Our first Temple Trip in Costa Rica

Last Saturday we went for the first time to the San Jose Temple. The excursion was much different than deciding last minute to run up to the Mesa temple after dropping the kids off at school, having lunch with a friend after and being back in time to pick up the kids from school...no siree...those days are no longer.

This temple trip actually started on Friday evening by driving into town to pick up the local Tico woman who cleans for us and bringing her back here to spend the night, since we had to leave a little before 3 a.m. and needed someone to watch the girls.

We all went to bed around 9:30 to try to get as much sleep as we could before our long day. The only problem is that whenever I have to wake up really early for something, I am worried all night that I actually won't wake up on time, so I don't ever really fall asleep. So, when the alarm went off at 2:30 a.m., it didn't really take me by surprise. Lane, Abram and I were out the door on time and Maricella was up smiling and ready to lock the door behind us. I was thankful that we had someone we felt good about to watch the girls all day.

We drove the one hour to Santa Cruz to meet up with the other members of the branch who would be going as well. First we had to drop Abe off at the Missionaries' apt. because the youth were going in a separate van and not leaving until 6a.m. We drove to their apt. but our cell phone was in a dead spot with no service and we didn't know which door was theirs. We didn 't think people would appreciate us knocking doors at that hour in the morning trying to find them, so we drove back to the church not really knowing what to do because the adult van was already full.

The Branch President was there to see us off (he was not able to go because he had a job interview that day that was really important, seeing as he is unemployed right now). He agreed to walk Abram back down to the missionaries apt. SO the 8 of us adults climbed into the van and off we went in the dark for the 3 1/2 hour drive to San Jose.

The van was a little rickety and there was no AC, but it was too early to be too hot, so it wasn't bad. It was a pretty quiet ride since it was so early.

We arrived at the temple and had about an hour to wait so we walked down to this little "tienda" to grab a snack. The picture above is the outside of it....looks like a good place to buy a snack huh?

Well, the temple is very small but beautiful and it was so wonderful just to walk in the door. It felt very familiar even though we had never been there before of course. I love that about the temple. It was a really nice way to spend several hours. We met up with Abe and the rest of the youth afterwards who were just smiling and glowing! What a great experience.

Abe told us after that he and the Branch Pres. had walked all the way back to the missionaries' apt. and they were probably dead asleep and didn't hear them throwing pebbles at their window! They walked back to the church which was now locked and Pres. had given the key to someone else...so they sat there and had a good chat on the sidewalk for a nice long time.

The whole day was wonderful until the ride home started. You see, there are two different routes that you can take to the temple and I was very grateful that on the way there, we took the new freeway and I felt very safe. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I get EXTREME anxiety about driving on bad roads and in bad weather, in fact I really don't like driving at all, especially when I am not behind the wheel! Well, I soon noticed that we were taking a different route home and I had "heard" about this other road and was NOT a fan, even though I hadn't seen it for myself. It goes over the mountains and the road is very narrow and has steep drop offs on both sides at some points. I am going to embarrass myself here, but I will admit that I started to cry! You see, not only was this a scary road, but it had started POURING rain AND I was sitting in the very back of this van with no air and I felt trapped. Lane quickly saw my fear and knows my anxiety in this situation so he was questioning why we weren't taking the same road back that we came on? They basically said they couldn't afford to pay the tolls which would equal about $8. Well, Lane was quick to hand the needed money up to the driver who said thank you but it was already too late to turn around. I was pretty much a mess inside. I wish I didn't get such anxiety about driving but I think once you are in a bad car accident, it just stays with you for life. Abram rode with us on the way back and he and Lane were both trying to help me do my "childbirth breathing" ha ha....I can laugh now, but not at the time.

I remained in that state for the first hour which seemed like 3....and then all of a sudden my fear just left and I felt totally happy and calm. Lane told me later that he was praying his heart out for me. Thank you honey.

We stopped to eat at this little buffet that had rice/beans and other Tico food. Behind the restaurant was this GORGEOUS garden! It was raining but you can see how pretty it is.

We made it home around 7pm, and greeted our very happy to see us little girls! They had a fun day with Maricella and her baby that she brought with her but they were so glad to have us home.

I was thankful for the experience but so happy to be home safe and sound.

If you live near the temple, please don't take it for granted!