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| Itacoatiara District Caravan to the Manaus Temple |
As a sweet finale at the end of the year, we joined other members of our church from our city to travel to Manaus to go to the temple.We were so impressed with the faith and sacrifice of so many who made the trip and had such a memorable time with them, it was a highlight of our time here in Brazil.
For many years people in this region who wanted to go to the temple had to travel long distances at great expense. This beautiful video tells their story:
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| (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media-library/video/2015-04-01-sealed-together-the-manaus-temple-caravan) |
The people here feel very blessed now to have a temple much closer and keep the tradition to caravan there together. From our city, it's still a 5 hour bus ride to Manuas, and many save money carefully for a few months to go.
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| They gather at the local church building to load rented buses. |
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| The buses are a little older and don't have air conditioning, and one of
our tires blew out on our way there, but our friends were all so cheerful and sang songs and enjoyed each other's company. |
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| There is special housing for temple travelers next to the temple. It was the nicest place we have stayed at here, it really refreshed our spirits. |
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| Everyone helped each other with children and took turns in the temple. Most spent many hours of our short one-night stay doing as much temple work as they could. |
Many brought names of their own ancestors to do work for, and they helped each other seal their ancestral families together. We saw tender tears and joyful hugs and heard sweet stories of precious experiences.
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| The youth very much enjoyed time being together. |
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| People also took turns preparing meals in the community kitchen. It was wonderful to visit there with our own group and other groups from other areas. |
It was also wonderful to get to know some of the many who are serving missions as temple full-time workers. There were a few from the US who were able to help us a little in English, which was especially a blessing for me. David was also very delighted to introduce us to Brother Brasil and Sister Graça, a couple he had known as a young missionary.
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| Brasil and Graça shared many hugs with their friends from our group that they
miss from our city while they are serving their mission now at the temple. We were so inspired by their gentle love and dedication. |
On our way home, the bus driver stopped abruptly as a car in front of us spun off the road and flipped into the jungle. All the men on our bus were quick to get out and lovingly help the car passengers safely out (everyone was miraculously ok!) and get the car turned back upright. We were touched by the compassion and swift care they gave. We were tired as we got home after dark, but filled with gratitude for time in the temple and time with these good people as we begin a new year!
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