Robinson Alaska Mission

 This was such a happy week. I enjoyed most of all reading all of the #GiveThanks posts you, and others,  made on Facebook and Instagram. I felt bad I didn't post more. I have more to learn about how to find and post pictures, memes, and other media. But it's a start. We spoke in Sacrament meeting today by zoom. At the start of the meeting I had sound but our video camera wasn't on. I had no help but I figured out how to get the camera on by the time we had to speak. I think it is teaching an old dog new tricks to learn how to use modern tech. It makes me think of my Grandma Ruth who never learned to drive. When she was widowed at age 59, she felt so bad she couldn't drive and disliked being dependent on others for rides.  But she felt she was too old to learn. She tried once to learn to drive in the church parking lot. It was a stick shift and was pretty hard to learn shifting let alone steering, braking and using the gas. She gave up trying to drive after that. I may

 I always enjoyed driving to work after a snow storm and seeing the bright blue sky backdrop against the fresh white snow on Timpanogos. It amazed me how beautiful and peaceful it looked. I think it was a precursor to how beautiful Alaska is. I feel the winter will be worth the cold to see the snow, frost and ice crystals on bright sunny days. The pictures don't capture what it actually looks like. I wish you could all see it.  This has been a really busy week. Since the flood in our apartment, we spent a few days at a hotel and then moved into a different apartment this week. Another senior couple completed their mission and left for home on Tuesday so we have moved into their apartment. Elder and Sister Curtis were from a small town in Washington about 2 hrs north of Spokane. Elder Curtis taught Elder Robinson how to manage apartments which involves contracts for apartments, maintenance and inspection. Another couple just arrived to take over management of the office that Sister

  I posted this picture from Potters' Marsh Bird Sanctuary because I liked the colors on the horizon just before sunset. As we drove home you could see the horizon all around and it went from orange by the sun to coral to red to a pretty pale lilac and lavender color over the mountains. I have never seen the spectrum of colors in the sunset. I didn't get the lilac color because we were driving and I don't get very good pictures driving (the colors are not as vibrant from the car window). I wanted to start with this picture instead of the picture and story of our flooded apartment in the next paragraph. It sets a better tone. So this week was a week of surprises. We had to move out of our apartment because the apartment above us had a water leak that flooded our apartment. Elder Robinson was in the electric recliner watching TV in the living room. I came out of the bedroom into the hallway and water was streaming down from the ceiling, the door jambs, and from the dryer vent

 This has been a very busy week but not much that is new from what we do each week. Regular winter weather is here and I don't know what to expect for Alaska winter. Everything here is much bigger so I'm sure we have some BIG winter weather coming. It is interesting to see how they manage weather here. The weather warnings are quite detailed. This past week we had high wind warnings of 50-60 mph with gusts to 95mph. It was also rain, snow and ice so there were wind chill and icy road warnings. They don't use salt on the roads. They use ground rock (which is not good for windshields) and at the end of the season they brush it up and reuse it the next year. I'm curious to see that. So the roads stay snow packed just with grit for traction. Coming home from church today we were behind 2 cars waiting to turn at a left turn arrow. As we approached the intersection a car ran the red light and swerved around 3 cars into the oncoming lane. It missed hitting anyone and got back

 I want to introduce you to Sis. Lowe. She has been training Elder Robinson in managing housing properties and furnishings. She left last Monday to help her son and daughter-in-law who live in Salt Lake and just had a new baby girl on Monday. She has lived in Alaska for over 20 years and knows everybody and everything here. She lived here until her husband, who was a dentist, died and then has been serving missions since then. She has been to Africa and Guatemala on humanitarian missions working in dental clinics. She moved in with some friends last January so she could serve as a service missionary in the office here in Alaska. Since it was a service mission she only served for 9-months. She was so helpful! She makes you feel like a close friend from the first time you meet her. We hope she will come back.  Earlier this week Elder Robinson had to get a new apartment set up in Houston, Alaska about 70 miles away. He loaded the mission van with household supplies and furnishings and arr