Not much exciting has happened, so I’ll start writing and see what comes out. We had Zone Conference last week, so we drove to Elko (3 hours) Thursday, early enough to enjoy (one of us) a wild shopping spree at Walmart and meet some elders at the East mission storage unit to get a few things we needed. Then we went out to dinner with the office senior couples (Langstons and Sevys), had interviews with President Godoy and then stayed in a hotel overnight. On Friday, Zone Conference was from 9-3, then we drove back to Ely. It was a nice break from the normal day-to-day activity! We were amazed that Elko definitely felt to us like ‘the big city’. It’s amazing how fast you get used to the small town traffic and atmosphere in Ely (even if there are no stores, and Amazon is your best friend).
On Monday we took a drive to the charcoal ovens that are about 20 miles from Ely. I was more interested than Diane, and she was wearing her good tennis shoes, so she stayed in the car out of the mud and snow. The ovens burned wood into charcoal for use in the smelting ovens at the mines. Loading one oven with wood required all the trees on 6 acres of land, so the requirements for six ovens stripped all the land around pretty quickly. Luckily, charcoal was replaced by coke (from coal) a couple years later, so the whole county wasn’t denuded. You can see more info in the picture I included. The road to the ovens was 10 miles of pot-holed dirt road. The dust was kept down by the recent snow melt, but the resulting mud made a mess of the car (so it looks more like we belong in Ely). There’s one car wash in town, but most people don’t bother as long as they can see out of their vehicle.
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| Six ovens in a row |
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| Inside looking up |
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| Road cattleguards are everywhere |
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| Highway is 5 miles STRAIGHT ahead. |
In our interview with President Godoy, he reiterated that he wants us to work closely with the zone leader to ensure the safety and success of the six young missionaries in Ely, and he has given us authority to do many things that normal senior couples don’t get an opportunity to do. He even invited the zone leader into our interview so he would know what President Godoy wants us to do. Things like apartment inspections, interviews, and working with new missionaries. We don’t know how we will make it work, but we know it will work out if that’s what the Lord desires. Right now, we are relatively new to the area, but before long we will be the most stable part of the missionary work here! We often wish we had more than 6 months, so we could get more done… However, as is normal in mortality, that desire is somewhat offset by a few on-going health issues. Diane is having trouble breathing here. The combination of the high altitude and her asthma has made it uncomfortable (and she reminds me sometimes that breathing is not optional). We have an appointment with a lung doctor in Utah next week, and hopefully he/she will be able to provide some relief. Diane has always been such a trooper, and she continues to do what needs to be done, but it would be really nice if she could enjoy it more!! We know that a way will be provided to keep serving, and we hope it’s in Ely!! We love the Lord, and will do whatever He wants us to do.
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