First Transfer Is Official

Some of you may remember that I sent a picture two weeks after we got here at the time and temperature sign. It was -40 at 1:30 in the afternoon. Two days ago we reached our highest temperature of +82 degrees just two weeks before we leave. This was a difference of 122 degrees in just 5 months. The coldest picture was taken at 1:30 in the afternoon with just enough sun to take it. The hottest day was taken at 9:30 at night at a different sign and even then we had to wait a few minutes so the sun would be behind the sign so their wouldn't be so much glare on the camera. What a funny country to live in. It snowed in Barrow, just North of us, on our hottest day here. I included the picture of the two of us just so you wouldn't forget what we look like.

Weather report
High + 82 Low + 56
Daylight: Sunrise 3:47 Sunset 12:09
For a total this week of 20 hours and 25 minutes of sunlight.

We have lost over an hour already and it is hard to believe that we are going down hill so fast. But I tell you things are growing fast around here! Flowers and trees love this 20 plus hours of daylight.

The good news here is that things are great! The bad news is that we got our dreaded call from Pres. Lewis and are being transferred. The really bad news is that we are going to Anchorage, the really, really bad news is that we will be in the Mission Office. But the best news of all is that we are willing to do what the Lord wants us to do, well one of us is dragging the other one. Our new mission financial clerk just doesn't want to trade Northern Lights and Beautiful Sights for Rush Hour Traffic and Office Hours.

With a transfer date of July 24 we will be thinking of the Pioneers as we wend our way South. We won't be pulling a handcart but you should see the little car we have to put ALL our "stuff" into. The Jr. Missionaries are required to keep their "stuff" to their 3 suitcases but our two computers, two printers, winter coats, kitchen supplies, old people pills and 4 winter tires - just don't fit.

We spoke in the Delta Junction Branch last Sunday and will be speaking in the Salcha Branch on the 23rd. These little branches just capture our hearts and we love them! We have family history packets to finish up, people to say good-by to, choices to make about what we really can do without, and Time is going way so fast!!

We still have time to think of you often, miss you a lot, and wonder what you are doing. Thanks for keeping in touch. I will let you know how we are managing when we get settled in down South.

We Are As The Army of Heleman

The following is a note that Lara sent, actually it was in her blog. I didn't get your permission to send it on, Lara, because it was in your blog for the world to see.

"I have to tell you though, about the missionaries in Sacrament Meeting.
After one of them spoke, they both stood up together to sing a song. I started bawling before the piano even started! They looked so handsome standing up there preaching the gospel, I just wanted to pinch their cheeks and take them home with me. I can do that now. Cheek pinching totally belongs to old women who cry in Sacrament meetings. Call me Ma'am in public though and I'll pinch your head off. Anyway...once they started the song there was no end to the tears. They sang "We'll Bring the World His Truth" (We are as the armies of Helaman). It was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. I didn't look around but I'm pretty sure I was the only sniffler in the whole room. What is my problem!

I think that is my new favorite song. As we walked by the temple after General Conference last April, a group of Elders were lining the sidewalk singing that song as we passed down the middle. I have never felt the spirit so strongly. I didn't want to leave but the crowd pushed us on.

We are as the army of Helaman.
We have been taught in our youth.
And we will be the Lord's missionaries
to bring the world His truth.

I can't wait till Grey is old enough to be a missionary. By the way, does anyone out there want to hear the gospel? I need to do my part here to bring the world His truth. If you ever get any missionaries at your door, just let them in would you? How could you not? They are so adorable!'

Now this is from Mom, I couldn't help responding because:

Loved your note about the adorable missionaries,. It made me cry to read it. You have to know that is why we love our mission so. We have that experience every day. The church is having the missionaries sing now and it really invites the spirit. We had a zone meeting the other day and Elder Halverson, of the 70's was here. He had a couple of missionaries get up and give the second lesson and Burt and I were the investigators. I am known among the missionaries as a "tough" investigator because I don't just sit and say yes to everything they say. When these Elders got half way trough their discussion they stopped and sang "Oh, how lovely was the morning." I couldn't stand it, the tears welled higher and higher. I couldn't, even in jest, be difficult, the spirit was so strong. Elder Halverson said, "Yes, Sister Robbins we saw you slowly melting." To see the elders so clean, handsome and boldly bearing their testimonies just touches me so much. We come to the library every day and see the "creeps" that hang out here and I am so thankful for the gospel and that our boys, 60,000 plus, are out teaching about obedience, honesty, faithfulness. Just last week we heard them teach us about obedience. Today the President's Assistance's taught us about our attitude and the effect it has on the people we teach, what a lesson!. I look at them and say, "This is a 19-20 year old BOY teaching me about obedience!" What a program is this missionary program! Yes, I see our little grandchildren in their position in just a few short years and am so thankful.

Last week when we were talking about obedience one little elder who was teaching said he had a companion who wouldn't work and he said he didn't either. Then he came to Fairbanks and had Elder Jepsen, who we consider the "most obedient" elder in the mission, as his companion. He bore his testimony on how much more successful they were than in any other district that he had served in. Then he said, "I am so happy that I can now be the missionary that my mother thinks I am." Wow, I just can't get that out of my mind. Thank Heavens for good missionaries and good mothers home supporting them. Can't wait until all of our grandson's and their mom's get to this point.

By the way, you can invite the missionaries over for dinner and when they leave they will leave a spiritual thought and/or a song. It is very touching and would be good for the kids to see.
I love the gospel so much and am so thankful for this mission experience.

I love you all so very much, thank you for your support with your letters, email, pictures, and phone calls.

4th of July celebration here in Fairbanks

The boat in the picture is the Nenana, one of the last riverboats that worked on the rivers here in Fairbanks. All of the flags are the 50 state flags and in the middle is the color guard with the US flag. With two large military bases here it was a very patriotic celebration particularly so because Ft. Wainwright has a battalion in Iraq right now. What Grandma has in her hand are arctic strawberries that grow wild along the river bank.

There are a couple of pictures of some kids demonstrating some of the events that will be in the Eskimo Olympics that they will be having here in a couple of weeks. The other pictures are some that I took at the bird refuge here in town.

Do You Think Grandpa Is A Sound Sleeper?

To all our little and big Croakers

• Congratulations to JORDAN DAVID ERICKSON who is getting baptized today as I am writing this. We can't believe that he is 8 years old already and growing up so fast. Have a very happy day, Jordan!
• We also want to thank Dylan, Austin, and Cissy for getting their dads to send us DVD's with pictures of them. It always makes us cry and very homesick that you are growing up so fast. But we are happy that you lookhappy and are just as cute as ever. Thank you so much for the pictures.
• Guess what! Dylan has some wonderful news, hope it is all right if we tell for him. He is expecting a little baby brother or sister right about his birthday time in February. Cissy was born Nov 2 as a birthday present for Austin's BD Nov 3rd so maybe Dylan will get a birthday present February 13th. We are so excited!

It sure would be fun to see pictures of everyone else at home! Hint! Hint!

We have a couple of great stories to tell you this month. First I will tell you the funny one and then I will tell you the spiritual one.

Remember when we went camping and grandpa was afraid about the bears. Actually, I think that happened the very first Frog Camp when we only took the boys. I wonder if any of them can even remember that. Now think of all the times you went to the bathroom out in the trees because you didn't like the bathrooms at Camp Aries (Frog Camp).

Well, There was a story in the paper the other day about a man from Fairbanks who went on a trip. No matter where you go from Fairbanks you are out in the woods. There is just nothing but trees and green as far as you can see. Well, he is driving up the Elliott highway when he had to, "answer nature's call". He stopped, took his pistol (everyone carries guns if you go out into the woods here) and a roll of toilet paper and headed out in the woods.

He said, "I wanted to go away from the road far enough so anyone driving by wouldn't see a white tail." He was so worried about people seeing him that he wasn't careful and all of a sudden he heard what he thought was a horse running, he turned around and there was a grizzly bear just about 4 feet from him. That is VERY close! He turned around fast and shot him with his pistol. He said he was very lucky that it was close enough that he hit him.

• Photo of the trees, hills, and the river up by Hay Stack, where we went driving today to visit a member of the church and isn't far from where the man saw the bear.
• Photo of the man and the bear that he shot. He is very lucky to be alive.
• Photo of Molly Juma's baptism.Remember Ivan's baptism in the canal at Mink Creek and the water was so cold you couldn't swim. I bet Ivan remembers how cold it was! The Chena River is cold because just the week before was breakup and the ice was floating down this river. Molly said if she could get baptized in that cold water then she knew that she really wanted to be baptized. There were several people who wanted to clap for Molly but didn't think they should. I am glad that we all clapped for Ivan because we were proud of him. I was proud of Molly too, and think she will be a very good member of the church. We did a family history packet for her and she is so excited to go to the temple to be baptized for her family. She has two little boys who both prayed when we went there for dinner the other day. In their family who ever prays gets to tell how we do it. Justice, youngest brother, said he wanted us all to hold hands while he prayed. Then John prayed and said he wanted us all to fold our arms. Grandpa and I thought that was a very cute idea.
• Photo taken by the sign that says "Ivan's Alley". It is such a pretty mountain.

Here is a secret story about grandpa. Don't tell him but I had fun yesterday with him. Because the sun shines all night it seems that we are staying up later and later so some days we are so tired we have to have a nap. Yesterday was one of those days. I just barley got to sleep when Grandpa started snoring so loudly it woke me up. I woke him up and told him but he just said "Okay!", didn't even turn over but just went back to sleep and started snoring again. Well, since I couldn't sleep I thought I would see if I could get him to quit. I lifted his arm up high in the air, he didn't quit so I put his arm over his cheek. He didn't quit, so I put his arm over his ear, he didn't quit, then I put his arm over his throat with a sadistic laugh, he didn't quit so I pushed his hand over his nose and held it. You guessed it! He didn't quit. By this time I am laughing so hard I was sure he would wake up. He didn't so I got up and then he woke up and wondered why I was getting up so soon. He said, "Oh, I didn't even go to sleep!" HA, next time I am going to get the camera out and take his picture sleeping with his arm up in the air, over his ear, over his cheek, over his throat and over his nose.

Grandpa and I work hard but we have a lot of fun as well. We know the gospel is true and are thankful to be able to serve the Lord in such important work as Family History. We are excited to come home and make each one of you a packet just like the ones we give new members here. Then you could add them to your white Family History binders. We hope that all you older Froggers are taking the opportunity to go to the temple and be baptized for the dead. If you need some family names we could probably get you some cards. Also, don't forget to be writing your life story. A wonderful Christmas present for us would be a copy of your life history.
Don't send us "stuff" and "things" because we don't need anything. We need to know about you. Please write your stories. You could even send a scrap book page of pictures of all the activities you did this summer for our birthdays. Then when we get home we will write our story for you and that will be our Christmas gift to you. Is that a deal!

XOXOXOXO
Lots of hugs and kisses, Croaker Style,
Grandpa and Grandma,

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY
We are hoping we can have a BBQ it is so raining this weekend, we don't know. We are thinking of you and wondering what you are doing. Are you camping, picnicking, BBQing, hiking, swimming, playing softball, what????