A Road Trip

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    We traveled to Kenai this week to set up a new missionary apartment. The Kenai Peninsula is divided with Seward to the east and Homer to the west and Mountains down the middle. Kenai is about an hour north of Homer and 20 minutes west of Soldotna. It took about 3 hrs to get there, we spent about 3 hours setting things up and then drove back home. So it was a long day, but we enjoyed the trip. I have to apologize for pictures though. The van was very bouncy with a lot of bug spots on the windshield, sun glaring on the windows and the good shots always seemed to be on the opposite side of the car. We didn't have time to pull over so most of the pictures are "action" shots. Pictures help me to remember what we did and I am enjoying the challenge of taking pictures on the go. The pictures are of the Kenai River and the mountains between Soldotna and Seward. I love the beautiful blue sky.




    I really liked these pictures of the fireweed growing in the area that had a big wildfire 2 years ago. The trees are charred but there is new vegetation that wasn't there a year ago. It was called the Swan Lake Fire and was started by lightening on June 5, 2019. It burned until September 30, 2019 and destroyed 170,000 acres around Stirling, north of Soldotna. I know it didn't cause the distress that the wildfires in California have caused. Hopefully the fires will come to an end soon and in a few years things will start to regrow. I remember the wildfires last year that were close to homes in Saratoga Springs, UT. They were right up to several homes' backyards. It is scary to think of evacuating and losing everything. 





    At the apartment the missionaries were good to help unload the big items. After we helped get things organized a little we made a list of what they still needed and went to WalMart to get missing items. Afterwards we went to Louie's Restaurant for dinner before heading home. This is Pres. King's favorite restaurant in Kenai. He loves the decor, plus they have good food. Elder Robinson has to go back again this week to take some more furniture. Elder Tracy is going with him and they are already planning what to order at Louie's. 









    Elder Robinson went fishing with Elder Tracy and Elder Hobbs this week on the Little Susitna River. They hoped to catch Silver Salmon. He bought hip waders and everything. Unfortunately they didn't catch any fish (so no pictures). That means Elder Robinson made chili dogs for dinner instead of salmon. Sister Dewey is a senior missionary serving in Juneau with her husband doing Family History work. They went fishing on Saturday and she caught a 12-lb Silver Salmon. She caught a King Salmon last month too. I think Elder Robinson wants to try fishing in Juneau. 


    We enjoyed having some missionaries come visit Sunday night. They brought a delicious peach cobbler that Elder Wintch made. It was his mother's recipe. He arrived August 18 and is adjusting really well. His family has a cattle ranch in Milford, UT. He knows how to work hard and loves the adventure in Alaska. Anchorage is more of a city so he looks forward to serving in more rural areas at some point. Elder Farris wants to be a fireman after his mission. He reminds me of David Henrie. 




    I am so grateful whenever they visit they always share a spiritual thought. They have a scripture and talk about what it means to them. Then they ask what we think. They know how to talk in simple basic ways that help you see how the ideas apply to you. They are good examples to me. 

    So here is the spiritual thought I have been thinking about this week. It's a little longer but I hope it's worth it. It comes from a member who shared his testimony in a Come Unto Christ in Alaska Facebook post. (I shared the "Connect the Dots" post from Robert Ramsey in Anchorage.) He talked about how his interest in the church came from a co-worker who asked him what he believed and they had a 3 hr discussion about what each believed. Eventually he began  studying about the church. (The process he went through reminded me a lot of how I came to believe in God and the gospel.) The main thing I have been thinking about from this post though is the question "What do I believe?" and along with that the message in the Primary song "I Will be What I Believe". So if I believe in God, do I pray to him? If I believe in the scriptures and the Book of Mormon, do I read them? If I believe in Jesus, do I follow his example? It is important to know what you believe and to live according to what you believe. The other thing I thought that was important from his experience was being able to talk about different beliefs without anger or meanness.There is so much contention and confusion about what is true and what you should believe. It is better to find what we have in common (our common beliefs) and work together than to fight about differences. Stand for what is true in how you live but be kind to others who are different.

     We have been serving our mission for one year today. It has been a wonderful learning and growing experience. The time is really going by so fast. I remember as each of our kids (and Bob and David Henrie) returned from their mission I  thought they still had all of their good qualities from before their mission plus they were so much better--they were the "new and improved" version. I hope you will see that in us when we come home. We are trying to be new and improved!

Have a great week! It is Jed's birthday this week. Even more exciting (sorry, Jed) is that Jane and Larry are coming for a visit Sept 8-16. We are so excited to see them and hopefully see some memorable things in Alaska. 

Love you all,

Elder and Sister Robinson

Miscellaneous pictures of a beautiful rainbow one day and leaves changing colors and driving in Kenai.






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