Faithful Peruvians claim temple blessings
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This is a temple story about riverboats, ragged Andean roads and peddled stoves. A tale of determined folk who sacrificed, prayed and put their trust in God and a tenacious desire to worship in His holy house.
A historic year of temple building has offered much of the world unprecedented access to temples. Still, the opportunity to receive endowments, be sealed to families and perform work for the dead remains a dream for some. Last February, more than 140 members from the remote city of Iquitos, Peru, accepted a divine challenge and realized their own dreams.
Iquitos sits on the banks of the Amazon River in northeastern Peru, separated from the rest of the country by some of the world's largest waterways and the Andes Mountains to the west. Such isolation has kept many members from claiming their temple blessings. A round-trip flight from Iquitos to Lima costs about $200 — an unattainable fortune for people who may not make more than three or four dollars a day.
"These people are absolutely cut off, there are no highways linking them to anywhere," said J. Marlan Walker, president of the Lima Peru Temple.
Last year, President Walker traveled to Iquitos to speak with the members and local Church leaders. Many desperately wanted to visit the temple. Soon there was talk of traveling to Lima via the rivers.
"We really got to chatting this over in some firesides and decided to go for it," President Walker said.
A few families had ventured down the Amazon and its adjoining Maranon rivers. But a full-fledged group temple excursion had never been attempted, said Humberto Vilchez, president of the Iquitos Peru Punchana Stake, one of three stakes in Iquitos.
Although the river and subsequent bus trip to Lima was much less expensive than air travel, the Iquiton members still sacrificed much to pay for their journey. Some sold their stoves, while others peddled sewing machines, furniture or other personal items to raise money.
"The people figured those items could be replaced, but they needed to get to the temple," President Walker said.
More than 140 people traveled to the temple in three groups. Spending several days traveling west on the mighty Amazon and Maranon rivers on a boat was adventuresome — but excursion leaders say bus travel proved most daunting. The stakes had rented buses to pick the groups up at the river's edge for land travel on to Lima.
"One of the buses was built for 50 passengers and there were 65 people in the group," President Vilchez said. "So people took turns standing and sitting."
The single-lane, dirt roads leading to Peru's Pacific coast stretched high into the Andes. One of the groups experienced bus trouble. All endured a harrowing trek.
"The members were petrified; they spent half their time praying," President Walker said.
The modern Pan-American Highway near the Peruvian coast was a welcome site for the travelers. Many were seeing the ocean for the first time. Finally, the groups arrived at the temple in Lima. It had taken two of the groups' six days to travel from Iquitos to Lima. The third group required seven days because of bus trouble.
President Walker remembers watching the weary members stepping off the bus outside the temple.
"The Israelites arriving in the promised land could not have had more euphoric looks on their faces than these people from Iquitos arriving at the temple," he said.
There is no patron housing at the Lima Peru Temple, so the Iquitos members were lodged in nearby homes. Sleeping pads were placed in tight rows to accommodate each member.
"They were stacked in there like cord wood, but the people did not complain a bit," President Walker said.
The families spent the next three days at the temple performing their own endowment work, being sealed and performing temple work for the dead.
The faithful members returned safely home to Iquitos rich with the Spirit, strengthened by the temple.
"These people will now bring a strength to their units that they've never had before," President Walker said.
