9/13/25
Wow, it’s been a week! Get comfortable and here we go!
Several months ago Todd and I began to plan a trip around the ring road. We decided to take our trip in September of this year to celebrate the half way point of our mission (woohoo!) and to explore the east side of Iceland before the winter sets in. We’ve had this trip planned for ages and our summer was so busy with company, family, mission work, friends, and our trip to Pennsylvania that all of sudden it was here! We’ve been traveling this week and doing our mission work remotely and we’re excited to show you what we have seen and done. This is a picture heavy post! I mean, Iceland is spectacularly photogenic so of course there are a lot of pictures. And videos. and more pictures. Sit back and enjoy our trip with us while we put a ring on Iceland! (You can read more about the ring road here.)
Sunday:
We were in Reykjavik on Sunday and went to our regular church meetings. We had the pleasure of visiting with one of Todd’s former students, Virginia Kestler, her sister KallyRae & their friend Ashley, who were traveling in Iceland. It was so fun to see them and hear about their lives and their trip in Iceland. It’s also wonderful to know that these good woman are active in the church and doing great things with their lives. It reminded us of Alma when he met his friends and “they were still his brethren in the Lord”. (Alma 17:2)
We also had a zone zoom meeting on Sunday night to discuss our goals for the upcoming transfer. It is such a pleasure to work with these good people!
Monday:
Our trip began early Monday morning with a long drive along the south coast. We’ve visited the beautiful sights along the south coast many times so we kept driving until we came to places that were new to us. Our first stop was at Gígjagjá, also known as Yoda cave. It’s pretty cool! What do you think?
Our next stop was at Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon. It’s amazing. I’ll let the pictures do the talking!
Monday was blustery and rainy on and off all day. The rain gave us this unique photo op along the way:
Another thing we saw from the road was this waterfall, Systrafoss — We found our way to it but the view from the road was better than being up close. It still made a nice place for a picnic lunch and a bunch of emails and texts to keep up with our work.
We took a hike out to an outlet of Svínafellsjökull Glacier. It was gorgeous. Todd flew the drone and got some incredible footage. Enjoy!
Our final stop for Monday was at Jökulsárlón – Glacier Lagoon. We had planned to take a boat tour of the lagoon around the icebergs but by the time we got there the wind and the rain were really picking up. There was a yellow alert for the storm we were in and our boat tour was cancelled. We spent a little bit of time running around in the weather staring in awe at the icebergs, but soon we had to call it a night. We were soaked through and ready to head to our hotel.
Once we were inside, wet clothes hung all over the room, and settled in front of the computer, we had a zoom meeting with our friends Jenny & Ron Meldau. They have just completed their mission in Ecuador and they were giving us guidance on the Emotional Resilience course they have taught while serving as senior missionaries. It was so fun to connect with them and hear about some of their mission experiences. Our lives are better because of the friendship we have developed with the Meldau’s.
Tuesday:
We woke to much better weather on Tuesday morning. This was the view from the hotel —
We had about two hours of mission work to do as the day began. Our newest senior couple assigned to serve a mission in Iceland are arriving at the end of this week. For months they have been waiting on their visa approval from Iceland immigration and suddenly this week it came! We were happy to spend time working on some of the details for their arrival. We also had transfers this week and there was work to do to support the elders as they move throughout their areas. We’re grateful for computers and internet that allows us to work from pretty much anywhere.
When we were caught up we drove back to the glacier lagoon and spent a couple of hours on Diamond Beach. When the icebergs leave the lagoon and head out to sea they break apart and wash up on this beautiful black sand beach. It is really an incredible sight to see and we loved spending time there.
We walked back up to the lagoon to see the icebergs without the rain and wind from the night before. They were still there and still beautiful!
As we continued our drive and most of the afternoon we could see the glacier. There is a reason this country is called Iceland. 🙂
When we got to the town of Höfn on the southeast corner of Iceland we made a very fun ministering visit. The Munhoz family lives in Höfn. They are members of the Selfoss branch and they are so nice. They moved to Iceland from Brazil two years ago. Todd has met with them over zoom in the past but this was our first time to meet them in person. They live very far away from other members of the church in Iceland; their town is about 450 km (about 280 miles) from Reykjavik. They participate in meetings over zoom and teach their girls primary in their home. The Spirit was in their countenances and they were happy for a visit in person. It was lovely to meet friends and fellow saints so far from home!
Below is Todd & I with Jonas & Stephani with their adorable daughters Laura & Sarah.
The rest of our day Tuesday was spent driving around the south east corner and up the east coast of the island. There were waterfalls! There were beaches! There were incredible vistas! We stopped for the views and did some hiking. I am not exaggerating when I say that you cannot count all of the waterfalls in Iceland. They are everywhere, coming down nearly every mountain. The weather was mild and it was all beautiful. Here is a picture overview of our afternoon —
We finished Tuesday in this little cabin. It was a fun place to stay! We had a phone meeting with our new senior couple and did some additional mission work to finish up a great day of exploring.
Wednesday:
We had very wet weather Wednesday and did a lot of driving around the Eastfjords. We had limited views of the sea but great views of other things through the car window. Such as sheep, waterfalls, and more waterfalls and more sheep!
Every Wednesday morning we have a district council meeting with our Iceland north district. Currently there are four young elders and us in the district. This week we found a great place to park and participate in the meeting over zoom. We spent an hour being taught by our young mission leaders and enjoying their company. They are doing good work and striving to teach the gospel with power.
After our meeting we had time for more waterfalls. 🙂
Throughout our mission I have been keeping track of all the different points of Iceland we’ve traveled to on the map. This will probably be our only time on the east coast and Todd found the location of the farthest east we could drive in Iceland. On Wednesday he took me there! It’s ridiculous how excited I was. He is a good husband! We drove to Norðfjörður, a town on the edge of the fjord. The drive was beautiful and the rain eased up so we could get out and enjoy the views.
We drove as far as the road went and then there was a trail leading further east. A compass was placed here — what a great spot to mark the east edge of the island!
We hiked a short way along the cliffs to enjoy the gorgeous views and, of course, the waterfalls. This was my favorite part of Wednesday. God has created a beautiful world. In this place we were alone in that beauty, on the edge of Iceland, and we felt the love of God through the evidence of His creations. As Alma 30:44 says, “All things denote there is a God”.
I was able to take my east Iceland map screen shot too. At the end of our mission I’ll have map screen shots of us galivanting all over the island! Senior missions are amazing! 🙂
We spent Wednesday evening in our hotel room doing, you guessed it, missionary work! We had meeting notes to summarize and send to President Davidson, travel arrangements to continue to work on for our new senior couple, and other items to address through both texts, phone calls, and emails. We continued to enjoy the opportunity to see this part of the country and keep up on our responsibilities with the mission. Oh, and here’s one more waterfall we happened upon during our driving on Wednesday. You need to see it too, so here it is!
Thursday:
On Thursday morning we drove west on our way to Stuðlagil Canyon. As we drove I got pictures of a few of the waterfalls we saw along the way.
I have wanted to visit Stuðlagil Canyon and was happy to spend some time there. The basalt columns are so impressive. We loved viewing them and seeing the power of the river as it descended through the canyon. We visited the west side of the canyon where there is not direct access to the base of the columns. I’m glad. Climbing on top of these columns seems unnecessarily risky! You can read all about Stuðlagil Canyon here.
Before we left Stuðlagil Canyon I was in the gift shop and heard a woman ask the employee some questions about the canyon. They were both speaking English but they both had heavy accents and he could not understand what she was asking. I answered her question and continued to look around the shop. A few minutes later this same woman came to me with another question that I began to answer. The employee interrupted and asked if I worked there. I, obviously, did not — as he knew. He proceeded to tell me to do my shopping and not share information about the canyon. The other woman and I were both surprised at this. She gave me a smile and left.
I approached the employee with my purchase and he proceeded to tell me that there is a dispute between the canyon land owners, depending upon the side of the canyon, about what should and should not be done for tourists. He thought I was promoting the other side of the canyon. I explained to him that my missionary badge is for our church, I was not doing any type of business, and that I love what their side of the canyon had done for tourists. (There are extensive, beautiful, and safe viewing platforms installed on his side.) This gentleman had never heard of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and I took the opportunity to share a little bit about what I believe with him. I left him with a pass along card so he can learn more about the church if he would like to.
When I walked outside the other woman was there and she was eager to talk with me. She was sorry she got me in trouble. 🙂 As we talked the people she was traveling with joined her and we had such a great conversation. They are from Israel, traveling in Iceland. They were so surprised to hear that we had left our lives behind to serve as missionaries. They are two couples who have been friends for 40 years and often travel together. Both of the women are named Michal, just as Saul’s daughter in the Bible. I also gave them a pass along card so they could learn more about what we believe. They told me to let my friends know that I had met God’s Holy People in Stuðlagil Canyon! We all laughed and agreed that there is a creator because only a wonderful God could make a place as beautiful as Iceland! It was a sweet and special experience to talk with these holy people! (Fun fact, the next day we saw them again at another waterfall!)
In about 15 minutes I had given out two pass along cards. This is a big deal for me, Todd is usually more open to speaking to others and sharing what we believe. I’m grateful Heavenly Father gave me these chances to share why we are in Iceland and the sacrifices we are making to be here.
We continued traveling north Thursday and enjoyed different stops along our way north.
There is a member of the Akureyri branch, Sister Ortega, who lives in the town of Þórshöfn in north Iceland. We knew we would be here this week and Todd reached out to her to see if we could come for a visit. She is out of the country right now so we couldn’t see her. But we sent her a text letting her know we’d made it to Þórshöfn! Maybe one day we will be able to come again and meet her in person.
In north Iceland there is a place called Arctic Henge that I had read about. I knew we were going to be close to it so I had my driver (also known as the best husband ever) drive us an extra hour out of our way so we could see it.
You can read all about what Arctic Henge is here, but to give you a summary, “Similar to its ancient predecessor, Stonehenge, the Arctic Henge is like a huge sundial, aiming to capture the sunrays, cast shadows in precise locations and capture the light between aligned gateways.” Now, if it had been a sunny day, maybe we could have seen the sundial effect in action! It was definitely not a sunny day, but it was fascinating to see this piece of art on top of a hill, on top of Iceland! I also wanted to go to Raufarhöfn (where the henge in located), which is one of the northern most towns in Iceland. We enjoyed running around here in the rain.
Before finishing our day Todd did a baptismal interview with our friend Faith who is getting baptized this Sunday. We were still on the road so we found a place to park and do some missionary work. Faith is so excited to join the church and she told Todd, “I cannot wait to be baptized!” I wish we all had this kind of enthusiasm about our covenants. She is going to be such a wonderful sister to love and serve with.
Friday:
Friday’s weather was something! Well, it was fall weather; very foggy and very rainy. As we drove to our first waterfall of the day we came in and out of thick fog. At times we could only see the road in front of us but then it would lift and lighten for a while. At one point the fog had lifted and we saw this waterfall emptying right into the ocean. The spot was gorgeous and looked a little bit like the ocean coast line not far from where we live at home! It was a nice start to the day.
We made our way to Dettifoss. Dettifoss is described as the most powerful waterfall in Europe. You can read more about it here. We were really excited to see it! We drove through the fog. We hiked through the fog. As we made our way out to the viewing platform we saw this:
The only evidence of the most powerful waterfall in Europe was the roaring water we could hear! Check out the link above for some pictures of this massive falls, or you can enjoy what we saw. 🙂
At a different viewing spot we could see the top of the falls where the river drops off the edge. You can tell there is a powerful waterfall here. We will have to come back next summer to try and see the whole thing.
A short walk from Dettifoss is Selfoss. We had to wander through the mists of darkness to find it! This is what the hike looked like for about 1 km.
But it was worth the wandering to see this! Fortunately the fog had lifted and we could see this amazing sight.
After some more driving in the rain and the fog, we finished Friday’s outings at Skútustaðagígar, a volcanic region near Lake Mývatn. The craters here were formed when “lava ran across the area of Skútustaðagígar, which at the time was swampy wetlands. The heat caused steam eruptions, which resulted in their crater-like shape.” You can read more about it here. We hiked around some of the craters and enjoyed the peaceful, rainy setting.
Saturday:
We spent Saturday morning in Húsavík. It is the oldest settlement in Iceland and has an impressive amount of whales that frequent its waters. We enjoyed exploring the whale museum that was full of interesting displays and exhibits. You can read more about Húsavík here.
All of the skeletons displayed in the museum, except for one, are from animals that washed up on the shores of Iceland. It was amazing to see the scale of these incredible, beautiful creatures.
After the museum we took a rainy drive to Goðafoss, another fantastic waterfall. Fortunately, while it was rainy, it wasn’t as foggy and we were able to see this amazing waterfall. Look at this!
We spent quite a bit of time hiking around Goðafoss. It is impressive from every angle.
Here is the story about how Goðafoss got its name. In the year 1000 AD, Iceland converted to Christianity. “According to legend, a local chieftain named Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði symbolically threw his pagan idols into the waterfall, marking the nation’s peaceful transition to a new faith.”
This reminds us of a talk given by Elder Renlund in general conference in 2019. Referencing a waterfall in Congo he says, “These converts threw their previously idolized objects into the waterfalls as a symbol to God and others that they had discarded their old traditions and accepted Jesus Christ. They intentionally did not throw their objects into calm, shallow waters; they threw them into the churning waters of a massive waterfall, where the items became unrecoverable. These actions were a token of a new but unwavering commitment to Jesus Christ.” Elder Renlund goes on to say, “God invites us to cast our old ways completely out of reach and begin a new life in Christ.” As we looked at this beautiful waterfall we were impressed by the thought of throwing our bad choices, habits, traditions, and actions into the falls. They would be gone forever! Are we willing to do this in order to draw closer to Jesus Christ? This is a question we can all ponder.
We finished our day in Akureyri. We love this little town. We took Elder Morales and Elder Nehren out to dinner and had a great visit with them. Todd taught a class over zoom and we are settled in for the night. We look forward to attending the Akureyri branch for church tomorrow and fellowshipping with the saints.
If you have read to the end of this post you are a dedicated friend! I know this was extra long, but there were so many incredible things to share! The great Creator and our Savior Jesus Christ made this wonderful world for us to enjoy. Everywhere we look there is evidence of His hand in His children, His creations, His majesty, and His work. We have loved spending a week exploring the east side of Iceland and doing our missionary work along the way. Next week it will be back to our regularly scheduled programing. So for now, goodnight and love from Akureyri!
If you’d like even more photos and videos check out Todd’s social media pages. You can find him here:
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