Rome, Italy 2019 Make-A-Wish for Jayton

We left Saturday, March 9,2019 to go to Rome, Italy and are now on the plane coming home on my birthday on the 17th. I am sitting on the plane reflecting on the myriad of memories that we created through our experiences, the historical tours and the role of Christianity in the world, the Rome Italy temple dedication, and time together with our daughters, their spouses, Jayton and two grandchildren. The Make-A-Wish staff and volunteers did not miss a detail in making this trip unforgettable.



The idea for this trip started when Jayton was diagnosed with a melanoma on his neck when he was 15, about 4-5 years ago.  It was the middle of his basketball season. He underwent two radical neck surgeries to remove skin and lymph nodes, then 6 months of immunotherapy.  

 

He had been nominated for a Make-A-Wish by one of his healthcare nurses during his treatment process.  We had no idea how it worked and didn’t feel our circumstances were so dire as to be recipients of a charitable foundation and its benefactors. We learned that doesn’t have anything to do with determining who receives a wish granted. His prognosis was more positive than negative and we felt incredibly blessed that the outlook was as good as it was. Every cancer diagnosis has its uncertainties and we went through ours for sure. There was an outpouring of faith on our behalf in many ways including a visit with and a blessing from Elder Gifford Nielson.

We happily met with the foundation representatives to learn about their program.  As we discussed the myriad of opportunities that were available, Jayton decided to do a family trip and chose Rome to add a spiritual dimension to our travel.  The Rome temple was under construction and we thought it might be done before he left so we could possibly attend the open house. We had no idea what opportunities would be ours or not.

He had full body scans for a couple of years after the initial treatments and was cleared to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Shortly after graduation he was called as a missionary and assigned to the Idaho Nampa Mission. There were many unforeseen construction delays and the timeline of the Temple’s completion was uncertain.  We didn’t worry too much about it as we were now not really focused on the opportunity to travel and went on with life and his mission call.

Make-A-wish, however, did not lose track of us after two years and the conversation was revived when he got home.  He had his final scans done and was clear of any evident cancer.  Being back in school also limited the times we could go and we honed in on spring break.  With that, we announced plans to other siblings. Most immediately expressed interest and we started talking and planning. There were many logistical obstacles as there are lots of little kids and busy lives. Make-A-Wish would be providing the trip for Jayton, us, his parents and he chose his sister as his friend.  The other kids were responsible for their own expenses. 

We knew at this time the temple was done and the open house would be winding up. We thought we might actually get to go through the Temple as we originally had hoped.

Here is a link to a tour of the temple and what takes place inside.

 As we learned the open house schedule we saw that we would miss it and the dedication would be taking place and then it would be closed the rest of the week prior to opening.  It seemed like we would miss an opportunity to go inside. 

Some disappointment settled in as it would be quite difficult to get into a dedication service.  Even so, we could still visit the grounds and visitors center.  We still held out some hope to attend the dedication but most avenues to church connections did not open up to our request for dedication recommends.  

Somehow the Make-A-Wish workers mentioned our situation to the former head of Arizona Make-A-Wish.  It turns out he used to be neighbors with the new construction manager of the Rome Temple. The construction problems had led to the assignment of this Brother (church member) from Mesa to be over the Rome temple construction going forward a few years ago.

A connection was made and the situation was explained and a week before we were to leave the necessary recommends were provided for all thirteen of us that were making the trip. We would be inside the temple for the dedication.  We did get a visit in the sealing room we were in and a greeting from Elders Oaks and Eyring. We certainly did not have any idea of the significance this temple dedication would have with all members of the presiding councils of the church being there. They are prophets and apostles of God in our day like Jesus had in his day. In the very near future, I can imagine that we will see why President Nelson is calling this temple a hinge point in the history of the church.  

There are so many aspects to this trip that blessed us with the best of all possible outcomes except that two of our kids couldn’t come. We are not sure why it turned out like it did. We didn't expect any miracles for such a family trip. We had asked and prayed for such an experience realizing that our petition was not an emergency by any stretch and left it at that. 

Nevertheless, we understand that miracles are to confirm faith not to create it.  While the dedication itself was significant in ways that we may not fully understand, the events that unfolded to us were small miracles that blessed us as a family. This is what temples do, bless individuals and families with eternal purpose and promises. That understanding started 45 years ago for me and I have seen the "hand of the Lord" many times in my life, hundreds of times since then. This event is just one example.

The Savior’s first miracle of turning water to wine at the wedding feast didn’t heal anyone that I am aware of, but it demonstrated to some that a divine power was at work even in the Son of God.  He is one that is aware of our every need, whether in times of trials or joy. We have felt it in both instances during this experience in our family. 

Here are some of my thoughts about the Savior's Love.

Facebook Post on my page regarding my faith and family.