A Beautiful Journey Home

 

 With our car loaded "to the gills" we say farewell to our Anchorage apartment and kind neighbors in the "Arctic Gardens" complex.  This had been our happy home for the past year and a half. 

 We drove two and half days to Haines, Alaska, a delightful little coastal town where we met the ferry for our ride home. Fishing and tourism keep Haines alive.  We spent the afternoon with Elder and Sister Oswald, the senior missionary couple that keeps the branch here going.

We will miss the verdant evergreen mountains which seem to rise right out of the water all along the coast of Southeast Alaska. We were always frustrated in our attempts to "capture" the magnificence of the Alaska landscapes.  We boarded the "Colombia," largest and most comfortable ferry in the Alaska Marine Highway fleet.   We enjoyed a relaxing three-and-a-half-day "budget cruise" watching the awesome scenery go by.

 Our car was carefully loaded into the ship's hull with dozens of other vehicles. Our route hugged the coast, so we had smooth sailing all the way.  The wilderness coastline was occasionally punctuated with small fishing towns, native villages, or lonesome lighthouses.
 We enjoyed a stop in Sitka and got a short tour of the town which served as the first (Russian) capital of Alaska. We disembarked in Bellingham, Washington, drove our car off the ferry, and with two more days of driving,completed our trip home to Rexburg.  We are so grateful for the precious memories we have of our mission in Alaska!

Goodbye Alaska!

 After almost a year and a half here in Alaska, it time to say goodbye and end our full-time missionary service. We have been welcomed, loved, and inspired by so many awesome people here in "The Last Frontier."  The Manumaleunas graciously hosted a farewell feast for us featuring his great Samoan cooking. 

 Here is our Anchorage YSA Ward Family Home Evening group.  We met every Monday night for a lesson, activity, and treats.  What a great bunch of happy, good young people devoted to following Jesus Christ!

 Every Wednesday morning we served in the Anchorage Temple.  The temple (second smallest in the Church) has been a huge blessing to the members here who oftentimes feel isolated from "the Lower 48." We looked forward each week to the peace and warmth of the spirit we felt there.

A great blessing of our mission was our association with the awesome young elders and sisters who serve in the Alaska Anchorage  Mission.  They always seemed hungry, and it was a special pleasure to feed and encourage them.  They, in turn, always left us feeling inspired by their devotion to the work of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Summer Institute Classes

 We have had a good summer at the Anchorage Institute, serving local students as well as lots young Church members who have come up to Alaska to work in tourism jobs.  We have been blessed to work with Brother Eric Bacon, institute director, and Sister Gayle Soule, support specialist.  Both are so warm, devoted, and capable; it has been a joy to associate with them. 

 This summer Elder Hawkins has taught a mission preparation class; Bro Bacon has taught Pearl of Great Price; and we have taught our Pathway group and "Teachings of the Living Prophets."  What a great "assignment" to spend so much time studying the Gospel and preparing lessons!  Of course, we have been the primary beneficiaries of our mission.

 We have thoroughly enjoyed associating with the awesome young men and women who attend Institute classes. Institute is the Church program for ALL members, ages 18-30, married or single, student or working.  They come prepared, seeking to be spiritually fed.  We have felt stretched to be worthy of their needs and expectations.

 One Saturday we helped with a seminar for the seminary and institute teachers from all over Alaska--from as far away as Barrow and Fairbanks and Juneau.  Alaska has three released-time high school seminary programs, but most of the programs here meet for early-morning, before-school classes.  These devoted teachers and faithful students meet at 6 am every school morning to study the scriptures together. 

We provide treats, preferably sweet-smelling baked goods, for most of the institute meetings and classes.

Beautiful Alaska!

 It is hard to capture the magnificence and scope of landscapes here in Alaska.  This is the Worthington Glacier near Thompson Pass. It is on the Richardson Highway which follows the route taken by many fortune-seekers on their way from the port of Valdez into the wild Alaskan interior in the 1898 gold rush. Today Valdez is the terminus of the 800-mile Trans-Alaskan pipeline. 

We could hike right up to the glacier, which has a beautiful blue color typical of glaciers.   It was interesting to see the water run-off, and observe the scraping action and debris left by the receding glacier. The glacier sits near Thompson Pass and the spectacular Keystone Canyon.  The steep green walls of the canyon were laced with dozens of waterfalls.  Valdez averages 64 inches of precipitation a year, including an average of 320 inches of snow.

Visitors from Home!

We enjoyed a visit from Denis.  Here we are in Whittier before the Glacier cruise into Prince William Sound.  We reminisced about our childhood and Denis's recently deceased wife, Jan.  Earlier Emily/Nathan and their four children visited for a week.  Here we are on top of the Bodenberg Butte with beautiful views of the Matanuska Valley.  We enjoyed several days at a lake cabin while they were here, too.

Pathway "Academic Start" Graduation!

One part of our mission responsibilities has been the Pathway Program here at the Anchorage Institute.  This BYU-Idaho program reaches out to Church members who would like to get started in a college program but have not had the resources to do so. Students enroll for three semesters of "academic start" lasting 10 months.  Each semester they take a 2-credit religion class and a 3-credit academic class, completing 15 BYUI credits in all. An important feature of the program is that the students gather each week to actively participate in presenting the course material, lead class discussions, and support each other.Last summer we visited widely in the local Church stakes explaining, promoting, and recruiting for Pathway. Our cohort started classes last September and completed their three semesters just last week.  We are proud of their accomplishment! 
  Our group included men and women, single and married students, ages 18 to 30.  Some had already completed some college courses; some had no college experience at all.  Some had learning disabilities which had drained their confidence.  Some had families or full-time work that did not allow a traditional college program. Some did not feel adequately prepared academically to attempt college-level study. Many considered the high cost of college put it completely out of their reach.

The Pathway program offers fully-accredited online classes for just $65 per credit.  This is less than half the cost of other comparable programs.
Ten of our students have already matriculated to the regular BYUI online program or to the BYUI campus.  Online students continue to pay just $65 a credit all the way through to their bachelor's degree. 

The Pathway Program has been a great blessing to these students; the education it has made possible will provide personal development and career opportunities that will change their lives.  We are so grateful to have been part of this inspired work! 
 We have really grown attached to these young people! We are gratified at the progress we have seen in their testimonies, knowledge, and confidence.

Pathway is another evidence of the great love our Father in Heaven has for all of His children.  Through it Church members can work towards realizing their full potential and, in turn, bless others.

We are working hard these last few weeks of our mission to recruit students for the next Pathway cohort which will begin classes this September. We are hoping to find as many as possible who can benefit from the program. We will turn over our duties to another missionary couple who has been called to take our place here at the Anchorage Institute.

Anchorage Celebrates Polynesian Flag Day

 Polynesian Culture Flag Day is celebrated the last Saturday in June in Anchorage.  Many of our missionaries attended to give service and support.  These devoted elders serve in the Northern Lights Samoan and Lake Otis Samoan Wards. (By the way, these elders won our "cleanest apartment" award when we last inspected missionary apartments.) When English-speaking elders are assigned to Polynesian wards, they faithfully just jump in and try to learn Samoan or Tongan "on the job." They never anticipated they would learn and live an Island culture on their missions to Alaska!

Young single adults from the Dimond and Northern Lights Wards performed traditional dances and songs.  They were beautiful in their costumes, and their performance was well rehearsed and impressive!  They represented the Church and their cultures with joy, pride, and grace. 

 Several Church families had food booths.  Here is one of our favorite YSAs who was helping in her family's booth making delicious watermelon and mango drinks.  She has a mission call to the Las Vegas West Mission entering the MTC July 31. She and her cousin, who has a call to the Philippines, are the first sister missionaries to leave from their Lake Hood Tongan Ward.

 This dancer with the elaborate headdress represents the chief's daughter.

These dancers from the Dimond Samoan Ward were part of a popular, energetic performance.  These "Island" young single adults are proud of their heritage, and we are grateful for the faithful contribution they make to the spirit of our Institute classes.

Sisters!

 We thoroughly enjoyed a week's visit from some of the girls in Mary's family.  Here they are posing on the deck of a boat sailing the waters of the Prince William Sound southeast of Anchorage.  From left to right are Christy (Mary's sister-in-law) and her daughter Mesia, Jeanette (Mary's sister) and her daughter Sage, Mary, Gina and her mother Liz (Mary's sister). Highlights of the cruise were seeing dozens of glaciers and observing the wildlife--particularly the sea otters.

We had such fun sharing many of the things we love about Alaska.  Here Christy, Mary, Jeanette and Liz enjoy a hike in Girdwood, south of Anchorage.  Our week together affirmed our understanding of the importance and blessing of loving family ties.

Matanuska-Susitna Valley

 We took a little Memorial Day excursion to the Palmer area in the Matanuska Valley northeast of Anchorage. During the Depression in the 1930s the federal government established an agricultural colony here to utilize the great agricultural potential in the valley and to get some American farm families off the dole. Though the failure rate was high, many of the descendants of these farm families still live here.  We visited a reindeer farm and a muskox farm, both of which evolved from these "Colony" farms.

 Reindeer are gentle and friendly, especially if you have food for them.  Their awesome, velvety antlers are composed of living, blood-nourished tissue, and are shed annually. They serve as the reindeer's body-cooling system.  Reindeer are intelligent creatures and can be trained to perform many of the same tasks as horses.  Of course they are of GREAT help to SANTA at Christmastime.

 The musk-ox was important to the native Alaskans, but became nearly extinct here by 1865.  This female is part of the herd that has been reestablished as a native cooperative mainly to provide qiviut, the animals' very fine under-wool, which is shed naturally every spring.  After it is collected, cleaned and spun, native knitters make qiviut into exquisite, lacy scarves and hats using patterns unique to each native area.  They claim qiviut is 8 times warmer than sheep wool. A 2 oz skein costs about $70.

Memorial Day near Hatcher Pass: the glorious mountains of the Alaska Range are still well-covered with snow. 

When Will Winter End?

 We have had a LONG winter here in Anchorage. Actually, we set the record this winter, having the greatest number of days--232--between the first snow of the season and the last.  This was the view out our apartment window on the morning of May 18.  Now, a week later, this snowfall has melted (though there is still plenty around town).  The trees are finally showing some green, and today it was near 70 degrees; we could enjoy a walk outside!

 Annually a general authority visits each mission of the Church for a "Mission Tour." Elder Zwick of the Seventy came last week as our visiting authority.  He and his wife conducted a full day of training for all the missionaries in the Anchorage, Soldatna, and Wasilla districts.  (Other days they also visited the Juenau and Fairbanks districts.) We missionaries were energized by their enthusiasm, good counsel, and love.  Here they pose with some of the 120 or so missionaries who attended our meetings in Anchorage.

Welcome Summer at the Institute

Elder Hawkins has enjoyed his association with the great young men who come to Institute.  He has loved teaching the "Mission Preparation" class for several semesters and will start the summer class tomorrow.  He has helped prepare several dozen young men and women for the great spiritual adventures they will participate in as they serve the Lord full-time. His students currently serve from  Arizona to Kiev.  

 Last Saturday we hosted a barbeque and dance at the Institute celebrating the opening of the summer semester.  Elder Hawkins grilled hamburgers and hot dogs most of the night.  We served about 130 YSAs; we have a big influx this time every year with seniors graduating from local high schools,  students returning to Anchorage from college in the "Lower 48," and workers coming up for summer tourism jobs. We hope the Institute will provide a safe place with warm welcomes, rewarding friendships, and  SPIRITUAL feasts.

These sisters are serving shaved ice cones for our dessert.  This is a sure sign of summer, even though high temperatures here in Anchorage are barely nudging 60 and dip into the 30s at night. Huge piles of icy snow still dot the city.  We are hoping the trees will be leafing out in the next couple of days.  Winters here are LONG, and though summers are short, they are intense and bright.  Already our daylight lasts over 17 hours a day!

These darling sister missionaries are assigned to the Cook Inlet YSA Ward. They are just as sweet and enthusiastic as their smiles. After dinner we gave them sprouting kits with alfalfa seeds and instructions;  they were so pleased thinking they would be able to grow something green and nutritious in their kitchen!  They work hard because of their love of the Savior.

 We are just starting our third, and last, semester of the Pathway "Academic Start" program here at the Anchorage Institute.  We have 17 students who are signed up for two BYUI online classes:  Math 100G and Teachings of the Living Prophets.  We have been together for seven months now and have grown close.  It is a thrill to watch these students succeed and look forward confidently to continuing towards a college degree.  Each has his own challenges which have heretofore made college look to be out of the question.

 This week we got to attend four early-morning seminary classes here in Anchorage to talk to the graduating seniors about the blessings of Institute attendance.  We were so impressed by these students who have completed four school years of arising early to meet at 6:00 am for religious instruction.  In this class of 25 seniors, 5 young men have already received their mission calls! 

Here some of the young people with whom we attended a special YSA session at the Anchorage Alaska Temple last Tuesday are gathered at the temple entrance.  Our beautiful little temple (second smallest in the Church) is such a blessing to the Saints here and impresses us as being especially intimate and quiet:  only whispers.