Diane and I flew to Anchorage, Alaska on Thursday a week ago. Our purpose was to attend a Friday in-service for our Church Education calling. It was our final time to attend one of these wonderful learning opportunities. Greg Bishop, the CES supervisor from Seattle over the Northwest, and Erik Bacon, the coordinator over Anchorage had prepared the meeting. Also with us was Scott Beames, our coordinator, Michael Davidson and Joe Dinwoody, who are full time seminary teachers in Matanuska and Palmer.
We received lots of guidance and instruction. I also got lots of ideas for the in-service that I will be presenting the first Wednesday morning in November to our stake seminary teachers.
We arranged to spend a bit of time in Anchorage and arrived Thursday afternoon. We had to cut our Thursday institute short by 30 minutes to catch the plane. After picking up our vehicle from the mission office we checked into our hotel. Then after a bite to eat we excitedly drove to the temple. We arrived just a bit too late to take in a session but we did join a group doing sealings.
Friday was the in-service. The recently assigned missionary couple to the Institute building in Anchorage fixed a great lunch. After dismissing the meeting, Diane and I went to the hotel for a 30 minute nap and then off to Village Inn for dinner. Afterwards we attended a session in the temple.
The following morning, Saturday, we again went to the temple for a session. We were surprised to see the Verhagen family in the session. They are from Fairbanks. Mary Verhagen has accepted a call to serve in the Ohio mission and was getting ready to leave early next month. Mary and her brothers, Josh and Elijah, attended our spring semester of institute and it was so good to see them again. She is going to be a dynamite sister missionary. Bro. and Sister Verhagen have been called to serve as temple workers in the Anchorage temple for one weekend each month. They stay with friends Thursday through Sunday before the drive back to Fairbanks. Even though we have access to a temple here in Alaska, I am so grateful to be living with ten minutes of a temple in Riverton, and can go often.
Our Institute was attended very well two and three weeks ago. We had 16 YSA to teach. This week we were down to 6. I hope it isn't because of the Isaiah chapters. I try to make them as exciting as I can. Actually, to me they are incredible. The fact that the Lord would show Isaiah the events of the Jews and Gentiles, and the coming of Immanuel to Isaiah, is wonderful. That Isaiah was able to prophecy the mission of Joseph Smith 2600 years before his birth, is a testimony builder for me. His understanding the Book of Mormon would be a spokesman from the dust of Nephi's people to us is a special message. I especially marvel that Isaiah prophecies in the latter days any who warred with; or bothered Israel, would face God's wrath. He specifically states that these nations will turn on themselves. I look at Egypt, Lybia, Syria, Iraq and others in the middle east and realize these things are happening. . . now, just as Isaiah prophesied.
Mont and Tina Williams invited us for New Mexico enchiladas Thursday evening. We picked up Elder and Sister Brinkerhoff and took them with us. Along with their daughter Kim, we had a wonderful evening. Tina and Kim attend Thursday institute.
We drove to the county records office Thursday afternoon to watch the Brinkerhoffs as they recorded the records in the archive for family search. It looked pretty repetitive to me. But they seem happy as can be.
I miss being able to go out after a salmon once a week as I did while they were running. The eagles seem to be someplace other than Juneau. The rain and cloud cover has been extreme to us; but, as we are told, this is typical for Juneau. We are experiencing temperatures in the high forties for the high, and the low forties for the low. There has been snow in the upper mountain areas.
President Josh Sakona and his wife Lovinia invited us to dinner earlier this week. He checked his crab pots that day and had some king crab. We had all the king crab we could eat. Plus they had salmon cooked in coconut oil and on top of that they had steak. There was asparagus and slices of zucchini squash and a salad. I'm sure we ate more than we should have. We enjoyed the meal and the visit with the family. Jamie, Margaret and Kayleen are their children. They are all in their twenties and single. They attend the YSA branch. We really love these people and enjoy being with them.
The gospel is beautiful, and true. How grateful I am that my parents taught me the gospel.
2 Nephi 25:26
And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.
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