This bull moose was on the roadside near our apartment.

 

                                            Iceworm Gulch is still frozen near Denali Park.

 

      In Alaska they say it's so cold the snow is blue.  It's blue here in Iceworm Gulch.

This pictures was taken near Fairbanks looking towards the mountains in the distance.  The Tanana River winds it's way through the Interior of Alaska.  We are so blessed to serve in this beautiful place.

 

Jim at the Air Museum in Pioneer Park.

 

Another airplane in the museum.

                   Check out the sunrise and sunset and length of day and we're not at the solstice yet.

It's been a great week.  President and Sister Beesley were here in Fairbanks this weekend for specialized training with the missionaries.  It is a great opportunity for us to learn from them.  We had training on Friday afternoon, and they attended the Branch meetings today.  We are beginning to appreciate the great responsibility they carry in helping the missionary work go forward here in Alaska. 

On Saturday we were invited to a birthday celebration for one of the young adults and then decided to spend some of our preparation day visiting the museums in Fairbanks that we had not seen before.  It was free day at the museums, so we took advantage of the opportunity.  We thought some of the grandsons might be interested in the airplane pictures. 

We enjoyed our trip to Healy (near Denali Park) on Wednesday to begin classes there.  Much to our disappointment, the students didn't come.  We hope to be able to have students this week when we try again.  I told the missionaries here that it was like going to an appointment and finding no one home.  

Thursday's class was wonderful.  We are teaching the Pearl of Great Price.  I began by teaching a short lesson on one of the Articles of Faith.  Knowing the Articles of Faith and being able to explain them can be a great way to share the principles of the gospel with others.  Elder Spens then takes the time to go into depth in the teachings found in the Pearl of Great Price.  How blessed we are to have the understanding that is found in that small book.  Of course, everyone enjoyed the food afterwards. 

Working here with the young missionaries and the young adults here is a wonderful opportunity.  They are so appreciative of all we do.  It's fun to be part of their lives and watch their lives unfold.  Pres. Beesley asked me today if I was getting excited about returning home.  I told him that I was really looking forward to being with family again, especially the grandchildren. "That's the way it should be", he told me.  We have been so blessed as we have been here.  Our understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ has increased.  We love being able to serve. 

Love to all,
JoAnn & Jim

 These are the Chugach mountains close to the sea on our way to the city of Valdez. We drove over Thompson pass that gets over 900 inches of show in the winter months.

                     This is the Worthington glacier in late spring still covered in the heavy winter snow.

                         A large moose in a meadow by the roadside setting eating the water foliage.

 Elder Spens by the side of an old sea going fishing boat on display in the city of Valdez. It is truly a fishing mecca.

                      Sister Spens took this picture of two bald eagles circling above our car in Valdez.

The sister missionaries working in Valdez taken on the sea side dock. They love the people and area of Valdez and hope to stay there for a long time.

The black bears were out on the lower ridges of the Valdez mountains. A cub and its mother grazing. The bears are just coming out of hibernation and we watched them from a good distance.

 This small herd of Caribou  were grazing alongside the Richardson highway that connects Fairbanks to the city of Valdez. We had to slow down several times for Caribou to cross the road.

We traveled to Valdez this week to visit with the sisters working there and to pick up a little fresh halibut as well. The trip down was great and we had mostly sunny weather. The journey down passes through Delta Junction and Glenallen which we have been to before. However, we had never been to the city of Valdez. It is truly a spectacular city nestled in a deep water fiord and surrounded by snow-covered mountains that rise to seven thousand feet above sea level. It is a fishing town as well as the terminal city for the end of the trans-Alaskan pipeline. 

The sisters showed us around town a bit and took us to the members house where we spent the night. We found that just like any place in the world where there are faithful members of the church you can quickly bond with those members. The family we stayed with took us on a driving tour of the city of Valdez. One of the most notable sights was the old town of Valdez that was simply an empty field next to the harbor on very low land. In 1964 a tsunami from the great Alaskan earthquake completely destroyed the city and they have rebuilt the town on higher ground. They now have a tsunami warning system and high ground evacuation areas in the event of another tsunami. Valdez was just a great place to visit with great scenery and great people as well. 

We also started our summer institute schedule with instruction in the Pearl of Great Price. We had our class here in Fairbanks and we will start our summer class in Healy next week. Our institute summer schedule is abbreviated due to the busy schedule of the YSA and the fact that even though the YSA branch has doubled in size with summer seasonal workers up from the lower 48 we will not have many of them attending institute. We will likely not have any day classes as well since many of our UAF students will be working full day time shifts during the summer. 

We have also planted a little container vegetable garden to give Alaskan cool weather and short growing season gardening a try again. We only have cool weather plants and small cherry tomatoes so we will see how it goes. 

Under the direction of the Stake President, today the branch started having munch and mingle after our meeting block.  It was a simple dinner prepared ahead of time for the YSA. It turned out well and I think the young people greatly appreciated the meal and the chance to socialize for an hour after the block of meetings. It even increased the number that stayed for choir practice. The branch president spoke in sacrament meeting to the topic of keeping the sabbath day holy and reminded us of the significance of the sabbath day as a sign between us and God of our willingness to be obedient to the commandments. It has been and will always be a sign of God's covenant people. 

As we enter the summer season here in Fairbanks we are looking forward to teaching the YSA and our continued association with them. 

Elder and Sister Spens

Family home evening going for a walk at Creamer's Field.

                                 Green is starting to show on the trees in the hills and the valley.                           

                                                                  In Creamer's Field

                                    The Canada Geese are here at Creamer's Field bird refuge.

                                 Dinner for our friend Chris Johnson at a local Thai restaurant.

                Elaina and Miriam were baptized on Friday.  They have just been adopted by the Smith family.

What a wonderful week we have had.  Monday our family home evening group went for a walk in Creamer's Field and enjoyed the beautiful cool weather and the very large mosquitoes.  It's so much fun to spend time with the young people we have met here.  Every week we have more returning home to Alaska and more coming to work here for the summer.  There are new friends to make every week.

The hills are finally beginning to turn green.  Probably within a week the trees will be totally leafed out and it will be summer.  The first flowers -- dandelions are starting to bloom.  We are really enjoying the nice weather and the sunshine.  The sunrise is at 4:30 am and sunset is at 11:00 pm.  Night never gets really dark now.  The sun continues to stay longer each day.  It's just Alaska.

Our last institute class for this semester was on Tuesday evening.  Although it began as a class for older stake members, most of them have stopped coming.  On Tuesday, we had 12 new young adults come to class from the Branch.  It was wonderful!  This week we will begin our summer schedule.  Things are always changing, but lots of fun.

Chris Johnson who was in our branch presidency when we first arrived, flew into Fairbanks this week for a short visit.  He has been working in Pennsylvania.  Several of his friends went to dinner at a local Thai restaurant, and we were invited to join them.  It's good to see friends if only for a little while.  Elder Spens took some flyers along that advertised our English classes for Thai speakers that are taught by a returned missionary from Thailand. 

Friday was a special day for Elaina and Miriam Smith who were baptized.  They have recently been adopted into the Smith family who have been their foster parents for a few years.  They were so excited to be baptized.  They have been waiting for two years.  They are beautiful girls.  We have come to know them through our associations with the Verhagen family in Nenana.  Their mother is a former Verhagen.  Now they are looking forward to being sealed to their new parents in August in the Anchorage Temple and become part of an eternal family. 

Today was Mother's Day.   I'm so glad I can still call home to my mother.  She had her 90th birthday this week.  I have learned so much from her beautiful example of faith and service.  Happy Mothers' Day to all the beautiful mothers in our lives and in our family!!

Today was also Seminary and Institute Graduation.  Our theme this year was from Proverbs 3:5-6.  "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct they paths."  There was a wonderful spirit and the speakers were excellent.  All of the seminary students within driving distance (100 miles) sang "If the Savior Stood Beside Me."  It was beautiful.  I will admit that I get a little crazy getting everything together and ready with last minute changes, etc., but all went well.  We are so grateful for the faithful teachers who spend so much time and energy teaching these students to love the Savior.  They are truly blessing the lives of those they teach.  As we thought about the theme, we realized how important it is to trust in the Lord.  Our trust in Him has lead us here to Alaska.  It has blessed our family and continues to do so.  We are so grateful.

Love to all,
JoAnn & Jim

                     Ravens get very large here in Alaska like these two standing by the side of the road.

Some Alaskans are very creative about what they live in. Like this airplane fuselage that works for a summer home. You enter by simply driving the truck about ten feet forward then climb the stairs. This plane is far away from any airport.

           Elder Poole and his new companion Elder Merrell just after dinner at our apartment.

                         Sister Spens at the institute clean up project along with many YSA helpers.

                                    Chef Doug at the barbeque for the YSA cleanup crews lunch.

                Some of the YSA just before the lunch after the clean up service on Saturday May 5th.

 The entire Fairbanks community has a clean up day to spruce up the community just before the tourist season starts. There is quite a bit of trash on the road side because everyone carries their trash to a pick up point in the back of pickup trucks all winter and a good deal of it flies out. Everyone gets involved with the clean up and things are really looking much better. It is a great community service for the YSA. Some of the YSA also prepared our small flower beds for planting. We will have to wait until the last week in May to avoid the possibility of frost damage.

This week we have been winding up our institute classes for the Spring semester. We had our last Old Testament class this last Thursday as well as our last teachings of the living prophets. Sister Spens tried a brand new soup called Toscana soup that is from the Olive Garden restaurant and it was a great success. Test week is coming up so we take a one week break before the Summer session starts. Classes at the institute are getting larger because of the return of students from college and the influx of seasonal workers coming for the tourist season. Many of the YSA returning to work or from school are young people that we worked with last summer so the reunions are great. Also in the bottom picture is a young man Louis who was baptized Saturday night after the service event. Another girl pictured there is Annie who is moving to Anchorage to work. We certainly do have a constant turnover in the YSA population. Everyone seems to be headed somewhere.

If you check the LDS senior missionary opportunity list currently posted on the church web sight you will find a position for a couple to serve a CES mission in Fairbanks Alaska or in other words our position is now being officially advertized and things are in process to find a replacement for us. It will truly be interesting to see who will take our place and hopefully it will be soon enough that we can give some training to the new CES couple. They  are now officially called S&I (Seminary and Institute) not CES.

The trees are actually starting to turn green as ice breakup season is over and spring is finally coming. The milder temperatures are certainly appreciated. We do not have to plug in the car overnight to keep the engine warm nor do we have to let it idle for twenty minutes to warm the car before driving. The car seems to run better at warmer temperatures as well.

Our greatest joy continues to be our association with the wonderful YSA and the opportunity we have to teach them and set and example for them. We have built many strong relationships with the youth of the church here in Alaska. Our association with the young missionaries is great as well. We are kind of like grandparents to the missionaries. We have provided the institute building for them to use and it is always great to have them around for lunch or district meetings or to have them teach investigators at the institute as well. The YSA as well as the missionaries always seem to have doctrinal question as they grow in their knowledge of the gospel. These question always lead to interesting discussions.

Saturday night we were invited to a great whole pig roast farewell dinner for Sister Laura Bullen who is headed to serve a mission in Brazil.  Then we had a great baptismal service for Louis Hospe that was very well attended by many YSA. Sunday we all gathered for a special CES fireside broadcast where all senior seminary students were invited to attend. Elder Marlin K.Jensen spoke and gave a great spiritual presentation using the sacred grove as an analogy to how we grow spiritually in the church. Sister Spens provided great homemade brownies after we were all spiritually feed with the teaching of a general authority. We continue to enjoy the work of the Lord in the great Alaska mission.

Elder and Sister Spens

                                     A few of the senior missionaries in front of the Mission Office.

                                       What a beautiful day to enjoy a trip to the Kenai Peninsula.

  This is looking across the Turn Again arm of the Cook bay south of Anchorage. The forest as well as the snow come right down to sea level in this part of Alaska.                                   

                       This old Russian Orthodox Church is in old Kenai and is on the historic register.

                                         Some of the senior sisters in the mission home kitchen.

                                           An "official" photo with Pres. and Sister Beesley

                                               This Tlingit art is in the Anchorage Airport.

It has been an interesting week for us.  We made our final trip to Anchorage to our Seminary and Institute training with our area leader.  We really enjoy learning from the experienced teachers.  There are so many things to learn about being a better teacher and taking care of the program here. Those in charge of the Seminary and Institute program of the church are trying their best to turn us into official S&I teachers.  Some changes were made in the organization of our area which will allow us to have closer contact with Bro. Beames who will now be our area coordinator.  The state of Alaska was split up in two general areas.  We look forward to working closer to Bro. Beames.  He plans to come visit next month to give us more direction.  It was a hard thing to realize that we probably wouldn't see Bro. Greg Bishop again or the Schlindlers who will be leaving Juneau in July. 

As always, we took the opportunity to attend the Anchorage Temple.  There were a few crocuses blooming on the temple grounds to welcome spring.  We still don't have leaves on the trees, but it looks promising.  It is a great blessing to be able to stay in the mission home.  Pres. and Sister Beesley are so kind and helpful.  All of the senior missionaries that were in the Anchorage area had a dinner on Friday evening.  It is a great opportunity to talk with the other missionary couples and share experiences and just get to know each other better.   The Parkers will be leaving next week, and others later in the summer.  Things are in constant change, but the work goes on. 

Thursday we borrowed a mission car and took a little trip out on the Kenai Peninsula.  We have been told how beautiful it was.  We really enjoyed the opportunity to see a little more of Alaska.  It is interesting to see a little history as well.  There is still a bit of Russian influence in the old towns especially on the coast. 
 
Earlier this week we had a homeless man come into the institute to see if he could "hang out with God's children."  He was very aware of how important it is to help others improve their lives.  He visited one of our classes and was at church again today.  He told us how impressed he was with our young people who not only talk of Christ, but also try to live as He did.  They really are good examples.  

Today we had our last temple preparation class with a couple that is planning to get married and with a new sister missionary who got her visa and will be flying to Brazil to begin her mission next week.  It is such a blessing for us to associate with such wonderful young adults.  I am so grateful the the blessings of the temple that allow families to be sealed for time and for eternity.  We are aware everyday of the blessing it is to have a family and how important our families are.   We pray for the Lord to watch over and bless all of you while we are here.

With love,
JoAnn and Jim

           At the home of Dale and Alisa Hardy, some wonderful members who invited us for dinner.

                                          This is a piece of artwork called the solar borealis.

                   That is the frozen Tanana river and the Nenana Classic tower sitting on the ice.

                         The clock house and connecting tower for the tower as shown above.

               A view from the Parks Highway looking south to the Alaska range with Mt. McKinley in the center. Probably 200 miles away.  (Notice the trees are still bare.  We expect everything to "green up" in a week or so.)

This is the Fairbanks zone elders and sisters on transfer day just after lunch and just before departure to Anchorage to complete all of the transfers. Four of the elders above are being transferred out and one of the sisters. They all travel to the mission office in Anchorage to accommodate the transfer process. It takes the better part of two days for all travel and completion of transfers. Everyone seems exited about the moves. Two of the elders transferring have been in the Fairbanks zone for nine months. The institute has been a hub of missionary activity since we arrived and that was not the case in the past. We have just opened up the institute building to all missionary activity. We are looking forward to meeting the new elders and the new sister in a couple of days.

The pictures of the Nenana ice classic above are an interesting yearly activity. They build the black and white tower on the frozen Tanana river in February when the ice is four feet thick. Then they wait until the break up of the river in late April or May and when the tower falls down it trips a signal that gives the exact time that the tower falls. Some times the river will break up early with several feet of ice and it is a thunderous event. Other times is is just a slow melting process where the ice finally gets so thin that the tower just falls. Since no one knows when it will fall lottery tickets are sold where you guess the exact date and time of the tower movement and the winner or winners share in prize money. It has been going on since 1917.

The solar Borealis pictured above is just outside the Fairbanks airport and is an artistic sculpting with special reflective material attached so as to reflect the colors of the rainbow and thus the name solar borealis. If you look closely you can see green to the left, pink to the right and blue on the top.  The colors change with the light.
 
The attendance at our main  institute class on Thursday has begun to climb because of returning missionaries and arriving workers for the summer tourist season. It is great to have an increase in class size as well as having non-members attending as well. The young people here are constantly inviting and bringing their friends to institute and to the YSA branch meetings. The young people are starting to go over to the stake center after institute and play volley ball as well after institute class and the food gathering. The volley ball, the food and the institute classes all combine to be great attractors for the YSA.

This past weekend we traveled to the small town of Anderson to visit and early morning seminary class. We went down early and attended church meetings at the Tamarack branch in Nenana. We then had a wonderful dinner at a members house along with the young elders who are teaching two young girls who will be baptized in May. We stayed over night at an old lodge just outside of Anderson. It was pretty well run down and for sale. We stayed in a 'cabin' as they called it. It was very old and run down but it sufficed for the night. The interesting thing that happened when we arrived at the cabin after dinner at the members was that the facility had no toilet paper or tissues so JoAnn went to the office to ask for some.  (It's me now.)  One of the lodge owners  started asking about what church group we were with.  I was able to explain that we were from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes called the Mormons.  He asked where the church came from.  When I told him it was organized in New York, he was very surprised.  I asked if he was interested in knowing how the church came to be.  He said he was, so I proceeded to tell him about Joseph Smith and how he wanted to know which church he should join.  I told him about Joseph Smith's vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ and how he was told he would be an instrument in restoring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth.  I told him about the Book of Mormon and asked him if he would like a copy to read.  Unfortunately, we didn't have an extra copy in the car, so he asked if I would send him one. It was a privilege for me to bear my testimony to him and see his interest in what I said.  Maybe we were supposed to stay there.  We never know when we will be able to share our testimonies with others.

Have a wonderful week!
Jim and JoAnn

                                This is part of our home evening group in the Institute "living room."

                                                  More home evening group having a lesson.

                You know that spring has arrived when the birds return to Creamers Field Bird Refuge.  There are many more swans than we have seen before.

    If you look closely, you will see many swans and Canada geese that have returned to this part of Creamers Field.  We actually live just a little right of center on the hills in the background.

                                      Some of the Canada geese looking for something to eat.

                                This is a male muskox at the UAF Large Animal Research Station. 

Two muskoxen and a missionary.

                              You have to look carefully to see these signs of spring -- pussy willows.

Our drive way is almost clear with some heavy shoveling.  Now we will have a small river running down it until all the snow is melted.  Breakup is an interesting new season.

This week as been wonderful again.  We have been holding home evenings in the Institute for a few weeks now.  The foyer makes a nice living room when we bring out the comfortable chairs.  It was the day after Easter, and for an activity we hunted for Easter eggs inside.  Some of the grandchildren might be able to find a few eggs in the pictures.  Most of the eggs were found.  However, I kept finding eggs tucked in places all week. 

Our classes have been great.  We never know exactly how many to expect.  The attendance to our classes on Thursday as been increasing.  That always makes me happy.  We really enjoy the students here.  Because BYU Idaho is between sessions, we had three students from a family in Delta make the 100 mile trip to attend class as well.  It's a long trip for them.  It makes me so glad to see their determination to come to class.  

On Wednesday, we had our last early-morning inservice class for our seminary teachers for the year.  We may have one before we leave before school starts up again in the fall.  Our teachers are so committed to helping their students understand and apply the teachings of the Old Testament to their lives.  We appreciate all they are doing and the sacrifices they are making.  Three of our teachers will be leaving the area before school starts again.  Things always change.  As the school year gets close to the end, we continue to prepare for graduation and for having materials ready for next year.  

This weekend has been our Stake Conference with Elder Paul V. Johnson of the Seventy as our visiting authority.  His official assignment is the Church Education System.  We have learned much from him in our inservice meetings that have been televised from Salt Lake City since we arrived in Alaska.  Our Stake is focusing this year on building the Stake by helping us focus on the "next saving ordinance."  We had some wonderful talks in the Saturday evening session.  I am grateful for a Stake Presidency that is so aware of the needs of the Stake.  Our conference sessions are also made available on the web for those in outlying areas and to review again later.  This is the same way we broadcast our class on Thursday.  Technology is a wonderful blessing to us in Alaska where our Stake is so spread out.  

All of the missionaries met with Elder Johnson on Saturday morning for a question and answer session and some great instruction.  On Sunday, Pres. and Sister Beesley were here to speak as well.  We love to hear their council and direction.  They had just returned from a training meeting in Utah and had so much to share.  I heard a comment that Pres. Beesley is rivaling Pres. Uchtdorf in his story associations about flying.  One highlight for me was to hear a Primary children's choir sing before conference began on Sunday.  It was so fun to watch their faces as they sang with all their hearts. I do miss our association with little children.  In the afternoon there was another short fireside for all the Young Single Adults in the stake.  It focused on agency and how we give Satan part of our agency as we follow his enticings in the world.  He binds us with "flaxen" cords until they become "strong cords" and then even "chains of death."  The wonderful part is that the Savior through our repentance can help us break those cords and chains so that we can gain our agency back and choose to follow Christ.  Everything depends on the choices we make and the Atonement of the Savior.  

Our weather has been so warm.  We really enjoy being able feel the warmth of the sun.  Early in the week we stopped to see if there were any birds at Creamers Field and found lots of snow.  By the end of the week there were many geese and swans that had returned.  The geese will be there until they leave in the fall once again.  You can always tell when the birds return because there are so many people there to watch them and take pictures.  We also stopped to check out the muskoxen.  They keep the males and females separate most of the time.  You can still see who is dominant as they butt heads to take over in the at the feeding spot.  The musk ox has a very fine and warm fur under the outer hair that is very expensive.  When it starts to be shed in the spring, they take the muskox to a small pen and brush out the Qiviat wool.  A scarf sells for $250.00 to $350.00.  It is the softest and warmest wool in the world.  

We love being in Alaska and serving the Lord.  We pray for the Lord's blessings to be with our family and friends at home.

With love,

JoAnn and Jim