Faith-Promoting Incidents in the Life of George and Eliza Champion
(As told to Maude Lois A. R. Champion by Emma Cornish)
When George and Eliza Champion were converted by missionaries in Indiana about 1890, they with one other family, were the only members of the Mormon church in Metz, Indiana.
Some time after they had become members Eliza became ill with pneumonia. She lay ill for several days, not getting any better. One evening she said to her husband, “I believe if we could get the elders to administer to me I would get all right.” The nearest elders were in Ohio, many miles away. Grandpa said, “We will write in the morning for them to come.” That same evening, two elders in Ohio were making preparations to leave the next morning for another area in Ohio when one of the elders said, “Come on, we are leaving for Metz.” The other protested saying, “I thought we were going the other way in the morning.” His companion answered him saying, “Something tells me we are needed in Metz.” They left immediately, reaching Metz the next evening. They found Grandma still sick. They administered to her that evening and the next morning she got up and was able to prepare breakfast for her family.
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After Grandma and Grandpa were baptized the elders gave them a blessing. To Grandma they said, among other things, that she with her children would go to be with the Saints in the valley of the mountains. To him they made no mention of his going, and it worried him. Grandma said, “Of course you will go if I do. They just don’t say the same thing to everyone.” They were making their plans to go to Utah when Grandpa was stricken with typhoid fever. He said to her, “The elders knew I would never go to Utah.” He passed away a short time later. It was then months before Grandma got her business affairs straightened up so she could save money for the trip to Utah, but at last the day came and she with six children were going to Zion. She was going at the same time that one of the elders was going home. Her troubles were not over. Her children contracted diphtheria on the trip and in a few days two of them had passed away. Her faith never wavered. She continued to be a good Latter-Day Saint as long as she lived, even though life at times was very rugged. She was untrained but took up practical nursing and did very well.
(This history came to me from the files of Fern Ravenscraft Crandall)
