3/7/26
Hello, friends and family! While I’m working on this blog post today we are warm inside our apartment while a storm rages and blows outside. The predictions that March will be stormy after several dry months is already proving to be true. Throughout the week we’ve had clouds, wind, rain, sun, snow, sleet . . . all on shuffle! Right now the wind is gusting up to 30 mph and it is pouring rain. On this day we have a yellow alert that warns of strong winds and a lot of precipitation. Other days are colder so it snows instead of rain. And then there is a clear moment here and there when the sun is shining but it is very cold outside. With all of that weather we are blessed with March daylight. As of this post we have almost 10.5 hours of daylight a day. In just a couple of weeks we will surpass 12 hours of daylight a day. We are gaining seven minutes of daylight each day and it makes a difference! It might be raining or snowing or blowing or freezing, but at least it’s getting light earlier each day! We’ll take it.
Let’s get into what we’ve been doing this week in all the weather. I want to share a little bit about our Sunday school class last Sunday. The Reykjavik 1st branch is small. While there are a lot of members on the rolls the activity rate in the branch is low. Fortunately, we have a good sized group of new members and friends the missionaries are teaching who come to church most Sundays. For the past several months Sunday school has been a challenge. We are learning from the Old Testament Come Follow Me manual (you can find it here). While the Old Testament is wonderful it can be complicated for even experienced members of the church. The Sunday school classes have been confusing for the group of newer members and friends of the church.
This Sunday the branch split the Sunday school into two classes; one for the newer members and friends and one for the more seasoned members. Our other senior couple, the Mogenhan’s, are teaching a basic level Old Testament Come Follow Me class and Todd taught the other Sunday school class this week. There are still a few kinks to work out but the split classes seemed to work well. And, after all that explanation, here’s what I wanted to share! Our building is very small and our Sunday school class was taught at the baptismal font. There is a small space in front of the font for gathering at baptisms and we pulled chairs up there for class.
In class this week we learned about God commanding Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. (You can read about it here.) We learned about how this story is symbolic of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We discussed things we have been asked to sacrifice and how Jesus Christ sacrificed His life for our salvation. Throughout the lesson, just behind Todd, was the baptismal font. It was a beautiful visual of the first covenant we make with God when we enter the waters of baptism. I was struck by this small group of people, meeting together in this tiny space, doing the best we can to draw closer to God. And He has provided us with the means to come to Him and enter the covenant waters of baptism, just as Abraham did of old. It was a special class for me. (Jóhannes is sitting next to Todd and I’m sure he was wondering why I was taking a photo!)
Sunday evening we had our zone leaders (Elder Moyer & Elder Geertsen) over for a meeting. It just happened to be Elder Moyer’s birthday so we had to have treats and sing “Happy Birthday” to him! He isn’t eating desserts right now so I made a fresh batch of bread and pulled it out of the oven just as the boys arrived. Between the four of us we nearly made it through two loaves of bread! (Trust me, fresh hot bread with butter, raspberry jam, or honey! You can’t go wrong.) Hopefully Elder Moyer will always remember his 21st birthday when he ate bread and was serenaded by President Richardson! The bread was so hot it melted his birthday candle. 🙂
For our P-day outing this week we went to the Reykjavik Museum of Photography. They are currently doing an exhibit about glaciers and global warming with photography by Kristján Maack. (You can read about the exhibit here.) It was beautiful.
This wall was my favorite part of the display. Every picture is a different section of glacier ice. No two were the same and they were all beautiful. They almost look like pictures of galaxies, don’t you think?
When we left the museum there was a lull in the storm so we walked around town just a bit (until I was tired of snow blowing straight in my face and had Todd take us home!) There are so many examples of street art in Reykjavik, it’s fun to get pictures of them when we find new ones.
This guy is often in different clothes when we see him. This week I was admiring the workmanship of his knitted ensemble! Especially the ear warmers. He needs them in this weather!
And these two walls are opposite each other in an alley. It’s easy to miss them if you’re not looking for them and they brought a smile to me while the snow was pelting the back of my head after I’d suggested we turn around and get back to the car!
I made bread in three different batches this week, both to enjoy and to share. It’s very fun to deliver a fresh, hot loaf of bread to a friend! One evening Todd took a loaf right out of the oven to Gerhard who was ready with his cutting board and bread knife!
On Wednesday we took fresh bread with us on a ministering visit to our friends Ólafur & Björg. The weather was clear for the morning so we took advantage of it and drove north to visit them and some of their family. It was good to spend time with them and share a treat of fresh bread.
During this outing we drove around Hvalfjörður, the fjord north of Reykjavik. We had time to view the frozen waterfalls and enjoy the fresh snow. It is quite a sight!
Fossarétt —
Below is a photo from the drone looking down on the waterfall.
Beautiful views of the fjord from the drone —
Here’s another frozen waterfall from a bit further along the fjord.
Of course we had some zoom meetings this week. In our mission wide meeting we were excited to see our Elder Nehren doing his job as an AP! We miss him but we know he is doing important work. You can see him too, in the picture below on the far left. And the picture on the right is our transfer zone council meeting. It’s fun to work with the young missionaries!
One of our young elders gave us a package that his mom had sent with gifts for us. Elder Guttierez is one of our newer missionaries and his mom sent Todd a tie and me a small purse from Mexico! It was a kind surprise. 🙂
On Thursday evening we were invited to join our friends Huaskar & Nohemy at their home for a birthday celebration for their son Camilo. We were happy to be invited and enjoyed celebrating Camilo’s 17th birthday with them. This family immigrated to Iceland two years ago from Venezuela, seeking asylum. They are such an inspiration, learning both Icelandic and English, raising their family in a new country, going back to school, and serving in the church. It can take some effort for us to communicate with all the different languages being spoken, but the kids and the elders helped translate for us and we had a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday” in English at Camilo’s request!
Below you will see L-R: Elder Monzon, Elder Guttierez, me, Paula, Nohemy, Andrès, Camilo, & Huaskar.
Camilo is excited to serve as a full time missionary some day. He has to wait to become an Icelandic citizen before he can serve, which might take a couple of years. But for now he is finishing high school, playing football, and helping administer the sacrament at church each Sunday.
Currently Todd & I are both involved in different projects for the mission, district, and area that mean a lot of time at the computer. This doesn’t make for terribly interesting pictures! Some of the things we’re working on include: a project with the family history department in the Europe North Area, working on things for President Davidson, preparing items for our upcoming Iceland District Conference (like stake conference), working on an upcoming Relief Society birthday party, preparing sacrament meeting talks, lesson prep, etc.
And in between this work, here are a few more random, fun things from this week:
Every Friday Todd and I go to Costco. We have the YSA meal to prepare on Monday’s so Friday we shop to get everything we need. Many of the employees recognize us and Todd is very chatty and friendly with them, always looking for ways to share why we are living in Iceland. This week we went through the checkout of one woman we’ve met before. Todd said hello to her and she said she remembers him. She said, “You came here last week with your sister!” We got a good laugh out of this when we realized that she’s referring to my name badge — Sister Richardson! (We also chuckled at all the stories in the Bible when men refer to wives as their sisters! You can read about Abraham and Sarah in this situation here.) So, yep, here’s President Richardson with his Sister Richardson. 🙂
I watched my actual sister give a presentation at Rootstech in Salt Lake City. She is an expert in Scandinavian family history with an emphasis in Danish records. I’m so glad for the technology that allowed me to support her from Iceland! If you’d like to learn more about Danish probate records you can find her lecture here.
And! I made a sleeve!! I’m astounded that I knit a sleeve! 🙂 I now have part of the body of my sweater done and one sleeve. Next, I make another sleeve. The hand knitting continues and I think there may be hope of actually having a complete sweater one day!
On Saturday afternoon Helga invited us to join her at a presentation her photography club was giving. There are sixteen members in the club and they meet twice a month exploring different photo assignments they participate in. A couple of times a year the club puts on a presentation to show off the work their members have done. Each member shares eight photos they want to show off.
We are very glad Helga invited us to come and were surprised to see her running the show! She gave an introduction to the group and I quickly realized I was the youngest person in the room. 🙂
There was a 45 minute slide show presentation with some really great photography of places all around Iceland. We were honored to be invited to join Helga and her friends and she was very happy we came. Below are Helga’s photos. Which one do you like best?
We feel very blessed to have Helga in our lives. She is a lovely woman and she means a lot to us.
As I conclude this post the weather is still stormy and our days are still busy. It’s incredible to be one week into March already and we are grateful for the work we have to do. Todd and I are both experiencing spiritual tutoring on our mission that we know we wouldn’t receive in any other way. Sometimes it’s hard, sometimes it’s wonderful, sometimes it’s confusing! Just like the weather this week, mission life is full of crazy interesting experiences. While sometimes it can be difficult, it is a pleasure to be part of this work and to be taught by the Lord in this way.
I’m curious to know if those of you who have served missions, young or old, have felt the crazy ups and downs that missions bring? Or is it just me?! Heavenly Father is aware of all the rough edges He needs to smooth off of me because this mission is helping with that! Thank you for your love, prayers, and support that you give to us. It is felt and appreciated.
Check out Todd’s social media pages for more photos and videos. You can find him here:
Leave a Reply