Cebu City, Philippines Temple

We had the most amazing Sunday! We were fortunate enough to get tickets inside the temple for the dedication of the 133rd temple, the Cebu City, Philippines Temple. It was my first temple dedication and Ryan's second so we knew we were blessed to be able to attend one of the three dedicatory sessions.
We had the best view of the temple from our hotel room and we were watching the growing crowds during the first session in the morning as we were getting ready for our session. At one point we noticed a lot of camera flashes going on so we took out the big lens for the camera and spied to find that they were laying the cornerstone of the temple.

We made our way to the temple for the 12:00 dedication and battled the crowds until we were inside the temple. We were making our way upstairs which was pretty much full by the time we reached the top. Ryan and I came to the realization that there was no one yet sitting downstairs and that we would be able to pick any seat we wanted down there. We knew that the Prophet would have to make his way upstairs but didn't know if he would be using the elevator or not so we sat ourselves down on the corner of the front row right beside the temple office. We figured no matter what he would have to walk by us. WELL, we were not disappointed at all. Soon after we took our seats we saw President Eyring and Elder Oaks through the glass door to the temple office with their wives. They were so close, maybe 10 feet. Then President Monson joined the group which then included the Presiding Bishop, Bishop Burton, the area Presidency and Elder Walker, the executive director of the Temple Department. They were inches from us and it was so amazing to see them walk by, smiling. President Monson even said to the crowd raising his hands as he passed by Ryan "don't get excited" because we were all standing and just awe struck! He then stopped right beside Ryan and gave the little girl and boy directly behind us a high five before continuing on upstairs for the dedication.
The dedication was so nice, the talks were all really spiritual and we learned quite a bit about some of the pioneer members in the Philippines, the temple construction taking place around the world and how important the missionary work is. Gratitude was spoken for all the missionaries who have served in the Cebu and surrounding area, because of them and their work there is a temple now dedicated in Cebu City.
After the dedication we were asked to remain in our seat while the Prophet and other church leaders passed by on their way back into the temple office. Again the church leaders all filed passed while President Monson again stopped to speak to the children behind us telling the little girl while cradling her face that she looked just like an angel. He then continued on his way brushing past Ryan who also got a man hug from Bishop Burton as he rounded the corner seat where Ryan was standing. I'm pretty confident that I will never be inches away from the Prophet, President Eyring and Elder Oaks again! So amazing.
Afterwards as people were slowly filing out of the temple we were able to speak with Elder Walker. He is also from Southern Alberta and one of his 'dearest friends' was Ryan's old Stake President and so he spent some time figuring out who we were and why we had been in the Philippines for so long before passing his card to Ryan so Ryan wouldn't forget who he was (as if that would happen). One thing Elder Walker shared in his talk during the dedication session was that when he was in primary in 1954 his class was given the challenge to memorize the locations of all the LDS temples.... at that time there was only 9 (including the 6th operational temple, Cardston Alberta Temple), but now only 56 years later we have just celebrated the dedication of the 133rd LDS temple! Isn't that amazing.
Well, this temple is so beautiful. Inside it's peaceful and classic looking, it's hard to describe but I would defiantly say it's a timeless beauty. Outside it's perfectly placed, easy to spot with the beautiful lush tropics as it's background.

Cebu Temple Cultural Celebration

For months now the youth in our Stake (organized group of congregations of our church in a designated area) have been practicing a selected dance named the Itik-Itik for the Cultural Celebration that goes hand in hand with the Cebu City, Philippines Temple Dedication.
FInally on June 13th the big day arrived and youth from all over the regions the temple will serve joined together to put on a show which shared dance numbers telling a brief history of the Philippines. The coliseum was quite large and extremely hot due to the lack of air conditioning. We had spent the entire previous day there being orientated and performing run-throughs compiling each regions dance number into a nicely flowing event. Even though the youth and the youth leaders had spent so much time sweating away into nothing everyone was excited because President Monson was scheduled to be there and was going to address the audience. For many this would be the first time for them to be in the same room as the Prophet since General Conference is so far from the Philippines. Ryan and I had also heard that Elder Oaks (an apostle for our church) was there staying on the temple property and assumed he would be there also but we were so surprised to also see President Eyring walk the red carpet as well!

We had such great seats and although we were up in the lower box we had chosen seats where they would walk right in front of us and we would be beside the stage where they would be seated to watch the cultural celebration. It was so amazing to see everyone rise as they entered, waved and made their way to the stage but one of my favorite moments was when the entire coliseum rose to sing the Philippine National Anthem. It gave me goose bumps to hear them singing together and to have so many church leaders there to feel the energy pulsing through the crowd. Another great thing about our seats was we were able to look over and watch their reactions and see if their expressions resembled how we were feeling. Ryan even managed a shot of Elder Oaks where it seems to be that he is looking directly at the camera, kind of spooky.
The dances were so amazing and it was obvious that each group of youth had spent so much time to be able to dance together so perfectly. I have so many amazing pictures from each dance that I can't post them and of course I had 1 or 2 favorite dances that really caught my attention. By far my most favorite moment of the evening was when the last song had been sung and all the youth participants flooded the stage to stand before President Monson, President Eyring and Elder Oaks. The entire coliseum floor was filled with these amazing youth, to see how excited they were and think of all that time and dedication they had put into the celebration it really awed me. It was a breathtaking sight and it got them all standing ovations from the Church Leaders who looked so touched.

I know that this has been an experience that happens once or twice in a lifetime and I'm so thankful that I was able to be a part of it!
Click here to check out some more of the pictures from the cultural event and the performers!

Cebu City, Philippines Temple Open House

WOW!
Ryan and I had the most amazing opportunity last week to volunteer for the Cebu City, Philippines LDS Temple open house. All last week the temple was open for media, people who were apart of the design and construction of the temple and other VIP. Friday marked the first day that the temple was open for the general public and Ryan and I were tour guides. In preperation we went to the temple Thursday night were we so fortunate to have Elder Ko, the General Authority from our church over our area, gave us a tour of the temple discussing in detail different rooms, their meanings and symbolisms. Both Ryan and I learned something knew and were blown away by the spiritual experience. We felt so lucky since Elder Ko just happened to take our small group over others.
The next morning, Friday, Ryan and I showed up for work and again we were able to walk through in a pre-run with Elder Ko and President Balledos one last time before were in the spot light. We lead through about 5 groups of people through the different rooms of the temple explaining them and showing off their beauty. I really can't explain how it felt, but it was incredible!

We then went back Saturday morning together as a family so the kids could have a chance to look around, see the inside of the temple and take a look at the rooms where we were married in and be able to show them the mirrors that go on for eternity. For those of you not familiar with a sealing room in an LDS temple there is a large mirror on either side of the room facing each other. When you look into one of these mirrors you can see a million you's looking back at you. Elder Ko explained to us that you look in one mirror and it represents all your ancestors that came before you, your mother, your grandmother, great grandmother and so on. Then you look into the other mirror and all those reflections represent your posterity so your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and so on. Then in the middle of the room where you and your spouse kneel across from each other is where you have the opportunity to bind together that chain from the past, present and future for eternity. Such a great feeling to be standing in the middle of that stunning room looking into the mirrors and seeing the two of you and your family together forever! But that is what the temple is all about, bringing families together forever.

Here is one of my favourite pictures I took when Ryan and I snuck out to get some night shots, I think it kind of looks like the temple is glowing: