February 15, 2021: THE IRON DOG

 I've noticed a pattern in missionary life. One week is slow, kinda ugh and the next week is crazy and super exciting!!  

The week started off with the Big Lake elders calling us to help them with a service. We didn't know what it was for until we got there! There is a young couple building a house by themselves in the middle of the Alaskan Winter!!! Who the hex does that? Alaskans are CRAZY! The whole project was under this huge inflatable plastic dome. It was FREEZING. The night before, it snowed 6 inches and their dome collapsed! They were going to give up on their project BUT saw that the missionaries were offering free service and they reached out to us to come to help them get the snow off and resume their project! One of the Elders was bragging to the young couple about how I write songs and the man asked me to sing for them. So in the middle of the construction zone, I sang "path-paver" and the spirit was so strong! 

THE IRON DOG is the world's longest, toughest, snowmobile race that covers over 2,600 miles as it traverses with the Alaskan Backcountry. The Big Lake Elders invited us to join them and of course, WE HAD TO!! It was the most Alaskan thing I've ever seen! Everyone was covered in fur! Families of 8+ pulling up in their snow machines for the show! Helicopters & bush planes flying over head! The road to get there was to drive on a lake... no joke! They made a highway ON the lake and all the cars were parked in a "parking lot" on the ice. Seriously insane. 

I sang "Be Thou My Vision" for the Settlers Bay ward! I was planning on singing it acapella because no one in the ward plays piano. But a night before the performance, I ran into a girl in the YSA ward and she saw the sheet music in my hand and asked If she could play for me. Truly a miracle! What an angel:)

(Moses 8)

God commanded Noah to teach the people the truth and the people didn't believe in his words, which made him sad. But! Noah did not give up hope and "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord"²⁷. It is easy to become lost in the dark world of today and forget of the Love that God has for us. As we continue to grasp the hope that comes from our Heavenly Father, then we can see the light. I love the wording he "found grace in the eyes of the Lord". Grace is there to help and strengthen us during the hard times. #findhisgrace

We had a lesson with a family this week where the mother had recently lost her father. The kids were crazy and the lesson didn't go well at all! Before the lesson, I thought to paint the mother a picture of her and her father with a note. So I did and gave it to her as we were leaving her house. She later told me of how much it meant to her and how she was going to remember this moment forever. I love how God inspires us in simple ways. A little act can go a long way. 

Me and Sister Bluth made a king cake for our friend and she expressed her gratitude by playing us all the new Justin Bieber songs. Oh yeah! It was a tender mercy. I may have shed tears of pure joy. 

Question... is Sprite zero not a thing anymore? It's not in Alaska and it makes me a tad bit sad! 

To my southerners, have fun with the polar vortex! Maybe it'll give you a taste of the Alaskan life :)

Find his grace,

It will help ya choose the JOY,

Sista Rexy