Dear Family & Friends,
We wish you and yours the warmest greetings this Christmas season. It is truly the most wonderful time of the year. We are looking forward to the First Presidency Christmas devotional tonight, or I should say this afternoon. It will air live at 4 p.m. here in Anchorage. Meanwhile, Kitty will catch you up on our weekly adventures. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/broadcasts/2023-first-presidencys-christmas-devotional?lang=eng
I haven't seen the Northern Lights since I saw them on a hill at the Stake Center in Minneapolis as a teenager. On our youngest daughter Heather's birthday, November 30th, we were invited by senior missionary friends, the Coxs & Kuerths, to view the Northern Lights near the airport. It was cold and icy but we really enjoyed the experience. We look forward to seeing more colorful ones in the future. I will bring a tripod next time. Interestingly enough, our cell phones picked up the green glow before our eyes did. Usually, I'm frustrated that the camera isn't catching the beauty I see. We always enjoy getting together with the other senior missionaries.
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| White light is a plane coming in for a landing. |
Our Temple View ward had its neighborhood Christmas Dinner Party on Friday, December 1. We had lasagna, salads, rolls, and desserts. I didn't have any pecan pie at Thanksgiving, so I brought a pecan pie from Costco. Unlike their delicious pumpkin pie, it was not as good as homemade. I sat by Sister and Pres. Smith and a small family with young rambunctious children. He expressed gratitude to his wife for her excellent care and told me about his wonderful doctor at the Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center, Dr. Clark. Now we know where to go if we need excellent medical care. The highlight was hearing the Primary children sing. I was surprised by how many people I knew already. Farrell stayed home after a long week of being sick, in and out of bed, with some back pain, nausea, fever, and chills. Despite that, he was able to do quite a bit during the week on the temple project. As he was getting over a cold and worn out, I brought him home some leftovers. He bounced back on Saturday and seems back to normal today. He shared his heartfelt testimony today along with President Smith and many young children. President Smith quietly bore his testimony first. He was extremely grateful for being spared and comforted after his terrifying bear attack 2 1/2 weeks ago. He told us what he learned was not to get casual in our religious practices. This is eternal, it is not a game.
This will be the first Christmas away from home for me. I took down our fall Thanksgiving decorations and put up all our Christmas decorations in about 15 minutes this year, instead of being spread over three days. I changed the color of the electric candles, put out our Christmas pillow & liquid soap dispensers from Costco, and a few misc. decor items. We will get a live wreath as soon as we find a place to hang it:) The one thing I can't do without besides the story of the birth of the Christ child and family & friends is listening to inspiring Christmas music. I will have to put on my headphones if Farrell gets sick of hearing music all day long. It brings a wonderful joyful spirit to our home. I don't like commercials, so I prefer Amazon over YouTube or Alexa. The songs remind me of Christmas in my home as a young child, years past celebrating with relatives, decades of Christmas with our children & grandchildren, singing in our ward choir, and listening to the Tabernacle Choir in person.
We had the opportunity this week to do apartment checks for the young missionaries serving near us. We made sure the apartments were clean and safe and brought any issues to Elder Joseph, who is called to serve over housing. It gave me satisfaction to put glow-in-the-dark exit signs on the correct doors in an older apartment complex. Some doors led to other floors, decks, or garages and they were all painted brown. We purchased a shovel, mop, fire extinguisher, toilet seat, door latches, etc. We will get reimbursed, but since we don't need anything ourselves, it was nice to put our experience to work. The landlords will take care of some items. We will install a couple items next week. Farrell did bring his tools all the way from UT, in case we needed them. It was sweet to see the missionaries in their apartments. They are so good, well-mannered, and dedicated to serving the Lord.
A highlight this week was
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| I snipped their picture off the amazing YouTube video below:) |
seeing our dear friends, Elder & Sister Baer, on the
Light the World video and reading about their experience. They are serving a mission in Long Island NY - Seminary & Institute. They are at 1:19. It was a treat to see their beautiful faces. Wish we could have been there with them for that wonderful occasion. They were the first couple set apart by President Matthew Lewis, our newly called Stake leader in Mapleton UT. We were the second. It's been sweet to be serving at the same time.
Because Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem two millennia ago, atoned for our sins, and was resurrected, we can be with our families forever. We testify that He is the Son of God, He lives, He knows & loves us, and He hears & answers our prayers. During this wonderful Christmas season, we wish you and your family excellent health, joy, and peace. #ThinkCelestial
Love now and always,
Sister & Elder Badger
Such a beautiful email. So grateful for your service. Missing you both. I love the pictures of the northern lights. That is on my bucket list😂. A little snow lately but is is gone. We need more snow. Merry Christmas to our beautiful friends in snowy Alaska!!!!❤️❤️
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