7/5/25
A new month is here and we have new adventures. Well, some of the same adventures, but definitely some new ones too! Read on for our report from the first week of July.
Sunday was a full and busy church day for us. After church there were two baptisms in the 1st branch and we were thrilled to participate in them. First, Pedro Gil Dias Ferreira Pinto was baptized by Elder Monzon and confirmed by Elder Morales. Pedro is from Portugal and he found the missionaries here who helped him come closer to Christ as they taught him. Pedro has been living and working in Iceland and his wife and children are still in Portugal. He hopes to bring them here soon and they are also interested in the things he has been learning. We are so happy to see Pedro enter the covenant path through baptism. (You can read more about the covenant path here.)
Following Pedro’s baptism, Aurora Matthíasdóttir was baptized. Aurora turned eight recently and she was so excited to get baptized! She’s adorable. She is the second of four sisters; a family of four girls, just like ours. Below, her mom Shirah is holding Klara, then Matti (dad) with Aurora. Next to Aurora is Lilja and Emma. They are a beautiful family!
Aurora shared her testimony about why she chose to get baptized. I thought you’d enjoy reading what she had to say.
I snapped this selfie with Aurora and I love that her great grandma, Helga, is peeking out behind us! Not only is Helga Aurora’s great-grandma, she is also my knitting teacher and she is becoming a sweet friend. (Fun fact, great grandma is langamma in Icelandic. It’s pronounced like you’re saying “long-amma”. You’ve been a grandma for a long time! I love this.)
After the baptisms, Aurora’s family hosted a potluck so everyone could eat and visit. It was wonderful to see church members, friends, and family enjoying being together.
Following the potluck, Todd and I went to Selfoss for an evening training meeting with the Iceland district council. We love the drive to and from Selfoss and really enjoy working with the good people in this district.
Here are a few random odds & ends from the first half of the week:
Todd went for a long bike ride and ended up at a closed Bonus! Most of the stores here don’t open until 10 am so he had to bide his time and wait next to the piggy bank before he could go in search of his items.
We had some very fun video chats with our grandkids. We love when they call us. In this picture Clara had the phone and we had fun watching her run away from her mom who was trying to get the phone back!
And James, Clark, Iris, & Lincoln love to play with the filters on video chats. This call was especially fun because grandad was in on the shenanigans! Todd looks good with a beehive, don’t you think?!
For Christmas Todd gave me 18 bags of frozen cranberries. I love making my own cranberry sauce and I barely sweeten it. I like it tart! This week was sad because I used the last bag of cranberries to mix up my puckering treat. I guess, when this jar is empty, I’ll have to sadly wait until the holidays to enjoy this treat again. The Christmas present lasted more than half a year! Yummy. Too bad he didn’t buy 30 bags of cranberries. 😉
And of course there was some baking this week. In preparation for our weekend trip to Akureyri I put together plates of homemade chocolate chip cookies for sharing with our friends up north. As you know, we often do cookie deliveries to friends and members in Reykjavik. When we go to Akureyri we like to do the same thing. The members there don’t know us as well and it is fun to surprise them on their doorstep with some homemade cookies.
On Thursday we left Reykjavik with Elder Fischbeck (below right) and Elder O’Barr to drive to Akureyri. Elder Fischbeck is the North District Leader so he and his companion get to do splits with the elders in his district during the transfer, including the elders 250 miles away. The drive was fun with these two! They both finish their missions in one month and they have a lot of experience and wisdom to share with us.
Todd and I have been to Akureyri a few times since we came to Iceland, always in the winter. This was our first time driving up in good weather and it was a spectacular!
We made a stop along the way at Kolugljúfur Canyon. Helga told us about this waterfall and told us how much we would love it. She was right! It is another spectacular waterfall and we are so glad we took time to see it.
Elder Moyer and Elder Morel are the only missionaries in Akureyri right now. They are working hard but they were happy to have some company show up for a visit! The four missionaries were excited to work together for a couple of days. I forewarned them that we were going to do an apartment inspection when we got into town. If they passed, they got cookies. They passed! I could tell they had scrubbed the apartment well. The only room for improvement was with the chest freezer. I don’t think it has been defrosted in years! It is growing its own glacier. They have been given a lesson on how to defrost a freezer. Let’s hope they get it done before the next inspection or the cookies will be withheld!
Below L-R: Elders Fischbeck, Morel, O’Barr, & Moyer
After getting the boys settled Todd fed me. Yes, I ate that entire blue cheese and prosciutto pizza. And Todd ate the duck sandwiches! I think my pizza was better. 😉
We took our P-day on Friday and we had a grand adventure. We left early and drove to Dalvík, a small town about a 40 minute drive north of Akureyri. Everything in Eyjafjörður, the fjord Akureyri is in, is gorgeous. You cannot have a boring view. I saw three whale spouts during this drive.
In Dalvík we boarded the ferry Sæfari, which takes passengers, cars, and cargo to the island Grímsey. The ferry leaves at nine in the morning and takes three hours to go the 40 kilometers (about 25 miles) up the fjord and across the open northern Atlantic to Grímsey island. (You can read more about Grímsey island here.)
The ferry isn’t very big, but there was plenty of indoor seating and outdoor space to enjoy the long ride. In the reviews about this ferry ride I read all sorts of terrible stories of horrible seasickness while taking the journey. Fortunately we had incredible weather and a smooth ride on both ends of our trip. In fact, one of the crew members told me that they never have such good weather and they usually deal with a lot of seasick passengers. Not today!
We both spent time both inside and outside, but Todd was mostly outside. We saw whales and dolphins and countless birds. It was so fun and beautiful.
We could see the mainland of Iceland behind us all morning.
Grímsey island is the only part of Iceland that is in the Arctic Circle. One of the many reasons to visit the island is to go to the Arctic Circle. In 2017 a sculpture called the Orbis et Globus was placed as a marker on the boundary. Did you know that the Arctic Circle moves? Yes it does! Nearly 45 feet every year. Each year the monument is moved to the current boundary. After the year 2047 Grímsey island, and Iceland for that matter, will no longer be in the Arctic Circle. That’s all the more reason to go visit it now! (You can read more about the Orbis et Globus here.)
As soon as we got off the ferry we started the two mile hike to the monument. The hike goes along the coastline of the island and we came across hundreds of puffins nesting along the cliffs. They are so fun to watch.
After about 45 minutes we made it to the Arctic Circle and enjoyed terrific views and the very unique monument.
I couldn’t get those 8 tons to move an inch! One article I read said that after 2047, when the Arctic Circle no longer crosses the island, the plan is to roll the monument down the cliffs and let is sink into the ocean.
We brought our heavy coats with us and we were roasting in the gorgeous weather, enjoying the sunshine, and getting just a bit sunburned. We were prepared for winter but the Arctic Circle brought us a lovely summer day.
After a picnic and a rest we walked back down to town to do some exploring there. The views didn’t stop. Everywhere you look there was ocean, cliffs, coastline, puffins, Arctic terns (and many other birds we don’t know), and the endless sky on the top of the world. Below you’ll see the mainland in the background, a small cruise ship in the harbor, and the island.
I bought a small bud vase from my new friend who makes and sells pottery on the island. I’m sorry I can’t tell you his name. He really didn’t speak much English and I cannot speak Icelandic. He lives upstairs and works and sells his goods downstairs. He was excited to show me his workshop and I was happy to bring one of his pieces home.
Just before we boarded the ferry to start the journey home Todd and I each had a “Cod Dog”. There is a hotdog stand that sells Icelandic hotdogs and ice cream. They also advertised the only “Cod Dog” in Iceland. Basically, it’s pieces of deep fried cod on a hotdog bun with cucumbers, peppers, and a delicious sauce. It was seriously yummy and I wish you didn’t have to take such a long journey to be able to eat one!
Over the course of the day we had walked about six miles. We were pretty tired for the three hour ferry ride home. I spent time resting and watching the views while Todd was making friends! He had a long conversation with a wonderful Icelandic family. In the picture below you’ll see (right to left) Guðbjörn Gíslason, Halla Steingrímsdóttir, Hafdís Ýr, Sóley Inga — Dad, mom, and their two daughters. Guðbjörn & Halla live in Akureyri, one daughter lives in Denmark and the other daughter lives in Sweden. The girls are here visiting their parents and attending a family reunion next week. While we were hiking to the Orb they went with a friend on a boat tour around the island and went fishing for some beautiful and delicious looking cod! (We wished we’d joined them on their outing!) Todd spent most of the ride back to the mainland sitting at the front of the boat with this great family. Icelander’s are wonderful, kind people and Todd felt welcomed by them. If we were still in Akureyri next week maybe we’d sneak up to their family reunion!
We were so tired by the end of the day, but wow we loved it. This earth is beautiful and to spend time on the top of the planet enjoying God’s creations and the good people who live here is such a pleasure!
On Saturday morning we joined the elders at the building where the Akureyri branch meets for church and did a good cleaning. Elder Morel is the current branch president and we were happy to support him and the branch members by taking a turn to clean for Sunday meetings.
The Akureyri branch meets in a rented room up a couple of flights of stairs in an office building. The views are unbelievable. Out the back window you see this:
And out the front window (in the summer, during cruise season) you see this:
And at every stop light you see this: (Apparently, you’ll find love to the left!)
This is a great town. We spent the afternoon doing visits to members who live here. We brought our chocolate chip cookies and knocked on doors to say hello and drop off a treat.
We found one sister at work. She stopped what she was doing to let us know how much she appreciated us stopping by. She is a single mother and works hard to care for her son.
We found one brother at home with his daughter. They were happy for our visit and pleased for the company and the cookies. He has some real health challenges that limit his ability to do many things, but he has a strong testimony and he is a good husband, father, and leader in the church. Todd was able to leave a blessing on their home.
We visited another sister who has not come to church for many years. She let us in for a visit and was very kind to us. She told us that some time ago she was offended by another sister in the branch. What happened was so hurtful that this sister stopped coming to church and has not come back. Todd invited her to return and renew the covenants she has made with God. She declined that invitation and said she will never come back to church. We’re sorry she feels that way and hope that one day she will desire to renew her covenants with our Heavenly Father.
Through these visits we feel the love our Father has for His children. Life is hard for everyone. We all have heavy loads to carry. If we choose to let Him, Jesus Christ will carry our load with us. We do not have to carry it alone. Those who choose to carry their load without Him are missing the peace that comes from sharing the load with our Lord. In Mosiah 24:15 it says, “the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease”. He will do this for you too, if you will turn to Him. It’s such a privilege for us to invite and encourage those around us to join with Jesus Christ as they carry their challenges.
We had a few extra plates of cookies at the end of the day so Todd gave them out, along with a missionary pass-along card, to people staying in our hotel. That’s a sweet way to do missionary work, don’t you think?!
We finished our day with a trip to the east side of the fjord and some drone flights. So enjoy these drone videos over Eyjafjörður as we finish up our report of this week. We will see you right back here next week! Thank you for joining us on the top of the world.
Check out Todd’s social media pages for more pictures and videos. You will find him here:
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