Are We Going to do Anything Fun Today? (Let's Do Something Flippin' Awesome!) : A Trip to the Manila Philippines LDS Temple

Report of Our Trip to the Manila Philippines Temple

Thursday to Saturday, October 16-18, 2014

Alisa, Laura, and Nathan

Thursday morning we headed to the airport for our trip to Manila, Philippines with our Bangkok ward to the temple there in Manila. There were about 10 of us on the same flight to Manila. Check-in lines were long and even though we’d gotten to the airport 2 ½ hours early, we barely made it to the gate before boarding. Since it was lunchtime by the time we were through security and I’m used to U.S. Delta flights where anything under 4 hours means you just get peanuts and water, we grabbed burgers at Burger King (me and Nate), and a pretzel at Auntie Anne’s (Laura). When we got to the gate we had 5 minutes to eat and then they started loading the plane. We inhaled the food, and hurried on the plane. It was one of the most cramped airplanes I’ve ever flown on, but at least Nathan and Laura and I were our own row. That suited the kids just fine. To our surprise they served a full lunch service after about half an hour in the air. So while Philippine Airlines had a more cramped plane, their service was better. The kids were too full to eat anything, but they did agree to the ice cream cup that came around after lunch. It was a smooth, uneventful flight and we landed right on time in Manila at 6 p.m. local time. It was already dark by the time we got out of the airport where we were met by two members of our ward who had come earlier in the week. They had arranged for a chartered bus and for Jollibee hamburgers and drinks for everyone to eat on the bus. It was so nice to see friendly faces and to be shepherded around and not have to worry about transportation after all the airport hassle and traveling. (Even when travel goes well it’s just exhausting.) It took us a slow hour stuck in traffic to get to the temple housing. By the time we finally checked in it was about 8:30. Our family got assigned to their own room which we were very grateful for. Our room had 4 bunkbeds in it, so with just 3 people we had plenty of room to spread out. We got a fitted sheet and a pillowcase for each person, but no top sheet or blanket. It was too hot to not have the air conditioning on, so we all used our towels to help us stay warm and slept in our pants and sweaters and socks. I’m sure we were a funny sight.

We met the rest of the ward for breakfast the next morning at 7:30 in the little cafeteria of the temple housing. It was rice and meat for breakfast. Then the kids went back to the room because they were scheduled to do their first session of baptisms at 1 p.m. I headed over to the temple across the street from the housing at 8:15 to get my family names that my mom had prepared for me all submitted to the temple and turned into pink and blue cards. The bishop found out that there was a baptismal session at 8 a.m. that our four youth could join if they hurried, so I offered to run back and get the kids. I ran back across the street (which actually means taking the underground tunnel across the street) and knocked on my kids’ door and the other family’s door with the other 2 youth. I told kids to hurry and get dressed in Sunday clothing so they could do a baptismal session right then. In 5 minutes they were ready and we headed back to the temple. The bishop went with them to do baptisms, so I left the kids with the bishop and hustled to go rent my temple clothes and get dressed. Turns out you rent your clothes in a little building right next door to the temple called The Annex. But you don’t actually get your clothes there, you just pay there and bring your receipt back to the temple. I got in the Annex and there was a long line waiting to rent clothes. I despaired of making the 9 a.m. session at this point. But just then, the bishop’s wife came out of the payment office and she had paid for temple clothing rental for all the adults on the trip. So she handed me a receipt and I hustled back to the temple and picked up my clothes. I hurried into the locker room and changed and ended up being the last person in the session. Once I finally stopped sweating and settled down from all the running around I was able to enjoy the session.

When I got done I headed back to housing and found Laura and Nathan all done. They were still in their Sunday clothes because I’d told them I wanted to take pictures at the temple. So we went out and took pictures and then headed over to the distribution center back on the housing side of the street. It was so nice to have access to church materials. We enjoyed wandering around the small distribution center and ended up getting a few things and headed back to our room. By this time it was noon and lunchtime, so we went down to the cafeteria and our lunch was waiting for us.

For fun, the bishop organized a trip to a mall for the youth after lunch. I agreed to take them since 2 of the youth were mine. Laura stayed back at the housing with a stomach ache, so I had Nathan and 2 other teenagers with me. The bishop had sent along with me $5 for each of the kids to spend. They ended up getting snacks at a grocery store in the mall and Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Thanks Bishop Berry!! (Especially for the doughnuts…)

Once we got back, we relaxed a little before dinner and then got dressed in Sunday clothes again and went to dinner. Laura wasn’t up to eating anything for dinner, but the rest of us had a good meal. I ran over to a little grocery store next door right after dinner to get some fresh fruit for Laura—the only thing she felt like eating. Then we all went back to the temple as a ward. The youth went and did a baptismal session again and all the adults went to an endowment session together. That was really neat. It’s so cool to look around the room and see friendly ward family faces. After the session we went back to the housing and just relaxed in our room. The kids and I played computer games and read till bedtime. We slept much better on Friday night.

Saturday morning I got up at 6:15 a.m. and got cleaned up and dressed and then headed over to the temple to try and catch a 7 a.m. session. When I got into the temple at 6:40 a.m. there was already a long line waiting to check in at the desk. I didn’t make it in to the 7 a.m. session, but was able to get a spot in the 7:30 session. I got changed and then waited in the endowment room for 40 minutes till the session started. It was really neat to do 3 sessions so close together. I’ve never done that before. It was just great to spend so much time in the temple. And I’m so glad I was able to bring a few family names with me too. Thanks Mom for getting those ready for me!! I got out of the session, got all my finished name cards picked up, and hustled back to the temple housing. My kiddoes had just gotten up. They hadn’t packed or eaten breakfast or brushed teeth. So we hurriedly packed up, pulled our sheets from the beds and got our luggage downstairs. Nathan and I made one last quick run to the distribution center for a Primary songbook. The center was JAMMED! We had to wait in another long line to check out. We got back to the bus just as they were breaking up from taking a picture. We hopped on the bus and got on the road back to the airport.

The lines at the Manila airport were so short and easy. The only hold up we experienced was forgetting about the exit fee…which they call an airport fee. They don’t charge you when you arrive at the airport, but they charge it when you’re leaving. Thankfully I was able to put it on my credit card because I didn’t have enough Philippine pesos left to pay it for 3 people. Our plane was delayed leaving Manila by about an hour, but the rest of the flight was smooth and uneventful. We landed in Bangkok just after 5 p.m. and then a small group of us rode the airport train back into the city. It was a 15 minute walk from there to home lugging our suitcases behind us. When we got home Allen and the girls were in the pool. We were hot and sweaty from our walk home so we got in our suits too and took a half hour float around the pool while we reported on our trip.

I have never had the opportunity to take a trip dedicated solely to temple work before. It was a wonderful experience. It was all about serving in the temple and nothing else. I liked that. I was so impressed with how full the temple in Manila was…for every session. I’ve taken my Detroit temple that is only an hour away too much for granted. And I’m so glad that Nathan and Laura got to come and serve as well. It was a great experience.