Scenes from the Carpa

(This is an entry from the mission president's wife on the mission blog, telling of the impact of the Hermanas at the temple open house, and some of what Erin is experiencing. The entry is not from a day that Erin was at the open house, but it gives us an idea of what she experiences when she is there)


In my Spanish Book of Mormon, Lehi lived in a “tienda”. Nevertheless, we call this place a carpa. Normally, the majority of the people that visit the temple are members of the church, or friends of members of the church. Today it seemed like there were hardly any members of the church visiting. We had “cultural” clubs and groups from other churches that came by for tours. They kept the hermanas really busy all day.

We have been asked not to keep the hermanas out of their area for an entire day. How that works is that they come in at lunchtime and stay until closing, usually around 10:00. Then they spend the night in the temple accommodations. The next day they work until lunchtime and then they go back out to their areas. So, they have the morning of the first day in their area and the afternoon of the second day in their area. Since they are normally busy all day everyday, it adds an extra dimension, trying to keep up with the families they are teaching in the meantime. I asked one of the hermanas how they were managing. She said that they are running like crazy.



The hermana below stood here and answered questions from this group for about an hour an a half. Afterwards, I was teasing her that she was holding her own special church service.



Later in the day, one of the hermanas came hurrying over to ask me if all eight of the people in a group could have their own Book of Mormons. Yes, yes, they can. I have to admit, that I thought perhaps it might be a peer pressure thing, because one decided that they wanted to read the Book of Mormon, they all decided to ask for one, whether they were interested or not. The group left, but about 5 minutes later, I saw one of them come rushing back into the carpa. I watched her, wondering if she had forgotten her purse, or something like that. Then she reached down and picked up her Book of Mormon that she had left on the nearby table. She absolutely wanted it!



Oft times, we see the hermanas back at the Temple when they are not scheduled to work, bringing the families that they are teaching.