Hard Hats & High-Vis Vests

 Dear Family & Friends,

In our hard hats, high-vis vests, & jeans in front of site.

As missionaries we are not allowed to post pictures of the project, but anyone else can take them from outside the fence. We can refer you to a website where others can post pictures:) 

https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/anchorage-alaska-temple/news/

Sister Currier, one of the single senior missionaries, took pictures of us doing our job on Wednesday. She made a video of all the senior missionaries and their different responsibilities. Friday night all the senior missionaries gathered for our Spring Social at the Institute Building with President and Sister Larsen. First we watched the video, then ate dinner. We had homemade soups, rolls and jam, with salads and desserts. As usual it's always wonderful to visit with the other senior missionaries. We have so much in common, and enough differences to make the conversations very interesting.

Streets are finally dry enough to walk safely outside. 

After our adventures last weekend we had several quiet days. With a few sunny days and blue skies we are enjoying spring in Alaska (40°F). Yesterday we saw lots of children out on bikes and as always see many people walking dogs. 

Tulips poking thru at the current Anchorage Temple.

We continue to outfit our Visitors' Center. It's been six weeks since we started submitting our weekly reports

 to the church. After removal of the existing meetinghouse, the ground is now level and there is a construction fence all around the site. The equipment for the civil excavation work is now on site. That includes two trackhoes, one compactor, one dozer and one large off-road type haul truck.

We had a fun ward activity Saturday night called Come Eat Pig. There were many friends and neighbors of ward members there. The TempleView Ward has done this for 18 years. The pork was delicious. Farrell cut two fresh pineapples in half lengthwise and filled them with cut pineapple. They were beautiful.

Tonight we were invited to Alvin Smith's home for his 40th birthday - Pres. Smith's nephew. Alvin had been preparing and smoking meat since Wed. It was fun to visit with his family and other ward members. We have missed Farrell's smoker and family & friend gatherings. We brought a fresh fruit salad and again the food was delicious and the company was great.

Well we are off to try and see the Aurora Borealis. The skies are clear and the KP will be 5.0 at 10p.m. We are meeting up with several other senior missionary couples. The days are over 14 hours long now and some have never seen the Northern Lights, so this is their last chance. Praying it will be good viewing. 

The Kp index is a common way to measure the strength of geomagnetic activity. It ranges from 0 to 9, with higher values indicating more significant geomagnetic disturbances. A Kp index of 5 or higher is often associated with good Northern Lights viewing opportunities at mid-latitudes. - Google

We feel so blessed to be serving a mission. We are so grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ and his gospel. We are grateful to have a living prophet on the earth today. We pray you will all find the joy the gospel brings. Have a wonderful week. #Think Celestial

Love always, Elder & Sister Badger