October 10, 2025, 2:00 PM MDT
When Milo LeBaron read his mission call for the first time in 1978, he couldn’t contain his nerves. “When I cut open the envelope containing the phone with a large knife, my hands were shaking and my mother was worried,” he said. The letter said: “You have been called here to serve in the Peru Arequipa Mission.”
A few months later, he found himself in the small mountain jungle town of Quiabamba, Peru. “We got baptized in the river, found a family who was eager to learn about Christ, and saw lives changed,” he recalls.
Five months later, he was transferred and, like most new missionaries, he left, “never having imagined that I would ever come back.”
I was called again — to the same town.
47 years have passed. Milo LeBaron and his wife Julie LeBaron prepared for their senior assignment.
“We found the Peru Cusco Mission covering some of my former territory and it was listed among the available opportunities and made it our first choice,” he wrote in Church News. “We called on my birthday in July 2024 and were delighted to find out I would be serving there.”
When they arrived, their assignments were announced. It’s Quillabamba, the very place he helped open as a young elder. The town, which once had no organized chapter, now has three.
155 people temple trip
The closest home to the Lord, the Arequipa Temple in Peru, is a 15-hour bus ride away. The distance seemed as daunting as the cost. “We found that very few people ever participated,” Elder LeBaron said.
Elder and Sister LeBaron reflected on this and discussed how they could best use their time as missionaries to help local Church members.
Elder LeBaron tearfully told Church News: “We decided to help them get to the temple, make their covenants, and become their forever family. Hopefully, we can restore them, energize them, give them the Spirit, and give them everything they need to get the energy and the Spirit that they need to be active and grow and be active and become stake here.”
After consulting with their leaders, the couple began planning a two-day trip to the Arequipa Peru Temple. Early estimates put the number of travelers at 50. Then temple preparation classes began, faith spread, and families began to prepare. “By the time we left, 155 members were leaving,” he said.
The next two days were new to me. Five couples and three families were sealed, approximately 35 couples received their endowments, and many young people and new members performed baptisms for the dead. Many of them used their hometown surnames.
Elder LeBaron gathered experiences and testimonies from several Latter-day Saints who visited the temple.
Mayra Huaman Alatrista, a 14-year-old young woman, said, “I am so happy and filled with peace to be a part of the temple. I know that the temple is a place where I can make many covenants with my Heavenly Father.”
blessings all around
For the elder LeBaron, it was a moment that connected past and present. “The first family I taught at Killabamba in 1978 was the Quirillis,” he said. “On this temple trip, I once again baptized my now-adult daughter Brady for her ancestors, this time not in the river near Killabamba, but in the Lord’s temple, and tears flowed as we stood together at the font.”
For Brady Quirilli, his return to Temple was a sunny one. “Going to the Arequipa Temple was a very beautiful and moving experience. I am grateful to God for such a wonderful blessing. It has been 47 years since my family was taught the true gospel of Jesus Christ and I was baptized. It was the best experience of my life. It gave me the greatest light I have ever received in my life.”
Delfina Raime Pacheco, who was sealed to her husband and three children, said, “I know that the sacrifices we made were worth going to the temple. … There are no words to describe being sealed to my family. I have been waiting for years for it to happen.”
In the baptistery, Rosbel Cuihui felt like a personal witness. “When I went into the temple to minister to my ancestors,[the temple workers]came to me and asked me if I could baptize them. I had never baptized anyone before. As I was sitting in the waiting room, the president of the temple came in. As he came in, a spirit spoke to me and clearly said that the Lord is in the temple. Christ is alive and not dead.”
“Peace, Healing, and New Determination”
When the bus returned home, my first Sunday back was the second chapter. “A young man announced that he was going to serve a mission after being sealed to his family,” Elder LeBaron said. “One sister, who had been a member for decades, testified that she never expected to see the inside of a temple.”
Jared Kuno Reim, one of the newly sealed people, said: “As I sat in the temple, I heard a song in my head that said, “Families Will Be Together Forever.” I felt so blessed to be sealed to my family. I’m so happy to be part of my forever family. ”
For some, the visit sparked determination. “It was my second time going to the temple, but it was like the first time. It opened my eyes. I say I would do anything to go again,” said Vidal Gamara Oluye. “I received a lot of strength to keep my covenants in the temple.”
And for Fidelia Jordan, the moment she had been waiting for came as a quiet surprise. “I have always thought about the temple and prayed to go to the temple, but there have always been obstacles. But this time, thanks to Heavenly Father, I was able to go and it was a miracle. I felt so much peace and my spirit was stronger than ever before.”
As Elder LeBaron summarized that testimonial-filled Sunday, “peace, healing, and renewed commitment” filled the chapel.
Looking ahead to the future House of the Lord, which is less than a five-hour drive away, he added, “Until the announced Cusco Peru temple is completed, faithful members of places like Quiabamba will continue their journey and be forever changed.”
