Two Called To Serve: Dedication with some Villcabamba

I literally have like 20 minutes to write because President Uchtdorf is coming to speak to us tonight! Surprise! He is coming to Cusco and we will be viewing it by transmission tonight at six thirty! What a treat! The #blessings for being on a mission!

But he is here because he was a part of the dedication of the Trujillo temple yesterday and another great opportunity that our mission had was to participate in this wonderful event. The night before they had the celebration in Trujillo (and by the way Trujillo is quite far away, like 15 hours or something like that from Cusco) but this is the 2^nd temple in Peru so it is a BIG deal for all the members. But anyways the event was AMAZING! My heart was so filled with joy as I watched (on the tv screen because it was transmitted) as all the kids dance and all the excitement that was there. What joy temples bring.

Mili and I right before the dedication!

. We could not wait for the dedication to start! So we took a picture.

The next day I went to all 3 sessions that they had to dedicate the temple. It was INCREDIBLE. I felt so close to home. As my temple in Payson was dedicated it was hard for me not to think that just a week before my family was able to do all of this as well. But wow, oh it was such a spiritual, uplifting, and wonderful time to ponder WHY we have temples on the earth.

We first of all have them because the Lord has commanded that we have a house of the Lord, but there is SO many more reasons. The two that come to mind is to do work for the living and for the dead, and also to go and be AWAY from the world. It is a sanctuary. It is a house of peace. We go there to find REAL peace.

I will be honest. As I was a teenager I didn’t really think about WHY I went. But I knew it was what brought me happiness. But my vision has expanded. We go because it is a way to dedicate our lives to the Lord. We go and do work for OUR families, so that they can have the gospel. We go to receive council from our Heavenly Father. We go to help our families become stronger, because when we change, we help those we love change and to become more like our Savior. Moses 1:39. It is HIS work, the work of the Lord, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. Through the temples we do this. I am so grateful to live in a time where we have temples. DO NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE. GO TO THE TEMPLE. YOU WONT REGRET IT.

Well, today we went to Villcabamba. I woke up at 5, drove in a car for 3 hours and enjoyed a day in some ancient ruins. I have needed this out! It was a little bit cold too, but the sun burned my face because it is high in altitude! But WHAT A FUN DAY! I love the adventures I get to go on. These ruins are from the Incans that went to hide when the Spaniards came to destroy all of Peru. They knew to go into the jungle and a little further to get away from them because the Spaniards did NOT like searching the jungle. So, they built this tiny town (the ruins you see).

But also, the big black rock that we stopped at before was a sacrificing ground. It is where the Incans would make the women pee in the line that was carved out of the rock and if it made it off the edge then it meant they were a virgin and they were sacrificed because they were “clean” and without sin.

WOW! Of course I had to try it! Okay, I didn’t do it people. I used the water in my water bottle and everyone got a kick out of it! Haha! But weird history huh? It is pretty interesting and I was eating every bit of it up! And having fun with it as well. I am sure the Incans in heaven are just shaking their heads.

But all in all I had A GREAT WEEK! I need to go! HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Hermana Frame