Transferred Nov 15, 2020

 

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. There were big puddles of water on the floor in the bathroom, hallway and pantry. I yelled “Water, Water, There's water everywhere". I ran for rugs and towels to soak up the mess. It wasn't until the smoke detector shorted out and started to alarm that Elder Robinson came to see what was going on. I learned that in an emergency words matter. It is better to yell "Fire" than "Water" to get a response. Anyway he hurried upstairs to let the family know they had water flooding (from a running toilet) and to turn off the water. We had pans to catch the dripping water. Thankfully we had tile floors that we could mop up and got things cleaned up easier than if it was carpet. It damaged the dryer and caused water damage to the ceiling, walls and baseboards. 

A disaster clean up company came and set up fans the next day to dry things out. It sounds like a wind tunnel and is about 85 degrees in the apartment with the equipment running. While we were at work it was not a problem but it is too noisy to sleep or stay over the weekend in the apartment so we are at a hotel for 3 days. 

 The repairs are scheduled for the first week in January so until then we will be staying in the apartment that another senior couple has been in. They are released and going home on Tuesday. So we will move in Tuesday or Wednesday. I feel very sad to leave our cozy little apartment and especially our next door neighbors, another senior missionary couple. So that is our “transfer”.  I feel like maybe that is what the younger missionaries feel when they are transferred. Just when you feel comfortable in your current surroundings, you have to move. Pres. King commented that one of the things you can be sure of on a mission is that things are always changing. Another apartment of sister missionaries also flooded 2 days after ours and Elder Robinson arranged for them to combine with another apartment. We spent Saturday getting things they needed to move.  He has also been busy helping with plumbing problems in other apartments. I think with the cold weather and freezing and thawing a lot of housing gets water problems. Elder Robinson is becoming quite the handyman. 

The hotel we are staying in had a Friday the 13th special of 3 nights for the price of 2 and was the best deal so we chose to stay there. It is called the Lakefront Hotel and is by Lake Hood close to the airport. In the summer all of the float planes land and take off from Lake Hood. It is frozen now, so no planes now. But in the summer you can eat at the hotel restaurant on the patio and watch the planes. It is also the headquarters and a sponsor for Iditarod activities. The lobby has a lot of stuffed animals on display. Like a mini Bean Museum at BYU. It is a unique hotel to stay at. 

Driving in the snow is getting more challenging too.  We had 2 accidents this week where missionaries were hit by other drivers. No one was seriously hurt but one missionary had to go to the ER to get evaluated for an airbag injury and their car was totaled.  I feel our prayers are heard in taking care of the missionaries though. When you think of the number of young drivers there are in the mission and many are just learning to drive in the snow, we are doing pretty good. The drivers from ID and WY seem to do exceptionally well with snow driving! Yesterday while we were driving we saw where there had been 5 slide off accidents. They actually do a pretty good job with snow removal. They use large road graders, big snow plows and industrial-sized snow blowers. I feel like every piece of big equipment you can imagine is used in Alaska.

                       

 The parking lots are getting big mounds of snow. Elder Robinson still found the pie shop though.

The exciting news for the week/month has been that the missionaries from Samoa have been scheduled for a repatriation flight on Friday, Nov 27. They are so happy! I am trying to arrange their medical clearance with the help of Salt Lake Missionary Medical. They have to have COVID testing done 72 hrs before leaving  and results received when they leave. It has been taking 3-10 days to get results so I hope Salt Lake has a plan for us. They also have to get a medical exam from an MD 48-72 hrs before leaving. That is the day before Thanksgiving. We have a doctor in our ward who will do all 6 physicals on Wed, Nov 25. I am so grateful for her generosity in meeting that need. She would normally not work on that day. We have them all quarantined for 14 days before the flight and when they arrive in Samoa they have a facility there where they will be quarantined for an additional 14 days after arrival. They are so excited to go they will do whatever they have to do to get home. Kind of like small sacrifices and getting back to heaven. I so hope it all works out. I feel sorry for the Tongan missionaries who still are not able to return home. 

I have felt so surprised to hear how bad Covid has gotten in UT. It was on the news in Alaska and showed Gov Herbert talking about it. 

Cases have also increased a lot in Alaska. We aren't having church meetings for a month and the missionaries are very limited in activities. We have changed to zoom for all meetings including zone conferences. They can only do service activities for the next 3 weeks. The past week I had 4 sets of missionaries in the same zone call that they had met with people who turned out to be Covid + several days after they had met with them. The missionaries were all negative but you can't take a chance at this point. I feel bad because they can't meet with anyone for Thanksgiving dinner either. Mac and cheese and Ramen just isn't Thanksgiving.  We are limiting the number of missionaries and amount of time they can be inside the mission office as well. I am impressed though with what they have been doing with social media to share spiritual thoughts. I hope you were able to see the post on Facebook by Sis. Allen last week. I think it is the Anchorage Alaska South Mission post. I am excited for Pres. Nelson's video message this Friday at 11 am MT. 

Dale asked me about the earthquake by Anchorage Sat, Nov 7. I didn't know there had been an earthquake so I looked it up. Around 3:30 a.m. there was a 5.0 earthquake 40 miles N of Anchorage. I didn't feel anything but some missionaries from CA said they knew what it was. Apparently Alaska has earthquakes on a daily basis but they are usually so small they aren't felt. I read about the earthquake in 1964 that was 9.2 in Anchorage and that was catastrophic. They also have active volcanoes and tsunamis. Alaska is a disaster waiting to happen--haha. It really is an amazing place to be. I am so grateful each day to be here. I especially enjoy looking at the skies, the clouds, sunrise and sunset. The sky is so big and wonderfully beautiful. 

It reminds me of an incident in a book I read about the purges by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia in the 1980's. At her lowest point after suffering terrible tragedy she looked up at the sky and found hope in realizing the beauty of the world is more than the evil around her. The book is called To Destroy You is No Loss by JoAn D. Criddle. It is very sad because of the holocaust experience but also very inspiring. 

I hope you have a good week. Even if things don't go the way you planned, know that change is good and can bring growth and progress. I am so glad for the experiences each new day and new week brings. I am so grateful for family and friends. Each of you lifts and encourages those around you in the things you do. Sometimes it is just a kind word, smiling eyes or happy tone in your voice. I have noticed those things in the people around me and they make me happy! Love and miss you all

Elder and Sister Robinson