In With the New

1/4/25

Happy New Year! Who would have ever thought we would be living in Iceland in 2025?! We still can’t believe it and we are looking forward to our adventures continuing throughout 2025. Apparently, 2025 will be our blackout year. We will spend the entire year in Iceland. Four days down, 361 to go!

Do you remember last week, after Christmas, when we had extra time and we took naps and rested? That came to a quick end this week! Sunday was busy and we hit the ground running. Or maybe sliding . . . the weather was cold and icy. Sunday morning we drove to Selfoss to attend church in their branch. It is a beautiful drive. This isn’t our church building, but we drive by it as we come into town from the west is lovely in all weather.

Todd spoke in the Selfoss branch sacrament meeting. His talk was about the work necessary to build a center of strength for the church in Iceland. As we review the strengths and weaknesses of the church units here, it is easy to see what the greatest strength is. There are such good people here. People who are trying to do what is right, working to live and share the gospel, and desiring to build the kingdom of God in Iceland. These people are the strength of the church. We hope they can continue to grow in faith and in numbers throughout the upcoming year.

After church, Todd had a meeting with the district presidency, President Gummi and President Jakob. While they were meeting I went with Valla (Gummi’s wife) and Bettina (Jakob’s mother) to Valla & Gummi’s home for a visit. The men joined us after their meeting and we had a lovely snack together. Valla told us we were not having lunch, just a snack to hold us over while we drove across the mountain back home! We were treated to Icelandic scones called pönnukökur. I was told they are not pancakes, even though they looked quite like American pancakes! We had them with different types of cheese and they were delicious. We also had salad & Sarah cookies, another Icelandic Christmas treat. It might have just been a snack but we ate enough for a meal! Delicious food and delightful company!

In the picture below, Bettina is on the left, then Jakob, Valla, Gummi, & me.

We were home for an hour or so before we left again to attend a birthday dinner with a family who we minister to in the 1st branch. It was Mitzi’s 40th birthday and she invited us to join them to celebrate. Two of the young missionaries came with us and we had a Filipino dinner with Mitzi, Johannes, and their three little boys. So we had more delicious food while getting to know this family better.

On Monday we had a group service project with all the missionaries in Reykjavik and Selfoss. We carpooled to Hertex, the Salvation Army thrift store, and spent about four hours helping them clean and organize the store. It was a big project. Everything in the store that had a yellow or orange tag was thrown out. The 14 of us went through all the items sorting and tossing items. We would clean the shelves and reorganize what was left. We moved furniture, cleaned floors, and tidied up. The elders went through books, cds, toys, games, clothes, housewares, sporting goods, shoes . . . you name it, they sorted through it. There were all sorts of treasures! One of their favorite jobs was to take things to the glass recycle bin; every now and then we would hear a loud crash as they threw things in. One elder told me it is the bin of rage! Get out all your frustrations with the glass recycling! They had a good time.

There are only four employees at this store and they have trouble keeping on top of all the donations. They were so grateful for the service we did for them. They rewarded us with heartfelt gratitude and the popular Domino’s pizza lunch, which the boys devoured. I’m glad we could serve them and serve in the community this way.

On New Year’s Eve we hosted a game night with the missionaries. Everyone brought treats to share and we played “The New Companion Game” (think of it as a missionary version of the Newlywed Game”). We found out how well the companionships know each other and we all learned some new things. One of the favorite questions was “What does your companion talk about the most?” Can you guess the most popular answer?! 😉 We also had a spirited game of reverse catch-phrase that the boys really got into. It was super fun!

Each year on New Year’s Eve Icelanders have huge bonfires at designated locations around the country. They start around 8:30 pm and symbolize burning away the old year and welcoming the new. One of the bonfires each year is not far from our apartment. After games we geared up and everyone walked down to the bonfire. It was massive and so hot! We were surrounded by families who were there to celebrate. Fireworks were going off all around the city. It was such a cool experience!

Here’s a couple of videos Todd made from our bonfire visit.

Everyone was home and we had cleaned up from the party by about 11:30. We planned to just go to bed, but the fireworks were insane! Icelanders know how to celebrate! We stood at our bedroom window and, from every direction, we could see fireworks going off. It sounded like a war zone with constant booming and crackling! It was really amazing. They started in earnest around 11:30 and didn’t stop until about 12:15. The video below is not ours, but it is from New Year’s Eve 2024 and you can see a little bit of what we mean about serious fireworks!

Despite a late night, we got up early on January 1st to enjoy P-day with some of the elders and get the new year off to a great start. We had a couple of days without snow or rain or serious wind. We decided to dash out to some frozen waterfalls while we had the time and good weather. Five of the elders joined us for the day.

Our first stop was at Gullfoss. We’ve been here before, in the fall, but it was a different waterfall in the middle of winter. It was very cold, there was ice everywhere, and we were glad we had ice cleats on our shoes. Just check out this staircase we had to use to access the waterfall trail!

It was worth the cold walk. There were a few other tourists there that morning embracing the cold weather and enjoying the view. I mean, look at this!

In the picture below you’ll see Elder Moyer, Elder Morales, Elder Nehren, Elder Benzley, & Elder Nielsen. And, a fantastic, partially frozen waterfall. This is how the boys were dressed for the day. They were all pretending they weren’t cold, and some were more prepared for the cold than others! Todd and I, on the other hand, came with all the warm weather gear, as you can see from our picture below!

After enjoying such beauty and getting everyone home safely we finished New Year’s Day with a nap on the couch! We did have an unplanned evening meeting that led to some extra work and phone calls. So, New Year’s Day was another late night. But even though our sleep schedules are crazy, the work with the elders is wonderful and we are surrounded by incredible beauty.

Later in the week Todd taught the elders companion study one night, sharing lessons about the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is a member of the Godhead. He resides within us and helps us to know and do right from wrong. He is a precious gift from our loving Heavenly Father and He will guide us throughout our lives if we live worthy of having Him with us. If you’d like to learn more about the Holy Ghost, click here.

Other things we did this week:

It has been a wonderful week. As usual, we have been blessed and cared for. In reviewing 2024 we find joy and satisfaction in the opportunities and work we have been given to do. And we are looking forward to another wonderful year of work for the Lord with His children in Iceland. It is a gift, blessing, and pleasure to be here. We hope your year is off to a good start and that you will continue to join us each week in 2025. Happy New Year!

To close, enjoy this sunset from our living room! And, check out Todd’s social media pages for more pictures and videos. They are linked below —

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561154456959