A few years ago my wife and I were watching the movie "Space Cowboys" with our daughter Julie who was recouperating from a serious surgery. Julie has always enjoyed movies about space travel. One of her dreams is to be the first woman astronaut on Mars. The movie starts out in 1958 when four Air Force test pilots discover that they will not be part of the U.S. space program. But after a forty-year wait, their lifelong dream of traveling into space becomes a reality. In our society of instant gratification, I wonder how many of us are willing to work and wait forty years before our dream comes true?
From 1973 to 1975, I had the great opportunity to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Mexico City, Mexico area . I quickly found out how easy it was to love these humble people who would share any of their few earthly possessions with you. When it was time to return home, it was extremely difficult for me to say goodbye to my newfound brothers and sisters in the Gospel.
I returned home, completed my education in broadcasting at BYU, got married, and started a family. Over a period of sixteen years, my broadcasting jobs took our family from California to West Virginia, to New Mexico, and then to Colorado. During those years I had a desire to use my broadcasting background along with my Spanish speaking skills to somehow bless the lives of those Mexican Saints that I grew to love all those years ago. This personal dream recently became a reality.
It was February 2000 and a typical wintery day for Rexburg. I was in my office working on a project when the telephone rang.
When I answered, the voice on the other end said,
"This is Brother Van Uitert from the Church Office Building. Is this the Brother Weekes that speaks Spanish?"
"Yes," I replied.
"Are you the same Brother Weekes that has a television production background?"
"Yes it is," I said wondering why someone from the Church Office Building would be calling me. The next few words from Brother Van Uitert answered that question.
"How would you like to go to Mexico next month to help us with a temple dedication?"
I was caught so off guard by this invitation, that I was surprised that I didn't fall out of my chair or at least drop the telephone out of my hand.
I told Brother Van Uitert that I was very interested in helping with the dedication, but I would first have to get permission from the college since I would be missing about a week's worth of classes. When we concluded our conversation, I quickly called my wife to tell her about my exciting news. It looked like my lifelong dream of helping the Mexican Saints with my television and Spanish skills has about to be fulfilled. So with permission from the college and great colleagues stepping forward to cover my classes, I flew to Oaxaca (Wah-ha-kuh), Mexico on Tuesday, March 7, 2000.
We spent three days setting up the video equipment necessary for the dedication's closed circuit video feed. The entire experience is almost too difficult to describe in words. Perhaps these excerpts written at that time in my personal journal will best describe my feelings.
Saturday, March 11, 2000
It isn't going to be easy to describe in words the emotions and feelings that surrounded today's events. During the first time President James E. Faust read the dedicatory prayer, he said something that I'll never forget. In the prayer he said "we pray for this nation of Mexico. We ask that the poverty of the past be lifted from their shoulders. That they might enjoy freedom, peace, and prosperity." What a great blessing!
After the third and fourth sessions, I stood by the door leading into our "control room" area watching the members slowly walk by on the way out of the temple. What I wanted to tell these good members was that they were the reason the Lord had blessed them with a temple. They no longer have to travel hours or days to get to a temple. This was because of their years of faithfulness in living the principles of the gospel. Now young men from this part of Mexico will be able to be endowed before they enter the mission field. Now young men and young women will be able to perform baptisms for their dead ancestors and feel the spirit that can only be found in the temple, the House of the Lord.
As I reflect upon these past four days of work here at the temple,
I must write that a different feeling came upon us the moment we walked
through the front door of the temple, even before it was dedicated. You
knew
this was the House of the Lord. The noisy traffic of the busy boulevard
just a few feet away could not be heard. This special feeling of being
in the temple became even stronger the moment President Faust began the
dedicatory prayer. As he told these good Saints in one of the sessions,
when the Lord appears to the Saints in Oaxaca, he will come to this sacred
and holy temple.
In July, a few months after returning home, I had the opportunity to travel to Mexico again to help with the dedication of the Veracruz, Mexico temple.
I feel very honored that in a small way I was able to help some of our brothers and sisters in the gospel in Mexico receive those important blessings that are only found in the temple. Many may believe that winning an award like an Oscar or an Emmy for their work in film or television is the ultimate dream. They might be right, but how will these awards allow someone to receive the necessary blessings to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father?
I hope that in some small way that my experience will help you realize
that your dreams can also become a reality. Don't let anyone or anything
get in your way. Maybe someday you'll realize that you too have climbed
your tallest mountain and your dream has become a reality!
Go confidently in your dreams, live the life you've imagined.
-Henry David Thoreau