Iceland, land of fire and ice

 One of many breath taking sights.  Note the little people behind the waterfall

This habor is the life blood of Westman Island.  In 1973 a volcano errupted   The lava flow was a real threat to closing off the harbor.  The local people hosed down the flowing lava and cooled it to a stop before it closed the harbor.

The main Island is surrounded by several little islands and cliffs.  The small fishing boat gives you a sense of the outcropping  island.  The blue ocean was crystal clear.

This is a reproduction of an ancient house and adjoining barn for animals.  The house looks rather small up against Elder Jensen but inside the ground floor sits two feet lower.  Trees are rare on the Vestman Islands but vocanic rock and sod are abundant.  We enjoyed lunch inside this little home.  It was surprizingly warm inside

Elder Jensen and Sister Jensen with Pres. Andersen before what is one of three sites the early Latter-day Saints were baptized.  (the pool in the rear).  Over 200 people were baptized during the years 1858-1907 most of whom immigrated to Utah to join the Saints in Spanish Fork.  Perhaps Thorstein Petersson was baptized here.  (Great Grandfather)

On Vestman Island there is a local musuem.  One section talks extensively about those people who joined the church and immigrated to Utah.  I let out a little scream when I found this pic of my Grandmother, Jonina Petterdatter.

Near the baptism site previously noted, sits this statue memoralizing the Saints that left Iceland and immigrated to Utah.  The Statue was forged by Dennis Smith of Alpine, Utah

There she is Jonina Thorsteinsdottir (the Th looks like a P with a long stem) thats my Grandma.  Her parents
 Thorstein Peddersson and his wife Sigrued Eriksdotter are also listed on the monument.

After screaming in the musuem, the tour guide took interest in my Greatgrandparents.  He read the place where they lived and indicated it was in fact a farm.  He graciously took the whole bus load to the farm.  I was very touched.

For many generations Sheep and Fish have been the mainstay of the local diet.  Not to mention the nice warm wool.

A beautiful lake formed in an extinct volcano.  Has nice accoustics.  People gather here for opera and other concerts.

Looks like rocks with a flag huh.  Well, actually this is an ancient gathering place for the people and their leaders to form laws.  In todays world this would be called the parliment or capital hill.  Anciently it was called Ting.

The local church members wanted us to have a "real Icelandic food experience".  Yes, look closely this is a sheep head. I was dumbfounded when this dish was placed before Elder Jensen and I.   It was completely cooked with all 4 senses  in tact ( ear, nose, eye, tongue.)  We recieved instruction on how to eat it.  I tasted it, it was okay but Elder Jensen won the bravery prize, he ate the eye ball.  We prayed hard and fortunately lived to tell you of it.  Ba, Ba, Ba....

Welcome Allie Joy, thanks Jacob and Serena for our newest grandchild in November. That is three new ones since we have been on our mission.

March Bornholm 2012

Ok, so we were fooling around a little on New Years eve in Copenhagen before we headed to the Island of Bornholm. We are in the land of Vikings and warm winter coats. No we do not wear these when we are out contacting as missionaries.
This is Hammer Hus. That would mean this is an old, old, castle, I mean from 900 AD and has been the site of many battles between Danes and Swedes. It stands on a point overlooking the ocean facing Sweden. So the tribe of Dan, was here fighting with the Swedes.

By the way in,,danish mark, mens field and of course Dan is for the tribe of Dan of the 10 tribes so Denmark literally means the field of Dan. We are here trying to gather some of the lost ten tribes.

The gospel was first preached in Copenhagen in 1850 and the Book of Mormon was the second language after English that the language was published in.
Bornholm of course is an island. We on occasion get a little island fever and it is good to get of the island for a few days. This time we are on the ferry headed to Copenhagen. This ferry is the slow ferry and we took our car with on this one. It takes 5.5 hours to sail to Køge and then a 30 drive into Copenhagen. We were headed to a zone conference with our fellow missionaries to learn more from our mission president Andersen. President and Sister Andersen are the best.
Bornholm has the second largest forest in all of Denmark and it is fun to wander in the woods. It is very restoring to go for a walk and breath the fresh air and feel the soft carpet of the forest. It will even be better when spring really arrives.
There is no place like home. This is our little intimate dining table in our apartment. It is little, but warm and as they say in Denmark Hyggelig! The apartment consists of two rooms, a bathroom, and long skinny kitchen with our little table. The whole apartment would fit in our bedroom at home in Alpine. It sure makes it easy to clean quickly when you do not have much space to dirty up.
Danes are absolutely amazed when they come to Bornholm. The reason is the rocks. They do not have rocks on the others parts of Denmark and no waterfalls. This was at a place called Ekko Dalen which means echo valley and yes it did have an echo and a fairly high waterfall. We happened to be driving by the area and thought we would take a look.
The young women of the Rønne Branch and their leader. The girls are sisters and their mother is from Idaho, so of course they speak excellent English. A bonus for the leader. They love Sister Jensen and she loves them and loves to teach them.
Sister Jensen loves these cows. There is a herd of them, Scotish cows that are wooly to last outdoors all winter.

We arrived in Nuuk, Greenland on Sept 22, 2011. We were able to see the last rays of summer before it abruptly turned to winter. We spent the first month trying to find our way, get some furniture, internet and figure out what we could eat. Amazingly by the end of Oct. we have found the climate cold but with enough layers, good to go. The two grocery stores in town pretty well deliver what we had in Denmark only with about a 25% increase. Remarkable the meat is less expensive and certainly more fresh. That is if you like Whale blubber, Reindeer, Salmon, Halibut, and Cod. We have loved eating the catch of the day with the fish. Maybe for Christmas, I'll cook Jerry a Rudolph the red nosed reindeer steak.
For behold the field is while already to harvest, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might...
Icebergs are born north of here as they break from the Thousand year old glacier ice cap. They float down the fjord until they melt. Many people snag a nice crystal blue one and use it for ice in their beverages. The mountain behind the water is call Sermitsiaq. Jerrys favorite mountain.
Just another beautiful sunset from our Apt. window
This is a Greenlandic Sunrise from our Apartment window.
Pres. Andersen arrived on Oct 24 for a four day stay in Nuuk. He and Elder Jensen put on their contacting shoes and knocked doors. The Spirit was very strong with them. In three days, they gave out 18 Book of Mormons. And we have 5 appointments scheduled for next week. They found the people to be receptive and spiritual.
We arrived on Sept. 22, Summer was clearly lingering on for a few more days with these beautiful Icelandic poppies. One month later, we are now walking around in 18 degrees and 10 inches of snow.
In Nuuk the land is free to build on. If you can present your plans for the desired plot of land and it mets with approval from the commune, you can build a home or a business. Of course building is not exactly cheap here, snow, rock and ice are the only natural resources.

Nuuk sits on the rocky slopes of a small island near a huge waterway of connecting fjords. Traditionally the houses are all brightly colored. The Greenland flag sits in the foreground.

Summer 2011

There is a church in Roskilde where all the Kings and Queens of Denmark are buried. This was Margaret I, a beloved Queen of Denmark. I couldn't help think of Lord of the Rings when I saw this casket. Our Summer proved to be very busy with joys, sorrows, laughs and tears. We are preparing for a transfer to Greenland in Sept. Our next post will certainly have a whole new look.
Peter Beir Chocolate, some of the best chocolate in Denmark...
On my Birthday we travel by car and boat to Aero Nu Kobing. It is a city that sits very south of Denmark and is very old. It was first inhabited probably 900 years ago.
A Danish Farm house, complete with thatched roof.
Four hours after we left Utah from my Fathers funeral, little Ruby Lynne Jensen was born. Life and Death all within a few days...
Part of the summer included a Couples Conference. We toured northern Denmark with the other 5 couples in our mission. This was a Danish church which was literally be swallowed up by the sand. Remember the primary song, the wise man built his house upon the rock and the foolish man built his house upon the sand....
We had another YSA gathering, this time for our 40 kids at the Center. We had a retreat in a rural part of Copenhagen. We stayed in a cabin for 3 days. We enjoyed classes, firesides, games and a service project. It was so fun. Somehow I thought my camping days were over....
In the mist of a very busy Summer, My Father, Bliss Fullmer passed away (July 30, 2011) after long years of declining health. Our Mission Pres. gave us a week to go home for the funeral. It was a beautiful spiritual experience for me and our whole family. We then returned to DK.
In July we traveled by bus to Sweden just south of Stockholm for a giant youth gathering in Scandinavia. It is called Festinorde. We spent 5 days working like crazy with cooking, dances, and sports. This is a pic of the Danish Soccer Team. They played for the championship only to be beat by the International Team.
We were robbed, as were our neighboring missionary couple, and a mission car came up missing. In Norway the robber was caught at the border. We drove to Norway to recover the car and a few belongings. The robbery was difficult yet we managed to have a nice trip to Norway, all expenses paid, well if you consider that my gold ring and Elder Jensen's Mac probably financed the gas to Norway. This is a Fort overlooking the Fjord and the small community of Halen.
Our newest Grandson Calvin came to visit us with his parents Brent and Kirsten. We loved to spend a fun filled week with them. Those little fat baby cheeks got plenty of kisses.
During June we had a culture and history class for two weeks. With about 12 other people we studied Danish History and visited many castles and museums. It was fabulously interesting and a great contacting opportunity. We gave out pass along cards, answered questions and even placed a Book of Mormon. This is the current Throne of Denmark. The monarchy is the oldest existing monarchy in the world (950 years old) The Queen doesn't usually sit here except for special occasions, and if she feels like it.

March 1 we were transferred to the enchanted land of Copenhagen. This is Fredrikborg Castle. The famed Carl Block Paintings are housed in this Castle. We are crazy busy at the Single Young Adult Center with 20-40 young people for FHE, Institute, and Activity night. The mission office keeps us busy with missionary responsibilities. We have permission from our Pres. to attend language school 4 days a weeks during early afternoon hours before the Center for Young Adults opens at 3:00pm til whenever. We love the fast pace, it is an awesome mission.

At Elder Jensens insistance I became a biking granny. I loved it for two weeks and then to my dismay somebody stole it. Hopefully we can find another used bike soon.
This is the Man... He checks out sore backs, turned ankles, flat feet, and stiff shoulders (missionaries). Who would have thought his Physical Therapy days were on hold? He speaks Danish to everybody where ever we go while I smile adoringly. He speaks in church, serves on the High Council, he teaches mission prep, he talks to kids like he's their Dad, he inspects mission cars and apartments and he helps me feed a small army of 20 YSA every Thurs. I love my companion.
It was a long, dark, cold winter in Denmark. I stayed bundled in my coat and layers for 5 months. One day spring came and was it ever beautiful. This is a park in Fredericksberg near to where we live.
We had visitors! Mother Jensen and Becky came for a week and just 1/2 hour before they departed Jac and Serena came for a few days. It was perfect timing as it was Spring Break for the Single Young Adults and we had nothing to do but go sight seeing with our family.
On Easter Sunday we had a pile of Missionaries stop by for dinner. We are grateful for a nice apartment that can accomadate so many.
Ansumana is from Gambia. He sits next to me and together we work hard to learn this crazy Danish language. He speaks perfect British English plus a dialect from Gambia. Elder Jensen studies in an Advanced Danish class and his class is equally interesting, he just hasn't taken their pictures yet....
These darling girls all come from the Philipines. They are working as Nannies for some of the more wealthy Danish folk. They too are part of my language class.
My good friends Rong from China and Alshan from Pakistan. We study together in my language class.