Luckily for my sanity, I took a week off work to hang out with Maria who is practically my sister. I took a bus to New Jersey and spent a few days with her visiting NYC. We then took a bus back to Virginia where Maria stayed with me and got to tour D.C. Honestly, being with Maria helped me so much! That week long vacation was much needed!
Exactly a day after that week of awesomeness, I met with the stake president for my temple interview. Coming out of that interview, I felt amazing! The interview with him was exactly what I needed; he uplifted me and reassured me about being a missionary and going on a mission. His words were exactly what I needed to hear. That was the turning point of my summer. I got excited to go on a mission once again!
On Saturday I went through the temple for the first time! My mom was my escort. She hadn't gone to the temple for 17 years so Sister Hepfinger accompanied both of us as well. It was pretty much my mom's first time in a while. Anyway, the temple was amazing! I decided to go to the session that was in Spanish. Nothing how I expected it to be, but it all felt right. There is no other perfect word to describe it. Everything just felt right. When the session started, a person who worked in the temple said he hadn't seen a session so filled in two years! What a blessing to have been there! I am so grateful to have seen many people that I knew; the Hepfingers, Hermano Balladares, Hermana Walter, Hermanos Ramos, Hermanos Muñoz, and Hermanos Sanchez. It made the experience even more special. But what I'm most grateful for was having my mom go through with me. It meant so much.
Mi madre es bella!
My mom, me, and Sister Hepfinger
