Nome November 23, 1982

Dear Family,
Well your package finally arrived and it took exactly 14 days. Everything was in good shape and the cookies weren't crumbled and the popcorn balls were still round. Man, it seemed everything I wanted was in that package. It was almost like Christmas, I got that Pocatello shirt I wanted and you know what? The first time I wore it, it was to one of our basketball games an I met someone who was from Pocatello and even graduated from Poky a year or two before me.
So is the tooth fairy alright? It kind of worried me when I heard that he (or she) didn't make it to John's pillow but I'll bet that he was there the next night.
This past week has been kind of different compared to what I am used to. First I have been fighting with this cold and it takes me awhile to get going. The reason that I have had it so long is because we have been walking into town ever since we have been here. It has been a real bother because we live about 2 mi out of town. In the morning we usually walk but in the evening we need to bum rides out to our place. The members have been doing real good, but I hate always bumming rides. I feel like a mooch. So Bro. Stevens in the branch got things going by calling Pres. Papa and telling him our situation and that it isn't safe walking to town when it really starts to get cold. So Pres. is getting a car up here so we can drive that 2 mi. It will be so great!
I know what Bro. Stevens was meaning when he said don't fool around with the artic because last Wednesday we were stuck out here and no way to get into town. What happened is that we had a blizzard blow through and the wind chill was down to -50' so we decided to stay in. It usually isn't so bad the temp is around 20-25' most of the time but can drop the next day to around 0'. Yes I have all of my winter stuff, I have the best boots you can buy, a good parka (I think I told you about that) plus those long johns, so I am set.
We have also been working a lot with  the Eskimos. They are a really nice people. When we go tracting we know that we will get in the houses because the Eskimos invite us in and they don't even know who we are. I also tasted Eskimo food, I had me a little plate of frozen, raw salmon dipped in seal oil. Have you ever smelled a bunch of raw, stinky fish? Well this is what it tasted like. The first piece I about gagged but what you have to do is get used to it and by the time I finished that plate that salmon started to taste like buttered salmon. I guess you just have to get used to it.
I am really starting to like it up here and when we get a car I will even like it better. I hope I didn't scare you, the weather here isn't really that bad in fact it is just about like Idaho.
So you take care. I love you all, Elder Daren Wilding