P-Day!

    Every Monday is our P-Day (preparation day).  Hey, I bet all of the missionaries look forward to p-days.  You get to wear casual clothes, watch a movie, or any fun things you do within mission rules.  I wonder what our 4 children did on their p-days when they were on their missions.  It would be fun to compare...

    On our P-Day, we started out with a hike with the Bishops.  We met at 7 AM and headed up Butterfly Mountain that is not too far away, but within walking distance from our apartment.  The hill side is covered with cemeteries, bushes and trees.  I'm sure that it would cost an arm and a leg to get a plot there with fantastic views we saw.  But the story is quite different.  One hiker who spoke some Mandarin Chinese told us that people would claim a spot for their deceased and build the grave site.  The government couldn't do anything about it because of the sacredness of burials.  I'm not sure if this still holds true, but is interesting.

   The hike is moderate (30 to 45 degrees) with paved trails all the way up.  Every half a mile or so, there is either a pagoda with benches for us to rest or a trail going off to either side of the trail if you don't want to climb on up.  Some steep areas have steps, others have concrete tracks so the hikers won't slide, especially if it's raining.  I know my hiking friends from St. George would love this.  The views are super.  Here is a slideshow of the hiking trail.  I'd love for my hiking buddies to come with me.

    Other things we do on P-dys include shopping, cleaning up the apartment, and rest.  So far, we haven't had much time to rest.  Even though the apartment is small, it's taking a lot of time trying to organize things.  But, that's what P-days are for.

    We are hoping to be able to do some sightseeing when things settle down.