Spring is Coming (Sometime)

Hi All,

We hear that the locals consider it Spring here between mid-March and the end of April. I go completely by temperature. So when we come out of below-freezing temperatures during the day and at night, then it is Spring. Looks like that will be at the end of April.  Actually when the 6" of ice melts off the road in front of our house and I can see asphalt then it is Spring.

Still beautiful.

We hit a milestone on Thursday with the arrival of the trailer that will become our Visitors' Center. We were pretty excited. They expected a 40' unit and instead received a 60' unit. Because of the size change, they couldn't maneuver it into the spot they had cleared off for it so they placed it in an alternate position -- even better because you can look out the side windows right into the construction area. It is a better close-up view.

We were intending to empty our garage of the furnishings we have for it but that got nixed by Kitty -- just too cold. I am willing to work in the cold but she is more sensitive to unfavorable conditions. It is warmer outside than inside the trailer because the sun peaks through the clouds occasionally. We will have to wait for the power connection so we have heat. I tried my best to sell Kitty on just buying a Mr. Buddy propane heater so we could get started -- I'm like that -- but we are waiting until the end of next week for the power. We were quite pleased with the trailer because it did come with reasonably nice carpet and wallpaper. The contractor's trailer is a grade lower with vinyl floor and wood paneling. We went with one of the contractor's folks (because he had a pickup and the credit card) to the new business Costco to pick up several of the niceties like a hot/cold water dispenser, mini fridge, and mini microwave. This is definitely not a third-world country.

Our people interaction was minor this week -- mostly during trips (1-2 minute commute) to the operating temple. I am surprised at the number of people who come up to us there, somehow recognizing our connection to the new temple. We are constantly answering questions about it. During the sealing session, the officiator stopped at one point and asked me (Farrell) to give everyone an update on how the project was progressing. We had about 17 people there which felt like way too many. We couldn't help but think how nice it would have been to be able to split the group in two and do twice the ordinances. The new temple will accommodate that.

The demo work on the meetinghouse continues. It is all a pile of rubble now with a constant flow of trucks hauling it off. Farrell was curious and decided to follow one of the trucks so we could document the whole haul-off cycle. Unknown to us, it was a 50-minute drive to their landfill site up by Palmer. In the meantime, the civil contractor, the one who digs the foundation hole and trenches for pipelines, has began to mobilize by dropping off one of their BIG track hoes.

We have become good friends with the general contractor's crew (4 leads) and associate with most of them every day. In the picture to the right, the Project Manager (Josh Foote) is in orange with the Assistant Site Superintendent (Dalton Mayfield). On some temple projects that is not the case. Usually, the primary interaction is with the church's project managers, but in our case, it has worked out differently. We do have to be careful not to overstep our bounds and interfere with what they are doing. Luckily they have invited us over the last many months to attend their weekly coordination meeting. They are also now in charge of the OAC (owner, architect, contractor) meeting which we attend. That is the directing body which makes all the decisions.

We have started to feel the need to get our act together in preparation for hosting visitors. We want to have pre-thought-out answers/responses to questions we expect to get from visitors, church members, and friends alike. Fortunately, the church has wonderful resources (videos, Q&As, etc.) on their website that help tremendously. The MTC was a long time ago for us.

After much effort, we ironed out the kinks in preparing our weekly reports that go to SLC (Project Manager, Coordinating Missionaries, and Head of the Special Projects Department). We expect to get the time required to do the compilation down to a few hours a week. It requires much more time on-site gathering the information. We are both getting much better at using the camera (that is getting good pictures). I have also been running full-time lapse video segments from the camera hung outside our bedroom window. We have a full view of the Visitors' Center in the alternate location from the same window which we wouldn't have had if it had been placed behind the existing temple. We will put a phone number on the door so they can call us if we are on-site or at home.

President Larsen, the Anchorage Alaska Mission President, asked us to give an update on the new temple to all the missionaries. He has a weekly Zoom call on Sunday evenings. It really is quite amazing to be able to have the gathering since distances are so vast. One set of Elders in Barrow tune in from the church building there (yes, a double-wide trailer). I assume because it is the only place with an internet connection. On the other side (940 miles by air) is the Yukon where there is a Sr. Couple and a set of Elders. Google can't find a way between those two points because part of it is only an ice road. Farrell put together a PowerPoint which he hopes will do the job. Will let you know how it goes.

Well, that is enough. We love you all. Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Elder & Sister Badger