I have to write about this while everything is fresh on my mind and heart. What an incredible day! Justin and I had talked about renting a car and going to the temple, but with our current schedule it was tricky to find a date. We had some options come up and it took some extra sacrifice from Justin as he finished a late, late game and would travel two days later, but we did it!!
And it was amazing.
I haven't been anywhere in Germany outside of Berlin. I was pretty excited for our little road trip. We grabbed our rental car and set out for the southeastern corner of the country. The leaves were beautiful and the sun came out towards the end of the drive.
Rolling hills of farmland greeted us as we got closer and closer. We finally turned off the main road into a quiet, quaint neighborhood a few minutes from our destination. The houses had character and it felt like something right out of a movie.
Our map said two minutes away and as we drove down a windy, scenic road, my thoughts were, Why did they build a temple out in this small town?
Then we were there!! We couldn't help ourselves from smiling. We were on sacred temple grounds again, but this time in a new place we have called home for the last year and a half.
The temple is beautiful. No larger than our church building but every bit as special and peaceful as our other temples. We walked around the grounds and found a nursery for Logan to play in while I did my session.
My two favorite boys in the whole world. They are my world.
I can't begin to describe how I felt walking into the temple. I don't know that I've yearned to be somewhere so much & had to "work" that hard to get there. Tears filled my eyes as I walked through the temple doors and was welcomed in German.
It was reverent, peaceful, and perfect. I heard German, English, Hungarian, and Spanish while inside the temple. In the midst of the gathering of Israel. Others had traveled farther and sacrificed more than we had to be there that day and I know it was worth it for them.
The whole experience was so special and I walked out feeling full and rejuvenated. Full of love for my Savior and Heavenly Father, confident in myself as a daughter of God, joy from the knowledge I know, and peace that I am and will be taken care of as I keep my covenants.
Jesus Christ promises that as we leave the temple, we will be armed with His power, glory, and angels round about us. I felt lighter in my step and a deep feeling of happiness that carried me throughout the rest of my day.
Then, Logan and I got to take a walk around the grounds and neighborhoods while Justin went inside for his endowment session. It was so quiet and peaceful. I couldn't remember the last time I had been outside and heard silence.
I could get used to that!
We found our own little walking path and some pretty cute houses. I wish I could snap my fingers and get to live there while Justin played for a local team in Freiberg!
Logan was such a good sport and I think he felt the Spirit too being at the temple. <3
Beautiful hand-painted mural in the nursery.
We walked/crawled around the front steps and fountains while we waited for Dada to come out. He did, smiling and feeling everything I had a few hours earlier.
Then it was time to leave that special place and come home. We drove and shared experiences and answers to questions and prayers. It was the best day. One I know our family won't forget.
Today, I looked up the history of the Freiberg temple & had the answer to my question of why it was built in that precise location.
I was reading an article in the Church News that Elder Uchtdorf had been interviewed for. A section talked about the Cold War and what that meant for the Saints in East Germany at the time:
LDS Church President Spencer W. Kimball told Henry J. Burkhardt, who was designated as the church president in East Germany, that political solutions were ineffective. "It must begin with you because you are the leader of the Saints there, and you must have a change of heart, which means you must force yourself to befriend the communists. You cannot hold any grudges against them. You must change your whole outlook and attitude."
Miracle after miracle took place when Burkhardt finally managed to follow that advice.
One miracle was the 1975 visit by President Monson, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, who dedicated the country for missionary work.
"That was a tipping point," said President Uchtdorf, who earlier this year said, "There seemed no possible way that these beautiful promises to our people could happen in their lifetime, if ever. How could a temple be built and operated in East Germany?"
He said he felt like the man who cried out, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief," but he kept a copy of the blessing and ticked off each item as it came true. Burkhardt pressed the government to allow members of the church to travel to Switzerland to attend the temple there, only to be astounded in 1978 when the East German government provided "a different suggestion, namely, to build a temple" in East Germany.
"The construction of the Freiberg Temple is one of the great miracles in the history of the church in Europe," President Uchtdorf said. "It is a wonderful example of how God can make the impossible possible in any part of the world.
What a miracle! God is a living God of miracles and we got to experience the blessing of the Freiberg Temple miracle. <3
