5/23/26
There have been a lot of one hundred’s in our lives this past week or so. Recently we passed the one hundred day’s mark until we go home. I have blown my nose and sneezed more than one hundred times this week because of a decent head cold! But, most incredibly, this post is the one hundredth blog post I have written for our mission journal/blog! That is amazing to me. I wonder if any of you have actually read all one hundred posts?? If you have, leave a comment on this post! I think I’m the only one who has actually read all of them. I guess we’ll see! 🙂
There will still be more, this mission isn’t finished yet. But I am amazed that I have had so much to say over the past two years! We will keep a blog during every mission we serve, so I will probably hit multiples of hundreds throughout the next decade or so. However this first one hundred feels like a big milestone. Just the other day Todd told me how much braver I have gotten since we have been serving as senior missionaries. He’s right! I am not a brave person, but being a missionary has brought out new traits in me as well as helping turning me into a braver, stronger, more resilient daughter of God. I hope that is evident in the past one hundred blog posts and that you, too, can see my growth.
So here is my report for the one hundredth blog post of our mission. Get comfortable for this post because I have hundreds and hundreds of words for you to read!
Two of my lovely friends spoke in sacrament meeting this Sunday. Shirah spoke in the 1st branch and Sarah spoke in the 2nd branch. These are two remarkable women who I have grown to love. They could both be my daughters and it is fun to watch them grow, manage hardships, serve others, and exercise faith in Jesus Christ throughout their lives. Sarah (below right) is a American student at the university here and is soon heading off to bigger and better things. Shirah (below left) lives in Iceland with her husband and four daughters. She is also an American but her family is Icelandic. Shirah gave her talk in Icelandic and I know she worked very hard to be able to do that! (In the picture below her husband, Matti, is behind her on the left as a member of the branch presidency. President Jakob is on the right.)
While Sarah was speaking, Elder Pedroza was translating her talk into Spanish and I was watching Elder Jensen (below left) work to practice translating her English into Icelandic. These elders are amazing with their language skills!
On Sunday evening we had a very fun video chat with Jenny & Allan Moore. They have just received a mission call to serve in Iceland. They are our replacements! We are so glad another couple is on their way to work here. It seems unlikely that their Icelandic visas will be approved in order for them to come in August — immigration here tends to take much longer than just a few months. But we will hope and pray for expediency in order to keep the gap short. The Moore’s live in Utah and they are so excited to come here! We are so excited for them. Hello, Elder & Sister Moore, if you are reading this! 🙂
Here’s a quick nature update from a walk I took Monday morning. The lupine continues to grow! Just a few of them are showing some purple at their base! I love watching the flowers come to life for the summer. And, look at this moss! That vibrant green is gorgeous.
We were sorry to get another phone call this week from a missionary who had done some damage to a car. Elder Pedroza called to let us know he had scratched another car while he was trying to park. In the picture below he is showing the (almost) invisible mark on the mirror of his car, but unfortunately he had left a very visible mark on the other car that will now need repair.
As you can imagine, our mission president is not happy with all the car damage done in the Iceland zone. Our zone has the most cars per missionary and we also have the most car issues per missionary. Unfortunately, those issues are all caused by our missionaries! They can be avoided and that is the main issue. President Davidson said, “Iceland is a leader in many things in the mission. . . but not all of them are good. The zone leads the mission in accidents and vehicle damage.” We do not want to be known for this statistic. There is work to be done. The elders give me a hard time for sharing their accidents in this blog. I assured him that I share about everyone, so all the accidents are out in the open. Maybe knowing that if they do damage to a car it will go in the blog will be a deterrent?? We can hope! They always feel terrible after these incidents and we feel sorry for them too. But, there is still need for accountability. We will all do better.
And, just for fun, Todd does the washing up after our institute dinner each week. I’m thankful for his work! Not everyone cleans up their messes. 🙂
Let’s talk about Tuesday. Several months ago Todd and I were given an assignment to do some work on the Westman Islands at the Sagnheimar Folk Museum. In this museum there is a terrific display about the first missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who came to Iceland and the several hundred people who joined the church and immigrated to Utah in the 1800’s because of those missionary’s work. I can’t share the entire history with you here, but if you would like to learn more about this topic check out this wonderful history called “Icelandic Conversion and Emigration“. The museum display is all about this history and it is wonderful. In the museum the church is referred to as the Mormon church and the members are called Mormons. That is outdated terminology and Todd and I were asked to review the display and begin a plan that will update it to use the correct name of the church, replacing the name of Mormon with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
It took us months to find a day when the ferry was running, the weather was nice, the museum director Kári was available, and our schedule was open. This week it all came together and we were able to go. We invited the Selfoss elders, Elder Monzon & Elder Nielsen, to join us for the day. The Westman Islands are in their area and they have a friend they are teaching who lives there. They were happy to join us for an adventure and an opportunity to meet their friend and teach him in person.
The forty minute ferry ride was beautiful and bright and we enjoyed calm seas as we approached the island.
Our first stop of the day was at the museum to meet with Kári & Gunnar, who also works at the museum, gives tours, and manages the displays.
We had a great discussion about options to update the display. The best option is to redo the entire thing. It won’t be easy to just replace the word Mormon each time it shows up. (Especially with how long the proper name of the church is.) And, there are other parts of the display that need updating and improvements.
Gunnar told us that every museum tour he gives goes through the church’s display and thousands of people see it each year. Kári told us that there approximately two hundred people who come each year specifically to learn their ancestors who lived in Iceland and find out more information about them. This display is significant and updates will help people learn more accurate information about the church.
We took detailed notes and dozens of pictures to pass on, along with the thoughts and recommendations of Kári & Gunnar in hopes that there will be funding available to update the display. It was wonderful to work with these men and we can tell they really care about those Icelanders who joined the church and how the Icelandic heritage lives on among church members and in Utah. I asked Gunnar if he had ever read the Book of Mormon so he could understand what these people believed who left Iceland and followed their faith. He has not. The elders had an Icelandic Book of Mormon for him that we shared and I hope he will read it.
Below L-R: Todd, me, Elder Nielsen, Elder Monzon, Kári, Gunnar
After our meeting finished Gunnar gave us a tour of the museum. It was fascinating!
First we saw this wall of pictures. On January 23, 1973 the Eldfell volcano erupted on Heimaey island, the main island in the Westman islands. It caused catastrophic damage across the island and changed the lives of those who lived there. In the museum there is a wall of pictures showing places before and after the volcano erupted and how those places have changed. (If you would like to read more about the eruption, click here.) Gunnar was five years old at the time of the eruption. In the picture below he is pointing to his grandparent’s house which was just on the edge of the area where the lava stopped. In the picture he is pointing at you can see the lava just behind the house. The house foundation was affected and it later had to be demolished.
There were many other great things to learn about in the museum including the fishing heritage that defines the island’s history. We really appreciated the time Gunnar spent with us and the many things we learned from the museum.
When we had finished our work at the museum we did some exploring. The puffins are nesting and it was exciting to see some of them.
We took time for glamour shots with all of the beautiful scenery!
We went to Elephant rock which is incredible. I can’t describe how beautiful this place is.
Right across from elephant rock is “Mormon pond”. This is a tide pool where many of the Icelandic saints were baptized members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 1800’s.
Directly across from the pond is a monument that was erected to these saints in 2000. It lists the names of the 410 Icelanders who immigrated from Iceland to Utah between 1854 and 1914. It is a special place.
The elders spent a couple of hours knocking on doors and asking to share the gospel with people they met on the island. They also had a visit and lesson with their friend David. He is learning and progressing in his testimony and we were happy they could meet in person.
Todd and I also made a friend. 🙂 We did some window shopping and exploring while the elders were working.
We explored the handmade work of Ebba, she had all sorts of gorgeous sweaters, hats, & mittens she’s made. I kept hoping she would compliment the incredible work of my sweater and ask who made it. Ha! I made it! She didn’t ask, and that’s okay! I’m sure she’s made hundreds and I’ve made one. Her skill is obvious. 🙂
There’s so much more to share from this day! Here is a picture summary:
Lava fields —
Stafkirkjan, replica Viking church (with 1973 lava right behind it) —
There are remnants of the destruction from the 1973 volcano all around. It is incredible to see. The homes and businesses that weren’t destroyed by lava or fire or by being crushed were dug out and salvaged. But many things were completely ruined.
But there is life and beauty in the regrowth as well.
For the last hour of our day on the island we met back up with the elders and went to the Eldheimar Museum. This museum is built around a house that had been buried in several feet of ash during the eruption. It was then excavated and left as a reminder of what had happened on the island and the resiliency of the people. About 400 homes and businesses were destroyed in the eruption and the island was evacuated for a time. The eruption lasted for five months! It was amazing to see.
Only one person died as a result of the eruption, which is an absolute miracle. The grit and hardiness of the Icelandic people is so inspiring. They live in a raw and wild place and they move forward after disaster with purpose.
Throughout the day Todd had taken time in different spots around the island to fly the drone for great views. Check out his videos below as well as some great pictures from above.
By the time we rode the ferry back to the mainland, took the elders home and got back to our apartment it was late. I wish I hadn’t been sick this week and could have had more energy to hike and enjoy the day. As it was, I was pretty worn out and grateful to have my chauffeur (Todd) to do most of the work throughout the day so I could rest and enjoy the scenery.
Our next step in this assignment is to write up a proposal from our visit to the museum and pass it along to our friend who is working on this project. I don’t think much will happen before we finish our mission, but we are glad to be able to get the conversation started to update the museum display. It was a great day. I hope you’ll read more about the church history as well as the geological and social history of the Westman Islands. It is an amazing place!
We can’t spend every day of our mission on such unique assignments! Here are some of the other things we did this week as I continued to recover from my illness.
For about a year the Iceland zone has been missing missionaries. We have a quota for twelve young elders and because of visa timing and other issues we haven’t filled that quota since May of 2025. This week we had a new missionary coming to join us and in preparation for him to come we were reopening the Breiðholt apartment, which has been closed. Todd and I took a look around to make sure it was ready to have occupants again. It’s fun to see where the elders live. Here’s a peek into a young missionary apartment in Iceland. It’s pretty clean because no one has been living there!
We had a great meeting with Christopher, the new Elder’s Quorum president in the 2nd branch, to help him set up ministering routes on the church’s website. He did a great job and he’s off to a wonderful start in his calling to minister to the members in the branch.
One evening we took a walk to visit our neighborhood swans. There are a couple of ponds just down the street from our apartment and we’ve kept our eyes on the swans sitting on their nest. Their eggs have recently hatched and the babies are the cutest little balls of fluff! We will enjoy watching them grow over the next couple of months!
On Friday afternoon we made our way to the airport to greet Elder Denney who arrived to start his missionary work in the Iceland zone. For the past six weeks Elder Denney has been serving in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania waiting for his Icelandic visa to clear. It finally did and we are so glad to have him here! Elder Denney brings us to twelve. 🙂
Elder Denney’s companion and trainer is Elder Jensen and they are going to do great things together!
Below you will see us with Elder Bredthauer (zone leader), Elder Denney, Elder Jensen, & Elder Geertsen (zone leader).
The boys came back to our place for dinner and a welcome/training meeting. We enjoyed getting to know a little bit about Elder Denney and we look forward to working with him. He’s going to be a great fit in the Iceland zone!
Elder Denney is the last missionary we will pick up to start his mission in Iceland. That is a weird feeling! We haven’t picked up hundreds of missionaries, but we have spent hundreds of hours working with them, feeding them, ministering to them, and being blessed by them. It is so fun to watch these young men grow and develop their faith in Christ and testimonies as they serve here. It’s one of our favorite parts of our mission.
As the week went on I kept recovering from my cold and I’m happy to report that tonight – Saturday – I am much better. It is a great relief to be feeling better in time for the glamorous meeting we had to finish up the week. Because of all of the car accidents among the Iceland missionaries, President Davidson called a mandatory meeting for our zone to gather and watch the safe driving videos that are made by the church for the missionaries.
It was not the most enjoyable way to spend an evening, but we made sure everyone was watching — either with us at the church or on zoom if they are far away. I did get some knitting done on Todd’s sweater and we brought snacks to share. I guess it’s a different kind of bonding when you are all in trouble for something you may, or may not, have been responsible for! It is a rather lenient punishment, if you ask me, and we’ll see if it helps the elders be more careful with their driving.
With that excitement behind us we will close this post. Matthew 13:23 says, “But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” As we continue our missionary service we feel the blessings coming to us a hundred fold. We also see hundreds of opportunities for service. We recognize that in both the small and the big challenges the Lord is guiding and blessing us more than we will ever deserve.
That’s it for my one hundredth blog post! If you stick around I’ll see you next week for number one hundred and one. We are traveling north next week so I will report from Akureyri! See you there!
Check out Todd’s social media pages for more photos and videos. You can find him here:
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