Grateful for Studded Tires

It appears every time we have to go somewhere this is what we are greeted with - actually this is lite compared to some days. I developed the way to clear the car which is with a big broom first and then the ice scraper to clear the ice. We are blessed though with studded tires or as they call them winter wheels or tires with nails. The first week we were here we didn't have them and the Elders had to push us out of a members driveway. Now we can go just about anywhere. We almost got stuck in Reykjavik yesterday leaving the apartment as the snow had built up along side the car and when I pulled over it to get out of our parking (parallel) spot we had quite a time getting over the pile but thanks to studded tires we make it. I can see they are very damaging to the roads as there are groves in the streets and highways but they sure are nice for getting around in the snow and ice which we have lots.

My Snow Shovel Grew Up

After the last posting we headed to Reykjavik to take care of the work there since the other couple had to go home suddenly. When we arrived I had more snow to shovel there and their shovel was worse than what I was using in Selfoss. We went out to buy groceries and traffic was bumper to bumper on the main highway so I decided to take the city streets (first of all I have no knowledge of the street system but it was a better idea than bumper to bumper traffic in the snow). I came to a 3 way intersection and took the middle lane which meant I had to go up a hill. Sitting at the light I said to Eileen I think this was a mistake as the road doesn't appear to go anywhere at the top of the hill. I was committed though and so we went. The road went right into the parking lot of Byko - a Home Depot type store. I decided as long as were are here let's see if they have snow shovels even though the store in Selfoss did not. Sure enough they had them ranging in price from $50 to $100. I bought the $10 variety in the US - the $50 one here and went back to the apartment and cleared the sidewalks again and several more times before we left. Now we are back in Selfoss and if it wasn't for the weather forecast which says it is going to warm up and rain next week I think I have the way to bring about a White Christmas. Every time I clear the sidewalks it starts snowing just as I am finishing.

Let it Snow Let it Snow - NO!

Systir Bremner said I will help with the snow removal today. Well the picture shows how far she got as she is standing inside taking the picture of me as I finished the steps and the walk to our door but decided to quit before going on to our neighbors as it is snowing again. It seems I no more than get the walks and steps cleared and it starts snowing again. Seems crazy - at home we live in a townhouse where the snow removal is contracted out and here I have more to do than if I did it at home. You can see I don't really have a snow shovel either. You would think in a country where it snows so much you could get a snow shovel but when we asked the landlord for one this is what he bought us. I have looked too and can't find one. The worst is now that we spend time in Reykjavík when we get back here the snow is packed down from all the traffic to the neighbors. OH well the life of a missionary!

Sticker Shock!

Boy did I have a shock yesterday. We had a small paper back book and puppet to send home. It was very light and in an envelope. I figured it would cost a few dollars to send but not too much as the dress we sent to Heidi only cost $10 for postage and $10 for tracking. The package yesterday was lighter than the dress and we did not ask for tracking or any other services and it cost over $25. Inflation is high here but I didn't expect that at all.

For those who wonder about the picture - Eileen has been after me to take it ever since she saw it which was probably the first few days. As everyone knows all of our grandchildren are special and so she wanted to share this one.

Akureyri

Friday we left Reykjavík early for a 6 hour drive to Akureyri to visit the members who have been very isolated from the Church for many years. We visited with several members and had meals with a couple having traditional soups and breads. Sunday as we were getting ready to go to Church, Elder Wohlgemuth suddenly got ill. We gave him a blessing and he and Sister Wohlgemuth decided to stay at the hotel. (That is another story. We arrived Friday and the owner gave us keys, his bank account number and told us how much the bill would be and said he and all staff were leaving town until after we left so just make ourselves at home, get breakfast in the kitchen and pay our bill by bank transfer to his bank account.) We had Church with the four missionaries, 3 non members and 5 members. After Church I called the Wohlgemuth´s as we were going an hours north to visit another family. They said they would just stay in the hotel. It was dark as we headed north along the fjord on snow and ice covered roads and then a single lane tunnel that went at least a mile with pull outs so if you saw someone coming you could get out of their way. We had a great visit with Thiago and his wife who is taking the missionary lessons and their daughter Maindrah. We got back to the hotel about 9 PM to find that the Wohlgemuth´s were leaving to go home to Utah. He had called the Church doctors and his home doctor and it was decided based on his symptoms to go home to his doctor. Since they only had two months left on their mission and the condition was serious enough to warrant specialized medical care the Church felt it was best to fly them home immediately. Monday we took them to the airport and then started our drive back to Reykjavík on snow packed and icy roads that had developed even worse over the night. When we got to the Wohlgemuth´s we helped Sister Wohlgemuth pack (Elder Wohlgemuth was to do nothing) and then this morning we drove them to the airport and sent them on their way home to Utah. We will miss them very much and even more when I have to register the new missionaries arriving early in January. This was Elder Wohlgemuth´s job and he was going to train the new couple arriving mid January to take their place. So I will be busy learning the bureaucracy of Iceland as we were half asleep when we spent the day going from one location to another establishing our residency permit.

The photos are: the main highway #1 in Iceland Monday afternoon in northern Iceland, the fjord at Akureyri, the Thiago family, and those at Church in Akureyri.

The Blue Lagoon and a Miracle

The Wohlgemuth's who live in Reykjavík go swimming everyday for their exercise but their pool is closed this week so they asked us if we would like to go to the Blue Lagoon today. After teaching a lesson this morning we drove to Reykjavík and picked them us. We had a nice surprise when we went to pay. The cashier asked if we live in Iceland (which he could tell as we used our Icelandic bankcard to pay). He then said it is 2 for the price of 1 today. We later learned they are sending coupons to Icelanders for the 2 for 1 price. With the current exchange rate the cost was $19 for the two of us. We spent about 3 hours soaking in a variety of temperatures of water from cool to extremely hot. I tried the sauna but it was too hot for me and I went back to the hottest water where my head was freezing. The temperature was minus 2 with winds strong enough to keep the flag flying straight out so you can imagine the need to keep dunking my head under the water. Now for the miracle. With the low air temperature and the high water temperature my glasses kept fogging and then after many times of dunking them they got a film on them that I could not see through. I ended up pushing them up over my forehead. We had moved from one area where we had been sitting with our heads just above the water to where we were walking in about 4 inches of white silica mud on the bottom and just keeping our heads just above the water. To get my head warm I was floating around on my back. I reached up on my head and my glasses were gone. Now think about this scene. We have been moving around in water up to our necks, the bottom is 4 inches deep silica mud and the water is a milky blue white and salty. You can´t go under to look and you can´t see an inch into the water. We started feeling with our feet and I thought this is a waste of time. I have no idea where they came off and look how much area we have to look blindly through with our feet. Eileen quickly came to the rescue and said let's say a pray and ask Heavenly Father to help us find the glasses. About 5 minutes later Elder Wohlgemuth pulled my glasses out of the water. I said how did you find them and he said I just felt them with my feet. A miracle - yes, I don´t believe there is any other way we could have found them.

About the pictures, if we had tried to take pictures you would just see steam blowing. You could not see more than 20 feet at the most and most of the time much less as the steam was blowing across the water blocking sight of the facility.

Great Quotes

We just got the October Ensign and I really like the quote of Elder Neal A. Maxwell page 31 "Murmuring can...be noisy enough that it drowns out the various spiritual signals to us, signals which tell us in some cases to quit soaking ourselves indulgently in the hot tubs of self-pity! Murmuring over the weight of our crosses not only takes energy otherwise needed to carry them but might cause another to put down his cross altogether." Wow we all know murmuring is a waste of time and energy but even worse is what it might do to someone else.

Another great quote was on page 19 by a recent convert Norman Kamosi referring to an expression used in Africa. "When you see people throwing stones at the mango tree, you know they are doing so because the tree is bearing good fruit. So I said to myself, 'Since people are criticizing the Church, it must have something special, something good.' I said, 'We have to investigate the Church. Something good is in there.'"