Welcome to Alaska

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 September 20- First few days in Alaska!


Alaska is wonderful! We arrived Friday, September 18 in the early afternoon. Pres. and Sis. King picked us up from the airport. We had to go through a COVID checkpoint where they checked your COVID results from testing 3 days earlier (negative) and we will need to repeat testing in 7 days (not looking forward to that). They are much stricter here than in Utah. Even from the air I was amazed at how different, beautiful and green Alaska is. I know they say a picture speaks a thousand words but even pictures don’t describe how beautiful it is here. Especially in the fall (which everyone says only lasts 2 weeks). I’m so glad our mission date was moved up a month so we didn’t miss it. We went to the mission office and meet the other senior couples, received our car (a new Chevy Equinox) and then went to our apartment about 10 min away. The apartment is quite nice and very comfortable. It has a heated garage (yay!), 2 bedrooms and 1.75 baths (so feel free to come visit). There was some food in the pantry and fridge and the beds were all made up. It was so welcoming. The sister missionaries who had been living there stopped by to bring keys and were very nice. I felt bad we displaced them from a “golden” apartment. They took really good care of it. We had dinner with Elder and Sister Smith from Draper who live right next door to us. They arrived in February and will serve 23 months until Jan 2022, about the time we will go home too.






Yesterday we went to Palmer with Pres. and Sis. King to a Fall Harvest festival that a member puts on. It is like Corn Belly’s with games for kids, music, food and craft booths. It used to be a welfare farm that the church owned. He bought it and one of the festival’s appeal is you can go into the fields and pick your own produce and buy it farm fresh or get some that they have already harvested. Honestly the biggest Yukon, red and purple potatoes I have ever seen. Delicious and big carrots. And onions that the tops are like green onions and the bottom a white onion. Really a huge green onion! I know they say everything is bigger in Texas, but it is the biggest in Alaska!

We went to church today with the Smiths. Same COVID guidelines. After we went to the temple(that is not the biggest). The Smiths told us it has a really large coat room when you enter to hang your winter clothes before you go inside though which was added on after the first winter when they realized it was needed. No other temple has that. We then went to Girdwood which is the local ski resort. It has a very Alpine look and lots of hiking I look forward to maybe next week.



Sorry this may be too long but lots of new experiences. We are so happy!! I love working together setting up our new household, sharing these new experiences with Gary, and especially feeling the joy in serving as a missionary. I never imagined it would be this good! We love and miss you. Especially when I see something new I think you were here to see it too. I love being here and I even think I’ll love winter. We pray for you and hope you are doing well.

Love Elder and Sister Robinson

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