A Farewell in a Snow Storm

Elder J Bennallack near his apartment in Saint-Etienne, France

Before I commence the tale of the past few days, I need to include this photo of my second son Elder Jonathon Bennallack.  It shows him in his new area in the city of Saint-Etienne, rugged up against the cold! This past week he has been able to travel by train to Lyon and to Geneva, Switzerland for exchanges and meetings.  He is certainly getting to see a great deal of France and is enjoying the challenges of a new area.  Also, finally he received our package containing a new pair of shoes.  These took two months to get to him, but fortunately, at the same time, he also received a birthday package which surprised him.  He is 21 this weekend.  Happy 21st Birthday Jonathon!! 


Following our busy Cheerleading day with Sarah, Sunday was upon us which was the last Sunday for Tom here in Denver.  In the evening, we held an 'Open House' at our friends the Hansen's.  Kelland and Tom have become quite inseparable over theses past few months, and we usually see Kelland on a daily basis!  Many of the people from our ward came to wish Tom the best as he departs on his mission.  We have really grown to love these good friends of ours, and I am not looking forward to saying our final goodbyes in about 7 weeks..  We took many photos, but here a just a few:




Suzie O'Connor, Cindy Johnson, Sarah & Kelsie

 

Bro. John Cutler & Tom



The Ballard's: Michelle & Matt with Rachel & Brayden




The Prueitt family: Jesse, Karen & Roger





Kelland, Tom & Conlan!!

 

The Harvey's: Rick, Crista, Nathan, Erica & Kaitlyn

Joanna & Mike Moody with Tom (holding Keely)



The Mercer family with Tom



DeAnne & Bishop Smith

Michelle with Linda Hansen who kindly opened her home for us!

We have been so blessed to have the love and support of these people, and many others not pictured,from the Clement Park Ward, Denver Columbine Stake.

The following two days were spent trying to finalise last errands and fit the contents on the dining table into the suitcases!  A challenging task, as there were many extra items not on the 'list' but which were deemed necessary to take back to Australia.  I estimated at least 8 kilos of American condiments and luxuries!! (I think we might be facing a similar challenge in a few weeks!)

Wednesday was departure day, but with it came two cold fronts, one from the north in Wyoming and the other from the south that met somewhere over the mountains and Denver producing about 6-10 inches of snow!  We awoke when it was still dark to a thick layer of snow.  Gone are the golden leaves, instead the branches looked like they had been covered in thick blobs of heavy, white royal icing!!  Snow really transforms everything.  It really is very pretty.  However on Wednesday, the whole day remained grey and dull and very cold.  We were able to get to DIA (Denver Int Airport) in good time and before long we had to part ways with our third missionary son!  The feelings this brings are difficult to describe and tears flowed.  Tears because we will miss him dreadfully, but also tears because we are so proud of him and this huge commitment, which in turn brings joy and peace.  A complete oxymoron, but it has to be experienced to be completely understood.  We love you deeply Elder Tom Bennallack and wish you God's Speed and all the very best for this next phase in your life.



Bye Tom.. we will miss you, work hard and we'll be seeing you!



 
These past couple of days have felt rather quiet and empty.  Sarah feels Tom's absence acutely, but we are doing our best to keep busy.  And with having two days off school this week, Sarah is 'snowed' under!! (excuse the pun!)

Speaking of snow, I have a few pics to illlustrate the transformation.  Yesterday, the storm completely cleared to bring blue, clear skies but also a chilling cold. 

We awoke to -8C, -20F and it was only about 6C late afternoon as Sarah was cheering at the Freshman football game at Columbine.  Consequently, some coughs have returned.. (The football field was cleared of snow for the game, but it was a bitter 3 hours.. The girls are really layered up here!)

 The pic on the left is the view from our front door.  The colours of the leaves are just wonderful.  It has been a really beautiful 'Fall' in Litteton, Denver Colorado.  The pic on the right is where we live.  The 'red' tree is right outside Tom's room.  It's amazing to look out his window through these leaves.

This is what Wednesday looked like for most of the day! And by Thursday, there were no pretty red leaves left!  I guess that makes raking just one big job instead of a constant one!  The snow that fell was very wet and heavy, making branches really bow down under the weight, and snapping the roses.  We lost a couple of branches from a tree near our back door, and indeed this was a problem throughout the city causing some power outages.  We also heard later in the news, that over 50 flights had been cancelled due to the snow..

Tom, meanwhile was met at the Salt Lake Airport by his cousin Ben who helped him exchange shoes at 'Mr Mac' and delivered him to the MTC.  Many thanks Ben, who also sent a couple of pics!!



Elder Thomas Bennallack with his cousin Ben Crosley.
Looking good boys!  We can see it's not snowing in Utah!!



It has been quite a week.  And so begins the next chapter..