Swans and Sunsets

Dear Friends and Family,

Swans at Potter's Marsh Sat.

Kitty writing this week. We are enjoying our mini spring break. It's been good to
slow down a bit, get caught up, relax, and enjoy the beauties that surround us. We can tell the days are definitely getting longer.

Everything is so expensive here that when we first moved up we saved everything. Last week I cleaned out our disposable plastic drawer and threw away at least half of the empty containers we had saved. This week I cleaned out our amazon boxes and about two thirds of our recycled envelopes. I needed more room for the Christmas decorations I had taken down a couple weeks ago. Who knew decluttering was such an ongoing project.

Swans at Potter's Marsh Wed.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Farrell went on a bike ride. He doesn't mind traffic, gravel, and cold as much as I do, so he rode over to Potter's Marsh. It's about a seven minute car ride. This year he saw the swans. We were too late last year. So early Saturday afternoon we drove there to see if we could see them again. There is only one pair, but they were easy to spot and I was able to take more pictures. They walk on the ice and then float on the pools of water. It's the first time we've walked on the boardwalk. I really enjoyed it and hope to add it into our exercise routine as it gets warmer as an alternative to walking the mall. 

I was able to attend craft night Wednesday evening at Sister Duggins beautiful home. Six of us sat around and visited while we worked on our various crafts or sewing projects. Farrell had asked me to hem a pair of pant cuffs he tore out, so I hemmed both cuffs. Luckily I had the right color thread this time and didn't have to buy more. 

Potter's Marsh Bird Sanctuary.

We went to Stake Conference last night. We were able to get soft seats and really
enjoyed the meeting. Many people shared stories of finding the covenant path and the joy it brought into their lives. Brother Bilbo Ivey lives in the Bush Branch and shared his story. His wife is the Primary President. Because of the far flung reaches of the Branch -- 1400 miles across and 1000 miles top to bottom, she had never met most of her primary kids -- recognized their voices on the phone. They don't do video due to lack of bandwidth in most of those locations. She had a real treat when one of the families recently posted a photo of their son, one of the primary kids on Facebook. He was holding his rifle while sitting on top of his first bear kill. He brandished a smile from ear to ear. He is a native kid -- 7 yrs old. Not the normal primary kid experience. Bro. Ivey told us later he moved here when he was ten years old and Alaska fit him like a glove. He invited us to his cabin far from any roads. You get there either by helicopter or by snow machine on the river (30 miles). I can't wait to take that adventure. His son works at the Temple on Tuesday evenings, on my same shift. His grandson, James, works for Westland Construction and we see him everyday on site. He is a hard worker and is saving money for his mission. We brag on him to his family every chance we get. 

View from boardwalk at Potter's Marsh.

This morning we knew half of the speakers. We sat by our friends the Pettijohn's. We met them at the gym and see them often at game night. President and Sister Smith, from our Temple View ward, shared their experience of the bear mauling November 2023 and the tender mercies surrounding that trial. President and Sister Larsen, our mission leaders, gave uplifting talks. The choir sang two beautiful numbers that reminded me of our amazing choir back in Mapleton UT. Then James Ivey gave the closing prayer. I only brought two Kleenexes, but needed three. I'll know better next time. We saw many friends and fellow missionaries and enjoyed catching up. 

View of sunset over Mount Spurr.

This evening we had dinner at Maisey's. They are so wonderful and often invite us to their beautiful home. About a dozen of us enjoyed discussing a variety of topics from the pending eruption of the Mount Spurr volcano near Anchorage, temple construction updates, recent tariffs, fishing, boating, Hawaii, etc. It's always a feast with wonderful friends and neighbors. Their cute new grandbaby was there. Brother Anderson was there alone as Sister Anderson is visiting her sister in Saint George, UT. They own a second home there. The Norton's, our site superintendent and his wife, are also from Saint George and left Friday for a short vacation there. Small world.

Turnagain Arm at sunset.

We are really looking forward to General Conference next weekend. It's like a day at the spa for your spirit. We usually listen Saturday while we do mindless projects like cleaning or organizing. If it's warm I would really like to wash the windows. Haha, it looks like a 50% chance of rain that day. The joke is it always seems to rain on conference weekend in Utah. Same here, I guess. We are excited to see if any more temples are going to be announced. If you want a spiritual feast, join us next Saturday and Sunday: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/learn/general-conference?lang=eng  

Easter is coming up soon. It's just three weeks away. Without Easter we wouldn't have a reason to celebrate Christmas. What a hopeful and joyous time of year. We are grateful to have you in our lives. We hope you can feel our Savior's love and know Heavenly Father is mindful of you and answers your prayers. Thank you for all you do to make this world a better place.

Have a great week. We love hearing from you. #Think Celestial

Love, Elder & Sister Badger

Spring is in the Air

Hi all,

Farrell writing this week.

Current Anchorage Alaska Temple. View from our Visitors' Center.

We had several simple but sweet experiences with workers on the temple site this week. There is a noticeable change in the openness with which they interact with us (maybe because they know we are the source of weekly Cookie Day 😉). It has usually been us approaching them to say hi or to wish them a good day. They are always friendly, busy, and professional. Now we notice that they have been approaching us. They seem to like us being around -- like friends or even parents or grandparents. Most have gotten used to us clicking pictures right and left even to the point of calling us over so we can get a picture of the latest handiwork they are proud of. We can't think of anything better than to acknowledge their skills and recognize the importance of what they are doing. 

I was watching one of the plumbers fit cast iron pipe into one of the drain line assemblies. They don't cut it but instead "break" it into the required length. They do that with what looks like a pipe cutter with long handles and chain. They wrap the chain around the pipe and then by closing the handles the pipe magically severs with a loud pop. I have seen them do 3" pipe that way. He paused in that process, looked at me and said, "You know this is not like working on any other project I have been on -- not like for one of the big oil companies that are up here. I was thinking last night that every nut and bolt here is the result of someone's sacrifice." I acknowledged that that was the case. His attitude was that it felt like a sacred privilege. No doubt his work will be top quality.

22 March 2025 Courtesy of Jonathan Hughes

Another plumber has been on the site since the beginning. He is probably in his late 50's or early 60's. Early on, he was plumbing the restroom in our Visitors' Center. It was rather unique pumping equipment with tanks. He was not all that sure how to put it together. I was becoming a little impatient, and just about said something less than complimentary, but held back. It is a good thing because we interact with him every day on a very friendly basis and I see him doing high quality work now that he is in a more familiar environment. He has been part of laying out and installing many plumbing runs underground, on the ceiling and everywhere else. He is the one I go to when I need to ask a "dumb" question to enhance my understanding and he is always willing. 

Overview of new temple & meetinghouse.

All the crews here use lasers and Trimble Total Stations, (at least that's what they call them -- it's a brand name), like a transit but much more sophisticated, to layout everything. They are very exacting. The reference points those instruments use are marked by the primary surveyor on plywood plates mounted to the walls. Those points match the gridlines on the plans. We walk into the building and green lasers are everywhere. I wish I knew how to use one of their Trimble devices. I think of all the times that would have made some project I was involved in easier. They also all carry tablets around that show the plans and the output from the Trimble devices. They can just move a real world pointer (like a tripod with a center downward facing point) around until it shows up in exactly the right place on the tablet plans and that's where they drill the hole or place equipment. All of the ceiling hangers for pipe and conduit are placed that way. They are hanging all over the place ahead of time. Amazing technology!

22 March 2025 Courtesy of Jonathan Hughes

We've had another concrete pour on the upper level (which we can now climb up to safely). Within a couple of weeks they will start placing the big equipment there. There are now air handlers, boilers, water heaters, pumps and other equipment staged for use. The big news is the first load of granite for the exterior walls arrived. Shown in the picture at the left of the entrance. Apparently it is the first of around 52 that will eventually arrive. This one came from Heber City, UT to Anchorage, AK over the ALCAN highway in the winter. The truck that delivered it didn't even have a sleeper on it. We suspect that the ocean barge will be used for some of the delivery. The installer just arrived after working on the Salt Lake Temple. He installed the stone or granite on the grounds and other projects on Temple Square. View the latest updates  at: https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/anchorage-alaska-temple/

Our Project Manager from the church came up for a visit. He does so once a month along with the architect and others. We were amazed that he spent two hours with us. I had another special little experience related to his visit. In our morning prayer, I had prayed for the ability to converse and address all questions we have had. They were crystal clear to me during the discussion and every question was asked and answered. It couldn't have been better. That was one of those experiences where it was obvious Our Heavenly Father assisted.

We learned the Fairbanks temple construction is moving forward. Kitty and I were joking we might sign up for that one too. It might be done before the Anchorage Temple since it is a smaller modular design. We could fly back and forth. Kitty didn't go for it. She feels busy enough and she is.

Our dear friends, Elder & Sister Gailey, came up from Soldotna yesterday. After attending the temple they were able to go out to lunch with us. We enjoyed an Indian Buffet and visited. The weather was beautiful and it was an enjoyable weekend. Looking forward to our Stake Conference this next weekend and then General Conference the week after. The current Anchorage Alaska Temple is closed for spring cleaning for the next two weeks so we will have our Tuesday and Thursday evenings free. We plan to catch up on a few things, get some spring cleaning done, and plan out more details of our spring and summer. 

Another fun bit of news. We both have our Alaska fish and game licenses now. They treat seniors so well here in Alaska. We applied online and printed the cards. It's hard to believe the first day of spring was on Thursday. We are looking forward to warmer weather. The days are getting noticeably longer. Sunrise was at 7:54 and sunset at 8:20. That is a 36 minute increase over last week! We still have some snow, but rarely see ice anymore, and the streets are dry. It's been in the low 40's and still below freezing at night. We love the clean air here.

Have a great week. Keep in touch. We love hearing from you. #Think Celestial

Love, Elder & Sister Badger

Winter Wonderland Again

Dear Family & Friends,

Farrell the first day of our recent snowfall.

Kitty writing this week. The big news is it snowed again! Farrell shoveled the driveway and said we had six inches. It's a winter wonderland and very beautiful as it dusts all the tall trees and brown grass. Everything looks so clean and white. I had forgotten how magical it looks, it's been so long since we've seen the white stuff. It's been snowing off and on for about three days. We were standing on top of the roof of the new temple Saturday afternoon taking pictures since the workers are gone. Surrounded by trees, huge snowflakes were falling all around and it was heavenly. 

This morning our RS President, Sister Olsen, gave a wonderful talk today at church about hesed, a special kind of love God has for all of us. We believe in the premortal life, that as spirit children of God, we all made covenants with Heavenly Father, including consenting to His plan of salvation and choosing to follow Jesus Christ. "Because God has hesed for those who have covenanted with Him, He will love them. He will continue to work with them and offer them opportunities to change. He will forgive them when they repent. And should they stray, He will help them find their way back to Him." It was an inspired reminder that we are never beyond the reach of God's love and forgiveness. The atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ made it possible to return to our Heavenly Father and live with our loved ones forever. You can read a talk by President Russell M. Nelson on hesed here:

Spring treats.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/2022/10/04-the-everlasting-covenant?lang=eng

We had a fun activity this afternoon at Sister Duggins. We met at 3 p.m. and were served cake, ice cream, and other sweet treats then watched the Worldwide Relief Society Devotional and Testimony Meeting. I took my treats home to eat after dinner and share with Farrell. President Olsen presided at this meeting. I also see her every Tuesday and Wednesday at the temple. I enjoy the company of these wonderful ladies and they are becoming dear friends.

It's always fun to visit real homes. They have so many personal touches. We love our residence here, but being a rented Airbnb it's quite stark by contrast. The spiritual pictures the mission purchased for us help. The hydrangea décor with blue and lavender was beautiful. There were hints of Easter everywhere and the kids even had spring break last week here in Alaska. I thought spring break was usually in April or May. Hmm.

Sky over the existing Anchorage Alaska Temple.

Things are going well at the temple site. I am still learning ways to work smarter as I write our weekly reports. By changing all of the master pages from an x place holder with the word Date, I can do a Find and Replace and change all the dates at once instead of cutting and pasting a dozen or so pages. We are only on week #54 and I just figured that out;) I've decided to pray for more inspiration before I start the reports from now on. Surely the God of all creation can give me some pointers I can use while making reports for His temple. We took a neat picture last Tuesday evening after Farrell picked me up from being an ordinance worker at the existing temple. My camera rarely does the picture justice. You can see Tuesday there was no snow on the trees. 

It's really been an uplifting week. We feel very blessed to be a part of this amazing work. Have a great week. You are in our thoughts and prayers. Keep in touch. #Think Celestial

Love always, Elder & Sister Badger

Timing is Everything

Denali   https://www.nps.gov/dena/index.htm

Hello All,

Farrell writing this week … We are not sure, but we think spring is coming. We have had hardly any winter in Anchorage. That is, very little snow and mild temperatures. Mild means mid 30°F days with several as high as 50°F. Perfect weather for building a temple in Anchorage in the middle of the winter minus a couple of wind and ice storms mentioned in earlier blogs. After church today we were talking to a ward member. Kitty mentioned that she used to let the kids run through the sprinklers when the temperatures hit the 80's. Here when it hits 60°F it is good enough. 40°F is the time to shed your coat.

We are about to wrap up our first 18 months on our mission March 11. We will be here until the temple is finished. We think the second half will be even better than the first. We even have our 49th wedding anniversary (April) expedition already planned -- thanks to Kitty. I dislike making travel arrangements etc. and am so grateful for her willingness to do that. I think she actually likes doing it. We are staying in the state but going up north a bit in the shadows of Denali (whoops I mean Mt. McKinley).

We have invited our family to come visit. So far, two of our kids, spouses & grandkids have made reservations plus Dianne (Kitty's 1st cousin 1x removed) & her friend Laura (both life long Catholic Nuns and literal angels when our daughter Amy had her first preemie twins in Michigan -- yes there is a rather miraculous story behind that) and Kitty's sister Anne. Looks like a busy summer coming up. We can't handle everyone at once so all invitees are spread out over our the next two summers. Other visits are in the talking phase. We split up some of our mission activities between the two of us, work on them most of the time, but have more scheduling flexibility than most missionaries.

Kitty just took down the Christmas decorations yesterday since we have hardly any snow. She feels like she is burning the candle at both ends. We sent off our weekly report late Tuesday evening after she finished up working at the temple. We use a Microsoft desktop publishing program for part of our work. We have word that it is going away Oct. 2026. I have suggested that they do away with it now to eliminate the need to retrain incoming missionaries. Whatever the case, that will add an additional load. Once the temple is complete we may still need an additional two months to finish a book covering all areas of the temple build. Just the 2024 construction progress entries are already 300 pages.

The construction activity is increasing with more trades on site and more urgency to move the pace along with the longer daylight hours. There have been only minor breaks in the work but it feels busier. The workers who have been here awhile greet us as we walk around -- they feel like old friends. We sometimes even recognize an individual's walk from a far distance. All the structural roof members are in with one concrete pour on the second level (240,000 lbs. of concrete). It is not the final roof, but we are semi-enclosed. We can now access that area which gives us quite a view.

7 March 2025 Jonathan Hughes

I took my drone out Saturday to get some pictures. It is fun to fly but I'm nowhere nearly as good as the General Contractor's "drone man" who can and does fly through open doors, up and around, with wires hanging down everywhere. He does it all from his chair in the construction office. I take off from our back lawn and it takes my full focus to maintain control. His skills come from hours in his earlier days playing video games. This photo is from: 

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

Who knew this mission was going to be run a visitors center, answer gospel questions, teach groups about the temple, make a historical record of a major construction project, photograph, pilot a drone, comprehend professional architectural drawings, fit in sightseeing in one of the most beautiful parts of the world, and acclimatize to what ever weather is present today. If variety is the spice of life, we certainly have it.

Current Anchorage Alaska Temple on March 3.

I'm always fascinated by time, hence the name of this week's blog. Kitty had a sweet temple experience this week. She had a visitor at our Visitors' Center who told her personal story about joining the church some time ago. We'll call her Sister K. Then as sometimes happens in life, she stopped going and was inactive for 15 years. After some time she longed for that spiritual influence again, leading her to visit various churches. She wasn't happy with any of the churches she attended. One church had especially beautiful music which she loved, then spent time arguing who should be the next pastor. In a casual spontaneous experience, she was telling her neighbor across the street about her search. The sweet neighbor quietly invited her to come to church with her that Sunday, which she did. It was the local ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All of the good feelings she once knew came rushing back and she welcomed the sweet experience. 

Subsequently, Sister K was at the Anchorage Alaska Temple to be sealed eternally to her deceased parents. To perform this ordinance, there is a sealer, (In this case, our friend Brother Swensen), who holds the Melchizedek priesthood, a proxy couple for her parents, and two witnesses. Sister Fisher was in the dressing room getting ready and felt a repeated strong urgency to hurry even though she was early for her appointment. Sister Swenson, the wife of the sealer, then went to the dressing room and told Sister Fisher to hurry. This was all unplanned. They all ended up in the sealing room together where the sealing was performed. The late comers were Sister K's Bishop and his wife, who acted as witnesses. This woman had done many sealings over the years, but being sealed to her own parents was a very special. It turned out to be a very spiritual experience for all involved. Another guest, our mutual friend Sister Hamm, was also there and she was crying with joy. Ten minutes after this dear woman left the Visitor's Center, Sister Fisher, who had been one of the witnesses came in. Kitty said we were just talking about you, and relayed the story about Sister K being sealed to her parents. Sister Fisher repeated the story from her perspective. Kitty was at the temple that evening and saw Brother & Sister Swensen and asked them if they remembered the experience. They did and again retold it from their memory. Again, unplanned. Timing is everything. If we have learned anything on our mission, it's that God is in the details of our lives and that he loves and cares about every individual.

Have a wonderful week. Keep in touch. We love hearing from you. #ThinkCelestial

Love, Elder & Sister Badger

Kicksledding and Sourdough

Dear Family & Friends,

Kitty writing this week...
I had a fun time last Friday night with the girls. Sister Watanabe and Sister Au Sue picked me up. We met a female friend of theirs at the Bear Tooth Grill. The food was excellent and it was fun to have a night out with the girls.

Then we headed to the Botanical Gardens to see the lights and ice. It was cold and we all bundled up. These women are the best and we had a good time. The Sisters and I serve at the Anchorage Alaska Temple and I usually see them Thursday evenings. They serve in Member Leader Support. Pic of Sister Watanabe and I.

We all tried kicksledding for the first time. I don't know how they steer the sleds, but we didn't crash and it was good exercise. I look forward to seeing the gardens in the summer with Farrell and spending more time with these amazing women. Sister Watanabe is going home next month and it's hard to see new dear friends leave. 

Moose in our yard.

Farrell had a visitor this week on his birthday in our front yard. A large moose nibbled on the flower bed in front of our house and then bedded down under the trees between our house and the one next door. Our cute veterinary neighbor, Sarah, texted to let me know about it since I often walk outside. That was very thoughtful of her. I was at the Visitors' Center and by the time I arrived home it was gone. We did see the three moose last Sunday on our way to church. This is at least the fifth time that we have had moose in our yard here. This lot is only under a fifth acre without a sidewalk and a gated backyard, so that's obviously not the draw. There are an estimated 1,600 moose in Anchorage. It was a mild winter and we think they avoided the city. We have only just started to see them again. 

Moose on Sue's Way.

For Farrell's birthday I finished labeling pictures, finished our weekly report, asked Farrell to get a dessert from Costco to celebrate (Cheesecake with fresh raspberries), came home to shower and get ready, enjoyed a delicious grilled steak dinner, and then served at the temple that evening. He tried to make the day easy on me. It was pretty funny. He kept asking if I wanted anything else for his birthday:) I gave him a pop up card and tulips. He had lots of phone calls from children and siblings with many messages from friends, which he greatly appreciated.  We celebrated more later in the week!

Farrell w. sourdough starter.

He also received a much appreciated mat to warm his sour dough starter from our son, Aaron, his wife HaLee, and their family. They are always so thoughtful. He can't figure out how they knew he had been looking at them on Amazon:) It's been impossible to find anywhere warm enough in the house to keep the starter going. The starter was a present from our daughter, Laurel. We celebrated again Saturday by going to Girdwood for breakfast at The Bake Shop. It's located right at the bottom of the ski resort lift and it was a little tricky finding a spot to park. Soon after we arrived lots of skiers started coming in off the slopes for a bite to eat. It's quite pricey, but had a fun small town atmosphere. The omelets were fine and the sweet roll we shared was good. They serve it with a scoop of butter, which was interesting. We heard their clam chowder was amazing so we may go back sometime for that. The best part was they gave Farrell a complimentary cup of sourdough starter. He was thrilled. We put it in a box and after driving around town sight seeing we headed back to Anchorage. They have all their famous recipes online. it's perfect if you want, for instance, 126 4oz. servings of their delicious Alyeska Sourdough Pancake Batter or 96 cups of Granola:)  https://www.thebakeshop.com/bake-shop-recipes/

The tide was out again on our way home along Turnagain Arm and part of the road was slightly detoured for a frozen waterfall that had crashed over part of the road. It's only a fast two lane road so I couldn't take a picture quick enough. We already missed the ice break up on Turnagain Arm. We saw it one Sunday on our way to dinner a couple weeks ago, but were surprised it happened so quickly. Potter's March is still covered in snow, but no ice skaters this year. 

Then we headed to the car wash. We have an unlimited carwash pass here, but there is always a wait. They just started offering clean towels, so that is a plus. We had a semi pass us on the way to the gym Tuesday and drench us in mud. We washed our car because after going to the gym I couldn't find it again in the parking lot. I only guessed it was our car because it was in the same place where we had parked it. After washing the car, it was 25% dirty again before arriving home. Farrell asked how I planned on cleaning the dirty car mats. I held up my manicured nails and asked, "When have I ever cleaned the mats?" Good question. We had a good laugh. At the car wash there are usually about 5-6 bays operating and there were three cars in each line Friday night when Farrell bailed. We had gone to pick up some milk and a few other things and he was hungry. Each car getting washed takes about 7-10 minutes. Now on Saturday afternoon there were four cars in each line. We took our turn and afterward headed to another car wash with a handheld wand to clean our mats. They look so nice again. Back in Utah, I would wash my car nearly daily when I went out because it was so fast and convenient. The Texas grandkids call the Quick Quack Car Wash Grandma's Favorite Place:) I do like the soap colors, nice smell, and a clean car. It's been a real treat to have my own clean car inside and outside after having eleven children with a van, and a pickup. We get along with only one car up here.

1 March 2025 Courtesy of Jonathan Hughes

We had a dusting of snow and the weather has been very mild in the mid 45's. Things are progressing well at the temple. They start pouring concrete on the roof this coming week. It's made of steel with galvanized steel decking and lots of rebar. That is always an exciting day. The walls are also going up in the basement and work progresses on the Utility Building.  https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/anchorage-alaska-temple/photographs/

Please know we love you. We testify our Heavenly Father hears and answers all our prayers. The way back to our Heavenly home is through our Savior Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the light. Families can be together forever. There is a prophet and apostles on the earth today.  We think of you often and you are in our thoughts and prayers.

Have a great week. We miss you and appreciate hearing what you are up to. #Think Celestial

Love always, Elder & Sister Badger