Members of the Albuquerque New Mexico Stake presidency encouraged stake members to make this year's temple excursion a family affair.
They received an overwhelming response. Some 420 adults, accompanied by 300 youth and another 400 children under 12, made the eight-hour trip to Mesa, Ariz, in June. The adults and youth brought family names for temple ordinances. Special tours and activities were planned for the children.Stake members experienced many spiritual moments as they performed thousands of ordinances. One such spiritual moment came to a young Navajo, Tritni Apache. Tritni, from the Canoncito Branch on the Navajo Reservation, is an honor student who often helps in the reservation's traveling puppet show. She is being reared by her grandmother.
When her Young Woman leader, stake missionary Sheri Griffin of the Panorama Ward, first asked the young woman if she wanted to make the temple trip, Tritni asked: "Can I take my mom's name through the temple?"
Tritni explained that her mother had died more than 10 years ago in a tragic shooting. Tritni was 2 at the time and was injured in the same incident. Even though her mother was gone, Tritni explained, she treasured the few memories she had of those early years. She told Sister Griffin that she felt very close to her mother.
Tritni was accompanied to the temple by two others from the branch, a cousin, Sherrilyn Apache, and Denna Platero, an adult. The cousins were the first youth from the Canoncito Branch to go to the temple.
After being baptized in the temple in behalf of her mother, Tritni said she felt her mother was excited about the ordinance done for her. The young woman hugged her leader and wept. Sister Platero did the endowment work for Tritni's mother and felt similar joy.
Since that temple trip, said Sister Griffin, Tritni and Sherrilyn recently participated in a stake girl's camp where Tritni shared her testimony and again wept as she told of her experience.
"It felt so unusual," said Tritni. "I had to stand up and bear my testimony. We were all crying. It was wonderful."
