Nov 30, 2015

Reindeer Farm in Palmer, AK

 Old Pictures and Fireworks!

So it turns out that every Saturday after Thanksgiving, if you'll head on over to Palmer, AK 

you'll see a brilliant fireworks display. We're talking about rivaling Disney World - a solid 

thirty minutes of blasting insanity! It starts at 7:19, because the guy who sponsors it
has a birthday on July 29th and can't let off fireworks on that day (firstly, there's not enough dark here to do it anytime aside from about 2 in the morning and secondly, there's usually a fire ban in the summer. Did you know Alaska is a desert?) So as Sister McGraw and I
sat inside with dear Sister Giese and were just beginning our lesson, we suddenly 

discovered ourselves on a walk to see said fireworks. I think I only lost hearing in one ear 

from standing about 50 feet from where they were actually shooting off the fireworks.

Speaking of Sister Giese, this week I have absolutely seen the power God has in our lives. She has definitely not led an easy life, and everyone else in her family but one sister has 

abandoned church as helpful in any capacity, but she still knows it's where God wants her
to be. She hates the judgy stares she gets every week, she hates fake friendliness, and she hates that sometimes it takes a long time for people to even say hi to her. But she still 

comes! She has an amazing testimony, and after all of the things she's been through I'm 

amazed she's even alive. The fireworks were also perfectly timed to transition from a 

"getting things off my chest" session into a reading of the Book of Mormon, which really 

changed the atmosphere and helped us all be happier. God's really good at that whole 

timing thing...

Our district is pretty fun. Also, if you didn't know, real reindeer are actually pretty small. Like, deer-size (imagine that!) Nowhere close to moose or even elk or caribou size.

So in other news... Sister McGraw is still sick. It's been three weeks now, and she's 
supposed to be better... I think the Lord is teaching me how to take care of sick people. 
Or at least trying to.

Oh! Thanksgiving! How could I forget that was this week? It was full of thanks. At The 
high school here they had a free dinner for anyone who either didn't have enough to have 
a Thanksgiving meal or just didn't have anyone to have it with. We had a lot of fun serving 
food, and met lots of interesting people! There was a Hawaiian guy that was pretty nice that spent awhile trying to convince me to join him and his religion. However, he spent a lot of 
time talking about how religions are just systems of oppression, so I'm not sure why his 
religion isn't oppressive? It has something to do with all you need is a love relationship with Jesus, because the fig tree doesn't bear fruit by trying to, it just soaks up the sun, the light of the world! So don't join any religions, except for his.

But there were also tons of other kind people there! And it was fun to serve and talk and run around trying to get food for people and not offend anyone. Good times.

After that, we were able to eat dinner with a family here, which was fun. Then we were 
coerced into playing Snatch Bingo... Where you can steal other people's prizes. It was only mildly vicious, and I came out with a Darth Vader notebook and a sticker book, so I was 
thankful.

Everyone and their dog were at church yesterday, including us! It is so neat to see people
 come closer to their Savior. 

Remember Jesus! Remember that prayer isn't that complicated - It's just talking to your 
perfect Father. As the Bible Dictionary describes, once you understand your relationship 
with Him, prayer becomes natural and instinctive. 

Much love and happiness to all!

Sister Rollins