Mission News Nov 8, 2020

 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 into the correct lane of traffic and kept going. It was scary but not too much traffic on a Sunday morning so it turned out okay. We felt secure with studded tires and going slow but you never know. So far 2 missionary cars have been hit by other drivers (not their fault). We have a contract with an auto body shop and windshield repair. We also had 4 cars broken into in the church parking lot. They stole the Visa cards that are used for gas. The cards have a PIN and can only be used for gas so there was no loss on the cards but it was a shame to have the vehicles damaged. One last crime item was as a pair of missionaries came home at night they walked in their back door and found food and milk left out on the counter (not by them). They looked through the apartment and found the front door had been kicked in and things in the apartment had been rummaged through. They only took food. With it being cold there are a lot of homeless people in Anchorage that break into homes to get food or to get out of the cold. I saw that the same thing happened in Salt Lake City this last week too. They don't like using the homeless shelters so they just break in and take what they need. I'm not sure what the answer is. Just grateful no one has been hurt. The other thing the cold weather has brought out is more bears getting into garbage cans. These are things I never thought I would be need to prepare for. 

Once a week we take items that missionaries need to areas outside of Anchorage. We take things like bedding, pots and pans and other household items. This week we went to Wasilla, a little over an hour away. We crossed the Knik River which last week was partly frozen. This week it was completely frozen and quite pretty. There is a trail that goes along the river and lake. It was funny to see a large dog running straight along the middle of the trail. Apparently the dog needed to go for a walk but because it was so cold the owners followed behind on the trail in a pick up truck. That is one way to take the dog for a walk. Also on the way we passed a reindeer farm. I only got pictures of the reindeer because they were close to the road, There were also caribou, moose, and buffalo further back in the field. I think they sell it like we sell beef. Reindeer sausage is quite popular. Just not Santa's reindeer!

We have 234 missionaries in our mission now. Normally we have about 160 missionaries. Since they have started letting some missionaries return to their original missions we have 1 missionary leaving for Germany and 1 leaving for Poland next week. We have a lot of U.S. missionaries that were reassigned here from the Philippines. I like to talk to them about what the Philippines is like now and tell them that is where David served his mission 25 years ago. There have been some changes but it sounds like the more remote islands, like David was on, are still quite primitive. The Filipino missionaries helped us move some furniture out of our apartment and afterward shared a spiritual message and their testimonies. It was good to hear them teach and bear testimony. Very uplifting. We have missionaries that had been serving in Argentina, Colombia and Chile. I think they will finish in Alaska. It is hard too that the Polynesian missionaries who live in Samoa and Tonga still have not been able to go home. We had heard that a repatriation flight was arranged to leaved from Los Angeles but they were not able to get on the one leaving in Nov. They are pretty discouraged to not be going home. Their missions were completed 6-8 months ago but they can't go home because of the pandemic. That is one of the things we pray for a miracle to happen. One other person we have been praying for is the granddaughter of one of the senior office couples who is 11 years old. She was born with a birth defect that affects her bones and her spine is very misshapen. She has had 27 operations since she was born. The last operation a month ago on her spine has left her paralyzed from the waist down. The surgery was to remove some hardware from her spine. The doctor said everything looked fine but she has not recovered any feeling or mobility since the surgery. They have been hopeful but are now thinking she may be permanently paralyzed. Her name is Ava if you can remember her in your prayers too. 

That is pretty much it for this week. I know it is supposed to be snowy and cold in UT this week. I have a picture of my snow boot with Yak Trax attached. It is a stretchy rubber web with spikes on the soles to attach to your boots/shoes so you don't slip as much in the snow. Very handy. I bet Larry uses them when he hikes in the snowy mountains. There are a lot of things to keep you active outside even in the cold. The elders in Fairbanks though told us you can only do so much to keep warm and then you just need to stay indoors. It was 15 below zero this week in Fairbanks. When it gets 30 below they stay inside.

I hope you all have a good week and can enjoy moving forward after the politics of last week. I know many of you are in pivotal election states. I wanted to share a story of my grandma when she married her second husband, Orval Sweat. He was a staunch Democrat and she was a firm Republican. In the late 1890's when Utah wanted to become a state they didn't have enough Democrats to be admitted as a state so his family was called by church leaders to become Democrats in Utah. There very diligent lifelong Democrats. I admire the respect they both had for each other in allowing for political differences. They got along just fine. I think from now on I will follow their example and look at the good in others beyond politics. Relationship matter more. Also following my mom's advice, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all". I still pray for our country and its leaders. And I hope you will too. 

We love you and think of you everyday. And we especially love to hear from you!

Love,

Elder and Sister Robinson