Johannesburg Temple

Monday morning we went to the mission service center and met all the people going to the temple. We had a family of 5-- the Ochieng Odunga family, and sister Consulate from Nairobi, and we had Josephat Barasa Lumuli and his wife from Naitiri near Kitale in addition to our 17 from Kisumu. We discussed the details of airports and flying and then had a testimony meeting. In the afternoon we flew to Johannesburg and arrived at Patron Housing at the temple about 9pm. We crashed and regained strength for Tuesday. It was much chillier in Johannesburg. We found it delightful, the Kenyan's found it cold.

Tuesday we went to the distribution center. Then the adults went to the temple about 11 to make sure all their paperwork was in order. After a quick lunch, they went to the temple at 1pm. The children went to the temple with us about 2:30 when we went up for the 3pm session. It was wonderful to see all these couples and single sisters there. Pym, a 13 year old in the Odhiambo family, was supposed to come to the temple with the other children to be sealed. But after the endowment session, they came to tell the parents he was seriously ill and needed to go to the hospital. Pym had been sick and treated for malaria, but was not better. They had prayed he would be strong enough to come to the temple... and he was strong enough to come. It turned out he had a fluid filled cyst on the brain-- maybe TB of the brain-- and certainly would have died had he stayed in Kisumu. So it was a blessing he came. The rest of the families were sealed as the Odhiambos went to the hospital.

Some days the children walked around the temple grounds.

Wednesday morning was spent in the family history center as the families put their family history on the computers and prepared names for the temple. Just as Jesus acted as proxy for all of us as he took our sins upon him, in the temple, people act for in behalf of the deceased to do baptisms and other work the spirits who have passed on cannot do for themselves. The spirits of the deceased, of course, have the choice to accept or reject these ordinances. But Jesus said everyone had to be baptized. I love it that there is a way made for those who have not heard of Jesus or the gospel in this life are not cut off from the presence of God but can have this baptism and other saving ordinances done vicariously by other.

At 1pm we met for photos in front of the temple and at 2 they did baptisms and then the adults went on to other work. I stayed back with the young children until the older teens returned.

The Odhiambo Family

The Okila Family

Marcelus Owino and Family


Brother and Sister Barasa


Joseph Oching Odunga and family

Ericah, Sister Fox, and Consulate. And below is the whole group.

There is a trick to trying to get food prepared in time for the ordinances to be done. But this group was very time conscious and did manage to feed us all and still get to the temple. The men were very capable and several times they made the meals and other times they cleaned up. Wednesday night we ate about 9pm. I asked the Kenyans and they often eat about 8pm or so. Elder Fox made a sandwich and bailed out. I stayed and ate.

We enjoyed visiting with the missionary couples and the wonderful people at the temple and and Patron housing. They were so helpful with Pym. The area doctor also assisted with some other of the youth who had been struggling with illnesses.

Thursday was a repeat of Wednesday with the exception that we did sealings at the end of the day. It made for a long day. But it was wonderful. It was a choice experience to take these families to the temple. They glowed! They were so excited to go and so spiritually fed.

Then came the sad good-byes. Even the families we had only known a few days had become close friends. Thursday evening we shared how the temple had increased their testimonies. Then on Friday we had to be up and ready to leave by 6am. We set the alarm for 4:30 so we'd have plenty of time. Alas, we failed to turn it on! We awoke at 5:15.... and that was the fastest getting ready and packed I've ever done. It was a fitting ending. No lingering. No contemplation. Just work as hard and fast as we could!

Our goal had been to take the Kenyans to the airport and help them get to their gate. Then we were told that we departed from a different terminal. Then it turned out that we did leave from the same terminal, but we had been unable to print our boarding passes, so we could not have gone past the security check-point anyway. So we hugged good-bye and sent them on their way.