Fishing and Other Outdoor Fun
We had a really fun past 10 days with family visiting. David, Krista, Zack, Millie and Reed -- and LeAnn, Ben, Max and Scout came for a visit for a week. We had a lot of fun in Seward, went for a hike to Virgin Falls in Girdwood and spent a rare summer day by Campbell Creek in Anchorage. Kate finds the best places to visit. While the excursions were fun, our favorite activities were just being with family at the beach, hiking and playing in the water.
The Wildlife tour that we went on was supposed to be a smooth boat ride in the bay but when they started looking for whales we kept going further and further out to the opening into the ocean. It was kind of a rough ride and several people got seasick. It was only a 3.5 hour boat tour and we were glad to get back on land. I'm so glad we weren't out for 12 hours of fishing. We saw a lot of interesting things though. I liked seeing the seagulls around the fishing boats as we came back and wondered how the halibut fishermen were doing. The seagulls are looking for leftovers from cleaning the fish on the way back.
I was surprised to see several swarms of jellyfish. And it is always fun to see the whales spout and surface in the water. Reed, Annie and June were very good at spotting them.
The wildflowers are so beautiful everywhere right now. Pretty white, pink, purple and blue. I liked this plant called Devil's Claw with huge leaves. We saw it on a hike to Virgin Falls. It was a short hike but lots to see. There was a bride in her gown hiking up to get pictures at the Falls. She had very big boots on but the trail was quite muddy. At least she didn't slip and fall.
It was a record-breaking 80 degrees on Saturday when we went to Campbell Creek for a little picnic. Jed's dad and his brother Trevor were visiting too and came with us. There were a lot of people there playing in the water, tubing, skipping rocks and looking for salmon in the creek (Max saw some big fish). It was fun hearing people laughing, listening to music and just being outside in the pleasant weather. There were 4 days last week with the temp 75-80 degrees. It was warm to sleep at night with the humidity, temp around 70 and no air conditioning. A lot of missionaries were asking for fans and WalMart sold out of them. But it is back to 60 degrees and raining now so I think we only had 4 days of summer! Yes we are heat wimps.
Mission News: It is exciting that Canada is starting to open up a bit. White Horse in Yukon Territory is in our mission. The church members there have been so anxious to get missionaries back. We are preparing to send 4 missionaries there. The apartments are still available. We paid rent so that when it reopened they could return. Yukon Territory though has its own rules that have been stricter than Canada so it may take a bit longer to get there. But at least there is progress. We also have missionaries who have returned to Utqiavik (Barrow) for the summer. It is about 40 degrees for a high temp and food is very expensive ($12 for a gallon of milk, $30 for a pack of hot dogs and $3.50 for an orange). The branch president there is so happy to have missionaries back. There are quite a few Polynesian members of the church there so the Polynesian elders will serve there. We thought the number of missionaries would return to about 180, but over the next 2 months it will be back up to 200+. I am excited that a Sister Henrie (my maiden name) from Eager, AZ is now serving here. She is in Wasilla so I haven't seen her in the office yet. I need to brush up on my genealogy for when I do see her.
Spiritual Thought: While we were on the boat looking out at the ocean the captain said that if she sailed for 2600 miles in a straight line we would reach Hawaii. Whenever I see the broad expanse of the ocean I think about the courage it takes to get into a boat and sail into the unknown. I think about "boat" stories in the scriptures--Lehi's family, the Jaredites, Hagoth and Corianton, Noah, Jonah, Jesus calming the sea. They are all stories of God getting you where you need to be. It takes faith and courage to leave your comfort zone for the unknown (also good preparation). There are some good videos on the church website about getting in the boat (Better Off on my Own) and staying in the boat (Stay in the Boat). For me it is hard to leave the comfort of what I know, but I also want to know more. A mission has been like getting in the boat and seeing more of life and learning to trust in God to get where we need to be. It has been a good life lesson. Try to think this week of some of the things that get you out of your comfort zone, what you see and learn, and how God helps you to succeed.
It was so fun to have you share some of the pictures from the Henrie Family Reunion and BBQ. We are so grateful for family that enjoys being together. We love you all so much!
Remember to do good things this week
Love,
Elder and Sister Robinson
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