Words can't express

The Covenant Path


I feel like the "end zone" scripture is very fitting this week.  John 3:16 states, "For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Continuing on with verse 17, which gets left behind sometimes, "For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved."  As I look at this picture taken at the Rome Temple this week it reminds me of this passage, in that we must go through Him to receive the saving ordinances of the Temple.  We may be outside looking in but the inscription beneath His feet of Mathew 11:28 gives us the invitation to enter, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."  There is no greater rest than in His Holy House.






Zone Conference is always a good time to be together and renew friendships.  The trainings were all great and the Elders and Sisters add so much to the Spirit of the day.  It was actually on Thanksgiving Day and the Robinson's worked overtime to feed us all a traditional meal.  Bless your souls!
The evening before we were able to catch up with some of the other senior couples for a meal and conversation.  We love them and are blessed to be able to serve alongside them.
The snow fences and decorations remind us that it's beginning to look lot Christmas.





We were invited to a traditional dance performance.  It was amazing.  It makes an aggressive line dance look like a waltz.  Sorry for the turn of the camera, I'm still an amateur on the videographer scene.  It went on for 2 1/2 hours.  We were exhausted just watching.

Templul din Roma











As we contemplate the experience of attending the Rome Temple with a few of the saints from Romania, the term "rock" comes to mind and the scripture in Matthew 16:18, where the Lord said to Peter "...upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."  These wonderful souls are solid.  The church is being built on them, and they are doing a marvelous job.


Geani Abdulan, Elder and Sister Leavitt, Maria Stoica, Dan Ghenghea and Mihai Brătuleanu traveled together from Iași, Romania to attend the temple.  For the three men it was their first time.  Words cannot express the feelings of love and gratitude that surrounded us all for the entire week.  Lives were changed and many blessings were realized for everyone involved, on both sides of the veil.









 

Comments

  1. Mike & Lisa, Hoping to AdoptDecember 10, 2025 at 4:38 PM

    Not too many "Firthites" can say they have been to the Rome Temple. Glad you're having all those great experiences over there. Have a wonderful holiday season.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Inter-Mission

Image
It is with heavy hearts we say good-bye to our beloved Mongolia and the many friends we have made in such a short time.  These memories will forever be with us as we depart to begin a new adventure.  Our untimely departure was based upon a couple of situations, namely the tax implications for senior couples with the requirement to register to pay worldwide taxes and the fact that Carrie injured her knee just prior to our time limit with the taxes.  We received an MRI which showed a torn meniscus which would require surgery.  Three doctors reviewed the results and all concurred that it looked like surgery was imminent.  So, with that news we returned home, at least to Utah, to have the expected surgery.  We were able to get an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon the week after returning.  At the initial appointment he took a look at the MRI, twisted the leg a bit and then told us that he didn't think it would require surgery and that we should be abl...
Read more

Welcome to Romania (week 1.5)

Image
Welcome to Romania We met up with the Elders and Sisters coming from the MTC in Minneapolis and arrived in Bucharest Romania on the afternoon of July 9th.  We were greeted by President and Sister Fowler and office staff.  Happy to be on the ground again. In order to keep everyone, awake as long as possible, we took a stroll around the city and caught a few sights.  I couldn't resist, taking up the rear, and following a small but powerful army of God. We first went to the "Square" where the revolution took place in December of 1989.  Many lost their lives but ultimately democracy won out.  The cross is a monument to the miners who lost their lives that came to help in the cause. There is no shortage of old structures, especially churches that have remained for centuries.  They are gorgeous and many are still in use today. The ultimate goal of the evening was to get some traditional food, and it did not disappoint.  Sarmale, pork and rice rolled in sauer...
Read more

Week 28 More schools and solemn goodbyes

Image
  Tsagaan Sar (White Moon) We met with four new schools in the countryside and again met some wonderful people.  The thing that continues to stand out to us is the fact that they are so appreciative of us being there, and for choosing their school. We said goodbye to Grace this week as she is returning home to the US before her next adventure in Australia.  She will be playing there for the next few months.  She has been a pleasure to get to know and we are grateful that our paths crossed.  We had an opportunity to visit one of the many monasteries in Ulaanbaatar.  This is supposedly one of the largest Budda's in the world.  It's pretty dated and very important to many of the faithful. An evening learning to make Khuushuur.  It was filled with lamb and deep fried.  It some of the very best we have had.  What a wonderful family.  Munkhtuya (her) and Munkhjargal (him).  The four kids were busy.  The 6-year-old was working on...
Read more