! We both love the Mexican culture; the kindness, the relaxation, the simplicity, and, of course, the food!

    Once across the border we got an Uber to the temple. Uber, and Lyft, really are the best ways to get somewhere quickly and easily. The drivers are trusting, the cost is known before you get in, and you don’t have to explain where you’re going. In all they're way better than a taxi.

    Now let me once again mention Ivy’s faith. We checked the weather for days before getting to Tijuana. While driving to San Diego the day before it was pouring constantly as I mentioned. We woke up and it was raining. The weather said it was supposed to do nothing but rain. Constantly. We woke up and it was still drizzling. We got to Tijuana and it was cloudy, but had stopped raining. We then got to the temple and, what was the weather like? It had cleared up and there was no rain! We were so happy! We were able to take pictures and not worry about getting wet, and the weather was beautiful. Ivy always prays for good weather when we go to the temples and it’s always been good, at least long enough to enjoy the beauty and take some pictures. After the temple it rained on and off but then it was sunny most of the day. Ivy’s faith seems to be able to control the weather and hasn’t let us down. 

    The Tijuana temple is another unique temple that is unlike any others. While driving to it we thought it was another Mexican cathedral or something, but when we saw the Angel Moroni on top we knew immediately what it was. We were dropped off by our Uber driver and walked onto the temple grounds. They were absolutely gorgeous! There were flowers everywhere of many different colors. The temple housing and other buildings were right next to the temple and had a Spanish Colonial design to them. 

    The temple itself has one spire and looks like no other temple we’ve seen. It had a Spanish mission feeling, like buildings from the early days of when Mexico was settled, including the San Xavier Mission in Tucson which Ivy and I had been to a few months earlier. In front of the temple were flowers, grass, palm trees, and a fountain, of course, representing the living waters. The temple was a brilliant white and, after driving through the dirty, run down city of Tijuana, it looked incredible and would have been out of place if not for its design.

    We went inside and were welcomed by the kindest people. They were all excited to have us there, although we didn’t speak any Spanish. We did a session and enjoyed it thoroughly although it was in Spanish, but we understood a bit and still felt the peace of the Spirit there.

    After the temple the skies had cleared up a bit and it was a beautiful day. We took an Uber back to the border where we walked around and enjoyed the touristy part of the city. The shops were fun and we had some good food, especially the tacos and fruit cups. The food is often the best part of adventuring into Mexico! 

    After walking around the shops it began to rain, and so we headed back into California and enjoyed the day in San Diego. We went and took pictures at the San Diego Temple and went to the Flower Tulip Fields in Carlsbad, which were both incredibly beautiful. 

    That evening we stayed with Becky and Kim again, who were the kindest of hosts. They take care of turtles and tortoises and we were able to see them and feed them. A few weighed a couple hundred pounds each, and were endangered species. It was neat to see their love for the turtles and tortoises and how well they took care of them. Becky then taught Ivy how to solder and make a ring, something Ivy had always wanted to learn. 

    In the morning we said goodbye to our kind friends and headed up to LA. We had a flight later that day but we wanted to do the Las Angeles Temple first. We went and did a session and took pictures. It’s a beautiful, large temple and is one of the largest in the church. We had done it before but were glad to do it again and be reminded of its beauty. Little did we know that it would be the last time we attended the temple in over a year! How glad we were to have gone to the LA temple again, and go to the Tijuana and the Kona temple. It was a fantastic trip, and a perfect trip to prepare us for a year of Covid.