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