Hello to All & Merry Christmas!!!

Dear Family & Friends,

Farrell writing this week:) We attended an Interfaith Christmas Musical program last night at the Stake Center right next to where we live. We sang along with the Unite Church, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel & Angus Dei. We also sang hymns and the "Tabernacle Choir on Temple Square" version of Silent Night. It was a varied program that was thoroughly enjoyed. Kitty had tears streaming down her face as three string instruments and a piano played Ave Maria. People stayed for nearly an hour afterward visiting and having light refreshments. 

Current Anchorage Temple top & left. The Stake Center is on the right.

We were even introduced to a Sister who had lived in Mapleton - a friend of Don and Carrie Walker. This kind of interfaith event seems to be more of the norm than the exception around here. I counted 10-15 missionaries present from the various wards.

A Mapleton UT friend

We allocated about an hour during the week to pass out some 

Kitty passing out
flyers on our street
mid-day

flyers to invite our neighbors to come to the event. Instead of an hour, we spent several thoroughly enjoying visiting with all the good people who live around us. We have a Medivac pilot, a veterinarian, an insulation contractor, a writer, etc., and several retirees. They all express an interest in coming to visit on the other side of the fence where the temple construction will occur. Although most of the chat was just friendly, I can't wait to invite them into our little future visitor's center next to the construction to help them learn about their family history and why the temple is important. I want them to feel like the Anchorage Temple is their temple.

It wouldn't be Christmas time without a few party gatherings. The Mission President brought in all the senior missionaries for an evening together on Friday. The Presidency served us, in true Alaska fashion, king crab for dinner -- all you can eat. It was prepared by a member of the Presidency who had recently survived the bear attack. He still has one arm bandaged and in a sling. Of course, the crab was surrounded by ham and all the side dishes along with desserts. To put this into perspective, you have to remember that this is the Anchorage Alaska Mission, which includes all of Alaska and part of Canada. One of the couples flew in from Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon, in Canada. It is a flight with three legs through Seattle and Vancouver. They left the party to catch a flight at 1:30 a.m. expecting to get back to Whitehorse by 6 p.m. Others also came from far away. The longest drive was about six hours - like this is nothing out of the ordinary.

Sr. Christmas Party in the Institute Building

We took on some missionary apartment inspections over the last couple of weeks. The mission tends to spread the load around the Sr. group because of the distances and quantity. The church requires inspections every six weeks. That consists of several safety items (smoke/CO detectors, fire extinguishers, emergency plans, security, etc.) as well as cleaning equipment available and general upkeep of the apartment. Kitty was really in her element. I even got to pull out the tools I brought to install a security lock on the Sisters' apartment. I also repaired six chairs in our residence which were missing all the front legs. The best thing about the inspections is interacting with the young Elders and Sisters. Anchorage is multi-ethnic. So are the missionaries and the wards. We opened up one set of Filipino Elders' fridges to find only a few apples. We didn't get a good explanation until we went to the next apartment a few blocks away (also Filipino elders) to find their fridge overflowing with food they said the local ward supplies them with. Come to find out, the two sets of Elders eat every meal together and keep all the food in one fridge. There are several missionaries here who are "visa waiters". We said goodbye to one of the Sisters headed for Peru on Wednesday (she was part of a trio who had a baptism last Saturday). Two Elders are waiting on Mozambique visas. They don't think that is ever going to happen.

Another beautiful sunset

Sunrise @ 10:00am

Sunset 4 p.m.

The temple project (our official assignment with the church Special Projects Department) is progressing as expected. The plans are under active review by the city. The architect is getting their feedback and clarifying/correcting any items necessary. The Sr. Project Manager for the general contractor has made several trips up and as of Friday finalized the buyout -- that is has subcontractors lined up and is awaiting church approval to issue purchase orders. After the city finalizes its review and issues a building permit, construction begins. The general contractor will take over the site on March 4. I hear by word of mouth that several individuals have construction plans in hand either because they have some connection with a bidder or because they have directly downloaded them from the city. So it won't be long now. Most of the rest of the management team will move up here Jan/Feb. We regularly meet via video with all the people involved -- keeps us busy.

Another beautiful sunrise

I had an interest in making contact with the Church Communications couple here in Alaska (their church calling). I finally tracked them down a few weeks ago. They did not know about us. I was able to help them connect all the dots between the Temple department, the Special Projects department, the Physical Facilities Manager (a local church employee and Stake Presidency member), and the Communications department of the church. This was not by accident -- felt the hand of the Lord in making all this happen. The connections are most important for communications with the community, neighbors, and members. The Alaska Communications couple handles all the news releases (provides input to the church). They have a wonderful plan to work on an interfaith outreach to provide surplus materials from the demolition to other groups who can use them. We will use some pictures, chairs, mats, etc. in the Welcome Center. Other ward buildings will use some of the materials to fill in or upgrade. There is still so much left that could be put to good use by others in the community. We will, in the meantime, assist in that effort as well as spread goodwill in conjunction with the new Anchorage Alaska Temple.

Best Wishes to All. #ThinkCelestial

We love you,

Elder & Sister Badger