Christmas has hit three months early!

These Alaskan skies are amazing! :)

Hey all!

First signs of Christmas were spotted by Sister Platero on our drive across town this morning! Snow indeed! :) We even noticed some of the cars already had snow on them when we got to the parking lot!

So to answer some question that left you all hanging:

Talofa is "Hello!" in Samoan! I don't know if I mentioned this before but this is a large Polynesian population in Alaska! Kind of interesting when you consider the weather is so cold compared to the Polynesian islands! There are two Samoan wards in Anchorage and at least one Tongan ward that I know of. The family that has us over for dinner every Monday is Hawaiian! I've been learning a few greetings in different languages throughout my stay here in Alaska. :)

"J" is still looking forward to her baptism this Thursday! She is excited to take this step and mentioned how much happier she is and how much learning about the gospel has changed her attitude. What an incredible difference this will make in her life, it's exciting! Pictures will be coming next Monday!

"S" is also looking forward to her baptism October 5! It's unfortunate she'll have to wait a week to be confirmed, but this allows for her dad to for sure be to her baptism which is preferable. I don't think I've ever met anyone more excited to be baptized!

"N" is continuing to do well! We'll be spending some time at her place this afternoon! (She was the one baptized a few weeks ago) She's still looking foward to being sealed to her family next year! They are truly a wonderful future eternal family! :)

The move was a quick decision so that's why I didn't mention it the week before! Haha we found out we'd be moving Saturday night and packed up and were straight out. I feel like a pauper coming to a palace compared to the difference in the two places. My personal favorite quality of the new place is the washer and dryer! :)

The moose picture was taken from the safety of a car, and using the zoom feature on my nifty camera. Don't worry, I was not as close as the picture makes it seem. :) I've lived in Alaska long enough now to know to not get too close to the wildlife! In fact the very first day we landed in Alaska they sat all of us new missionaries down and we had a special training on how to deal with wildlife and the safety steps to take to prevent us from getting injured. I'm guessing that's a training unique to the Alaska Anchorage Mission! The main message I got from the training was just like Dad says, "Safety first!"

 

It's great to hear things are going well! Things here are great and I am happy! :)

I hope you're all doing well and happy. :) I love you all!

Love,

Sister Hedelius