Our Sixth Week

     This week seemed to fly past.  We had more training on the Challenge Courses and also in processing.  And, at last, we were able to put our training into practice when families started arriving at camp and wanted to experience the high courses.   Little did they know that we were still training.

Challenge Course 1 Team - Level 1 facilitators!

     On Monday morning we had a small, simple, but very important ceremony where we received our certificates as Level 1 Facilitators.  We can't work with anyone on the various challenge courses until we reach Level 1.  Now we train and work for Level 2.  We each received our own caribiner!  That means a lot.  I'm not sure I would have said so a month ago.

Mike self-belaying

     We spent Tuesday learning to self-belay.  Simply put, it means to bring yourself down from a high place, on a rope, without injury.  If you can belay yourself you can belay any climber.  This insures that each climber is safe while on the high course.  It's really fun, but it takes practice.  I will never watch a 007 or Mission Impossible movie again without more respect for the stunt men.

     We woke up Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings to snow.  On Tuesday we closed the courses and quit for the day because of a lightening, wind, rain, and hail storm.  I had just gone down the zip-line and reached the ladder when the first lightening flashed.  The high course is not a good place to be in a lightening storm.  Height + metal = target.  

     We closed again on Saturday because the family who was scheduled to participate on a high course decided they didn't want to play in a snow storm.  It was snowing sideways.  If they had wanted to continue we would have continued.  We only close for lightening or lack of participants. 
      Closing the course early allowed us to meet Sheri, George, Ella, Preston and Benson for dinner in the valley.   We were able, for the first time, to see Benson walk.

      Wednesday was our first official P-day.  We spent the day in Orem and Salt Lake City.  We needed some chairs for our cabin.  The chairs we purchased were in the warehouse by the SLC Airport and when we drove out to get them we found ourselves next door to the new Utah Bishop's Central Storehouse.  We went for a tour of the facility.  It was so impressive.
Here are a few facts:

• Total site area :                     36+ acres
• Total Building Area:              561,520 square feet
• 40,000 cubic yards of concrete
• Total Expansion Area:          100,000 square feet
• Product shipped in 2010:     104 million pounds
• Currently 50 trailers are shipped each day (20-24 pallets per trailer)

      Their mission is to provide for the needs of the poor.  They are ready at any given moment to ship to areas in need of relief.  They serve the Savior by serving those in need.

It strengthened my testimony that this is the Lord's church and we are engaged in the Lord's work.