3/22/25
Hello, friends! This post marks six months since we began our mission. We started in the MTC on September 16, 2024 and we came to Iceland on September 24th. The time has gone fast! We (sort of) know what we are doing and we don’t get lost driving around town too often anymore. It’s wild to think that 1/4 of our mission is done and it feels like there is always a lot of work to do. We are happy to be here, loving the work, missing our family, but they are doing well too. Todd & I are enjoying our time together and we’re so happy to be serving the Lord and His people in Iceland.
In addition to our six month anniversary, it is spring. That doesn’t mean it’s warm and flowers are everywhere. But it does mean there is an abundance of daylight. On the day this is posted, 3/22, there are 12 hours and 29 minutes of daylight. Right now we are gaining 6 1/2 minutes of daylight every day. It’s very noticeable. And while there are still patches of snow around and we have rain nearly every day, that light is the best! It makes a big difference in how the world feels and knowing that we will continue to increase in daylight for the next several months is exciting! Maybe one day it will be warm outside? But if not, we have good coats to wear in all that sunshine.
Our week started off with a lot of cooking and baking. On Sunday we hosted a dinner for our mission leaders, the Davidson’s, and our fellow senior couple, the Allen’s. The Davidson’s were in town for zone conference and we enjoyed a meal and visit together. There was also food prep for our institute dinner on Monday night and zone conference lunch on Tuesday afternoon. A lot of shopping, prepping, cooking, baking, and dish washing resulted in successful meals and full tummies.
Our very small institute class Monday night had a lot to eat with all the food ready for dinner! Hopefully next week we’ll have more students attend.
On Tuesday we had the Iceland Zone conference. Last Saturday when we flew home from Denmark, the Davidson’s were on the same flight to come to Iceland for our conference. Every six weeks we have all 12 young elders, three senior couples, and the Davidson’s gather for training and these meetings are great. It’s a lot of sitting but also great instruction and counsel. It’s also a good time to just be together. Below are our zone leaders, Elder Morales & Elder Nehren, the Davidsons, & us.
We got to teach a short training on driver’s safety/driver’s test prep. We’re still working on all those driver’s licenses! One day we might get to talk about something else. 🙂
And here are the three women in the Iceland zone. It’s a great club to be in! I’m with Tammy Tolley & Lisea Allen.
We had training from our district leaders, Elder Pélissié & Elder Nielsen, and our zone leaders.
Sister Davidson did a fun, and challenging, Book of Mormon Jeopardy. Would you believe that some of the elders had no idea what the gameshow Jeopardy is?! They were in for an education and they did a great job. Do you know which prophet from the brass plates prophesied that Jesus would be buried in a sepulchre? (Look here – 1 Nephi 19:10 – for the answer!)
President Davidson taught about many things and shared his thoughts and hopes for the success of the missionaries in Iceland. He also talked about the power of the Book of Mormon and asked what it is worth to us. He referenced President Nelson’s conference talk “The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Without It?” Where he shared this quote: “You could have given me diamonds or rubies, but nothing is more precious to me than this additional knowledge about the Lord Jesus Christ.” What is the Book of Mormon worth to you? Maybe that is a question worth pondering.
The Iceland Zone! Back row: Elder Morales, Elder Pélissié, Elder Nehren, Elder Morel, Elder Nielsen, Elder O’Barr, Elder Young, Elder Fischbeck, Elder Geertsen, Elder Moyer, Elder Mijares, & Elder Benzley
Front row: Elder & Sister Allen, Sister & President Davidson, Us!, Sister & Elder Tolley
This was Elder & Sister Allen’s final zone conference with us. They go home from their mission at the end of March after serving in Iceland for 18 months. They welcomed us here, were patient with us as we’ve learned the ropes, and have worked by our side. Now they are headed back to their family. There is a tradition here that when missionaries are going home they get a flag farewell when the zone is together. The Allen’s took a walk of honor and we waved our flags to them!
On Wednesday we had a zone wide P-day. Everyone was still in town, including the Davidsons, and we took a field trip out to the Geothermal Exhibition, not too far outside of Reykjavik. Elder Nehren, Elder Morales, & Elder Geertsen got to ride with us.
The tour was very interesting. We learned about bore holes, magma heated water, geothermal power, sustainable energy, carbon capture technology, and a lot more that I (honestly) didn’t understand! You can learn more about the exhibition here. And you can learn about Iceland’s use of geothermal energy here. It is really fascinating.
One of my favorite parts of the tour was watching Elder Allen & President Davidson. They were like kids in a candy shop around all that engineering!
At the end of the tour we went out to a bore hole that is now being used for carbon capture technology. Everyone got to wear vests and hats and all the boys were happy to dress up.
On the far left of the picture below is our tour guide. He is from Turkey and he’s completing his graduate degree in geothermal technology in Iceland. He was very smart and graciously answered everyone’s questions. He also accepted a Book of Mormon from us along with our thank you at the end of the tour.
We had to say goodbye to the Davidson’s after our outing so they could go home to Denmark. They are great people and it was fun to spend so much time with them over the last week! Don’t worry, they will be back in a month for our next zone conference. Then back again in May for our district conference . . . they can’t stay away!
It wouldn’t be a normal week if we didn’t have some driver’s license business to attend to, would it? Elder Geertsen & Elder Morel were in town from Akureyri for zone conference. While they were here we began Elder Geertsen’s work to start the driver’s license process. Elder Morel goes home from his mission in October and he’s decided not to bother with getting a license and he won’t drive while he’s here in Iceland. But Elder Geertsen has only been here for a couple of months and he has a long time left on his mission! So he needs to be a legal driver.
We had a waffle party for lunch with these boys before taking them to the airport for a quick flight back to Akureyri. It was fun to spend time with them and hear about the work they are doing in their area. They are good missionaries doing good work!
We took a personal day on Friday after several busy work days. After the Geothermal Experience I had wanted to spend some time exploring the Hveradalir Geothermal Area. It’s not far from the Geothermal plant and it’s all part of the same volcanic system. We didn’t have time to stop by there earlier in the week so we went back Friday and had the place to ourselves. It was a blustery day with rain, wind, snow, & sunshine rotating through every half hour or so. A perfect day to enjoy mud pots and steam vents! The walk was short and a bit smelly, but fascinating. I can’t get enough of the geology that makes Iceland so unique.
The Hveradalur Ski Lodge and the mud pots share a parking lot. Have you seen the movie “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”? It is one of our favorite movies and it was filmed in Iceland. There is one scene in the movie where Walter trades a Stretch doll for a skateboard. Then he takes off on the skateboard just before a volcano erupts! The short scene where he makes the trade and talks to some local people was filmed at this ski lodge. If you watch the movie, watch for that scene and you’ll see what I’m talking about!
On Friday evening we had a dinner date with our friends Edwin & Nura Ramos. They are from Chile and have lived in Iceland with their family for six years. It was great to learn more about them and strengthen our friendship as we ate and visited. Their first language is Spanish and while Nura also speaks very good English and Icelandic, it was fun to watch Todd and Edwin communicate with the help of Google translate! Edwin’s English and Icelandic are better than he gives himself credit for and we did just fine. They are good people trying to do good work. We’re glad to get to work side by side with them and their family.
We took some time Saturday afternoon to get out for a walk. Our apartment is near miles and miles paved pedestrian and bike trails. They trace the coastline and I LOVE living where we can walk out the door and be on the water. It’s amazing. And, the views! Look at this:
When the tide is out there are small black beaches here and there. Of course I need to walk the beach whenever I can and it’s a delight to find all the different seashells that are mixed in with the sand.
Walking back home we found a few plants that are just starting to show new growth. While spring is here, the weather is still very volatile. We woke up Saturday morning to fresh snow on the ground. But the sun melts the snow quickly and it is often raining. In the midst of the changing weather, nature is doing its best to come back after the long winter. I’m excited to watch the growth that will happen all around us as the sunlight continues to increase and the temperatures (hopefully) warm up!
I love the reminder of new life every year in the spring. With Easter coming in a few weeks and the constant reminder of the renewal of life, I am grateful for the opportunity to remember and praise our Savior Jesus Christ for the gift of new life He has given us. We can be renewed through His atonement and forgiven of our sins. We will one day be resurrected and live with Him and our loved ones again. And we can find joy in our lives knowing that no matter how dark and dreary some days are, there will be new life, new light, and new hope in our future. I love my Savior and through little buds on trees and the tiniest leaves beginning to form I see His goodness and His hand in the world around me. Springtime is a gift!
Thank you for joining us in Iceland this week! We’ll see you next week and look forward to sharing what we are learning & doing with you. Have a great week and be sure to check out Todd’s pages for more pictures and videos. If you want to make sure you don’t miss any posts, you can subscribe to this blog and get an email each time there’s something new to read. You will find the subscribe button on the home page. Thanks! Happy Spring!
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