Seek and Expect Miracles

Dear Family and Friends,

Sunset Friday in Anchorage.

Kitty writing this week. Another busy week on our mission here in Alaska. Our daughter and family left late Wednesday evening. We tried to show them all the beauties of Alaska in one week. It's impossible, but I think they left with good memories. It's hard to believe the summer is half over. Since June 21 the days are getting shorter and it's getting darker sooner. Friday evening, I actually stayed up late enough to see a beautiful sunset. I feel blessed more than I deserve.

Kinkaid Beach in Anchorage.

Most of the beaches around here are mud flats from glacial silt and are very dangerous. Tuesday, I took the boys down to the beach at Kinkaid Park while Farrell manned the Visitors' Center. It's the only safe and sandy beach nearby and they played for two hours. Someone had made some teepees with driftwood. The boys made forts with rocks and wood, collected and skipped rocks, and made friends with other children. It was very peaceful and expended a lot of their energy. The weather was perfect.

Yearling moose at Kinkaid Park.

Meanwhile Laurel & Dan took Ebikes and rode all over the Tony Knowles trail and Kinkaid Park. They really liked the off pavement and cross country trails. Meanwhile we walked back up the path, then drove to our meeting place. On our way to pick them up we saw a yearling moose! We watched it cross the trail and then saw cars and people stopped looking at it on the side of the road. Moose are everywhere up here, but they can be hard to spot, and it's always a treat to see one in the wild. As usual it was busy grazing and ignoring us. Thank goodness. 

Wildflowers and mountains at Alaska Conservation Center.

On our last day here with them we drove to the Alaska Conservation Center. The four young grandsons took our make a lot of noise to scare off the bears advice for hikers and mistakenly applied it to the outdoor bear habitat. Understandably, we did not see any bears. We did see some amazing elk, bison, deer, a huge eagle, an owl, and some odiferous porcupines. The views were incredible. I love seeing all the wildflowers blooming everywhere along with the green mountains still patched with snow. We took the boys while Laurel and Dan rode the bike trail back to Indian Creek along Turnagain Arm. It's about 24-26 miles and two miles of the trail are right along the highway. I do not like riding next to traffic. It turned out well and they still made it back to the parking lot before we did. 

Indian Creek wayside overlook.

We have new mission leaders, President and Sister Ledesma. Tonight they talked about the miracle we all witnessed Wednesday morning. Laurel and family had driven to Eagle River Nature Center while we worked at the Visitors' Center. Farrell received the first ever text reading: Tsunami Warning - evacuate immediately. Our internet had gone down, but Farrell used his hotspot and found out there had been a 7.3 magnitude earthquake off Alaska's Aleutian Islands. Communities spanning a 700 mile stretch of Alaska's southern coast had advised residents to evacuate. 

I loaded up my purse, computer, and guest book and we headed back to the house. I told him I would rather be safe than sorry. We could head to Flat Top, a local high elevation, if needed. We would have time to go home and gather a few things first. We called Laurel to made sure they were safe. They were hiking and we wanted to make sure they were not in the low lands. They were higher up, but headed home anyway. The temple and our home are about 220 feet above sea level, but it would still take hours to get to us. I prayed everyone would be safe and Laurel's family would make their flight that night without delays. We have all watched YouTube videos of tsunamis and they are no joke. The tsunami warning was first downgraded, then cancelled. Another tsunami warning was cancelled after a 7.4 earthquake hit off Russia's coast. President Ledesma said it was a miracle and I agree. We feel our prayers were answered. They made their flight without incident.

17 July 2025  Courtesy of Jonathan Hughes

We are excited about the progress of the new Anchorage Alaska Temple. The entrance is on the south where you see the large arch. The granite Eclad system, which started on the west, is coming around to the north side and progressing on the level 2 screen walls. The roof membrane is finished on level 2. The roof peak is taking shape with metal studs. The fence is going in on the west, north, and east sides. The utility building, the gray building in the back on the right, is almost finished. It's been interesting to see things go from rough construction to very nice in a matter of months. You can see intricate details in the granite both on the ground in crates and on the temple. The fireweed motif in the granite is visible now and looks beautiful. We took some great pictures on site Saturday and are excited to write our weekly report on Monday. I'm looking forward to working at the temple Tuesday evening. It seems like we have more ordinance workers every week.

17 July 2025  Courtesy of Jonathan Hughes

We met Brett Taylor, of Taylor Fire Protection Services, on Friday. He and an assistant were hosting a luncheon for the workers in front of that cream slanted roof Conex building in the left of the picture and we were invited. They served hoagie sandwiches, chips, soft drinks & water, and desserts. He has homes in Alaska and Mapleton and is good friends with our LDS Stake leader in Mapleton UT, President Lewis who set us apart for our mission. President Lewis asked him to say hi to us when he was up at the temple site. It was fun to meet him. We found out he lives exactly one mile away from us in his second home there in Mapleton. He flies back and forth every couple of weeks. It was great to visit about the growth and happenings in Mapleton and reminisce about friends we had in common. He even volunteered to take stuff back for us since he travels light. We very much appreciate the offer, since we drove up. Thank you, sir!

President Nelson said, "Seek and expect miracles. Believe in God, pray, and exercise faith. The Lord will bless you with miracles." We see His hand here almost daily, from the beauties of the earth, to faithful followers of God, to the desire in all our hearts to be better. Our Savior's infinite atonement is hopeful, loving, and healing. We are so grateful to our family and friends who have made this journey in life richer and shared your faith with us. We will always be humbled that the Lord has brought you into our lives. Have a glorious week. #Think Celestial

Love always, Elder & Sister Badger