The Good

Last Saturday we got to go to the Brisbane LDS Temple. We are so glad we made the time to go because we felt very inspired and peaceful afterwards and had some prayers answered. Brandon and I were married in the Salt Lake Temple and because of that, we will get to live with our family forever, even after death. Even though our children can’t go inside yet, I love being able to take them to Temples around the world. They have been to a handful now and they get excited to see Angel Moroni on the top.

While Brandon was inside, I explored the grounds with the children. What a view! The Temple sits on a hill and you can see the Brisbane river and skyline.

The Bad

Just to keep it real, we had quite the adventure getting to the Temple. But isn’t that what happens when we are trying to do a good thing?  There was an accident on Bruce highway, so the hour drive actually took over 2 hours. The Temple is only open until 1 pm, so we were a bit rushed once we got there.

We didn’t have a babysitter, so Brandon and I took turns doing initiatory. The Temple isn’t as well staffed as what we are used to in Utah, but they were kind enough to squeeze me in first.

Brandon on the other hand, had to wait 45 minutes just to get in and then it took another hour to do the work.

I honestly wasn’t expecting the wait to be so long or deal with traffic and I wasn’t prepared with snacks, so the kids started getting really hangry and restless while we waited for Brandon.

We explored the grounds, hung out in the waiting room, watched the blue-tongued lizards (that live under one of the pillars and were told they are the Temple’s mascot :), and a nice Fijian temple worker shared some pudding cake because she could tell they were hungry. But after minute and minute, they couldn’t handle the wait much longer.

Another temple worker picked up on the hunger and on her way out, came up and offered us the rest of her lunch. It was such a simple gesture, but one that really made a big impact.  They devoured those cheese and crackers and fruit right up. That held them over until Brandon finally finished up.

^Blake was not happy and refused to walk anywhere, so this is where he sat.

The Ugly

As we were walking around the Temple grounds, we found this friendly little friend. Not! This is an orb spider and although a local reassured us that it wasn’t harmful, it’s still about the ugliest, creepiest thing.

Lesson learned

So many all over the world sacrifice a big chunk of the day to attend the nearest temple. How blessed we are to live so close to many temples in Utah within a short drive and to have babysitters that can watch our kids so we can go together. And, always pack snacks, just in case.

After the Temple, we headed to South Bank one more time…which was the perfect way to end our day!