This is an old Russian style fort being re-constructed on the UAF campus

 On our drive to Healy by Denali Park this rainbow popped out and was quite spectacular.

 This is a quilt made by Sister Spens and given to Adam and Aubrey for their wedding.

 Adam and Aubrey's wedding occurred at the branch with only two other friends so it was a small celebration.

 This is the upper part of Skyline Drive where we like to walk.

These were the decorations for the Asian theme dance at the branch this last Saturday. The paper lanterns were made at our family home evening.

We have had another busy week filled with events. We were down in Healy on Wednesday for institute however we had a total no-show on YSA. So we went over to Denali Park and drove into Savage River which is as far as you can drive into the park in private cars. We saw caribou along the way and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. On our return drive about 11:00 pm at night we both commented that it felt like it was 7:00 or 8:00 pm in the evening and the sun would be setting soon. It is just our biological clock telling us what the conditions are rather than the reality of the midnight sun conditions here and the fact that it would be light all night with no darkness. Maybe our biological clocks set in Utah will never adapt to the conditions here in Alaska. 

Our Thursday institute class continues to grow and we have a room full of students. It is a great group of young people and our summer class here in Fairbanks is going very well. We have a wide variety of young people some working for the summer, some return missionaries and some youth recently graduated from seminary. It makes for an excellent summer class as we study the Pearl of Great Price. We always have great class participation and the food that Sister Spens makes is always great.

Adam and Aubreys wedding was most interesting. It was basically them the Branch President a couple of their friends and us. It was truly very small and simple. Sister Spens brought a small cake and some sparkling cider for a brief celebration after the wedding. The good news is that they plan on being sealed in the Calgary Alberta temple this fall by Aubrey's grandfather. Adam has not been a member for a year as yet so they just decided upon his return from Alaska trooper academy to get married civilly and be sealed later. Sister Spens made the beauriful quilt for them in the colors of Aubrey's choice. It was the only gift at the wedding. 

On Saturday night there was a dance at the institute building with an Asian theme. It was well decorated as you can see from the above picture and it was well attended by many young adults. We stopped by for a while and danced a bit. 

This Sunday being Fathers' Day, Elder Spens spoke in sacrament meeting on the subject of patience. Sister Spens accompanied Gary Holyoak while he sang "Bring Him Home," from the musical Les Miserable. There was a great feeling of the spirit in our meeting, and we so much appreciate the opportunity we have of attending church with the YSA and for our associations with these strong young members of the church. We feel like the church is truly in good hands for the future.   

Elder and Sister Spens

 The breakfast cooking crew

Scott Beames our new coordinator [blink detected]

 

Happy Anniversary - 45 wonderful years.

Forget me nots in our own backyard

 

 

 

 

 

 Robert (2nd from right) was baptized on Saturday by his friend

 After breakfast - the Fairbanks Zone

Silly picture of our Zone before transfers

What a fun week this has been.  It all started with a breakfast at the Institute on Monday for our Zone missionaries before some of them were transferred to other areas.  They are a great bunch of missionaries and we love each one of them.  Now we have several new missionaries to get to know and enjoy. 

On Tuesday our new area coordinator came to visit Fairbanks.  Scott Beames is a great teacher and will now be training our seminary teachers several times a year.  We are excited to have someone that is much closer than Seattle to help keep the program on track.  It was his first visit to Fairbanks, so we were able to show him around a little.  We had a wonderful dinner with Pres. Payton from the Stake Presidency and his wife that evening.  It's so inspiring to hear the conversion stories of Pres. and Sister Payton.  We are looking forward to having Bro. Beames come to Fairbanks again before we leave.  He lives in Palmer near Anchorage.  ("Hi" to Larry Tippetts from Bro. Beames who worked in Coleville Utah under your direction).)

Wednesday and Thursday were Institute classes.  We always love to teach the classes and meet with the great young people here.  Since Thursday was our anniversary, I made a cake so that our "family" here could celebrate with us.  We decided that the greatest thing we have done in our 45 years together was raising a family!  We love and appreciate our children and their spouses (who are considered our children as well) and all of our wonderful grandchildren.  We never would have guessed how many wonderful people would come into our lives.  How blessed we are.

Friday evening we had the new district leaders come over for dinner.  We really enjoy working with them in the branch and being part of their work.  We especially enjoy helping with baptisms.  Robert's baptism was on Saturday.  I often get to play the piano for the services which I really enjoy.  

Saturday evening, we were able to attend a musical program at Pioneer Park.  Gary Holyoak from the Branch sings with a barbershop quartet that was a major part of the program.  Fairbanks has a good sized group of men that love to sing, especially barbershop.  They are really good and we enjoyed it thoroughly. 

Today at out sacrament meeting, Pres. Duval our stake president gave one of the talks.  He reminded us that even though our lives don't always go the way we might plan them, the important thing is to "look at what you have and feel joy."  We need to count our blessings and find joy in the moment.  Life is amazing.  We are greatly blessed and encourage our family and friends to look for the joy in their lives.  I have noticed how prolific the dandelions are this year in Fairbanks.  They make a beautiful carpet of yellow all over.  Enjoy the little things!!

Love, 

JoAnn & Jim

 

               Wildflowers are blooming along the roadsides.  These lupines were on the way to Healy.

                                            A final district photo before transfers this week.

                                   On Saturday the branch had a flower planting service project.

                                                         These pansies were a great choice.

                                               Pres. Olsen,  Doug Maynes and Elder Spens

                                               A wedding reception for Jeris and Bethany.

Another quilt for a happy couple who "graduated."

     Yes we call it "graduation" when any of our YSA get married and leave the YSA and become young married adults. There are two additional weddings planned this summer along with two couples who are engaged and will be married after we leave in the fall. Sister Spens has been ambitious and able to produce a quilt for each of the YSA who get married under our watch. Marriage and the process of finding that person who appears to be the "right" one is one of the goals of the majority of our YSA. The are always some relationships brewing especially in the summer when there are so many more young people here to work along with the returning students who have been away and the returned missionaries of which we have had a recent surge in that population. 

     Living in this cool forested northern climate the wild flowers seem to flourish, and they are just starting. They seem to love to grow alongside the roads in the open areas where there is less competition. It is always a beautiful sight as we walk or drive places to have the different varieties show themselves as they decorate the highway or the roadside. 

     It does not take us long to settle into the new semesters institute schedule and we are doing so this summer. It is a more abbreviated teaching schedule with only two evening classes but we still seem to have many other things to accomplish to fill in the time. As you notice above the institute flower planting activity went very well. Before planting we trued up the beds and added compost to the soil. We let the YSA chose the flower type, color and quantity and it came out great. The "forget me not blue" pansies should do very well in our cool and long daylight growing conditions. We were quit amazed last summer at the rapid growth and the spectacular size of the flowering plants here in Fairbanks. The extra solar energy seems to be the secret. 

     There are two missionary districts in the Fairbanks zone and one of those districts is pictured above. Two of the elders pictured are being transferred out of the zone, and two of the elders are being moved into the Denali Park area to work with the influx of young people that have come there to work for the summer. At our institute class in Healy which is the city by Denali Park the young people there talked to us last week about talking to their friends about the church so hopefully there will be some YSA referrals this summer for the missionaries working there.

    There are new and exciting things happening this summer with a new area seminary coordinator having been assigned to the Fairbanks stake. We will now actually have a professional seminary and institute person who will be working very directly with us for training and supervision. We have not had this direct contact in the past and is should be a benefit to the CES programs here. We have five new seminary teachers to train this summer before school starts in the fall. Also we will have some time to train our replacement missionary couple who we understand will be starting about the 20th of August. We continue to be exited to be full time missionaries especially as we can see the close of this mission assignment coming fast. We love to work with the strong youth of the church and to do what we can to build and strengthen the church here in beautiful Alaska. 

Elder and Sister Spens

                                   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