Good-bye Grande Prairie

We say good-bye to Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, but not to our Canada Edmonton mission. We start driving tomorrow to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. 

        Bear Creek.                              Neighborhood walkway.                  Just eating a snack.

All three parts of Muskoseepi Park, a large beltway through the center of Grande Prairie.

 View of our neighbor, Canfor Lumber Mill, across the street. Seen from the 4th floor of our apartment building.

These YSA braved our last FHE which was still on the cool side. We played kick-the-can in the park next to the church. 

We will miss all our Young Single Adults. We love them. We are proud of their accomplishments. They are working on good things, going to school, in good jobs. They are so kind to each other and to newcomers. They make everyone feel welcome. They made us feel welcome. We studied, played, even danced with them. Many have moved on, to places where they can continue their advancement. Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Southern Alberta, and British Columbia are lucky to have them. That's what Young Single Adults do, they move on. To school, missions, work and marriage.

Huge sundial in Grande Prairie.

 

Jen and Jolyn visited us for                    Statues at Grande Prairie Regional College
Mother's Day.                                          

         Front of Grande Prairie Regional College

       





 We love the brickwork in this building.

 Places around the County of Grande Prairie is a summer nesting ground for Trumpeter Swans. We came across this group in a large flooded field. They have migrated north and the lake they usually inhabit was covered in ice. They have moved to the lake at this date.

 These are along the highways where wildlife crosses. Wildlife is spotted in town from time to time.

  

 These birds are Arctic Tern. They are migrating north. The Tern fly to Antarctica for our winter, then return to the Arctic for our summer. This bird always lives in sunlight, spending their lives in the summer at each pole.

This maple leaf is the logo for Canada 150. It still needs the strip saying Canada 150. It is English Paper Piecing and took time here and there to make. It is the centerpiece of my Mission quilt. I am probably the most excited person, at least in the Peace Country, for this Sesquicentennial year. I have planned lots of things around it. I am glad we get to be here for this time. People in Grande Prairie will probably go to Edmonton or Calgary to participate in celebrations. Remember that at least half the population migrates out of Grande Prairie on holiday for July and August. School is out and many of these people have worked 12 hours a day for 100 plus days. Summer they play. I think Yellowknife will be a fun place to be for celebrating since they are the capital city of Northwest Territories and tourists are there to take advantage of 24 hour days to play golf at midnight, and race cars all night in the daylight. We have read about lots of festivals. We will keep you informed in our future blogs.

Again as we leave and drive further north, we are unsure of what we will be doing on our mission. We are happy to serve and we do know that this is where Heavenly Father wants us to be for the rest of our mission. We will be serving the Yellowknife Branch. In all the places we have ever lived, we have never been in a branch before. We have lived in really small wards, but this will be the first branch. We have been told that there are 59 people in the branch. Average attendance is between 10 and 20. Winter is better for attendance because people who live out of town can drive in on ice roads. In the summer they can't travel because of all the lakes and rivers. Canada doesn't really have very many roads. The ones they do have are also not that good. But we are thankful there are roads. It hasn't been that long since they built a bridge over the Mackenzie River. During winter it was crossed on an ice road. During summer it was crossed by ferry. In spring and fall people couldn't get to Yellowknife because of the ice flows in the Mackenzie. So, please stay tuned....

Love,

Sister Brown, Mom, Grandma, Robyn