This is one of the 'extra' cars the mission maintains here in Fairbanks. We are currently driving it.

              The frozen north winter has fully settled in and this is a view down our driveway on the hill.

                     Pumpkins carved at Halloween are now quite solidly frozen and will be until spring.

             Our outside doorway entrance is an auxiliary refrigerator that stays at 20 to 30 below freezing.

      This is an ulu knife that everyone uses here to chop stuff. It was invented by the natives a long time ago.

                The twenty thousand foot Denali from our hill looking across the Tanana valley at sunset.

Our early Christmas decorations in our apartment consisting of a garland and pictures of the grandkids.
Notice there is space for MORE grandchildren's picture/decoration. It will be like an angel tree. We will pick one of the grandchildren's ornament at random and they will receive all of our inheritance! Of course that means they will just inherit all of our bills!

The reason we are driving the other car is that our suburban would not turn over the other day even though it was plugged in overnight to heat the engine block. We do not know why it would not start until we had it jumped. So our mechanic is checking it our. Maybe it was because it was 30 below zero?  It is interesting the brand new jeep whatever it is does not ride as smoothly as our now ten year old suburban but at least we have the extra car. You will notice the extension cord that plugs in the engine block heater!

That pumpkin carved by the YSA truly will stay frozen all winter and makes a nice November decoration at the institute. We saw some pumpkins on  porch last winter that lasted the full winter frozen solid. The turkey frozen and hanging on our back porch is for JoAnn to cook for some of the YSA who have no family up here or have not been invited to another family for dinner. We will be having Thanksgiving dinner for them here at our place this year.

The "ulu" knife is an interesting Alaskan item that every home has to have. They are very efficient for chopping vegetables and great for cutting pizza. The one in the picture has a handle made of whale bone that is very old. The round wood bowl helps to keep in place whatever you are cutting in place while providing a chopping block surface as well. 

From the hill we live on, it is only occasionally that we get a clear spectacular view of Denali. It is spectacular when it is out and it is always interesting to view on our way to church or the institute.  To the left of the picture and out of view the entire Alaska range was also visible and it makes those mountains look very close even though they are over 100 miles away and Denali is over 150 miles away.  You can tell where the city of Fairbanks is down below us by the many exhaust moisture plums from furnaces.

We taught the lesson at family night this week and played the classic talk of Hugh B. Brown, "Profile of a Prophet". It is truly a great witness of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his miraculous accomplishments. I remember using that talk when I was a young missionary.  Family home evening was at Trisha's apartment, and being a lawyer herself, she was impressed.  I think all of our lessons at family home evening are for her benefit and instruction.  She continues to attend church and learn as much as she can.  We hope some day she will have the desire to be baptized. 

At church today we went on the 30 below zero reduced schedule where we omit the middle portion of the block. If it gets down to 40 below zero then we would have sacrament meeting only, and if it gets below 50 below zero we would just have the sacrament ordinance for those brave enough to come to church in those conditions. We have been asked about out institute policy in terms of temperatures but as of now we do not have one in place. Last Thursday it was 30 below zero at night and we only had a few students. JoAnn made hot chicken dumpling soup that was appreciated by all who came. It is great to see the faithfulness of many of the YSA in the area. As some say, "the frozen chosen". Seminary classes were cancelled three days this week because of the temperature.  The work of the Lord continues here in Alaska.

As we all count our blessings this week, we are grateful for the opportunity we have to be here in Alaska and serving the Lord in our small way.  We appreciate the blessing of a wonderful family and wonderful friends.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Jim and JoAnn 
.

                   Baked potato toppings, potato soup, and potato-topped shepherds pie with moose meat.           

                               Jeremy Roe, Gary Holyoak, Matt Chandler, David Hartshorn enjoying potatoes.

                                           David Hartshorn, Tyler White and others enjoying home evening.

                           Elder Spens, Lyndell Goolsby, Graten, Sister Spens after seminary in Tok.

                     The beautiful Alaska range  mountains near Tok as we were returning this morning before sunrise.

It's been another wonderful week.  On Monday evening, we had a combined home evening at the Institute.  The main purpose was to teach the young people how to use potatoes in making nutritious meals.  We had great fun preparing baked potatoes, twice-baked potatoes, potato soup, and a potato-topped casserole.  Those that came had a great time and left with full stomachs. 

Besides regular classes, this week we had an inservice class for our seminary teachers.  Several called in to join us by phone.  It's a great way to share ideas and meet with those in far away places.  It's always a delight to meet with the teachers.  Yesterday (Sunday) we drove to Tok which is about 240 miles away near the Canadian border.  We were curious about the origin of the name "Tok"? We were told that when the highways were first being built that there were a lot of Japanese workers there and they called the junction "Little Tokyo" and it just became Tok. The word that is pronounced tok is also the Inupiat word for hacking away at ice. Anyway the branch meets in the Goolsby's home.  Since they only have about 30 members total, they were happy to ask us to speak.  It was a good thing that they meet at 1 p.m., because it took us about 4 hours to get there.  Pres. Goolsby said after our sacrament talks that we had been an answer to his prayers. He did not elaborate but our talks were just our regular presentations that we have been using at various sacrament meetings. JoAnn talks about agency and Jim talks about the doctrine of learning. After meetings, we were invited to join Pres. Goolsby and his family for dinner.  It's always fun to be in their home.  The Goolsby's moved into their new home in February.  It's lovely.  This morning we met with Sister Gooslby and their son Graten for a class on the Old Testament.  Sister Goolsby also home teaches her children, and she is always well prepared.  On the way home, the mountains were visible and the sky was clearing.  Alaska is a beautiful place. We saw about four moose along the road and  we were surprised to find it warmer in Tok than in Fairbanks.  It was about 14 degrees there.  It is unusual for them to be so warm at this time of year. 

On Thursday I had the opportunity to teach a class on becoming and finding an eternal companion.  Even though I only had three students, we had a good discussion.  I felt like it was time well spent.  Elder Spens' class was larger as usual.  There are more students that are off work in time to come to his class on the Old Testament.  We also had two students view it online on our stake web site.  We hope that broadcasting the classes will encourage more to participate. 

I have been working on cataloging the library as often as I can.  It's coming along pretty well.  We stopped in Delta Junction at their public library to stretch our legs on the way home.  The librarian is a member of the church there and always welcomes us.  It always reminds me of wonderful times working in the library at Park Lane and the wonderful friendships with those I worked with.

We enjoyed talking to Jenny and the kids on Sunday evening.  It's hard to believe that we have been here over a year.  We can tell that the grand kids are growing up fast.  We do love each one in our family and miss all of you.  Don't forget to have family home evening.  We love the Lord and love being missionaries. 

 Love to all of you!
JoAnn & Jim

                    We had to stop and take a picture of the beautiful sunrise on the way to the Institute.

                                  Trisha in Pres. Olsen's judge's robes for Halloween at home evening.

 Elder Ulu'ave on the far right and Elder Williams at our apartment for a final dinner before Elder Ulu'ave
leaves for his double home of Utah and Hawaii.

                                   Sandy and Cameron at Sandy's baptism this last Saturday.

The top picture is looking into the deep southwest as the sun starts is winter decline. We still have about eight hours of daylight but the day length continues to shorten. The Alaskan winter has more or less settled in with days and nights hovering around zero degrees. The little snow we get is so powdery that it blows of of the road and also the car. We have started to plug the car into our block heater that comes on for three hours before we start the car in the mornings. The heater and the remote start are real advantages here in Alaska.

The next picture of Trisha is at our family night Halloween party. I think she really enjoyed putting on Judge Olsen's robes since she works as a law clerk here in Fairbanks. The party was great fun and we were overwhelmed with Halloween goodies since the were very few trick or treaters who came to the house. Even though Trisha is not a member yet President Olsen asked her to be the director of our family home evening and to host it at her apartment.                                                                                                                                                                 The picture of the two zone leaders was taken at our apartment when we had the farewell dinner for Elder Ulu'ave. At dinner we found that he knows Ti Salakielu from Hawaii and has been to the Salakielu home in Sandy as well.

The last picture is of Sandy's baptism. She is truly a very spiritual lady. Cameron came to UAF in the Physics department last year and Sandy is the secretary of the department. Cameron had the opportunity to introduce her to the gospel and she has been investigating for the last year. She finally met with the missionaries and committed to baptism. She said that she has been looking for the right church to join and had been seeking the truth for the past three years. She is extremely happy to have found the true church and to have been baptized. Her husband is already recognizing that she has changed with her acceptance of the gospel.
 
We have experienced two great firesides this week end. First Elder Holland and Bishop Burton came to Anchorage on Saturday and presented a fireside on Saturday night that was broadcast to Fairbanks stake. Then on Sunday night the CES fireside was a presentation by Elder Packer. It has been great to have been instructed by members of the quorum of the twelve this weekend.

Jim and JoAnn

                                              A sample of the Thursday night treats for Institute.

               Joe Verhagen at his going away party as he leaves this Tuesday for his mission in the New York City South Mission.  (The same general area where Elder Spens was a young missionary.)

                            Nick Maynes at the Halloween party.  This Alaska bear gave his all for this costume.

                                          Andy Pusateri and Karlie Gray, our latest engaged couple.

                                           The pie eating contest at the branch Halloween party.
                                                     (Anne, Riley, Ethan, Taylor, Nick)

Another week has passed with more adventures in classes and other fun activities.  We were excited to have some of our students from Delta Junction and Nenana come for classes this week.  It's always a boost to our spirits and to the classes when the students from a ways away are able to come join us.  President and Sister Hull spoke at our Institute class on Tuesday night and it was wonderful to hear their testimonies on how faith in Jesus Christ can help us provide for ourselves and others.  Sue Hull is one of our seminary teachers, and Pres. Hull is a member of the stake presidency.  Both of them are wonderful teachers.  Our broadcast is getting better, but it is only available at the time of the class because of our internet speed.  We hope some are able to log in on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Saturday evening we took two of the young adults with us to Nenana to the Verhagen's home to say good bye to Joe.  He is a great young man and he is so excited to go to the big city to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Some of his family have been having a wonderful adventure in Utah being part of the cast for the New Testament videos the Church has been filming in Goshen.  We were able to see some wonderful pictures and hear about their experience.  We can't wait until the final production comes out.  Josh Verhagen is very grateful to be clean shaven again and have his hair cut as well.  Here is a link to a video clip of the filming.  Josh is the young man standing behind the girl in the first picture.  He is also standing behind the widow as she deposits her mite in the temple coffers. 

http://lds.org/church/news/behind-the-scenes-on-the-jerusalem-movie-set?lang=eng

Saturday evening was also the Branch Halloween party at the Institute.  The kids did a wonderful job of decorating and planning a fun time.  All of those that were there had a great time.  It's fun to see them having such a great time together.  They really enjoy each others' company.  Nick gave me quite a start when he hid behind my door in his real black bear skin.

Today was Sunday.  We traveled to Healy about 128 miles away to speak in Sacrament Meeting.  We needed to visit our seminary teachers there and were able to do some training as well as have a seminary lesson with the two families that are teaching seminary at home.  We were anxious to get them started.  Some times we have a difficult time getting in touch with our teachers that are far away.  I hope things will go well with their seminary experiences.  Each family has one child that they are teaching.  At least now we have some contact information and know who we are talking to.  That is a huge help.  They were very kind to have a nice lunch for us afterwards.

It has been a great blessing to be able to study the gospel of Jesus Christ and share it with students and branches here in Alaska.  The more we study and learn of Him, the more we will feel His love for us and He can become our greatest friend.  Understanding and relying on the Atonement of Jesus Christ takes a lifetime of learning that can bring us the greatest joy.  Have a wonderful week.

Love,
JoAnn and Jim

                                             The quilt for Stephanie Dayton & Spencer Ashcraft.

                                              M & M's with their pictures on them--pretty fun.

                                                       Jim & Riley Nelson at home evening

Monday evening is always a fun time at home evening.  We meet at Trisha & Christina's apartment.  President Olsen had a great lesson and the new Christina brought a wonderful apple bread.  We keep a detailed record of our home evenings which has provided many smiles and laughs later on.  This time, we decided to take pictures of each one there so that we could add them to the journal.

Classes this week have been enjoyable and challenging.  We continue to have trouble with our camera in broadcasting our classes on the internet.  Travis Payton came and spent several hours working on things and eventually bought another camera.  We thought all was well until we tried to broadcast class on Thursday and it all froze up.  Needless to say, we will be working on that project again tomorrow.  Technology is really stretching us.  We have been having some great classes although most of the classes are small.  We realize, however, that each one is important.  It reminds me of the song the Reynolds sisters sing called, "He Blessed the One."  We were looking at pictures of those we met when we first came to Alaska and realized that about 60% of them are no longer in the Branch.  We did have several new people come to the Branch today, and we are encouraging them all to attend institute classes.

Spencer and Stephanie were married in the Anchorage Temple on Thursday.  Because of classes, we were not able to be there.  On Friday, they had a ring ceremony especially for family and friends that are not members of the Church.  Afterwards, they had a wonderful reception.  I felt badly that we didn't get to take a picture of them.  The most important thing is that they were sealed for time and eternity as a family.  That is the main goal--to see members receive eternal temple blessing.  Today another couple announced their engagement.  What a blessing.

Saturday we had Zone Conference in the afternoon with President and Sister Beesley and all the elders from our area.  It is always uplifting to learn from them and feel their spirits.  We are always given challenges to help us become better missionaries.  To close the meeting, we sang a wonderful Primary song, "If the Savior Stood Beside Me."   As we look at our lives and our missionary work, and think of the Savior being right by our sides, we can strive to be better examples of his followers. 

We are so thankful for the blessings we have received here and for the blessings that our family have received as well.  Thank you for taking care of each other so well.

Love to all of you,
JoAnn and Jim

To hear the song, here is the link to the Sally DeFord site. 
http://www.defordmusic.com/mp3/ifthesaviorstoodbesidemejamesloynes.mp3

                                          Sister missionaries at the mission home in Anchorage.

                                               Seminary & Institute training in Anchorage. 

Quilt for Rachel and Jared who are getting married on Saturday in Utah.

                      More meetings.  So much to learn.  Sister & Elder Schindler 2nd & 3rd from left.

It's been another busy week.  We finished our temple preparation class today for two couples that are both getting married this week.  Jared and Rachel are getting married in Provo, Ut. on Saturday.  Rachel came to Alaska to drive busses this summer and ended up engaged.  They are moving to Ephriam, so we won't see them again.  Stephanie and Spencer are getting married on Thursday in Anchorage and are having a reception here on Friday.  They plan to stay in Alaska, so we hope we will see them occasionally.  It is such a blessing to see them prepare and be worthy of a temple marriage for time and all eternity.  It is hard to see dear friends get married and leave our branch, but that's really what the gospel is all about -- families!

We were able to spend three days in Anchorage last week.  That allowed us the opportunity to attend the temple on Thursday and on Saturday.  It's also a blessing to be able to fly there.  Friday was filled up with lots of information on how to better accomplish our responsibilities including how to be better teachers.  It's a wonderful thing to learn from such seasoned teachers.  It was good to be with Elder & Sister Schindler again.  They are taking care of seminary and institute in Juneau.  Because we were in town with the Schindlers, the couple missionaries in the office planned a couples activity on Friday evening.  We had a wonderful dinner together with Pres. and Sister Beesley in the mission home.  There were eight of the mission couples there.  It's great to feel their spirits and get to know them as well.  Senior couples are greatly needed and can fill so many different assignments. 

I've been trying to get quilts finished in my few spare hours at home.  It's fun to be able to use the fabric stash that Jerri Olsen has upstairs.  Lots of the throws that I've made have an assortment of the same fabrics in them.  I found a great easy pattern on my trip to Anchorage two weeks ago that is becoming my favorite pattern.  Hopefully I will have the quilt for Stephanie and Spencer finished by Friday.

The forest is ready for winter.

We love being here in Alaska.  The weather has been quite nice, but snow is just around the corner.  You can tell people are getting prepared.  There are GREAT stacks of wood near many houses to keep them warm in the winter.  It has been so much fun to watch the changing seasons here. 

Every day we realize how blessed we are to belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that has been restored to the earth after such a long time of apostacy following the death of the Apostles of Jesus Christ.  We recognize how important families are to our Heavenly Father's plan and are grateful for the beautiful family we have been blessed with.  We love you all.  We miss our dear grandchildren, so take good care of them.   We are thankful for our dear friends at home as well. 

Love,
JoAnn & Jim

Zone Conference in Fairbanks one week before transfers.  Elder William R. Walker and his wife Vickie in the center back.

Sisters' conference in the mission home in Anchorage.

Prudhoe Bay--the beginning point of the oil pipeline taken from an airplane.

Seminary in Barrow, Jaden Nethercott, Pavel Hernandez, and Bro. Todd Henke.

It's windy in Barrow!

The Arctic Ocean with the top of a whale skull bone on the beach (with frozen puddles.)

A typical scene in Barrow with snow!

 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Barrow, Alaska.

      You will notice that there are 20 young elders in the Fairbanks zone pictured above. The zone is a good part of the mission. Geographically it is very large although most of the missionaries pictured are working within a thirty mile radius of Fairbanks proper.  Elder Walker was here for three days touring the mission however, he was only in three areas Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau. If he were to tour the entire mission with its remote villages and isolated areas he would have been here for two or three weeks. You will notice that Elder Spens is not in the picture because I was doing automobile inspection out in the parking lot. 

     We went through Prudhoe Bay on our way to Barrow this time. Prudhoe Bay is just one big oil field and it is a processing point for the beginning of the trans-Alaska oil line. It is a town if you will filled with workers of the oil industry. About half the men on our flight got off the plane at Prudhoe Bay to go to work.

     The last 5 pictures are of our trip to Barrow. Barrow is the furthest north city in the U.S.A. and the early morning seminary may very well be the furthest north early morning seminary in the world. Barrow is at 71 degrees north latitude. Winter starts there early and we were there for the very beginning as the snow came and the ground started to freeze. Bro. Henke picks up the seminary students each morning transports them to class and then after to the high school where he works as an industrial arts teacher. They have a very new and fully equipped high school with all of the latest technology as well as  full woodworking , automotive and metals shops. It is all paid for by monies that come into the North Slope Burroughs native Indian fund from oil and gas profit sharing. The fall whaling season was soon to get under way and is a big thing for the subsistence life style of the natives. They harvest about 10 bow-head whales each fall and all of the surrounding villages share in the meat and whale blubber. Barrow has no grass or trees or shrubs. It is just dirt that was mud when we were there and was thankfully starting to freeze so things are cleaner in the winter. The edge of the Arctic Ocean is a gravely beach with an occasional bow head whale skull displayed. It is usually overcast and windy in Barrow and warms up to a balmy 40 to 60 degrees in the summer which is July and August. 

  We are now back home and this week returned to a typical week of teaching institute classes here in Fairbanks. We have started a program of live video streaming the evening institute classes so that anyone in the remote areas can via the stake web site watch the class. We are just getting started in this area  as was recommended by the stake presidency.  They use this system for stake conference and also use it with a secure feed for their high council meetings.

     This week end we had conference sessions at the institute building and includes a breakfast/brunch for the young adults between sessions. Remember with our 2 hour time differential we started the sessions at 8:00am so our break is between 10 and 12. We had investigators attending all of the sessions. We certainly enjoyed the conference broadcasts and the good food as well. JoAnn and I enjoy our association not only with the YSA but also the recently baptized members as well as the investigators that we have a chance to talk with. Those who are investigating the church seem to add a certain vitality to the church with there enthusiasm as well as questions about the gospel. These young investigator/converts add considerably to the joy of our mission experience. 

Jim and JoAnn