Oh, the weather outside is frightful...and dark!
It has been such a long time since the last blog. We are keeping quite busy. We are having such wonderful experiences. We arrived in Yellowknife six months ago. In that time we have done a lot of things. We have participated in many festivals, Farmer's Markets, volunteer service, events and activities. We have met so many people. We meet people we know everywhere we go. If we haven't met them yet, it is time to get to know them. We will leave many friends when we leave, -- in 32 days.
So yesterday was Thanksgiving. We thought about getting a turkey. . .
No, maybe not. This is a small turkey. We opted for deli cut slices for four, us and two Elders. Only $20. They weren't as good as slices from the whole bird. We had all the other
traditional Thanksgiving foods.
Every day we get snow. It is more like powdered sugar, just dusting everything. Sometimes it is like grains of salt. Whatever way we get it, there is no moisture in it and we just sweep it off the steps, the walks and the cars. The alley gets packed down with people driving on it. The main roads just get worn off. The city puts gravel down in intersections.
Snow dusts the car every day.
Snow accumulates
The roads are not too bad.
Elder Cinco and Elder Vernon flew to Edmonton for the Mission Tour. Our visiting General authority was Elder Schweitzer, our past Stake President in the Butler West Stake and his wife, Sister Schweitzer. We didn't fly down to it. We got to skype the meetings and we got to talk to the Schweitzer's. Elder Vernon was transferred during this time and was replaced by Elder Gorsky.
Then there was a day last week, November 14, 2017. It snowed all day. This time the snow looked like feathers falling out of the sky. We could blow it off. Big fluffy feathers. When it stopped we had 12 inches in the alley. The airport reported 9 1/2 inches and it was 0.11 inches of water. That is very dry snow.
The car is covered this time. Still, we just swept it off with a broom.
This is the fence between us and the neighbors.
The space between car and fence.
Doesn't it look like feathers?
We sorted one last time for the season. The other times this month we have re bagged flour, and made apple sauce.
We have lots of ravens in Yellowknife.
This one sticks around the church and greets us when we come and go. Sister Brown talks to him and she must make him feel welcome.
Sister Brown had to have one eye dilated. It made her look quite crazy for a couple of hours.
The Status of Women, a government agency in Canada, had a project where they paired a senior woman with a new mother and they worked together in an art class.
The first class we worked with acrylics in a group of six. Each of us had part of a picture and worked independently on our little part.
Sister Brown had an eye and part of a nose.
With all of our parts, it was a dog. (Yes, someone was absent.)
This dog was an effort of two, making the mosaic with scrap colors from magazines.
Don't ask, but it was Sister Brown and a young mother holding her baby. It was fun.
Sister Brown made a linoleum carving of a trumpeter swan. Her partner Jesse, made a feather.
They printed a design on rice paper.
There will be an art show in March of all the art in three different art sessions. Sister Brown won't be there.
The auroras have been quiet. While the lakes in the Northwest Territories are freezing there is constant cloud and mist. Tonight we can see a moonlit sky, but it is not a good time for auroras. December 4th and 5th are supposed to be good nights. Yellowknife is setting record temperatures for cold temperatures. The day before yesterday was -20 degrees Fahrenheit. It got up to -15 degrees Fahrenheit. Days before were -10 to -15 degrees Fahrenheit. Currently, at 9 pm, the temperature is -8 degrees Fahrenheit. We said we would go to a cold place and we are there. We are keeping very warm. We do go out, we dress in layers. And today, sunrise was 9:18 AM and sunset was 3:29 PM. The sun remains low in the Southern horizon the whole time it is daylight.
And, what would we be doing in Salt Lake on the day after Thanksgiving? Why, we would be setting up our nativities. And that is exactly what we did today in Yellowknife. We brought three nativities with us when we came on our mission. We added 16 nativities by last Christmas. Unfortunately we have been unable to find a nativity in the Northwest Territories. But we have an idea of one we will add, probably after we get home.
Here are our newest nativities. You will be able to see them at our open house in December 2018.
Go online and check out #Light The World
There are many ideas on things you can do this Christmas to show your love for Jesus. It starts on December 1. Copy and paste the line below to see what is available.
www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/light-the-world-christmas-initiative-encourages-christlike-service
We love all of you. We love our mission. We will be sad to see it end. We will be starting on our way home on December 26th, 32 days from now. Rumor tells us we will be speaking in church on January 14, 2018. There will be another blog before then so we will give all the particulars later.
Love, Elder and Sister Brown, Mom, Grandma and Dadoo, Bruce and Robyn
