Þingvellir National Park

The pictures in this post are from Þingvellir National Park which is about 30 minutes from where we live. We left home wondering if it would be a nice day and it was beautiful as you can tell by the pictures. Þingvellir is very significant historically and symbolically to the Icelanders. It was long the site of the original Alþingi or national parliament of the settlers and the setting for many of the most important events in the history of Iceland.

The top picture is taken near what they called the Law Rock where the law was read and the assembly of parliment was below them. The valley served as the living area for all the attendees.

The next picture shows the geological significance of the area. We are standing next to the American continent (high rock wall to the left). The continent of Europe is to our right and we are standing on a section of land that has been left between the two continents.

The next picture shows the American continent on the right and the valley below is the area between the two continents and the national park.

This last picture is just another fissure in the ground - there are many of them.

Another Blow of the Geysir

The name of the geysir is Strokkur. It sends up a column of water and steam up to 30 meters high very few minutes. The other one we saw is called the Great Geyser and is said to seldom erupt so I guess we were there on the right day

Iceland Geysirs (Geysers)

Just to show you the geysirs that are a famous part of Iceland since they go off every few minutes. They are unpredictable and one went off behind us that the Elders had never seen go off on their many trips. This is only 45 minutes from where we live. Note the blue bubble just before it blows.

Icelandic Horses

Iceland

We have been told we aren't keeping our blog up so I will try to do more. For all the horse lovers here are some pictures of the famous Icelandic horses. Eileen loves them and is always telling me to stop and take pictures. I'm not much for stopping on a highway to take pictures so these are actually from one of our Elders. I think I need to find another way to put my pictures on our blog since you have to click on them to see them.

Sveinbjörg Guðmundsdóttir

Sunday night we picked up the Elders from the boat and then went to sing happy birthday to a member of the branch - Sveinbjörg Guðmundsdóttir. It was her birthday and when I wished here happy birthday at Church she seemed quite surprised. I asked if we could come visit here with the Elders in the evening and she said yes anytime. When we arrived she told us she had turned down a dinner invitation from her son because we were coming. Little did we know what a special experience we were going to enjoy. Eileen asked her about translating the Book of Mormon into Icelandic. She proceeded to tell us the events of the translation. As she did the room was filled with the Spirit testifying of the special experience she had. When she finished she said I have only told that story a few times and then said maybe I shouldn't tell you everything but we said we would love to hear more and she then told us about translating the Temple Ceremony and her trips to Utah to do it. Again the room was filled with the Spirit testifying of the truth of what we were privileged to hear. We really hated to leave as it was such a fantastic experience listening to her and feeling of the Spirit. The Elders had never heard the story before and their two years are up in December - they were really touched by the experience too and were glad we took them with us.

Westmann Islands Trip

Westman Island

Click on the picture to see all the photos in this posting.
We went to the Westmann Islands with the Elders on Friday and Saturday to meet with the members (one family) and with investigators. We returned home Saturday night as we have responsibilities with the Selfoss Branch. The Elders stayed until Sunday night as they held Sacrament Meeting with the member family and one non-member. The trip over was rough and one Elder spent most of the three hours over the toilet. Eileen was the only one who did not seem affected by the rough trip. Friday it was wet and windy but still provided some beautiful pictures. Saturday Eileen and I got up early and did a quick tour of the island - less than an hour. The day was beautiful and we enjoyed time with the member family and an investigator before we had to get back on the boat.

Eileen is Teaching Seminary Again

Eileen was called to be the Seminary teacher in Selfoss and tonight was her first class. Sadly the two that live in Selfoss and committed to coming didn't. Instead the two that live 15 minutes out of town and do early morning Seminary with their Dad came. They loved it because Eileen gave them the Seminary Bible and they were so excited to have the Joseph Smith translations right there in the footnotes. It has to be fun to teach kids with their enthusiasm. Since I was called to be the 2nd counselor in the Branch Presidency and Branch Clerk, I used the time to try and organize the office. Organization has not been a priority and MLS has been used to just submit tithing and so there is lots to do there. Having never used MLS I was a little concerned but it has proved to be very easy to use. We did last Sunday's tithing and submitted the September 21 tithing that was input but never sent. I have also sent off three members records that are no longer in the branch. Wow talk about the lack a privacy. If you live in Iceland you cannot hide where you live or your birthday. Everyone has to notify the National Register where you live and all you have to is go on-line and type in the persons name and you will get their address as well as their birthday. Sure makes it easy for transferring membership records for those who still live in Iceland.