Robinson Alaska Mission

       The weather this week has been a mix of lows and highs. It snowed early in the week and there was 2 feet of fresh snow when we went to Willow, north of Wasilla. We were taking a bed to the missionaries there. Five of them share a house and really like rural Alaska. It was a pretty drive and nice with clouds to block the sun from shining in our eyes. The home where the missionaries live is off the road and it hadn't been plowed, so it was a slippery drive in the back country.  I'm glad we didn't get stuck in the snow because I don't think I could have pushed us out.      Later in the week we had record-breaking high temperatures in the upper 40's. It has been alternating between snow and melting snow and ice. Last year the snow was piled about 20 feet in the parking lot in January. It is less than 5 feet now that most of it has melted. It is windy too, but it is a warm wind — hah! The missionaries came by the office after playing basketball. If it is above fre

       I never get pictures to look as pretty as what we see. Alpenglow is a pink glow that shines on mountains at sunrise or sunset and can appear in a lot of places, not just Alaska. I hadn't noticed it as much though until living in Alaska. It covers the whole sky and usually happens with the right combination of clouds, blue sky and snow. There was a big cloud that looked like cotton candy and was so pretty (sorry I missed that picture). It is not quite as spectacular as the Northern Lights but it still inspires me at how beautiful nature is. Even though winter is cold and icy, there are things to see that make me so grateful for the experiences we have had here.      We are glad we have not experienced a car accident though. There was a snow storm last week and we drove by several accident scenes on our way to work. Elder Robinson likes the ingenuity of using zip ties to make car repairs. He noticed this car next to us at a stoplight. You had to look carefully to see the repai

       Happy New Year to all of you and Happy 47th Anniversary to us. It was a memorable week with celebrations and wild weather. Early in the week it was quite warm and was 34 degrees when we went to see the holiday lights at the Alaska Botanical Garden. It was nice walking around the displays and seeing people enjoying being outside.  I had my name tag on and had several people say "Bless you, Sister". Another man asked if we had stopped wearing habits and covering our heads. I'm glad he felt free to ask. It was good to have a chance to explain what we do as missionaries.      There was a trail for kick sleds that looked really fun. I sat on one but I was too heavy for Elder Robinson to push. So we just got a picture instead. It was fun to feel like a kid on the sled (a big kid!).            Later in the week we went to JBER (Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson), the combined Army and Air Force military base. Elder Allred, the military relations senior missionary, took us f