Still Learning Icelandic Money

Banking is in a high state of turmoil with the 2nd and 3rd largest banks being taken over by the government. We are trying to get a bank account set up with the 2nd largest because that is who the Church uses and thought it would be the easiest way to pay our rent as the Church made the rental agreement so they have to pay it and then we reimburse them. The bank would not let me make a deposit and then only 500,000 kronar which is approximately $500 right now. I ask why I could only make one deposit and they said with the mess the banks are in right now they are restricting what can be done. So today I will hopefully make another 500,000 deposit and then again on Friday so I can pay the rent. Our landlord is very upset with all that is happening and says she can’t even get her money which is in Denmark so she can pay her bills. Will be interesting to see what happens over the next several months. It seems if we could buy Icelandic kronar other than in Iceland we would get it really cheap but not here.

We were grocery shopping today and one of the clerks is a member of the Church. He was redoing pricing on the shelves and I asked if the price of everything was going up and he said yes. To give you a concept of high – toilet paper was approximately a dollar a roll.

First Snow

Our first night in Iceland was Thursday October 2, 2008 and what a greeting we got the next morning. We woke to a complete blanket of snow – about 2 inches. We had to go to Reykjavik which includes a climb over a mountain where the winds can be brutal and the temperature drops. We waited until about 10 AM hoping the roads would get better. The trip was uneventful because our car has traction control and electronic stability control which kept kicking in as we drove through the ice and snow going up the mountain. I don’t mind the going up but coming down is a whole other story. Anyway by Monday night the roads were finally clear of all the ice and snow.

$800 Oil Change

When we were in Denmark we were talking about the high costs of things in Iceland and our Mission President said well how would you like to pay $800 for an oil change? I said what in the heck do they do for $800 and he said they just open their mouths and say an oil change will cost $800. They then explained that just a liter of oil cost the equivalent of $100. It is no wonder there were people on bikes everywhere we looked. At least in Iceland an oil change will only cost the equivalent of $100 which still seems unreasonable but at least not $800 which would certainly keep us from driving. Of course if you can afford a car I suppose you can afford the oil change. In Denmark there is a 120% tax on the purchase of a car. Our Mission President had to buy a new car for his family and discovered they could buy the same VW mini van (smaller than a Chrysler Town and Country) but with a pop top and stove (not noticeable it had either) because there was a lower tax on RV’s up until the day after they made the purchase. Even though the model was more expensive than the same mini van without the RV options the total cost was $18,000 less than the less expensive model due to the difference in taxes. We don’t realize how good we have it in the US. I was reading an article on the plane in a newspaper from England and they were blaming all the economic problems on the working women who are deciding they want to stay home an raise a family - seems almost all women work in Europe including Iceland – and now that some have decided to stay home and raise their families they are taking the heat for ruining the economy. Guess the government can’t accept the blame for their own mistakes.

Iceland Here We Come

Here we are in the MTC (Missionary Training Center)in Provo, Utah. The MTC experience is one of the highlights of a mission. When we were here before going to Romania we had some of the greatest spiritual experiences of our lives. Those experiences helped us in Romania. This week has been the same with special spiritual blessing for our lives. It is great to be with other senior missionaries and the great young missionaries. All are so excited to serve the Lord wherever they are called. We have been taught by the Spirit so many times. Our Icelandic training has been fruitful and we are gaining understanding little by little. Tonight our tutor made us speak only Icelandic to him so between Eileen and I we struggled to keep the conversation going. We were allowed to ask him in Icelandic how to say an English word in Icelandic. We actually didn't ask very many times but we did have to use hand motions several times.

Blessing Dress

Since we know for sure that Heidi is having a baby girl and Heather is also having a baby, Eileen started making two blessing dresses just in case Heather has a girl too. While we were at the beach Eileen completed more than half the dress. But when Eileen showed it to Gonnie, the light was better and you could see two different shades of yarn were used. So Eileen took that one out and went on a search for the right shade of yarn. At the time she couldn't find any so she started this dress and just finished it. She has the yarn to finish the second but I doubt there is enough time to finish it before we leave for Iceland.

The Value and Importance of Mothers

Today I was impressed by the comments of Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in April Conference. Here is just one excerpt from his talk. "I am impressed by countless mothers who have learned how important it is to focus on the things that can only be done in a particular season of life. If a child lives with parents for 18 or 19 years, that span is only one-fourth of a parent’s life. And the most formative time of all, the early years in a child’s life, represents less than one-tenth of a parent’s normal life. It is crucial to focus on our children for the short time we have them with us and to seek, with the help of the Lord, to teach them all we can before they leave our homes. This eternally important work falls to mothers and fathers as equal partners. I am grateful that today many fathers are more involved in the lives of their children. But I believe that the instincts and the intense nurturing involvement of mothers with their children will always be a major key to their well-being. In the words of the proclamation on the family, “Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children” (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Liahona, Oct. 2004, 49; Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102)." I am grateful to Eileen for her commitment to our children and to see our children and their spouses work together for their children - our grandchildren - what a great blessing in our lives.

Our Home in Iceland

Elder and Sister Wohlgemuth found us an apartment in Selfoss, Iceland where we have been assigned and isn't it beautiful. After what we had in Romania this is fantastic. It may cost more than twice what it cost us in Romania and for that matter what our house payment was, but it sure is nice to have such a bright place with a wonderful view. Wow it sure beats the chicken and the outhouse in our backyard in Constanta and the garbage cans we had to walk by to get in and out of our apartment in Arad. We had the better apartments available in Romania but that isn't saying much. Our thanks to Elder and Sister Wohlgemuth.