11/29/25
We hope you have all had a wonderful week of Thanksgiving. In an attitude of gratitude, here is a list of some of the things I am thankful for this week! The Apostle Paul said, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
- I am thankful for this view out of our bedroom window. It brings me joy in all kinds of light and weather.
- I’m thankful for our young single adults who spoke in sacrament meeting on Sunday. Lilja is an American, but her dad is Icelandic (her uncle’s family and her grandma are in our branch). She is living here for a couple of months for school and we will miss her when she has to go home. Yaw is a new member in our branch and his testimony is burning! They both spoke with faith and conviction.
- I’m thankful for our branch relief society presidency. They are a lovely group of women who love and serve the women in the church in Iceland. Below you will see, L-R: Doris (counselor), Björg (president), & Nohemy (counselor)
- I’m thankful for the ministering program in our church. (You can learn more about ministering here.) Our relief society presidency is working to get all the ministering routes updated. Sometimes pen and paper are the best way to go! Below you will see my friend Eunice’s ministering route. She is excited to minister to these women.
- I’m thankful for the tender mercies of the Lord in so many ways. I got a text on Sunday from Cadence Young. Her son, Elder Young, is young missionary here in Iceland. (Elder Young finishes his mission and goes home next week!) In her text she told me that she was sitting in church by her new friend, Lia Hopper. Lia and her family lived in the North Pole Ward with us ages ago when all our kids were small and we were all young! We have so many good memories with Lia and her family. The Hoppers and the Youngs now live in the same ward in Alabama and we are in Iceland with Elder Young! It was so fun to hear from two friends who have found each other. The world is small and God is at the center of it. Below is Cadence & Lia. I wish I could attend their relief society meeting with them!
- I’m thankful that in the states you can buy a 13 lb. turkey for less than $114.00. (2.430 kr/kg = $19.00/kg. 6 kg = 13 lb.)
- I’m thankful for my tasks app. It’s a list maker app I could not live without. This week I made myself a master list for all of my upcoming holiday responsibilities. This list is in addition to our regular work. Let’s just say, senior missionaries are not bored. (Yes, chicken – not turkey – for Thanksgiving!)
- I’m thankful for surprise dates with my companion! In the midst of that to-do list he whisks me out of the house for delicious food and interesting walks. One day this week while we were out on some errands we stopped downtown for some delicious potatoes and a walk around the ship yard. He was having fun watching the repairs on this large ship! Boys and their toys!
- I am thankful for zoom meetings and wonderful technology. Our mission work is possible because of these tools. Without it we would not have spent time with these wonderful missionaries in Denmark this week! Below is our emotional resilience class (hi everyone!), and a lesson Todd & I had with Sister Kimball and Sister Larsen. Three of the sister missionaries in our emotional resilience class go home next week! Sister Fergus, Sister Nelson, & Sister Beeler. We have really grown to love them and we will miss meeting with them each week. In the picture below, L-R: Elder Rose, Elder Christensen, us, Elder Leifson, Elder Barrus, Sister Larsen, Sister Kimball, Elder Allen, Elder Ross, Sister Fergus, Sister Whitt, Sister Nelson, & Sister Beeler.
- I am thankful for the incredible beauty of this world and that Todd makes sure I go out and see it! The aurora showed herself the night before Thanksgiving and she was a lovely sight to behold.
- I’m thankful that I was able to prepare pies, rolls, chicken, stuffing, gravy, and more for our thanksgiving feast with the elders! The oven in our apartment is smaller than what I have at home so I had to get creative to fit two pies in to bake at once. It smelled amazing and helped a little bit with missing our family on this special holiday. Todd made sure the pie was acceptable before we shared them with others. 🙂
- I am thankful that we could share a thanksgiving meal with our fellow missionaries here in Reykjavik. I was missing having the holiday with our children and their families but we enjoyed having our celebration with these boys who are away from their families! The Mogenhan’s shared the meal prep with us and the missionaries set a beautiful table at the church so we could all eat together. Elder Moyer & Elder Geertsen have beautiful napkin folding skills!
- I’m thankful that following dinner together we decorated the church for Christmas. There is an attic above the kitchen where the Christmas decorations are kept. All six missionaries wanted to explore it and they climbed up there together. I’m also thankful that no one fell off the ladder or through the ceiling and all the decorations and missionaries survived the evening!
- I’m thankful for all of the things we did on Thanksgiving. We enjoyed being with the missionaries. We ate, played games, put up Christmas decorations, cleaned the church, and did a short rehearsal for our upcoming Christmas concert. It was a wonderful day.
- I’m thankful for a miracle our zone had this week. As you know, we have three elders who are serving in the states as they wait for their Icelandic visas to process. At the end of the week, Elder Mogenhan was notified that both Elder Jensen and Elder Chynoweth’s visas have been processed and approved! This means that next week they will be able to come to Iceland! The timing is great. Next week Elder Young goes home and we would be down to seven young elders, but now we will have nine! We are hopeful they will get here by mid-week. Of course, because of the Thanksgiving holiday, all of the church employees who would arrange their travel are out of the office until next Monday. When the work week begins we know they will get the flights scheduled and get them here ASAP. Visa approvals are taking 7-8 months which is a long time to wait for all of us. We’re so glad to be getting these new missionaries! Below left – Elder Chynoweth & right – Elder Jensen.
- I’m thankful for the family video chats we enjoyed on Thanksgiving. We talked to all of our girls (who are already making plans for us to join them during the holidays next year). We talked with our siblings and friends, as well as my mom. I’m thankful for the technology that allows us to spend time with our family even while being so far away. I’m also thankful that they have such wonderful families who love and support them!
- I’m thankful for the opportunity to share our traditions with others as they share their traditions with us. While we were at the church for the evening our branch presidency came to have their weekly meetings. The elders were working on the decorations and we still had loads of pie left to be eaten. We invited our branch leaders to have some pie and they were happy to oblige! Our friend Gerhard had pumpkin pie for the first time ever. Pumpkin pie is not something Icelanders make. I asked him if he liked it and he said it would take some time to get used to the flavor! I’m not sure if that’s a yes or a no, but I’m glad he could have his first taste of pumpkin pie at our Thanksgiving celebration.
- I’m thankful for the elder’s contributions to our meal. We had asked each companionship of elders to bring a dessert to share for our feast. I made pumpkin pies, Karen brought a chocolate cream pie and an apple pie. One companionship brought cookies they had made, another companionship brought a cinnamon cake they had made, and the third companionship brought Icelandic lagkaka, a delicious layer cake that was a hit. (The store made it, they did not! But if you want to give it a try, you can find a recipe here.) When it was time to go home each companionship got a plate full of pie and cake to take as leftovers!
- I’m thankful that at the end of our Thanksgiving activities as Todd and I locked up the church and loaded the car we could see the aurora was out again, but the city lights made them hard to see. We decided to take a detour on our way home to see the lights. It was worth the detour!
- I am thankful for the aurora!
- I am thankful for Christmas decorations. 🙂 Our little apartment has a little Christmas tree that is lovely. Now that Thanksgiving is over the decorations are out to bring Christmas cheer to our home. Over the last year we have gathered a few personal ornaments that we love. We added those to the ones that belong to the apartment, turned on the Christmas tunes, and we’re set to enjoy the season of advent. In Iceland, the advent begins four Sundays before Christmas. We are ready to celebrate the birth of our Savior and the great gift His life is to us.
- I’m thankful for small Christmas decorations as well as large ones! I mean, check out these reindeer! Todd and I took a wander through the mall on one of our outings and we enjoyed both the hustle and bustle of the shoppers and the amazing way the mall is decked out for Christmas.
- I am thankful for all the ways light shines in the darkness. One of the many wonderful things in Iceland is the prevalence of light during these dark winter months. People put twinkle lights on balconies, in windows, across doorways, everywhere. The lights go up early and stay through the winter. And the city lights are always shining. One night while we were watching the aurora Todd got this beautiful picture of downtown Reykjavik. It is quite a sight.
- I am thankful for each of you as you love and support us while we serve here in Iceland. It is a privilege to share our mission experiences with you and we hope you feel uplifted as you read about what we are experiencing.
- And, for my final item on this week’s gratitude list, I am thankful for our Savior Jesus Christ. With all the light shining around us the one thing I know for sure is that He is “the light and the life of the world” (3 Nephi 9:18). All of the sacrifices and challenges that come with serving a mission are worth the effort because we are doubly repaid through the goodness of His holy Spirit. He brings light and joy into our lives through all of the highs and lows of missionary service. It is our honor to serve Him in this way.
Thank you for joining us throughout this week of thanksgiving! We hope you had a wonderful celebration as well. We will see you here again next week – I wonder what will happen between now and then!
Check out Todd’s social media pages for more photos and videos. You can find him here:
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