To Reykjavik and the USA

To Reykjavik via beauty!

 

 

 On to Reykjavik for our last 2 days in Iceland...

It is Sunday and we are on our way to Reykjavik with an appointment to minister at Fridrik's Church at 1:30pm.  WooHoo!!!  The time we have spent with Friedrik has been rich!  God has confirmed much to Fridrik about the heart-vision he had years ago and He has knitted our hearts!  There will be more to come--more visits to Iceland and, I believe, visits to the United States.

                                        Fridrik's Church in Reykjavik


After the service Fridrik took us on a tour outside of Reykjavik to a valley area that is beautiful.  We heard many childhood stories of a young Friedrik risking life and limb to climb the steep mountains of the area ("up one step and slip down two steps")
 As we were driving and talking about the things of God (interspersed with exclamations of God's beautiful creation as seen in Iceland) we were blessed to see 3 rainbows--and this is the first day we've seen rainbows here!  We took as a sign of God's promises regarding Iceland!

As I mentioned, our time together was wonderful!  After dinner Fridrik took us to our Reykjavik hotel, Arctic Comfort, which turned out to be a dive!  We couldn't stand the atmosphere nor the smell.  So, thank God for Fridrik who had a parishioner who is big in the hotel industry and found us a suite in a lovely, new Residence...fit for a King (LITERALLY!!  King Christian X of Denmark stayed in our room in 1926...yes, the rooms have been remodeled since then!).

Excellent night's sleep, which is difficult when there are only 4 hours of dark, and off to see the sights and purchase merchandise!  

           Scene of Reykjavik from our suite window                       


Our time here has been absolutely wonderful--beautiful people, beautiful country, God has moved, God has blessed and we are full!  It is sad to leave, but it will be good to come home to family, friends and puppy dogs!!

Good Bye, Iceland!!!

The End(s)

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Uncharted Waters

Touring and Relaxing

Myvatn

Bubbling Hot springs and mud at Myvatn

Icelandic horses in Myvatn

 Geothermal pool, Myvatn.  This water is too hot to swim in!!

The last few days (don't ask what days...we are rather lost in that area!) have been days of touring and relaxing.  We spent two days in Myvatn, located in the North Eastern part of the county.  there is a beautiful lake there which we really couldn't see because all iced over!  There would have been some nice hiking to craters and through lava fields...but it was snowing and Stephany fell on her bum whilst walking on the snow.  Bummer!  (No worries, she is ok;  Just a bit of a bruise).

One bit of enjoyment was soaking in the sulfur waters of the local hot spring, Jarbodin.  A bit smelly (though you get used to it) but warm and relaxing.

              Jarbodin spa....

We also enjoyed two wonderful meals at the local Cowshed cafe' (Yes, that IS the name of the cafe.) Included with the meal was the local delight:  Volcano bread, a bread that is cooked in the hot volcanic/hot spring ground.    The food is great and you can sit at the windows overlooking the Lake and the fields where the lambs were hopping around playing gleefully OR...you could sit by the windows and watch the cows in the shed being milked, eating, etc.  Both times during our meal a waitress came with samples of milk fresh-from-the-cow.  Yummy and warm!

Godafoss!!!!

Godafoss, the "Waterfall of the gods".  What a place!  Another assignment from the Lord to blow the shofar.  Godafoss was named in the year 2000 when the Law Speaker of the Icelandic parliment threw his pagan idols into the falls after proclaiming Iceland toi be a Christian nation.  Beautiful, Stunning!!

Aqureyri and Varmahlid

After Myvatin we traveled over the snow-laden and beautiful Northern pass to Varmahild via Aqureyri, the second largest city in Iceland.  We thought we were going to walk around the town...we thought!  The city was very dark--neither of us liked and we couldn't get out there fast enough.  we found (finally) a place to have lunch and then we thought we would check the modernistic (1940) church that was close to the restaurant.  With the help of the GPS we navigated through the confusing city streets (there were many one-way streets and unfamiliar traffic signs) to the church building.  There was absolutely NO PLACE to park.  Besides that, the feeling at the church property was demonic and I decided to get outta dodge!  Later Fridrik told us that the area of Aqureyri has an abundance of Spiritualist activity (seances, spiritualist healings, etc.) which infiltrated the Icelandic churches a few decades ago (70s-80s).  This teaching was, as I recall, brought in by a well-known American Minister who declared that the Spiritualistic (i.e. from evil spirits) was the true supernatural that the church has been seeking.

On to Varmahlid

We then continued on to our evening destination of a wonderful cabin at Hestasport.  A nice little hot spring fed hot tub awaited us.

The God-Connection

The next morning we head to the West Coastal town of Stykkisholmr where we stay in the lovely Sundabakki Guesthouse which is also the home of Gudmundur  and his wife Svava .  (An interesting note:  In Iceland, the wife does NOT take the lastname of the husband but the children do.)

 Port town of  Stykkisholmr

Gudmundur (his name means 'good hands') met us and showed us our room.  After we brought in our luggage and began to leave to see the port town Svava came running out to the car to say hello offer to show us the Guesthouse (she had been occupied with the numerous other guests that were leaving when we arrived) and assure us that we could enjoy the upstairs sitting room located on the floor where they stayed and we had our room.  We graciously thanked her and assured her that we would enjoy her hospitality upon our return.  We enjoy our walk in town and a wonderful meal of seafood soup and then return to the Guesthouse.  We are welcomed by Svana and begin a wonderful evening of chatting with Svava and Gudmunder as though we were old friends being reunited.  I talk about the wonderful beauty of God's creation as seen here in Iceland and, at one point in the conversation, Svana mentions that she enjoyed watching Joyce Meyer (an American Minister) on TV.  This is an obvious opportunity to go deeper in talking about the Lord.  We could tell that there was a hunger in Svana's heart for more of God and I recalled the time of prayer at a Leadership meeting for ROLCF where someone stated that people would sense the glory of the Lord upon us.  Svava was sensing God and wanted more!

The God-given gift of hospitality is evident in Svava as she offered us tea, coffee, wonderful home-made rhubarb cake-bars and much conversation about America, Iceland, family, a little bit of politics and Christianity.  She later told us that we were always welcome at her home, that she loved the time we spent together and was SO Glad we came to her home. 

At one point in our evening conversation Stephany mentioned that she was not raised in a Christian home and asked Jesus into her life when she was older.  This caught Svava's attention and she later asked Stephany if we would pray for her!  Svana knew God as a child and would pray to Jesus every night when she was young (as she spoke this, she was tapping her heart with her hand) and now she wanted us to pray for her.  Stephany told her that we would pray for her in the morning. 

What a wonderful morning!  Breakfast was great (more Rhubarb cakes) and Svava insisted that we make sandwiches for our trip and gave us the remaining Rhubarb cake in a plastic container.  YUM!!!

After breakfast we had a time of taking photos or each other and then enter the "upper room" for prayer.  We prayed blessings, long life, health, God-encounters and more over Svava and her family (she has 14 grandchildren, 13 boys and 1 girl!).  Svava was so blessed by the prayer and she mentioned that she actually felt a warmth all through her body as we prayed.  We kissed goodbye and "bless bless"!!  Wonderful God!

                                             Stephany and Svana

Open Heavens... A Portal and ....

This is going to be a long blog, but WOOHOO,, it is good stuff!!

Eyjolfsstadir in Egilsstadir

On the way to Eyjolfsstadir I felt that I would be blowing the shofar there. We didn't really know much about the place—our accommodation was chosen for us by “ExtremeIceland”. When we started investigating the accommodations, we noticed that Eyjolfsstadir had been a YWAM (“Youth With a Mission”base, which I found to be somewhat interesting...

Stephany and I knew that it was going to be a primary place for ministry which is why we stayed there 2 nights. However we had no specifics. Was the man with the round head, short hair, balding, and gray going to be there? On the way from Hofn to Eyjolfsstadir I had actually prayed that we would find that man...soon. (OK, so I was getting anxious and wanted to see God move!!!!)

 

Stuck in the Snow!!

What a journey from Hofn to Eyjolfsstadir! You see, there was a ton of snow in the mountains. The way to get to Eyjolfsstadir was to go through the mountains (like crossing Sonora Pass) or go the Looonnnngggg way around the eastern coast. So, handy dandy Phillis GPS Dilly takes us over the pass. It was a wonderful, beautiful drive. The road (basically enough room for only one car!) was plowed and the view of the mountains was AWESOME! We likened it to the Swiss Alps. We continue along and are probably two-thirds of the way to Eyjolfsstadir when there was a snowslide that covered the road! BUMMER! And, since the road was only wide enough for one vehicle, how do we turn around? By the way, Stephany was driving...but not any more. She was done and concerned. I said no worries, we would get turned around. I first start backing down the road (something that I AM TERRIBLE AT) and then decide it is time for a change in plans. Out of the car we go and find the little ice scrapper that is used for the windshield. Time to dig into the berm so the car can be turned around. (Stephany read the 'thought for the day' from her Journal: “God will not send us out on any journey for which He does not equip us well” A Scrapper!)

So we scrape and kick through the berm and finally, after much snow thrown into Stephany's face, we get the car turned around! How long did it take??? Maybe 30 minutes.

Back down to the coast and now we go a second route that traverses the mountain range. As we were traveling on this gravel road, we came to some farmers who were fixing a tire. I stopped and Stephany asked if the road was open. “Yes, I think so” was the reply. We continue on and I decide to pray, “Lord if this road is not open, please let us know soon.” Less than a minute later we see a car approaching from the other direction. As we pass I flag the couple down and ask if the road was clear. The said, “No”. We said “thank you” and turned around. Back to the coastal road. Finally we find a very long tunnel (Longest one I've been through!) that is drilled through the mountains and it is smooth sailing (other than a speeding photo...oops) to Eyjolfsstadir. Whew!

The road less traveled!!!

The Appointment Made by God

We arrive at the guest house and are greeted by Villa who gave us our room keys while Stephany asked if the Guest House was still a YWAM base (no). However it turns out that Villa's husband, Fridrik, is the pastor of a church in Reykjavik and they had recently come over to Eyjolfsstadir in order to train a young couple in the running of the Guest House.

I mention to Fridrik that we had come to Iceland because of a dream from the Lord. We spent the remainder of the evening talking about the vision Fridrik had for Eyjolfsstadir—a Bible School, gathering place and a Guest House. He told of the miraculous way the Lord had provided for the purchase of the farmland and the monies for the buildings back in the 70's. Eyjolfsstadir housed a church gathering as well as a Bible School for many years. Then it seems that the numbers of people wanting to attend Bible School for the purpose of ministry to the nations wained and the school eventually died as did the church.

We had a wonderful chat. I mentioned that the Lord had me bring a shofar and that I blew it at Thingvellir and felt that I was to blow it here at Eyjolfsstadir.

While listening to Fridrik's heart and story Stephany and I knew that the Lord still wanted to use this property for His glory. We also knew that this place was a Portal—a place of great heavenly activity. It was obvious that our presence there was an encouragement to Fridrik. He told us, “It is not a mistake that you are here” and he seemed to be happy that I felt we were to blow the shofar there. We were also asked if we would pray for the young couple that they were grooming for the oversight of the Guest House. We agreed that we would do so before we left.

 Fridrik and Stephany













Below:  The Guesthouse/Training Center

 

Awakening the Area

The next morning we chatted some more and we were given a brief history of how the surrounding area had become spiritually dark. Fridrik pointed to a church across the river and mentioned that it had been used by those of non-Christian religious beliefs. He mentioned that the road over to the church was a HORSESHOE. This grabbed our attention because we were told by Arron that there would be a place in Iceland that was a horseshoe and that this place would be a portal with lots of heavenly activity (Jacob's Ladder).

We went to the church, prayed around the property and then I discovered that the church door was unlocked (Absolutely NONE of the churches we've been to have been unlocked). I went in and was soon followed by Stephany. We prayed and I blew the shofar when I felt it was time to do so. Later we compared notes (what did you feel about the atmosphere around the church?) and we both saw that the area was spiritually dark but felt a release after the time of prayer and shofar.

We did some sight-seeing and then returned to the Eyjolfsstadir Guest House, spent the evening chatting with Fridrik and Villa and made arrangement to pray for O'teigur and his wife Signy (the young couple) the following morning before we headed out ot our next destination. Fridrik had also asked us to write out what the Lord was telling us about Eyjolfsstadir and the area.

The time of ministry the next morning was AWESOME! First thing that happened was I mentioned to Stephany that I needed confirmation about blowing the shofar over Eyjolfsstadir. She mentioned that she thought Fridrik was to blow the shofar. We shall see... Shortly thereafter Fridrik comes over to the table and asks if he could take us to a little hill on the property where we would pray and then I would blow the shofar. Cool! Confirmation already!

Then Stephany looks out her bedroom window and sees a fellow shoveling snow. Hmmm, he has a round face, short hair, balding and gray. She caught my attention and asked me to go outside and look at the guy shoveling the snow. I did. I went back into the house and asked Stephany, 'So, so you think that he is the man with the round face, short hair, balding and gray?” Duh... turns out that he is O'teigur and we were going to pray for he and his wife a bit later!

Fridrik and O'teigur, the "Round-Faced-man, short hair, balding and gray"!!!

Fridrik takes us up to the knoll. He is EXCITED! So very, very excited because he knows that God is about to do something. The atmosphere is about to change; the portal is going to open! We chat for awhile and I explain the symbolism of the blowing of the shofar. Then he tells us that of all the people (Christians) who had come to Eyjolfsstadir Guest House, we were the most amazing and important. He spoke of the spiritual connection that he immediately felt with us—a God-connection that he had not experienced with others. WooHoo, God is GOOD!

We begin to pray, blessing God and takeing command over the works of the devil and the flesh. We pray blessing over the land and proclaim the opening of heaven—heaven touching earth. God's will in heaven being done on earth. Then I blow the shofar quite a few times. I turn to Fridrik and ask him to blow the shofar which he does, much to his delight. He was like a child in his faith and excitement! It was an awesome time in the Lord!

Fridrik blows the shofar

Ministry...Ministry!

If that wasn't enough, we now go to pray for O'teigur and his wife Signy. Wow! The prophetic flowed. The Holy Spirit was ministering through us and through Fridrik. Strongholds were broken down, generational curses were shattered. We were told that what we spoke was accurate and they were blessed and know that this day was a turning point in their lives and marriage. O'teigur mentioned that he was outside when the shofar was blown and he heard it. It excited him and he said that hearing the shofar made him happy (even though he didn't know what he was hearing)! Wow!

This was a wonderful time for us. Fridrik is going back to Reykjavik for Sunday service and he expressed the desire to meet up with us there and show us the city. We look forward to that possibilty.

Onward to Myvatin and another day in Iceland.

Here are some photos of the trip from Hofn to Eyjolfsstadir

 

 Reindeer!!!

Days 2 and 3...I think!

There is only one word to describe Iceland:

Beautiful!!!!

Geysers and Glaciers

After leaving Thingvellir, we head for Vik, a small town located in the South.  En-route we stopped at Geysir where we went to see some Geysers...Of course it was raining and we got soaked waiting for the geyser to 'blow' then I missed the shot and refused to wait another 20'.  We arrive in Vik and stayed at the "Volcano Hotel" where we booked a glacier hike adventure.  What a blast!!  Our guide (and operator of the hotel), Johannes, was absolutely wonderful and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.  In one area of the glacier we saw bubbles in the ice and he told us that the air in those bubbles was about 200 years old.  He also mentioned that when the vikings first came to Iceland, there were no glaciers.  The "Little Ice Age" came about after a series of volcanic eruptions.  Below are some pictures of our adventures in this area of Iceland.

Small geyser and the missed geyser:

On the way to Vik:  

 

Climbing the glacier:

Some views of Vik:

Day 1 In Iceland

The Flights

Not much to the flight Denver from SFO but we learn that it is SNOWing in Denver! Hmmmmm...

The flight to Reykjavik is delayed for about 1 hour as they worked on deicing the plane. "Look at the ice on the wings, Stephany...Look at the icecicles under the wings," I said pointing to the plane as we sat in the airport, "we really can't take off with ice on the plane like that.  Surely they are deicing it."

Later Stephany tells me that about a week before we left, she had a thought about ice on the plane. A fear of hers I find out. “I'm going to take every though captive” was Stephany's response to the thought that had entered her mind those few days ago. And here I am telling her that we cannot take off if there is ice on the plane AND the plane is now taxiing down the runway laden with ice as I speak..."No, they have to melt it off. Planes have controls that will melt the ice off...", still taxiing down the runway with ice on the wings... Ahh, we have stopped..waiting, waiting for the ice to melt. Little did I know that on the flight to Denver the fellow sitting next to Stephany told her that if there is ice on a plane it will crash on takeoff. Opportunity for fear that was not taken!

We Arrive!

We arrive safely in Iceland, get our rental car and start the drive to Thingvellir on absolutely NO sleep for 20 hours. This makes Stephany brain dead so she can't form a sentence or decipher a map. “Is this what they call jet lag?” she asks. 

Although my brain is functioning, my patience is thin...ok... non-existent! Stephany still loves me, though and we got a good laugh over it today.

Oh. I forgot to mention that it is SNOWing! We were told by the young man from the car rental agency that this is the coldest April (and now May) Since 2000!  Later we were told that the winter in the East and North is the worst in 36 years; so much snow that the locals are concerned (about flooding???)  Great, Lord!  What's up with this?!

We finally navigate our way through Reykjavik with the reluctant help of the GPS that came with the car.  Stephany affectionately calls 'her' Phyllis Dilly and wanted to toss 'her' out the window every time she turned off (which was often) or exclaimed "recalculating..."

Whew!  Finally onto the road out of Reykjavik and toward our destination of "Cottages on Lake Thingvellir".  (The 'Th' is actually a funny looking P that is pronounced as 'th'.)

This Way to Thingvellir

 We saw this 'cute' church shortly after leaving Reykjavik.  Look at the majestic mtns in the background!

 We arrive at the Cottages at Lake Thingvellir, which are in a lovely setting by the Lake.  The cottages are rather nice and a walk along the chore would be in order if it wasn't snowing...

  

We arrive at “Cottages on Lake Thingvellir” at about 10am, get all baggage into our cabin and lo-and-behold there's “no water in the sink”, Stephany said to the owner. (No, Stephany...I think you mean, “There's no running water”). Sure enough the pipes were frozen! So, we get our luggage and move to the cabin next door...an upgrade to a 2 bedroom cabin with queen sized beds in each room. WooHoo! We rest, take a hot shower, look at the accumulating snow and decide to drive to Thingvellir National Park for a wonderful day of beautiful sites which included crossing the continental divide, seeing what was either large ducks or small geese, beautiful clear rivers and a gorgeous waterfall.

 

Well...this kinda looks like the pic I saw online and posted earlier.  Thingvillir is a very important area in Iceland.  The rift between the Eurasian and North American Plates (see picture below: "Everyman's Gorge"), was the meeting place of the Alpingi (general assembly) legislative body of Iceland.  In This area is the "Law Rock" where the "Law Speaker", who had a 3 year term of office, would recite from memory all the laws of the Land.  One third of the Law was recited each year. Everyone was welcome to come during the summer when major decisions were made.  Each farm community had a representative and major issues were decided by majority vote.  It is interesting to note that IF a person did not agree with the decision they were not required to abide by it.

In 1000 AD the question of whether-or-not Icelanders were to adopt Christianity was brought before the people.  The people were split between keeping their pagan beliefs or adopting this new religion of Christ.  I find it amazing that, in order to bring UNITY, the people decided that the Pagan Chieftain or Priest was to spend a day in prayer and return the next day to tell the people what he decided.  The Pagan Priest decided that Christianity was to be adopted by the people of Iceland.  However, those who wished to continue to worship the pagan gods could do so but such worship was to be

conducted in secret.

In 1944, the inauguration of the Republic of Iceland (independence from Denmark) took place in Everyman's Gorge close to the area of Law Rock.

The church building you see in the photo is the first place that Lord showed me to blow the shofar--no wonder with this history!  Both Stephany and I found Thingvellir to be a place of great peace as well as beauty.  I believe that God did whatever He did in the atmosphere when I blew the shofar.  You have to realize that I don't go around blowing a shofar.  I don't like to make a spectacle of myself--I prefer being hidden.  Behind the church is a circular area with a path, in the shape of the cross, bisecting the grassy knoll.  As I prepared to blow the shofar Stephany and I suddenly heard birds singing.  We hadn't heard a single bird anywhere since arriving at the Lake or in Thingvellir other than geese.  As soon as I made the decision to blow the shofar, the birds stopped singing AND, when I looked up, I noticed that there was no one in sight--every tourist had left (thank you Lord!).  I blew the shofar in the direction of the Law Rock (designated by a flagpole).  Then I went to the church and blew the shofar again.  This time I heard the sound echo through the area.

What happened?  Don't know but I suspect that an awakening has occurred; an opening of the heavens if you will; a call back to Christ.  All I do is what I think I am supposed to do...

Above:  A church has been in this area of Thingvellir for centuries.  The buildings to the right of the church were the residence of the parish priest but is now the office building of the National Park.

Below:  Everyman's Gourge.  The American plate is to the Left; Eurasian to the right.  The path is going North.

 
Below:  Beautiful Oxar'arfoss (waterfall of the Oxar'a River)

Well, I am going to publish this now.  Hope there aren't many typo's...I am quite tired!!!

Blessings to you all!