Temple moments: Long, joyous journey
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Lilly and Noel Jacob and their six children of BonBon, of the Vanuatu island Santo, were ready early on Jan. 14 to travel to the Suva Fiji Temple to be sealed as a family. When Elder Glenn Allen and Sister Marcie Allen, the missionary couple escorting the temple trip, came for them, they were waiting in the back of a truck under a frangipani tree, all dressed in their best with bags packed.
Later, they gathered with 22 other Santo saints at the Port Vila airport. All went through immigration without a hitch and were soon airborne. Two chartered buses were waiting at Nadi, Fiji, to take them across the island in the middle of the night.
"When we arrived in Suva, the Angel Moroni statue could be seen high on the temple steeple, up on the hill, trumpet raised," said Sister Allen.
After arriving, Elder Allen submitted the family names and found there were 188 names for ordinances. Sister Allen took 17 of the travelers to downtown Suva to the Church Service Center for temple clothing. "We wound our way through a maze of tall buildings, street vendors, food stalls, cars, trucks, buses, citizens and tourists," she said.
Back at the temple, the members received their temple blessings and waited in the celestial room. Lilly Jacob sat in one corner with her face covered with a handkerchief. She was weeping.
"I'm all right," she said. "I feel my mama's presence all around me. I miss her so much, and I know she was here with me today."
The following Monday the temple was opened for sealings. "First, the sealers in the temple married our couples for time and all eternity, and then the children were brought in," said Sister Allen. "They were all dressed in white. They looked like angels." After the sealings, the group moved to the baptistry where the youth were baptized for their deceased forebears.
Before the visit ended, two of the sisters, Esther Mael Makarre and Lilly Fred, wanted to give something to the kind temple workers. All they had was their spare clothing, so they gave homemade island dresses to the temple matron and a sister officiator.
The two sisters wore the dresses the next day to show their appreciation. — Courtesy Elder Glenn G. and Sister Marcie Allen
