“We went to the town!”

10/26/24

Yes, we begin another week with the story of another Icelandic sweater. On our journeys this past week we found another lovely small shop that is run by local women here in Iceland. There are eight women who knit the goods they sell (and one man who does wood carvings). They each take a turn doing a shift in the store during open hours. We love these little shops and we love supporting these artists. While we were looking through the shop, the woman working at that time noticed our mission name badges and asked if we knew Greta from the church. Yes, we’ve met Greta. This woman, Elly Helga, is Greta’s step mother and her aunt! She is delightful, was so kind, and helped Todd find his next lopapeysa (the traditional name of the Icelandic sweater). Todd’s latest addition to his sweater collection was knitted by Elly Helga’s daughter-in-law, Arna. I also bought a gorgeous hat knitted by Svala. Needless to say, it was a fun stop! Elly Helga makes glass art that is also sold in the shop. 

We both wore Icelandic sweaters one afternoon at Costco and actually received some compliments from Icelanders about how great our sweaters look! We agree! If we keep up the sweater buying at this pace we will need our own boat to get everything home in 2 years. 🙂

We joined some of the young elders and Elder & Sister Allen on a P-day outing this week. Just about an hour south of Reykjavik is a small town named Grindavik. At the end of last year, Grindavik was evacuated because the volcano, Sundhnúkagígar, was erupting. Magma was gathering under the town, causing uplift and fissures to open up. Lava was flowing near and into the town. It was heartbreaking for them to evacuate, but it was necessary. The town has been closed to traffic since then. In fact, the road to the town was covered with lava, cutting off access and necessitating a new road being built. On October 21st, Grindavik was reopened to the public. It is not a very safe place to be. There is still magma building up underground from this active volcano. But, they feel the threat level is low enough that people can go to the town. So, what did we do? We went to the town! We all wanted to see where the lava had gone, what things look like now that the current eruption is over. 

Our first stop was at the spot where the road is swallowed up by lava. It is amazing! Literally, the road is stopped by a wall of lava that has hardened and is massive. In this picture you can see Elder Nielsen and Elder Mijares climbing on the lava. If you look behind them you can see where the road disappears into the lava. 

We explored the lava here, just at the edge of the flow. There are signs posted reminding visitors that it isn’t safe to walk out on the lava, it is still hot underneath even though it’s been months since the last eruption. In the video clip below you can see steam coming up from the hardened lava.

When we got into the town of Grindavik we were amazed at the desolate feeling. There were people monitoring who was entering and they were reminding us there is still a safety threat in the town. Many parts of the town are fenced off to keep you from dangerous areas. We saw places where huge fissures had opened up throughout the town. The most amazing sight was the wall of lava that was just within reach of the city. It was wild to see. We did a driving tour of the town before heading down the coast and back to Reykjavik.

I know some of you may think that the majority of our mission so far has been waterfalls, volcanos, and the ocean. I’d like you to see what we spend a lot of our time doing (as well as enjoying this gorgeous country). It’s summed up in these very attractive photos Todd snuck of me:

There is plenty of clerical work. We’re sorting through lists of people we need to contact. We’re organizing files, preparing lessons and meeting agendas, sorting notes, setting up meetings, etc. There is time on the computer every day. And, the cooking. I haven’t baked this much in years! We’re feeding the elders, feeding the young single adults, making treats to share when we make visits, etc. Oh yes, occasionally making dinner for Todd! There is time in the kitchen every day, some days more than others, but lots of cooking & baking.

We were so blessed to have a visit one evening with a man in our branch named Þór. He is experiencing an extreme set of challenges right now. His wife passed away in July and he had a house fire last week, among other trials. He is a good man, we could feel his goodness as he invited us into his home. This man has never seen us before, he hasn’t been to church in some time, and he is under extreme duress. And yet, he opened his door to us, invited us in, shared his heart, and allowed us to be blessed by his efforts to remain strong in times of real trial and sorrow. Todd was able to leave a prayer with him and we invited him to our home soon for a meal and some more visiting. We hope to become good friends with Þór and we know that God loves him. We left that night feeling blessed after our time with him. It reminded me of this quote:

“As we accept the opportunity to wholeheartedly minister to our sisters and brothers . . . we will more readily recognize [the Lord’s] blessings and be eager to extend those blessings to others.”

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/04/ministering-as-the-savior-does?lang=eng

I can see the Lord’s blessings in my life and I know He is eager to bless Þór in his time of trial. We’d love for you to add him to your prayers if you’d like to support the saints in Iceland along with us. (His name is pronounced sort of like Thor, but in the back of your throat and roll the r.)

Each week we get to attend a district council meeting with the Elders in the Iceland North district. During Wednesday’s meeting we had language training with Elder Hill. Okay, these young missionaries are picking up Icelandic in an impressive way. It is a challenging language and Todd and I are glad most everyone here speaks English! To give you a taste of his lesson, here is a short video clip from the language training section. Listen and see how you do with Elder Hill’s tutoring! 

Another night we had the privilege of helping out with GETA – Hjálparsamtök as they prepare for their annual free market for refugees in Reykjavik this weekend. “GETA is an aid organization that supports refugees and applicants for protection in Hafnarfjörður, Kópavogur and the surrounding area.” https://getahjalparsamtok.com/ 

This wonderful program is run by Ingunn Fjóla & Jorika Trunda who donate their time to care for refugees and asylum seekers in Iceland. People from all over have donated clothing and household items that will be given to those in need who attend the market. We worked with Elder Allen & Sister Allen as well as Elder Pollock & Elder Nielsen to set up the room and begin organizing the donations in preparation for the market. It was a wonderful service project and they were very grateful for the work our missionaries offered them. We also met other people who were there helping and I was even able to share a little bit about the gospel with my new friend Mila who was also there volunteering. 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/2015/03/be-a-missionary-now/your-covenant-path?lang=eng

This is the baptismal font in our church building. It’s small but mighty!

• Todd explored a shipwreck he found on a deserted island not far from our apartment.

• I enjoyed the view! This is just a small walk from our apartment. The first picture is, obviously, looking out over the bay. The second picture is looking back towards our apartment complex. We love this location.

• A note about the weather – winter is here. It’s raining, it’s snowing, it’s raining sideways (wind!), the sun is out, there is a rainbow, it’s icy, it’s raining, it’s sunny. It’s interesting!
• And, we did not find our names on these pencils. Can you find yours?! It was fun to see the most common Icelandic names but there was no Todd or Pamela to be found. 🙂 The store we were in is called Bauhaus. It’s very much like Home Depot.

We’ve been in Iceland for one month now and things just keep getting better. We feel the Lord blessing us. We are surrounded by good people who are striving to do what is right. We know we are where we should be and we are happy we are here! Thank you for joining us through our mission adventures! See you next week.