A Temple in Lisbon, Portugal

John and I so enjoyed General Conference this morning and afternoon. We sat down to listen to this morning's session in the comfort of our own home (I actually think we were eating Twinkies at the time) and heard President Monson announce that a temple will be built in Portugal. We both were SHOCKED and I immediately started bawling. John also joined in with the tear fest and we rejoiced at this announcement. For those of us in the states, it is really exciting to hear of a temple being constructed and making things closer for us. For those who live outside of the states, a temple even in their COUNTRY is a huge, huge deal. The Portuguese people are our favorites on the earth and we really came to love them as we served our missions there. We are so excited for what it means, the declaration that it is that Portugal will have a temple, that will probably only be populated by Portuguese, that the members are ready to have a temple to stand on its own for them, that Heavenly Father trusts them with the sacred responsibility of a temple. We feel so blessed to have served there and to have come to know such amazing and wonderful people. We are already planning on going to the dedication (whenever that will be....) with Laura and look forward to seeing the Church growing even more in Portugal.