Tuesday, May 14, 2024
This morning I woke up with one goal in mind: get the laundry done. So I woke up early, and got it done :)
Then I went to the store and got some food for breakfast, and then I woke everyone up and we ate and got ready for the temple.
I love being in the Temple housing here in Madrid. This is where I attended the Missionary Training Center. This is the temple of my mission. I served in this area twice during my mission. I love this temple, and I love this area of Madrid. It’s as sacred as sacred can be for me.
Add to all that the fact that we are visiting this temple while celebrating our finishing the Camino, and that I get to be here with my kids. It’s just the best. There is no greater feeling. We’ve done baptisms in so many different temples around the world, but this one is definitely unforgettable.
Just after baptisms, we went back to the temple, and I picked up Betty and brought her to the temple to do an endowment session. The Madrid temple is so unique, and its Celestial Room is one of the most beautiful in the world. Betty is still not feeling well, but she seemed to really enjoy it. I just can’t explain how grateful I was to share this sacred experience here with Betty. It’s the perfect way to end this trip.
After our session, we had some lunch, and then I took all the kids to downtown Madrid to show them the sights. They were tired, and some weren’t super excited to go, but they ended up being good sports about it.
The first place they wanted to see was El Corte Inglés. It’s a massive department store that takes up a few different buildings in Plaza de Sol. One entire building, for example, is just dedicated to shoes. Another is all clothing. And another is electronics, books, and toys. That was where we spent the majority of our time. Ian got a little Lego set, and River got a little toy.
After spending quite a bit of time there, we went for a little walk out to the Palace and back to the metro stop at Ópera.
It wasn’t much time in Madrid, but it was enough to give the kids a taste.
The rest of the evening was spent packing and organizing. We’ve got a very early flight tomorrow -- 5:55am -- so I hope things go well.
It’s going to be a very short night.
