Chokecherry Blooms

Hello all,

Heavenly smelling chokecherries just
coming into bloom on the lot behind the VC
(about a month later
than Utah).

Yes, it is Farrell writing again. We usually alternate but sometimes the unexpected happens. When I am writing, I find Sunday evening the best time slot and then Kitty does the distribution -- she has that down. Not this week.

After a busy week moving our Visitors' Center, we were going to relax Sunday. But Kitty woke up not feeling well--some kind of intestinal bug. To make matters worse she hurt her back. So we are behind on everything. She is making a valiant effort to finish up our report that goes to the church, in bits and pieces as she feels well enough. We like to get it in on Monday. I try to talk her into letting me do it (I write the technical part & a few other parts) but she is the picture guru and goes for perfection. It is a no go if I put something in the wrong place or time or leave something out (been known to happen) -- even if I think it really doesn't matter that much. When I say dial back on the perfection a bit since you are not feeling well and get the report in it is an untenable position. So we will keep working our way through it. These traits of hers are endearing to me -- bring smiles. I can offer empathy but not much else. 

In the meantime I'm holding down (or trying to) everything on the temple site. I have a few groups of visitors scheduled, said goodbye to Justin Reeder's family now past CES director. He's moving to Pocatello to run the Institute program there--not sure what Anchorage is going to do without him. I've taken 360° photos of every space, revised our presentation materials, discovered how to convert a pdf floor plan into something that will show on our screen (you won't believe how many combinations I tried before it worked), etc. Our Visitors' Center is now tucked into the trees on the opposite side of the parking lot. It is actually a much better location with a better view, a few feet higher, more away from the dust and noise. I do love the filtered light coming through the trees. It was quite a trick to maneuver a 60' trailer into a narrow position with limited access. The civil contractor actually placed a temporary culvert and access to make it possible. Still missing the sanitary connections. We have learned from previous events that understandably we are not the top priority. A quick trip to the hardware store and 30 minutes of my time would take care of the issue -- at least get it functional. It is just like hooking up an RV at a campsite. I've gotten myself in trouble before by being more proactive than they like. So we wait...

First Course of Granite 21 May 2025 churchofjesuschristtemples.org

The temple is coming along wonderfully. I watched them hang granite for a couple of hours one day. They really are methodical in their approach. I guess when you are handling a corner stone cut from one piece of granite that weighs somewhere around 1700 lbs. you want to do it right the first time. They gently swing it into place with a cute little lift. It fits perfectly and is held in place by just a couple of drop-in clips. The stones all are supported by an aluminum metal framework that is bolted to the concrete wall. The stones don't support each other. It is not like the old days, think SLC temple, allowing it to all be precisely engineered. The only glitch so far was some stone that turned up during the cutting process back in Utah that had a zebra colored pattern. It was beautiful but not what they wanted and didn't match the other stone. It was quickly remedied by using another quarry block. 

Courtesy of Jonathan Hughes 23 May 2025 churchofjesuschristtemples.org

The inside is just a maze of very tall partition walls made of metal studs. It has become very confusing. I generally know what each area/room is but the key is to look at the doorways because marked on the floor is a door number which coordinates with the room. A quick look at the plans on my phone narrows it down. Now that the rooms are becoming more defined, we have started labeling pictures with the room numbers.

I'm going to keep this a little shorter than usual. We sure love the occasional correspondence we receive, sometimes in reply or otherwise. We are so grateful to know the Lord is watching over our family as He promised while we serve Him here in Anchorage.

Love you all. Take care. #Think Celestial

Love always, Farrell & Kitty
Elder & Sister Badger
Anchorage Alaska Mission