2/8/25
And welcome to another addition of, “What Crazy Things Will Happen in Iceland This Week?!” I’ll say this about Iceland: it is an exciting place to live! Our week started out like all of our weeks start out; on Sunday we went to church and on Monday we had institute and YSA night at the church. Because we had zone conference this week, all of the missionaries in Iceland were in the city for at least part of the week and we had President and Sister Davidson in town for several days as well.
There are 12 young men serving as missionaries in Iceland. Eight of them serve in Reykjavik, two of them serve in Selfoss, and two of them serve in Akureyri. Selfoss isn’t too far away so we see 10 of the 12 missionaries on a regular basis. During zone conference the two elders, and the senior couple, serving in Akureyri come to town and we are always glad for some time with them. Elder Geertsen and Elder Young flew in from Akureyri on Monday morning and spent the week with our zone leaders, Elder Nehren and Elder Morales. On Monday night they set up class for us and we enjoyed their company. In the picture below we have Elder Nehren, Elder Geertsen, Elder Morales, & Elder Young.
Class this week was mostly elders, but we also had several students who joined us to learn about the 116 lost pages of the Book of Mormon manuscript and the lessons we can learn from how Joseph Smith handled this problem. One student, Audrius, was amazed by this story. He joined the church last August and he is learning a lot about church history as we are studying the Doctrine & Covenants. Audrius wants to read the lost pages! Where can he find them?! He had no idea there was more scripture and was very excited about this! If you want to learn more about the lost 116 pages, click here. It was a great class!
Tuesday was the Iceland Zone conference. Before I talk about the conference, let’s talk about the food. Thursday night we had two elders over for waffles. Friday night we had the Davidson’s and the Allen’s over for dinner. Monday night we fed the elders and YSA students sloppy joes & pasta salad for family home evening. And Tuesday we did meatloaf, baked potatoes, salad, etc. for zone conference lunch! There has been a lot of cooking going on over the last several days. I’m grateful for Sister Allen’s help as we work together to keep everyone fed. 
On the stand at the start of our conference: Zone leaders, Elder Morales & Elder Nehren, President & Sister Davidson, & us!
Our zone conference was wonderful. We were taught by President Davidson’s assistants, (over zoom – they were in Denmark), our district leaders, Elder Nielsen & Elder Peliesse, our zone leaders, Elder Nehren & Elder Morales. I got to talk with the boys about getting their Icelandic driver’s licenses. It is a complicated process and will be interesting to work through with the boys! 
The conference ended with wonderful and inspired teaching from the Davidson’s. I’m really growing to love them. They are leading this mission with heartfelt love and real inspiration. It’s a joy to serve with them.
The Iceland Zone: Back row: Elders Nehren, Moyer, Morel, Morales, Mijares, Geertsen, Young, O’Barr, Peliesse, Fischbeck, Nielsen, & Benzley
Front row: Sister & Elder Tolley, Elder & Sister Allen, President & Sister Davidson, Sister & President Richardson
The weather during zone conference was blustery. There was wind, then snow, then sun, then rain, then wind . . . on and off all day. The boys all left to do splits after the conference was over and they went out into this weather:
Throughout the week we had been hearing of a major storm that was headed to Iceland on Wednesday and Thursday. The warning system for storms here are typically based off of the anticipated wind speed and the potential damage those winds could cause. There are three colors used to categorize storms: yellow, orange, and red, with red being the most extreme. In the time we’ve been in Iceland we have had yellow alerts and a hint of an orange alert. Red alerts are less common and more severe. This storm was forecast to be an orange alert with potential to turn red. Something else unusual about this storm was that it was forecast to cover the entire country. Typically, alerts focus on certain areas, but not this time.
President and Sister Davidson were supposed to fly back to Denmark on Wednesday, but in anticipation of the storm their flight, along with many others, was cancelled. The storm was expected to start in Reykjavik around 2 pm on Wednesday. That morning we went out and did a few errands while it was calm. We ended up going downtown and meeting the Davidson’s for lunch. They were still in town and we all needed to eat! President Davidson joked about buying firewood and toilet paper in advance of this terrible storm! We had a lovely lunch together and a good visit about the elders in Iceland (they are doing terrific work and seem happy), the work in the mission (moving forward), and how we can support them (keep up the work we’re doing here). It was great!
By the time we got home the wind had picked up and the rain was coming down. The storm had been upgraded to a red alert that covered nearly the entire country. A friend in our branch who has lived here her entire life told me she has never seen a red alert cover the whole country. This was an unusual storm.
The wind howled and the rain blew sideways. There was lightning and thunder (which is unusual here). Our windows were rattling and the neighbor’s lawn chairs were tumbling across the road. The storm lasted for hours and was fun to watch, but was also a little scary. The wind speeds were equivlant to a level 1 hurricane. We found this amazing website that shows weather patterns all over the globe. I think I’ll be looking at this site daily from now on! Check it out – find where you live and see what the weather is like! And find Iceland . . . maybe we’re in another storm?!
Here is a screen shot from the first evening of our red alert. Can you see Iceland?!
The storm settled down a little bit through the night, but Thursday morning the red alert was back in place and the storm picked back up. We had a mission-wide morning zoom meeting that our zone leaders ran . . .
. . . and then we bundled up and dashed outside to see what the wind felt like! We were out for about a half an hour. We made it down to the ocean by our apartment and enjoyed the force of the wind. Todd tried to record the windspeed and we both managed to stay on our feet!
We got home safely, just wet and a little breathless!
During a red alert the government asks people to stay home and off the roads. The missionaries weren’t supposed to be driving anywhere and we all had to work in our apartments for the first half of the day. The last time there was a storm this severe was at least 10 years ago. Aren’t we lucky that we got to experience it?! The storm lasted until 1:00 pm Thursday and then it had blown its way past the city. We still had wind, snow, and rain, but the windspeeds had settled and the worst was past. The missionaries were relieved to be able to escape their apartments and get back to work.
All through the storm I had they hymn “Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me” going through my head. I cannot remember the last time I heard that hymn. But, there is was, on loop in my brain!
Jesus, Saviour, pilot me
Over life’s tempestuous sea;
Unknown waves before me roll,
Hiding rock and treach’rous shoal.
Chart and compass come from Thee.
Saviour, pilot me.
Life can be crazy sometimes. The stress and burdens we carry can seem overwhelming. Our responsibilities can seem impossible. And yet, if we let our Savior lead the way, walk with us, and carry us, we will not fail. He will always see us through the storm. I’m grateful I have this knowledge and the peace it brings into my life.
Friday evening we attended the wedding of our friends Siggi & Michelle. Siggi is an Icelander and Michelle is from Venezuela. Siggi speaks Icelandic & English and Michelle speaks only Spanish. Siggi has been a member of the church for a few years and Michelle is just now being taught by the missionaries and she is planning to be baptized in April. Michelle has a little boy and they have been trying to get their residency status in Iceland for quite some time, unsuccessfully. Siggi and Michelle have struggled with language issues and with her immigration status in their desire to get married. Finally, just this week, her paperwork was cleared to allow them to marry. They finalized her details on Wednesday and got married on Friday!
They were married in Siggi’s parent’s home by a priest in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland. The ceremony was in Icelandic and one of our missionaries, Elder Mijares, translated the Icelandic to Spanish for Michelle’s family who were there. There was no English in this ceremony! It was our first Icelandic/Spanish wedding! Even though we couldn’t understand what was being said, we know Siggi & Michelle love each other and they will be very happy together as a family.
At the end of the party there was a toast for the happy couple. Siggi assured us it was a non-alcoholic beverage and all the missionaries hoped he was right! It was a lovely wedding.
Saturday was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, or it was snowing, depending on the minute. We made did a few cookie drop offs and made some new friends in the process. Who wouldn’t enjoy visiting friends in this gorgeous place?
We did some exploring downtown in an area where we haven’t been before. There was great street art, delicious smells, and so many people! I am always amazed at how many people are out in Reykjavik. It is a pedestrian friendly city and a great place to walk, shop, eat, and enjoy the views.
And, of course, the wildlife of Reykjavik . . . I love their outfits. The cow is definitely an Icelandic cow and the pig is wearing a knitted sweater! Complete with a hood!
We did some knocking on this street, but no one came to the door. I’m really grateful we don’t have to knock doors, but this one was so unusual, I couldn’t resist! Who knows? Maybe if I had actually knocked they would have opened and wanted to hear a message about Jesus Christ?! (Knocking doors is one of the things the young missionaries occasionally do. You may have seen them around town? They try to meet people and give them a message about Jesus Christ, His gospel, and the joy it can bring into their lives.)
Our outing ended in the Bailiff’s Garden, one of the oldest public parks in Reykjavik. There is a statue of Skúli Magnússon, the baliff (a government post) of Iceland in the 1700’s.
This square also has the oldest tree in Iceland. I’ll admit it, I am a tree hugger! (Yes, I’m an Oregonian!) Trees make me happy. I’m excited to visit this tree again in the summer and see her in her full glory. For now, she’s taking her winter nap and looking content to wait for summer to come.
At the close of another week in Iceland we look back with gratitude on the blessings we have experienced. We have been taught by our leaders, the missionaries, and the Spirit. We have enjoyed lots of delicious food. We have been sheltered from the storm. We have seen the strength of God’s hand in our natural environment. We have felt the Holy Ghost guiding our steps. We have seen our children receive blessings. We have felt the love of God. We are so blessed to be here to love and serve and be loved and served.
Thank you for your love, support, and prayers for us. We hope you are seeing the hand of God in your life and can feel His love for you. God is great! And Iceland is pretty terrific too! See you all next week right back here!
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Comments
2 responses to “Red Alert”
you two are the cutest couple !
Continue to have fun and thx for your testimony!
One of my favorite hymns!