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.

Hoping Winter Is Coming to an End

 Here at the end of April, signs of spring are finally coming to Anchorage:  the mound of snow in front of the Institute building is shrinking, flocks of geese and birds are arriving daily, moose graze in the city greenbelts, and daylight lasts past 10:00 pm.  With daytime high temperatures in the 40s, our YSAs are wearing their shorts and flip-flops.

 Mary has come to rely on some handy mixes in baking for YSA events. The muffin mix can be used as the basis for many delicious variations:  chocolate or apple or banana or mandarin orange, etc.  These Ghirardelli brownies are especially good. 

 Saturday we presented some information about the BYUI Pathway program at the Chugach Stake Women's Conference. The program, meal, service projects and activities were outstanding. (Class topics included "Dip-netting for Salmon" and "The Art of Clamming in Alaska.") We were especially impressed with the work of Brother Betz, the  stake clerk in charge of technology.  He uses all this equipment to connect with the  remote "Bush" branches in Bethel, Nome, and Kotzebue so members there can participate in events like this.

Last Saturday we had another baptism in the Anchorage YSA ward.  The young man flanked by the two (great) missionaries was introduced to the gospel by an friend with whom he served in the Army in Afghanistan.  We are constantly impressed by the outstanding young people here who are seeking "the good" and find the Church because of the examples of faithful young Church members.