The Iditarod & The Demo

Dear Friends and Family,

The counselor in the mission presidency in charge of service lined us up on Saturday to volunteer at the Ceremonial Start of the 2024 Iditarod race. This famous Alaskan dogsled race, roughly 1000 miles from Willow to Nome, Alaska, has a rather complex history. What is the same is dogs are the power and mushers are the brave souls who encounter weather, animals, and danger on the trek. 

We were stationed along the trail to keep sightseers 10' back from the trail. The picturesque Cambell Airstrip was at the end of a Ceremonial Route which allowed more people to see it and generated a ton of PR$$. All the teams who compete in the real race a day later have to do the Ceremonial race, but just for show. There were 42 teams each with 12 dogs, a musher, and a few riders spaced about 5 minutes apart. For this leg, the dogs pull two sleds so that those who pay for the privilege can ride along. We are still amazed at how quiet they go swishing by (snow sound). 

As they came into the marshaling area we were able to get right in the middle of it and see how the dogs were handled and loaded onto their trucks to move to the official race start location the next day. They are a group of well-cared-for dogs. Food (chunks of frozen fish), vitamins (saw vitamin E), and rubdowns were the norm. One lady musher had an all-woman team helping her. She was getting multiple autograph requests. Not sure who she was but they had their act together. Anyway, quite a unique experience. It was a bit nippy at 9°F but a beautiful sunny day.

We made it home from the race in the early afternoon, just in time to see the steeple of the church building that was being demolished come down. We scrambled for our cameras but couldn't get them on soon enough. Luckily I had a time-lapse running and others have pictures we will request. The demo started ahead of schedule Wednesday morning and we have been recording the demo of the building all week. 

Only a small amount is still standing after four days of work with one track hoe. They separate what metal they can as they go along. It can't be put in the same landfill and we assume they recycle it, especially the copper pipe. Every couple of days they bring in big trucks to load up debris for haul off. The building may be down soon but they will have a lot of cleanup and many many more truckloads to haul off. They will remove all the concrete and just leave a hole in the ground for the beginning of the temple building. This part is interesting, but we don't particularly like it. Building is better than tearing down. Sometimes to get to where you want to be you have to go through this kind of work. 

Generally, a few spectators are watching from outside the construction fence. A
Mom in the local ward brings her young boys over for a couple hours a day to watch. They get out of the car, swing on the light poles and just have a great time. I was with the construction superintendent, from Westland Construction, talking while he secured the site Friday. There were probably five cars within an hour that came into the construction area out of curiosity. None knew what was going on so concluded they were not members of our church since it has been publicized well there. They all thought the roof had collapsed due to the snow load. After we explained, we invited them to come back to the visitors center when it was up and running so we could give them a full explanation of what was going on. Once construction begins there will be a guard shack, badges, car signs, etc. for security.

This site is only a little over five acres so space is at a premium with the operating Anchorage Temple and a major construction project in the works. Some construction fence adjustments were made to allow the required minimum number of spaces for the active temple. That magic number is 73 spots. With ice & snow covering the parking lot, cars often take up more than one space. They had to use spray paint to mark the spaces to make the parking adequate. We were able to get a picture of all the senior missionaries in the Anchorage area Tuesday afternoon before the demo began. The media missionaries are working on a video post.

We usually attend the contractor meeting at 8 a.m. on Tuesday mornings by video - have been doing this for several months now. The leads of that team have just moved here or flown in for the meeting. They had no place to meet yet so we invited them to our home for a living room meeting. We also fed them quiche, sausage, toast, and fruit for breakfast. It worked well. They have become friends. Most have young families. Usually, construction missionaries don't have that close association with the general contractor but instead work solely through the site manager, a church employee. It has just worked out that way and they seem to enjoy the association. 

We get invited to dinner occasionally by local members and went back today to a previous invite. The Maiseys are quite amazing people -- both from the SLC area and now long-time Anchorage residents. Their children were born in Midway, UT. He wasn't making enough money there as a dentist -- too many in the area so they moved here. We have learned that is common in the medical business -- can make a lot more money here and pay off their school debt faster. For years this family has hosted these Sunday dinners. Apparently, because his Dad was the Branch President for 20+ years in North Dakota, it became a family tradition that they have continued in Anchorage. They invite lots of family & friends. I think about half are not members of the church. We have met some fascinating people. 

Almost without exception and without much directing from us we end up talking across the dinner table about family history and temples. Many are familiar with Ancestry and Family Search, members or not. If you want to see evidence of the Spirit of Elijah, this is it. We invite all to come to the visitor center where we can continue the conversation and introduce them to more of the Gospel message. One couple last night have lived here for years but until recently maintained a winter home in St. George. He is an active participant in the Huntsman Sr. Games (in his 70's) -- baseball and racquetball. Even with that link, he knew nothing about the church. They are moving from Wasilla, an hour from Anchorage, where they also own a home, to Anchorage so he is closer to racquetball courts. They delayed that move because the renters in their Anchorage home ended up with COVID and they didn't want to cause any hardship on them -- kind folks. Another thing we have learned here is that many people are affluent and mobile. Not uncommon to take trips to warmer climes -- Hawaii is common.

This is a very unique mission we are on. Many of the other Sr. Missionaries are interested in our assignment mostly because of the wide variety of things we get involved with. A lot of it is on the physical side -- observing the construction. But it is just so easy to talk about the Savior and the blessings of the Gospel. People are very friendly and genuinely interested. The other seniors are not envious that we will be here for another 2 1/2 years.

"When Lorenzo Snow was the prophet, there were only four temples, and all of them were in Utah. He knew that one day temples would dot the earth. In 1899, he prophesied, "The time will come when there will be Temples established over every portion of the land." Friend July 2002

In a talk, Farrell gave in 2011 to young single adults:

"There are now temples in about 47 countries by my rough count. I have lived long enough (age 58) to see the beginning of that prophecy’s fulfillment. Now if we were to look further to the future, maybe when you are age 58 let’s say, what would be the status then?"

Farrell in 2024 at age 71 says:

"There are temples in 77 countries. Was Lorenzo Snow a prophet? There are now 188 temples in operation, 52 under construction, and 95 more announced. They do indeed dot the earth."

We are amazed at the days we live in -- what a time to be alive. We have so much to be involved with and we couldn't be happier helping with the new Anchorage Alaska Temple. #ThinkCelestial

We love you all.

Elder & Sister Badger