Challis Power

We were blessed with an abundance of family time last week.   Monday, after mission devotional, we drove to Mapleton, Utah for the graveside service of Mary Challis.   There were several family members in attendance that could not be in Reno for the funeral.   Again, we were touched by the faith and strength of Mary’s children and grandchildren and by that of Elder Challis’, brother Dave—evidence of the Holy Ghost   as Comforter.               Challis siblings were together again on Friday evening to celebrate the birthday of Elder Challis’ sister, Annette.   Together, they pulled up a lot of shared growing-up memories and young parent memories that kept us laughing.   We were in need of “laughter medicine”—the best.             Our grandson, Harrison, is a “high-five-plus-three” and looking forward to his baptism on October 12.   The family celebrated with him by eating his favorite dinner: hamburgers, corn on the cob, and watermelon.   Who wouldn’t want to celebrate that way?  

We had permission to leave mission boundaries to make the seven and half hour drive to Reno on Friday to attend the funeral, Saturday, of Mary Challis, the wife of Elder Challis’ younger brother, Dave.   Mary had been battling lung cancer, she and her family on a roller coaster of hope and despair for two years.   She was only 59.   The word “fun” is over-used, but truly does describe Mary, as was so sweetly portrayed by three of her daughters.   We were blessed to witness the love, faith, and strength in her family.   Mary was “distinct and different in happy ways” and thus her influence was magnified in an “unprecedented way”   (President Nelson, “A Plea to My Sisters).   Her children are evidence of that.             We chose to drive back to SLC after the family dinner in Reno on Saturday, even though we knew we wouldn’t arrive until about midnight.   We wanted to attend Hank and Mary’s Primary Presentation this morning.   It was also Christopher and Melissa’s-- they ar

Saturday morning, we hiked Grandeur Peak, opting for the longer, but less steep trail from Mill Creek Canyon.   It was still plenty steep with a 2500 feet elevation gain in 3 miles. My regular “hikes” up Capitol Hill did not prepare me. My legs are still sore.   Grandeur Peak is just south of the mouth of Parley’s Canyon (I-80) so the westward view is the wide expanse of the city.   The early inhabitants of the valley would surely be amazed.    To the east, there were layers of mountains and canyons in shadow and light.   Near the lower part of the trail, there are beautiful waterfalls.             Christopher, Melissa, Jaynie and Lindsey joined us for a session in the Salt Lake Temple Saturday evening.   It was good for us to be there together—a spiritual peak.             We missed the choir broadcast this week in favor of Henley’s Primary Program.   Of course, that made me nostalgic for my Primary chorister days, especially when the children sang, “Holding Hands Around the Wor

I am changing the lyrics to “Sunshine in My Soul” this morning: “There are clouds in the sky today, and I hope the raindrops fall.”    Maybe i t’s the farm girl in me thinking that it’s been too hot and dry.             On Labor Day, we labored at the library until 5pm.   Surprisingly, we did have patrons there who decided to forego picnics and concerts in favor of hard research—which is no picnic.   I spent most of the day reviewing new training—no picnic there either, just bugs.   After work, we waited for cooler temperatures to hike a couple of miles on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, accessing the section by Hoogle Zoo.   Great view of the city from there, with the added bonus of a stunning sunset.             It turns out our mission president, President Fenn, is not only a Book of Mormon scholar, but also a pizza aficionado. He and Sister Fenn hosted zone leaders, about 50 of us, in their “outdoor living space” on Thursday evening.   We each made our own pizza, by rolling

The last week in August was quiet—and hot!   We continue to walk early before the sun comes up.   When we walk on Bonneville (named after the Bonneville shoreline), we have a stunning view of city lights on our way back—all the way to the Draper and Oquirrh Mountain Temples.               We both spent a lot of time on the new library training last week:   equal parts tedious and instructive. The tedium comes my feeling like I need to be the English teacher, pointing out so many errors in writing.     My favorite new things are the KIC book scanner and the photo scanner.   The wonders of technology.   In about 10 minutes, I scanned an 80-page book in which my grandpa recorded some of his many talks, including ones about his friendship with Spencer W. Kimball.               On our p-day, we went swimming (yes, senior missionaries are allowed to swim) with Jaynie’s and Lindsey’s families.   Lindsey’s 7-month old Luke made us laugh with his kick. He’s a frog. 😊               We w