8/30/25
While this week started out as a typical missionary week for us, it quickly took a turn in a different direction! Read on to see what we’ve been up to as we finish out the month of August.
Sunday and Monday were full of our regular work. On Sunday we had our church meetings, and an Iceland district council training meeting. We also did some work with branch leadership as well as greeting some of the 60+ visitors who attended church in the Reykjavik 1st branch! It was a good and busy work day.
Monday was also a typical missionary Monday. I spent the morning cooking and cleaning, getting our YSA meal prepped and ready to go.
Monday afternoon Todd did a zoom temple recommend interview with a sister who lives in Höfn. Sister Da Silva & her family are members of the Selfoss branch and they mostly participate in church over zoom. Höfn is about 450 km, or nearly 300 miles, from Reykjavik on the east coast of Iceland. We admire this family’s faith and strength to live the gospel in a place so far away from the other saints in Iceland. Todd was happy to help her finish renewing her temple recommend.
At our Institute class the opening song was “This Little Light of Mine”. At the start of class we only had men there and it was fun to hear them sing this song! You can watch a cute music video of this song here — although it’s not the men in our class singing in the video! 🙂
We gave Elder Moyer & Elder Nehren a ride home after class. On the way they got a call from a friend they are teaching. Elder Nehren had a wonderful conversation with him in Icelandic all the way home. I should have made a video of him talking so you could hear how good his Icelandic is! But you’ll have to imagine it in this picture. It was fun to witness. These young men are super sharp and have truly learned this difficult language.
Tuesday things took a turn a bit away from missionary work and towards our family. Todd and I packed up and headed to the airport that afternoon. After joining with crowds of tourists leaving Iceland we boarded our plane headed for Newark airport in New Jersey.
After a couple of hours we were flying over Greenland. Todd got amazing pictures out the window! We can’t fly the drone here but we can fly in an airplane! The ice below was incredible.
After a six hour flight we were happy to be in New Jersey!
When we left on our mission we didn’t expect to be in America again until we finished our two year assignment. It was strange to be back and felt a little bit like we were play hooky! And why were we back in America, you’re wondering?? In June our daughter Rebekah had a baby boy and she and her husband Isaac gave us a surprise invitation to come for a visit to meet our new grandson. We were thrilled to take them up on the offer! Isn’t that a terrific reason for a quick mission get away?!
With our mission president’s blessing we came to Pennsylvania for a few days to spend time with Rebekah’s family, love on this new baby boy, help with some projects around their new house, and enjoy being together. It was such a blessing to be able to do this. And strange to be away from mission work for a few days.
Of course we spent as much time cuddling this little guy as we possibly could. By the time we get home from our mission he will be running all over the place! We loved having time with him as a new baby.
We took a trip to Walmart, which was hilarious. After being out of America for a year and living in such an expensive place as Iceland it was wild to walk around such a big store with so many things at such low prices. We stocked up on some of our favorite toiletries that we have been missing having access to.
We also enjoyed helping the kids with some projects around their new home. They moved right after the baby was born and we were happy to help strip the old wallpaper border from the living room and dining room walls.
We brought the kids some fun gifts from Iceland and we enjoyed watching them try the black licorice treats!
Isaac is in school doing a master’s degree and one evening while he was in class Rebekah took us out to dinner. We ordered as much as we could fit on the table at the restaurant. It was another fun contrast to our Iceland restaurants! So Much Food! For a very low price! 🙂 We ate all we could and then took everything else home to feed us for the next two days.
Friday morning the kids took us to Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center. It “encompasses 1,168 acres of forests, fields, and creeks, which provide a wealth of recreational and educational opportunities. Visitors can enjoy exhibits at the visitor center during open hours, as well as Henrys Woods, an old growth forest surrounding Bushkill Creek, which has many hiking trails.” You can read more about it here. We went to Henrys Woods and did a hike through the old growth forest. There are not a lot of trees in Iceland and it was wonderful to stroll through this lovely forest and admire the beauty of eastern Pennsylvania.
We finished up our visit with a trip to the farmer’s market in Easton, Pennsylvania. “Established in 1752, the year of the City’s founding, the Easton Farmers’ Market is the oldest, continuous open-air market in the nation.” There were stalls filled with beautiful breads and all sorts of fresh produce. Families were enjoying the sunshine and the setting along the river. And we were happy to stroll there with our family.
The farmer’s market is located at the convergence of the Lehigh and Delaware rivers. We were on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware river and we waved hello to New Jersey just across the water.
Too soon it was time to tell Rebekah, Isaac, and our newest little grandson goodbye.
Yep, I cried. In fact, typing this right now I feel tears wanting to come. We took a bus from Easton to Newark airport and we are waiting for our evening flight to take us back to Reykjavik.
I spent decades of my life being a stay-at-home mom. We had our four girls who I spent my time and life caring for, raising, supporting, and cheering on. Todd was always a wonderful provider and we had a happy home life. And now, as the parents of grown children and the grandparents to eight little children, we are definitely in a cheerleading role. It’s hard to say goodbye and walk away from these wonderful people, but it’s so good to watch them thrive in their own families.
The greatest joy we have is seeing our daughters and their husbands stay true to their faith in Jesus Christ. We spent hours with Rebekah and Isaac talking about their hopes and plans, listening to their parenting ideas for their new baby, and watching them express love for each other and for their son. 3 John 1:4 says, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” We echo this statement. We take the greatest pleasure in knowing that our children know their Savior Jesus Christ and have a relationship with Him.
We loved our time in Pennsylvania and we will miss being able to snuggle that new little boy as he grows. We are so grateful that we were able to take time to be with them and meet this baby. I know in the past senior missionaries could not leave their missions for family events. I’m very grateful that now there is so much flexibility to allow us to be with our family when we feel it is necessary. I’m very grateful for video chats, supportive & faithful children, a family to love, and a companion who lets me cry when I miss them.
So now, it’s back to Iceland and back to work. We have a busy week ahead and it will be back to our regular scheduling! For now, thank you to Rebekah & Isaac for inviting us to come and welcoming us into their home. And thanks to all of you for coming along with us for our mission experience. It’s pretty great!
Check out Todd’s social media posts for more videos and photos. You can find him here:
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