Two More Temples to be Dedicated in 2015/Temple Progress Report/General Update

Hello, friends! I realize it has been two weeks since I last updated my blog, but things have been kind of crazy. Life caught up with me in a major way, and with everything I've been dealing with, I haven't had the time or motivation to blog. So I thought I would write today and give an update on the major events of the last two weeks.

First of all, as I always do, I want to begin this blog post with the latest news from the Church. I posted earlier about the dedication dates for the Cordoba Argentina and Payson Utah Temples. Well, the First Presidency on Friday announced the open houses and dedication dates for the Trujillo Peru and Indianapolis Indiana Temples. The Trujillo Peru Temple will be open to the public from Friday May 8-Saturday May 30. The cultural celebration will be held on June 20, and the temple will be dedicated in three sessions on June 21. Dedication services will be carried to the entire nation of Peru. The Indianapolis Indiana Temple will be open to the public from Friday July 17-Saturday August 8. The cultural celebration will be held on August 22, and the temple will be dedicated in three sessions on August 23. As with the Payson Utah dedication, dedication services for the Indianapolis Temple will only be carried to meetinghouses within the temple district. A temple president has already been named for the Trujillo Peru Temple, and an announcement is soon to come for the Indianapolis Indiana Temple. These temples will be the Church's 147th and 148th.

ldschurchtemples.com has recently redone how the under construction and announced temples are listed. The webmaster established a separate section for temples preparing for dedication, listed the remaining under construction temples by anticipated completion date, and listed the announced temples by announcement date. I reproduce that list here to give you an idea of how temple construction is progressing. In doing so, I make it clear that I am basing my personalized list off of information on ldschurchtemples.com, and that these projections are therefore not owned by me. Note that the number by each temple indicates the order in which they had their groundbreaking or were announced and that this list is always subject to change.

Temples Undergoing Renovation:

26. Mexico City Mexico Temple: Anticipated to be completed in mid-2015.

86. Montreal Quebec Temple: Anticipated to be completed in late 2015.

91. Suva Fiji Temple: Anticipated to be completed in late 2015-early 2016.

Under Construction:

145. Cordoba Argentina Temple: Scheduled to be dedicated Sunday May 17, 2015.

146. Payson Utah Temple: Scheduled to be dedicated Sunday June 7, 2015.

147. Trujillo Peru Temple: Scheduled to be dedicated Sunday June 21, 2015.

148. Indianapolis Indiana Temple: Scheduled to be dedicated Sunday August 23, 2015.

154. Tijuana Mexico Temple: Projected to be completed in late 2015.

153. Provo City Center Temple: Projected to be completed in late 2015-early 2016.

149. Rome Italy Temple: Projected to be completed in early 2016. (There may be some issues finalizing construction here. Italian Saints will be observing a special fast for the temple's completion next Sunday, January 25.)

150. Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple: Projected to be completed in early-to-mid 2016.

155. Hartford Connecticut Temple: Projected to be completed in mid-2016.

156. Fort Collins Colorado Temple: Projected to be completed in late 2016.

151. Sapporo Japan Temple: Projected to be completed in late 2016.

157. Paris France Temple: Projected to be completed in late 2016.

158. Meridian Idaho Temple: Projected to be completed in mid-2017.

152. Fortaleza Brazil Temple: Projected to be completed in 2018. (Full scale operations still pending.)

Announced:

167. Tucson Arizona Temple: Construction approval phase; general contractor selected; groundbreaking anticipated in 2015.

160. Lisbon Portugal Temple: Planning and approval phase; land purchase finalized; groundbreaking anticipated in 2015.

168. Arequipa Peru Temple: Planning and approval phase; final piece of land for temple site acquired; groundbreaking pending.

159. Concepcion Chile Temple: Planning and approval phase; temple and site designs complete; groundbreaking pending.

163. Barranquilla Colombia Temple: Planning and approval phase; temple and site designs complete; groundbreaking pending.

166. Star Valley Wyoming Temple: Planning and approval phase; initial design plans complete; groundbreaking pending.

162. Winnipeg Manitoba Temple: Planning and approval phase; groundbreaking pending.

165. Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple: Planning and approval phase; groundbreaking pending.

170. Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple: Planning and approval phase; groundbreaking pending.

161. Urdaneta Philippines Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

164. Durban South Africa Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

169. Cedar City Utah Temple: Planning and approval phase; awaiting official site announcement.

With the progress being made on temples, I wouldn't be surprised to see more new temples announced soon, although I recognize President Monson's desire to see all the temples currently announced or under construction moved along a bit before additional temples are announced. So it'll be interesting to see what happens with temple announcements over the next several general conferences.

I totally spaced out on the fact that there was a CES devotional for young adults last week. I felt bad about missing it. Thankfully, lds.org had it available as an archived video event, so I watched it tonight. Brother Randall L. Ridd, Second Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency, spoke about living and acting with purpose, particularly focusing on the vital importance of real intent. It was a great talk and I was glad to be able to watch it.

That said, it's time to update you on what has happened in the last couple of weeks. Work has kept me busy. I have been learning so much and have been grateful for the opportunity this job affords me to help other people. I have twice had the privilege of reviewing my effectiveness and proficiency with my team lead. While those reviews have been daunting in some ways because it seems I have a lot to work on, I am getting better at doing the job, which is good. And the great thing is, I still have the chance to improve. With some call centers, if you're not up to par by a certain point, you're out on your ear. But with this job, as long as progress is being made, every employee is given as many chances as they need to improve. We had one day two weeks ago where the required dress was business formal. The higher-ups apparently liked it so much that all last week was business formal as well. Amy was able to find me several more button-up shirts for a reasonable price, and I enjoyed the chance to break them in. My work also implemented a new policy of only allowing us a predetermined amount  of time to finish the work on each account at the end of every call. So it has been interesting trying to beat the clock or else to get caught up on account notes during lulls in the queue. I will definitely have to work harder at that. On Thursday, we received notification that the next day would be business casual, but as Amy had gone to the trouble of procuring a business formal shirt and tie for me to wear on Friday, I wore that. On Friday, I finished what was supposed to be my last call of the day and took notes on the account. But the ringing of my headset reminded me that I had forgotten to set my workstation to a setting that would allow me to end the shift after finishing up that call, so I had to take the next one as well. That one took a bit of leg work, so by the time I finished that one up and did the notes for my last two calls, I was almost an hour past the time I should have been done for the day. It was good to clock in some overtime, especially with all the time I missed for medical appointments.

Two weeks ago, I saw my neurologist on Tuesday. It was a great visit that helped answer many concerns I had about my headaches. The next day, I finally got in to see my pulminologist. She ordered some blood work and X-rays to rule out infections and pneumonia. Thankfully, I didn't have either. She said her best recommendation was to have me use my maintenance inhaler as well as my rescue inhaler, as well as to try the prescription she had called in for my cough. She said even if we couldn't afford to get the whole prescription at once, if we could try it for a week or so, we'd be in good shape. I wound up getting a month's supply of that medication. I am doing a bit better, but still coughing. We followed up with her a week later, and she said that as there was no sign of infection or pneumonia from the X-rays and blood work she had me do, the coughing was likely due to the bad air in the atmosphere and that her best recommendation was to monitor my peak flows and use my rescue inhaler as needed while continuing to use the prescription she gave me for the cough. Last Monday, I went to the dentist to have two fillings taken care of. Thankfully they were uncomplicated and I didn't even need any Novocaine. I went to Physical Therapy both yesterday and the Saturday before that, and my physical therapist seemed pleased with my progress.

Last Sunday Amy wasn't feeling well and so I went to Church alone. Last night, I received a phone call from the secretary in my Elders' Quorum Presidency. He said the Elders' Quorum President wanted to meet with me this morning if I could make it. Instantly, I felt my stress skyrocket. I didn't sleep very well last night, and was only partially focused on things this morning before the appointment. I went in and saw him. He asked how my work was going, and seemed pleased when I responded it was going well. Then he got right to the point. He said that he felt impressed to release me as the substitute Elders' Quorum Instructor, a calling which I've had for about the last four years. I responded that I accepted the release, but that I would miss it. Apparently some other brethren in the quorum are more available now, and he wanted to give someone else a chance to step in and teach as the need arises. I am saddened by this release. I love teaching my brethren in the Elders' Quorum, and I don't know when or if I will ever get the opportunity to teach again. But I know there is truth in what Elder William R. Walker of the Seventy said in an August 2006 Ensign article:  "We need to graciously accept and acknowledge the inspiration that led to our release from a calling we loved." I would have much preferred to retain the instructor calling and be released as the ward media specialist. But I know that my Elders' Quorum President has been called of God, and since he holds the keys to inspiration for our quorum, I have to believe that this is the Lord's will. Will I miss teaching my brethren? More than I can say. But I can still contribute to the lessons by making comments when I feel inspired to do so. And so I have no doubts that this release is the Lord's will. And I will press forward with that knowledge.

Well, I've rambled on long enough. The hour is late and I need to get to bed. But I just wanted to post and let you know the latest happenings in my life. I will keep you informed on developments as they happen. Until I write again, all the best!