Family Visit and Busy Transfer Week

 

      Mike and Bonnie came to visit on September 24 and were here through Oct 4. It was snowing the day they arrived but the weather was pretty nice for most of their stay. Most of the attractions in Alaska are closed for the season but there was still pretty scenery.  We went to Flat Top Mountain, this time with a lot of snow. There were still paragliders. It was such a clear day. We could see Denali again. It is 143 miles away. 

      We went to the Wildlife Conservation Center and saw a bear high in the tree. I don't know how he will get down. We also saw the remains of a roadkill moose they fed the bears in the enclosure. We didn't see the bears eating, it would have been quite gruesome. We just saw the ravens cleaning up. The bears are getting ready to hibernate and they call this "Fat Bear Week". They have pictures on the news of the bears in June when they look scrawny compared to now when they are very fat. I wonder if I hibernate if I could lose some extra weight. We saw elk, musk ox, moose, wolves, reindeer, caribou and bison. The bison at Elder Hobbs' farm are much bigger.

     We stopped at the Turnagain Arm Pit BBQ for dinner. The Turnagain Arm is a branch of the Cook Inlet. When Captain Cook was looking for a Northern Passage, he sailed down the arm of the inlet.  He had to keep telling the crewmen to "turn again" whenever they hit a dead end. So it became known as Turnagain Arm. Today it is also a memorable name for a BBQ restaurant. The views during dinner were very pretty.

     Mike and Bonnie went souvenir shopping and to Seward one day on their own. Seward was pretty deserted this time of year but they enjoyed the scenery on the drive. We hoped to go to the Iditarod museum to see Togo again but it was closed on Saturday. We did see a dog musher practicing with his team on a roadside trail. They have the dogs pull a small ATV or wooden wagon when there is not enough snow on the trail. They went by so fast I missed getting a picture. 

     On Saturday we had a senior missionary activity with Elder and Sister Hobbs at their farm. I think it is Elder Robinson's favorite place in Alaska. We went to see the bison with everyone since this was the first time several of the couples had been there. It was cold so we rode in trucks instead of the tractor and trailer. As we approached them they started running around us into the other pasture. It felt like a stampede. I'm glad we were in a truck. 

     Elder Hobbs had gone moose hunting the week before and came home with moose meat. Sister Hobbs made delicious moose burger patties with country gravy and potatoes. We had homemade chili sauce just like my mom used to make. It was so delicious. They sent us home with fresh corn from their greenhouse. I didn't think we would get fresh corn in Alaska. It is almost like a Garden of Eden there, except for the cold and snow in the winter. And the hard work during the summer to grow everything and build his cabin. I admire how much they do and the joy they find in work.

     It was a really busy transfer week. We were so excited to have missionaries return to White Horse, Yukon in Canada. It was so stressful because we had missionaries from 4 different areas needing to get Covid tests within 72 hour of entry into Canada. They were meeting in Fairbanks to travel together so if one result was missing, none of them could go.  In Anchorage, most of the time, results take less than 24 hrs. With the Covid surge, it has been taking 1-5 days to get results. Over half of the time when I need results quickly, they come too late. It was such a miracle that all 4 received their results in 48 hrs. and were able to travel without any problems. There have not been any missionaries there since March 2020 so members are so excited to have them return. This past week I have sent almost 30 missionaries for Covid testing because of increased exposure. I am grateful that almost 80% of the missionaries are vaccinated and only one missionary has had Covid. It has been the highest Covid activity since we arrived. 

     Spiritual thought: I liked listening to conference and seeing how diverse the members of the church are, but unified in the love of the gospel. We had a senior activity this week with the couples serving in Craig, Juneau, Fairbanks and Anchorage. Although we have different life experiences it was good to feel connected to them. Elder and Sister Allred are serving as military relations missionaries at JBER, near Anchorage. He is retired from JAG in the Air Force. He was stationed at the Pentagon on the 9/11 terrorist attack but was at a meeting at Dulles when it happened. He and his wife both served as young missionaries in Germany when the Berlin Wall was in place but were also there with the Air Force when the wall came down. They had great insights into those historical events. The Sessions are in military relations in Fairbanks. They came to Alaska a week after we did. Sister Sessions is originally from Guatemala but they met in the army. She loves to hike and she saw the Aurora 2 weeks ago when they went to Chena Hot Springs for her birthday. That's exactly what we did for my birthday in March. It was great to share that in common. The Deweys are serving as Family History missionaries in Juneau. They have worked with several people who are not members of the church but are interested in family history. They are enjoying sharing their love of family and family history with others. This summer they saw orca and humpback whales while looking out of their kitchen window. The Virgins are serving as member support missionaries in Craig on the Prince of Wales Island in SE Alaska. There are about 1200 people on the island. There is a lot of salmon and sea fishing and a lot of bears. They watch them from their kitchen window too. They are from Rexburg and were so excited to hear of another temple to be built in Rexburg. Temple news is always exciting. We love getting to know the missionaries we serve with and share in the love of missionary work. It is a privilege to be here and to be a part of sharing testimonies of the gospel. I liked Elder Marcus Nash's talk on sharing the gospel in conference. I have seen how sharing the gospel brings blessings of  joy, hope, power and healing to both the giver and receiver. It would be a good talk to review for Family Home Evening. 

We love and miss you all. We are so grateful to hear from you. You are always in our prayers. Have a good week or two of beautiful fall weather. The colors in Utah have looked wonderful!

Love,

Elder and Sister Robinson

We enjoyed seeing the fall decorations at the Hobbs' home. We saw these decorations at the store and it made me want to decorate too. Except for the scary little girl by the pumpkins. We didn't like that.