The Sabbath

Theme today: Smile at everyone you see!

This morning we woke and Peter took the girls a block over to where the lake is. They have been wanting to walk out onto it since we got here (we have seen several people do it). So we designated this morning, but since it snowed, you can't really tell they're "walking on water". But they had fun anyway! Then we all got dressed up to go to church. The church is only 15 minutes away! It's a cute little light colored building that was built and dedicated in 2000. The people were ever so friendly and there were 5 sets of missionaries there (2

young and 3 experienced). One of the missionary couples was from Centerville (the Barrett's). A young man name Jose had been baptized yesterday and was confirmed in Sacrament Meeting. So sweet. They had two translators in Sacrament Meeting talking into headsets: one in English and one in Spanish. We learned why Spanish: a lot of people are facing persecution in Venezuela and are immigrating to Iceland. There were about 10 children in Primary, 6 in YM/YW, and 17 in adult Sunday School. All the second hour classes were held in English. They had a Spanish translator in Primary and YW/YM, and an Icelandic translator in Sunday School. We took some Hi-Chews for the kids to pass out to the other kids after classes. They all loved that!

One sister mentioned to me that the history of the Church in Iceland was interesting and entertained me with how:
In the 1800's those who believed the Church was true were persecuted. About 400 of them immigrated to the United States and settled in Spanish Fork, Utah. In 2000, the President of Iceland stood at the newly dedicated church's pulpit and apologized to the members of the Church for that persecution. The President also visited Salt

Lake and became friends with President Hinckley. He then traveled to Spanish Fork and apologized to the Icelandic people there. Many of their children have since returned to Iceland. She mentioned a documentary done by Fred Woods from BYU titled "Fire and Ice". I will have to find that. The mature woman I was speaking to had been baptized, but had to do so when she visited the states years ago (in Colorado). So fascinating!

We also learned from those at church that this storm is typical for Iceland, but it's their FIRST storm this winter! Usually it starts storming in September, but it came very late this year. The woman said she was personally very grateful because she and her husband had moved out to the country and they didn't have walls up yet on their home or running water in September. So for them it was quite a miracle to get finished before the snow came. Especially because the last time it snowed this late in the year in Iceland was about 90 years ago!

We had planned to do the rest of the Golden Circle sights today after church, but it is severely icy. We may be able to make it out there today (usually take about 2 hours) because some of roads have

opened up, but we'd have to go around our elbow to get to our knee (because of some closed roads and who knows how long that would take). So we decided to play it safe (and warm) and stay around here this afternoon.

We relaxed at home for a couple of hours and then attended a Christmas concert at the Lutheran Church (Hallgrimskirkja). It was beautiful! When they sang a song about Bethlehem, I felt the Spirit. So amazing that the Spirit can touch us no matter the language. The church had red and green lights up in the dome - so festive! The choir started in the front (we were on the very back row), and then part the way through, half the choir came to the back by the organ and they all sang together - surround sound! It was inspiring and a wonderful cultural experience!

We left before the concert was finished because some of our crew couldn't handle any more quiet places today. ;) And we needed to have dinner before venturing off to try and see the Northern Lights one last time. The aurora tracker said tonight was a 3 on the scale (biggest of the week!). We tried to drive to where our guide had taken us, but after over an hour and not getting out of the city lights enough, Peter looked up an app and purchased it. It showed one good spot outside Reykjavik an hour away. So we drove there and ended up in a pile up of tour vans doing the same thing. It was quite cold and windy (9 degrees F without the wind chill), so the girls mostly stayed in the car (thank you Peter for preparing hot chocolate for us!), but came out a couple times when we caught sight of something. We saw green Northern lights with our own eyes!!!!!!!!! That's what I was hoping and praying for! They "danced" a little too, but I had to strain my eyes to catch the movement. The craziest thing is how fast they can change! When we saw something, less than a minute later it was gone or completely different! We learned that when they are strong

enough (which someone told me happens a couple times a month) you can actually see them bigger in the sky and dance around. I'll just be happy to see them not through a camera lens! Our phones did better than we thought capturing it too, which was fun to see later. Such a gift today!

Favorite things today:
Emma: My favorite thing was going on the ice, and going to church and getting the bag with treats (from Primary).
Clara: My favorite thing was that we went on the ice, and passed out treats at church!
Leesie: My favorite thing was going to church, and going to see the northern lights.
Addy: My favorite was going out on the ice, and going to YW.
Kathy: My favorite thing was watching the northern lights dance a little in the sky with Peter.
Peter: I liked giving out treats at church, and the concert, and the northern lights.

Miracles:
-Even though it wasn't something Peter really wanted to do, he took the kids to play on the lake. It ended up being one of their most fun things today!
-Getting to attend Church and feeling the warmth of the Saints.
-Finding a parking spot at the Lutheran church for the concert. People were parking quite far away, and a spot opened up right outside! We walked in just as it was starting and it was packed! Thankfully on the back row there were a few seats left and so we squished in, and then the gentleman sitting on the end found his family/friends and left to sit with them, so there was room enough for us all to sit together!
-WE GOT TO SEE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS!!!! :D