July 24, 2012, Pioneer Day.
Alaska Anchorage Mission
So I am sorry this is so long and without pictures but I hope it gives a flavor of our mission experiences.
I would like to write about the great blessings we enjoy and the gratitude I feel for them. First, I have to write a bit about our mission. Haines is rich in spiritual nourishment. The very quality of the mountains, the power of nature, the beauties one sees every day is breath-taking. I think the Lord sent us here just for me. One experiences the healing that comes with living close to nature, having solitude, and time. The pace of life is slower here; people are less hurried; less concerned with acquiring the niceties of life such as clothing, cars, furniture, homes, jewelry, make-up, sport and recreation equipment etc. Oh, they like these things and on some level, desire them, but they have not become necessities. There is not the feeling of competitiveness, of keeping up appearances, or trying to be a little better than someone else. One is ok just the way they are--dress warm, be kind to one another, and share.
The push to put children into sports, dance, gymnastics, singing groups at young ages is negligible. Some of these activities are available, mostly sports, others are not—interesting how not having something available removes its desirability.
The library appears to be the center of the community. There is the standard summer reading program that most communities have. In the winter, the library provides after school activities in native culture, crafts, sculpting, wood carving, basketry, as well as tutoring, reading, movies, and lectures for adults, and book reviews. There is a table at all times with discount books for sale, old magazines are in a basket in the foyer that are free. These recirculate around the community and often return to the library. The magazines are old but well cared for and well read. I am impressed with the book exchange in the community. You can go almost anywhere, the Laundromat, restaurants, gas stations and find books that you can just take home and read and put into circulation somewhere when you finish. Because of the long winters, everyone seems to read. At Christmas time, the library hosts the town 16 foot Christmas tree and there is an evening for “The Lighting of the Library.” It is decorated with winter scenes, and Christmas lights. It is too snowy and icy to decorate town, so the library becomes the center. Well I digress.
Many in the community have low paying jobs and struggle to make ends meet. The result is a lot of sharing of one another’s burdens temporally and, I assume, emotionally. If there is a fire or some other hardship, these people share whatever they have. Often what is given might be things the individuals could use themselves, but because a greater need is perceived, they give freely of what they have. I have come to understand the Lord’s command to give to the poor and needy, to give freely from the heart. Perhaps one needs to experience destitution in order to recognize needs of others and have compassion. I stand ashamed as I realize how selfish I am at times. This reaching out and caring for one another has touched my heart and makes me want to be more caring and aware.
Let me talk about living conditions here. For an example, there is a young couple with two children. They have a nice apartment, but the husband works for minimum wage. It is a struggle to make it from one pay day to the next. They manage the rent, and utilities. If anything extra comes up, they really struggle. I mean they literally do not have grocery money, the frig is empty—they feed the children and do without when necessary. This is a constant battle. There have been times in my life when I felt we struggled, but I always had some sort of food in my cupboard and frig.
Gas is $4.87 a gallon and while there is really no where to drive here, it is still nice to be able to get out a bit. The store is still four or more blocks away, and when it is cold that is difficult. They have one truck for the husband to get to work. Gas is a luxury. There is no going out to lunch with the girls every week. In the winter, the wife is house-bound. Full time jobs are scarce and once you get to Alaska, it is hard to get enough money to move back to the lower forty-eight. This particular man has job training in diesel mechanics, but the one mechanic in town won’t hire anyone without experience. Rather a dead-end prospect for him. The few that are well-off own most of the business in town and so continue to do well. Haines used to be very prosperous, but the lumber mills closed down, the fish cannery closed down, the saw mill is gone, and the town hasn’t encouraged any great amount of tourism; because, they like it the way it is and don’t want to change. Consequently, young people grow up and leave because there are no jobs. In many ways, Haines is a dying community. The majority of the population is old. The whole school K-12 is about 150. Contributing to the problem is Haines location on a peninsula. The closest town of any size is Whitehorse, Canada, five hours away, and it can’t be reached half the time in the winter because of the snow. Juneau is four hours away by Ferry. Anchorage is fourteen hours away. So the isolation contributes to the economic problems.
Here is what is called a dead-end economy—stuff comes in but never goes out. This happens because people shop online or outside the community and then there is nowhere for goods to go, so they are recycled in garage sales. Garage sales are marvelous places for children’s clothes, tools, and household items. This, of course, also helps those struggling financially. Another example of dead-endedness is car disposal. A huge barge came this spring and hauled off 1,000 plus cars. There hadn’t been a barge for this purpose for ten years—cars were just driven into the woods and left to be grown over. This really helped clean up the area.
The other side of this living condition is it develops great inner resources, resilience, and strong fortitude. People don’t complain much here. There are no whiners. They just pick themselves up and carry on. That is the way life is. “Just deal with it,” is the attitude. They have what I call a gnarly personality, surviving the elements as well as whatever life hands out to them. It reminds me of the poem that says something to the effect of, “Lord forgive me when I whine, I have two eyes the world is mine, etc”— you know the one I mean.
Our branch here consists of 18-20 members. Average attendance is 12-14. There are four couples including us. 6 widows in their 70’s and 80’s, 3 part-member families and four less active sisters, and one child in Primary. In case you didn’t notice, we have a total of 4 priesthood holders. Some of our widows have lived in Haines all their lives. All have had very hard lives. One lived on the far side of the inlet and had to come to school and town when the tide was low, so they could wade across the water. They needed to return home before the tide came back in. She talks of catching fish in the small streams with her hands. They had no running water, and of course an outhouse. When she talks of her youth, it sounds fun. She had rich experiences though she left home at 15 because of family conflicts and abuse. She finished 8th grade and doesn’t consider herself very smart; however, she has a lot of life smarts. She knows all about “fiddle heads” for salads, (these are early ferns that look like seashells before they unfurl), she makes seaweed pickles. She now enjoys a small home in town, but in the winter turns her heat down to save on the heating bill and lays under quilts to keep warm most of the day and then stays up at night to tend the fire so her pipes don’t freeze. She crochets baby outfits for every baby born in town and gives them to the clinic to send home with the mom’s. Mother’s here have to go to Juneau two weeks before their baby is due and stay in a motel or with friends because they don’t deliver babies in Haines. How hard to not have your husband with you. When you go into labor I guess you call and hope your spouse makes it in time. Anyway, this sister crochets dresses for Barbie dolls, does bead work of Eagles and other revered animals. She has three organs that were discarded as people moved and taught herself to play. She is very generous and gives me things continually. She is one of the ladies who comes to play games with us. She is a hard worker, thrifty and can laugh at life.
Another very refined, educated lady was in a German concentration camp as a young woman. They did experimental surgery on her and she was the hostage to get her father to cooperate with the Nazi’s. She was not Jewish. Because of this she was unable to have children of her own. She became a surgical nurse and is now 85 and hopes to get a kidney transplant, or she plans to do her own kidney-dialysis in her home. She never talks about how she feels or her struggles as a youth. Sometimes she says, “I’m not doing too well today, so I don’t think I can stay to all of church.” You never see her without a smile on her face and yet I know she struggles with fiber-myalga (don’t know how to spell that), and arthritis along with her kidney problems. She is a convert to the church of seven years and came to Haines because she like the area.
Then there is the sweet sister we took to the temple, who is our super prepared lady. At any time, I think she has camping equipment for four people in the back of her camouflage van. She has diabetes, arthritis, a house that is sitting on an artesian well of some sort that periodically floods her kitchen. She is so independent that it is hard to do anything for her, but she would give you the shirt off her back. She is lonely and marches to a different drummer than most of the rest of us, but is a tender spirit. Because of divorce, she has lost track of her children and does not know where her children are, and has no relatives here. She has also lost two husbands to death and recently lost her companion-dog, Victor which was very hard for her.
Most of these sisters are converts to the church. They come to church every week to support one another. They understand the principle of stewardship, and being their brother’s keeper. They are grateful for their chapel that they have had for only about 20 years, and take turns cleaning every week. It is touching to see them all come out with pruning shears to clean the church yard together. When you try to do some of the heavier work to help them, they act like they are more able than I am. I think since I wear a skirt most of the time they think I can’t do anything even if I am in pants. Anyway, I think they enjoy the work, and tell me they are fine. Then they can hardly move the next day, but never complain. I am afraid I complain at times, but am working on that. What a positive attitude they have, what commitment and dedication.
Have I learned anything since being here? Yes. I’ve learned that my problems in life seem small by comparison to others. I am blessed beyond measure both temporally and spiritually. The testimonies of the saints here burn brightly and their individual strength is felt. I am humbled to be in their presence. I am thankful for all the Lord has blessed me with. Thankful that I have always had food, a safe home, my education, a family whom I love and cherish and that loves me in return and who is there when I need them; for a husband who understands me and is a good man. And above all, I am thankful for the gospel which has been a guide to me all my life. I love the gospel with all my heart. I would be nothing without the gospel. I know our Heavenly Father loves us individually and knows our names. I know he answers our prayers and wants us to ask him for what we need and want. I know when I draw near unto my Heavenly Father, He draws near unto me and gives me answers and direction in my life. Sometimes I don’t ask, because I know he will answer and I am not ready to hear the answer, but I should. I think we slow our own progress by depending on ourselves too much. Today we desperately need His guidance and direction. I know when I read the Book of Mormon, it strengthens me and helps me be closer to my Father in Heaven. I love the counsel in the Book of Mormon and the scripture that says, “..lean not unto thy own understanding; in all thy ways acknowledge Him and he shall direct thy paths.” I am thankful for the priesthood in my home. Having not had that when I grew up, I value it every day and am glad the Lord has entrusted that power to us. I could not have raised my family without priesthood blessings to sustain me. Because of the troubled times we live in, I am especially thankful for a living prophet, President Monson, and know he gives us warnings and directions on how to live our lives. The gospel gives me a sense of peace and safety—it teaches me how to live with joy and happiness. I bear testimony that God lives and because he live we to will live eternally. God bless you all and remember how much we love and think about you.
Love, Mom.
