Hvítasunnaviku

Góðan daginn gott fólk! Í dag Ég ætla að skriva meirra Íslensku af því að þetta er hvítasunnaviku eða "Pentacostal week,, fyrir truboð minn. Við erum að fasta frá ensku! Ég er mjög spenntur að gera þessi! Í gær við byrjaðum þessi, og ég spyrjaði félagar minn að biðja saman fyrir þessa viku, og sagði ég 'hvítlaukurviku' sem er ''garlic week,,. Við getum að tala ensku fyrir persónuleg samskipti, en langar mig að æfa meirra. Hi guys! Hopefully google translate doesn't buthcher that paragraph for you! The last week of every transfer, our mission does an english fast which started yesterday evening. It's interesting because the mission leaders speak swedish, the other missionaries speak danish, and we speak icelandic across the ocean lol. But the kick off meeting was in english which everyone speaks. This week was pretty good. We had exchanges, so I got to be in selfoss for 24 hours, which was really fun! Selfoss is super nice, and the zone leaders are awesome. We found out who the sisters are gonna be. One's supposed to know spanish, which will really help. The senior couples and a bunch of the branch members went to Denmark for the week to go to the temple, so we got to use their car which was super nice. I gave a talk yesterday in Icelandic! I'm not entirely sure how it went, but people told me it was good. And nobody asked to get their records removed from the church so it must've not been horrible. My toe got an infection so I went to the doctor and I'm gonna pick up a prescription today. It's not really bad, but the lead senior couple here thought it was better to get it checked out soon so that it didn't get horribly worse. We're making a video to post on facebook, because we just got a super nice camera! I wrote the script for it, so hopefully it's not too corny. Some other elders translated it into Icelandic, and we're gonna post one in both languages. Elder Brown's the super awesome missionary in charge of Iceland's tech and social media work. He's been working super hard on this video, which is pretty great. I gave my talk about the restoration, specifically of the restoration of the priesthood and how much of a blessing it truly is. I wanna share that same message with you guys. The priesthood is restored! The power and authority given to mankind to strengthen and uplift each other. To give each other help in our journies back to heavenly Father. It was restored through angels acting in authority from God, to Joseph Smith. And it's been shared to worthy men in the shape of priesthood ordinations, and to women in the setting apart of callings and making of holy covenants to help all people come closer to Christ. Through this power, was Joseph smith able to lead the church through all the hate and persecution it got. Getting chased and prompted to move from New York, to Ohio, to Missouri, to Illinois, where he was taken and martyred. A normal man couldn't have done this, unless he was given strength and guidance from God. There's been so much opposition to the church from that time, all the way to now. Nothing, unless it was called of God, could stand strong and actually grow and progress through so much opposition. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said: "Vested in the power of the priesthood, which is the power of Almighty God, is the power to perform miracles if the Lord wills it so, but in order for us to use that priesthood, we must be worthy to exercise it." When we maximize the power of the priesthood, in whatever capacity we've been given, we will see miracles. This is the power that enables us to seal families for time and all eternity. The power that helps a nursery teacher who's been set apart control the full force of countless toddlers and miraculously not crash and burn. This isn't in my talk but I feel impressed to share a quote from President monson, He said roughly: "Don't ask for tasks equal to your ability, ask for abilities equal to your task. Then, as you work diligently, you will become the miracle" God has not abandoned us. God will not abandon us as long as we don't abandon Him. And even then He won't abandon us. He is always there. When we don't see Him, it's because we're the ones who left, not Him. The power of God is on the earth today. I invite you all to use it to its full extent. If needed, don't hesitate to ask for a blessing. Use this great gift that God has granted His children to have once more. The gift that heals the sick, allows the blind to see, the deaf to hear, and so many more things. When we work with a perfect trust in the Lord, willing to accept His will no matter what, we will see miracles. I'm still putting photos on the Google Photo album (there's an app on the app/play store for it) and I put a link to join in last weeks email. Öldungur Rasmussen

Öldungur "Kapishki"

Sæl! This week was pretty awesome! We had Elder Kapishki (IDK how to spell his name) come. He's the mission area president for Europe! It was awesome. He participated in zone conference with us, the Iceland zone. And we learned so much. It was my first zone conference and what a way to start off with a bang. Yesterday, the members and missionaries of Iceland met together to rededicate themselves to the work. We went to this place called Perlan, where Iceland was dedicated and opened for missionary work in the 1970s, and Elder Kapishki lead us in a prayer. We want to rededicate ourselves to the work because this is the most important work on the planet, for all people. The day before that, we had the first session of conference, IDK what its name is, but it's the equivalent of stake conference for branches, and elder Kapishki spoke. He talked about having faith to move moutains. He said all we need is faith, a shovel, and a pickaxe. That really resinated with me. We were reminded that miracles come after the action. We need to start digging most of the time before God will help us move the mountain. Like how Moses had to get his feet wet in the red see before it would part, or how the priests carrying the Arch of the Covenant had to enter the river before the water stopped flowing. We have to start digging before the mountain will move. And we need to have faith. We need to keep digging, even if it feels like we have had no divine help in moving the mountain. We need to keep digging and trust that even if you don't get through the mountain, that the lord will have you where he needs you to be. Sometimes the lord will only give us the strength for one scoup of the shovel at a time. Sometimes it might seem like he doesn't help at all, but even His "not" helping is helping. We'll grow stronger and braver and prove our trust in the lord the longer we keep digging. We also had another baptism this weekend! Ólafur was baptized on saturday right after that conference meeting. It was pretty amazing! He's so jolly, and that's one of the best words to describe him. He's so fun. Yesterday, he was confirmed a member of the church. President Mattsson (my mission president) also came for the conference. He's so awesome! He kinda dropped a bomb though, in two weeks, on the transfer date he's planning on sending sisters to Iceland for a few months. Apparently we haven't had sisters in Iceland for over a year, probably since before covid, because everyone seemed really surprised. One of them has a little bit of spanish in their background, so he's hoping that they'll be able to connect with the hispanic families better than we've been able to. Those families are awesome! Even though we don't have spanish down, we communicate way better than I ever expected us to be able to. They're a vital part of the branch here in Reykjavik. Next Sunday I get to give a talk about the restoration! (In icelandic) so that's gonna be super awesome! I'm gonna need an extra dose of gift of Tongues, but it will be so great, I'm super excited. In the saturday meeting, someone shared a quote by President Monson, I don't have it word for word, but here's the general message: Don't ask for tasks the size of your ability, ask for ability the size of your task. Then, as you work hard, you yourself will become the miracle. I really love this quote! Last p-day we got permission to go on a day trip to see some cool stops in Iceland, I'll have a few photos in this email. All the missionaries came to Reykjavik for this conference weekend, and we got to do a super awesome thing called Blitz Splits. Basically, everyone got together and went to this area that's kinda hard to get to because we don't have cars and the bus system doesn't reach that far. Then, we split up into new companionships and knocked out a whole bunch of streets. My companion for the event, elder Peterson, and myself only knocked one door the whole time. We were answered by this man, who's super sweet (nearly all Icelanders are, even if they're not interested in our message) and he invited us in! I've only been here 4 weeks, but when we left elder Peterson told me that rarely happens. We went in and we talked with this man for nearly an hour, about an experience he had where he knew that mankind was "asleep" and that we had to wake up. The way he described it was essentially how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints talks about eternal progression, divine potential, and coming closer to Christ, just with different vocabulary. He seemed so excited to talk to us, because most of the Churches in Iceland won't talk about experiences like that, he said the priests would smile at him awkwardly then just change the whole subject. I'm so hopeful for him! Ugh, it's been awesome to grow to care for people individually! I really want to help all the people here in Iceland. I might send another Email with just pictures, but yeahhhhhhhhhhh. Icelandic's really coming along! I've been able to have more in depth conversations and have a better understanding of what people are saying too. I do have a super small vocab bank still, but it's growing! Still haven't been awake for the few hours of darkness we get because that's against mission rules, but Iceland's amazing. I'm so grateful to have an opportunity to serve in this amazing country! Ö. Rasmussen

Is this working?

Góðan daginn! Hopefully this email works. I can't seem to get my email list to work. I've been using google contacts to send everyone the emails and it's been working really well, but now I don't have access to it very often. My first two weeks in Iceland have been pretty insane! The weather is abnormally good, which is awesome. (except for that it's probably from climate change) I've eaten horse a few times, it's pretty good. We've made it into tacos. Honestly I probably couldn't tell it apart from ground beef. I haven't seen the sun go down. It only goes down in the middle of our sleep schedule, so we've precariously stacked pillows around the window because the curtain doesn't quite do the job XD. I got here right in time for a Baptism! A sister got baptized my first saturday here. She's so sweet, and I could just see how much happiness her baptism has given her. I'm serving in the Kópavogur area. It includes part of Reykjavik and goes south a long ways. (several hours drive) It's really cool! The Reykjavik branch is pretty awesome! We have church translated into 2 additional languages. Icelandic, English, and Spanish. There's a few hispanic families here that are about 1/3 of the branch! One of the families moved apartments, and we went to help them. Then they had a little house warming party and all the other hispanic families came. That combined with the weather and the food made it feel like a crisp fall day in Texas. Even in Iceland, hispanic food is top tier. I've also attempted to dust off the very small remains of my spanish classes I took six years ago... I'm going to say I've been super duper successful, and you guys are going to know that I'm being sarcastic so that I'm being honest in all my dealings without saying I'm not good at spanish. I've not been doing horrible at the language! In fact I've been doing better than I've expected. I wish I was fluent, but I know that as long as I'm putting forth the effort, talking with faith and doing my studies, the Lord will use me to say what He needs me to say. Yesterday we walked to church because the Bus schedule is different on sundays and we had to be early to clean and set up the chairs, so we walked like 45 minutes there. It was an awesome way to see a bunch of pretty scenery and enjoy the beautiful weather, but I must confess. I was dripping with sweat by the time we got to the church. Hopefully I didn't have BO with anyone haha. I'm the 9th and final Elder in Iceland until around October when we get a few more, but some of the Elders here will go home by then so I'm not sure what the numbers will be. I'm in a trio again! Elder Christensen's my trainer, and Elder Brown's with us too. They're pretty awesome! The first few days in Iceland I had jet lag so bad. I fell asleep during person study once and my comps took a photo of me which is pretty funny. I've been able to talk to several people in Icelandic! It's not all totally flying over my head, but my vocabulary is so small. I do good at understanding untill there's 2-3 words in a row that I don't know. Which happens fairly often... I've met a whole bunch of super awesome people! I must say, the Icelanders I've driven with a very polite and safe drivers relative to the States. I've had Brazilian, Phillipino, and I believe it was Venezuelan food, but I haven't gotten to enjoy the fermented fish, or sheep head yet. Also, the missionaries and members of Iceland are working on this project were we dance to a song and we're planning on posting it online to get a whole bunch of reach with its message. I've been in Iceland for 12 days, but it doesn't feel like I'm new here. All the other missionaries I've met are super nice and everyone's really polite. Even the impolite people are relatively polite when we're finding. I met president Mattsson (my mission president) He's so amazing! I look forward to working with him over these coming years. Anyways, Iceland's great! Being a missionary is greater! I love that I get to share this gospel. There's not a temple in Iceland, so the members are taking a trip to Denmark, which is our designated temple. A family is getting sealed there. The Husband/Father taught elder's Quorum yesterday and he was so happy. He and his family are from Ghana! Reykjavik is so diverse, it's awesome. Helaman 10:7 says: "Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever ye shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven; and thus shall ye have power among this people." This is when Nephi, son of Helaman gets the authority to perform sealings. This is one of the most amazing blessings of the restored gospel. Christ taught that the two great commandments were to Love the lord thy God, and to live thy neighbor. Both of these commandments, that the Savior himself taught, are centered on love. And because of the restoration of the sealing powers on earth, we can be with and love the people we hold closest in our hearts for all eternity. What sweet joy this sentence gives me. Not only will I be able to spend forever someday with my future wife and kids, but for two years I get to share that message with the people of Iceland. Nothing brings me more peace, than knowing that through Christ, despite all my weaknesses, I can be made strong enough to be with my family forever. I'm so privelaged and blessed by the opportunity I have to share that peace as a representative of Christ and his Church to the world. There's nothing that brings me true joy that's not connected to this gospel and to Christ. I don't know who all is reading this, but I want to bear my witness to you that I know this gospel and doctrine is true. I know that Christ suffered and died, then was resurected for each and every one of us. He lives to quiet all our fears. The joy I've felt from him is too pure, too powerful to be fake, or to be some scheme of the prophet Joseph Smith. God loves you. He knows each of us individually, and he's put forth a plan that will bring us more happiness than our mortal brains can comprehend. Come, thou Fount of Every Blessing - The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square I love you guys! Öldungur Rasmussen

Your Travel to Iceland Next Week

Dear Elder Rasmussen, You will soon arrive in Iceland to begin your service in the Denmark Copenhagen Mission! We are excited to welcome you! Here is some practical information for your packing and when you arrive. Please pack in your carry-on enough clothes and personal items for a couple of days in case your luggage gets lost. If luggage is mishandled, it can sometimes take two days for the airlines to get it to you. It is a good idea to take pictures of all your suitcases to help them know what to look for. Important Things to Know When You Arrive at the Airport in SLC and Iceland 1. You may have to pay for a 2nd checked suitcase for the flight on Iceland Airlines. If you leave SLC on Delta, they allow you to check 2 bags. But, when you change planes in Boston, Iceland Airlines will only allow you to check 1 bag. You will need to pay for the 2nd bag. Pay for that 2nd bag with your debit card and get a receipt. When you arrive, we will reimburse you on your MFS card. 2. Have the following documents with you and handy when you land in Iceland: a. Physical Passport (Have a photocopy of your passport in your carry on luggage) b. The printed copy of your Iceland residence/visa permit When you arrive at the airport, follow the other travelers and signs to “Passport Control”. (Be aware of your surroundings, noticing signs, and the direction other passengers are going. If you feel that you are lost, ask an attendant for help.) After having your passport checked, you will be directed to the baggage belt assigned to the airline you traveled on. Use a baggage cart to put your bags on. (In the event that your baggage is not on the belt, contact an attendant there, who will help you. Sometimes your baggage may be late and not lost.) Practice responding to questions about what you will be doing in Iceland by saying something like: “I will be giving service as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” If we call it missionary work, it may suggest to Iceland officials that you will be paid for what you do, which is not the case at all. After getting your baggage follow the “ÚT” signs that will lead you to the waiting area, where we will be! Just in case, if you need to contact us Elder McGary’s cell phone number (with the country code) is: +354 773 4090. See You Soon! Elder and Sister McGary Mission Coordinators, Iceland Mobile Phone: +354 773 4090 Lyngás 1 H305, Garðabær Iceland

The Final Countdown

Sæll and sæl! This week has been so long! So much has happened. I got my travel plans! I check into the travel office at the MTC on monday at 3 30am! Hopefully I wake up. It was a whole mess and a half to get everything squared away. So last tuesday my name got submitted for reassignment because my visa wasn´t in yet. On wednesday I got it, so I didn't need to be reassigned. Thursday I got my reassignment to San Jose California, but I got my visa so I didn't need to go. Friday I got travel plans to leave Tuesday the 10th, but monday I got updated travel plans to leave the 9th for Iceland. I'm so excited. Also, I finally figured out how to swap between keyboards (Icelandic and English) on this bluetooth keyboard my dad so wisely told me to bring. Thank you so much Father <3 Ég sagði á vinni Kennaris á Íslensku og þau sagði ég tala mjög goður! If I did that right it says "I talked to friends of my teacher in Icelandic and they said that I speak very well"! that's pretty exciting. The language has been coming along fairly well! My teacher said she was impressed with me yesterday which is awesome. I'm so excited to get to Iceland and be immeressed in it, even though I probably won't know a lot of what they say. I played a whole lot of spikeball this week for my exercise time. It's really fun! I recommend it as a christmas or birthday present to anyone. Also I believe it would make an extremely fun youth activity or just past time. Don't ask my companions, but I'm definitly extremely good at it... Anywaysssssss, yesterday was my last choir practice. I'm gonna miss it so much. Brother Egget's awesome. I 12/10 recommend all missionaries go. It's awesome. Elder Mebius and the ASL class got here last wednesday! He's definitly an awesome Elder! I also want to bare witness of the Power of Patriarchal blessings! It's been an amazing source of comfort for me adjusting to missionary life, and seeing what the lord wants for me. Read yours! also, try to prepare to get yours if you haven't! It's like scripture just for you. Amazing. The polish class and the Persian elder left on monday, and the indonesian elders also left today. Several of my friends in other districts are gone now, which is so weird because they've been here for so long. I'm so excited for everything though! I'm gonna be in the field so soon! Attached is a missionary meme inspired by brother Egget. He was talking about how much he loved the Apostle John because of the way he described himself in the New Testament. When they Ran to the sepluchre, he talked about how he was faster than Peter. A much needed detail about the importance of outrunning the prophet. It sounds like I've got some work to do though. If president Nelson's as fit as the other Apostles say, I don't know if I could make the same claim as John. My next email will be when I'm in Iceland! P-day there is monday, which is when I'm flying there so It'll be a minute before I can type another one! Ég elska þið! Öldungur Rasmussen

Travel Itinerary and Instructions

Dear Elder RASMUSSEN, Your training at the Provo MTC is nearing completion. We hope you have found your time here inspiring and productive. Attached you will find your itinerary for travel to your mission. Please read over the information carefully. The attachment includes your airline(s) and flight information along with luggage allowances. We recommend forwarding this information to your family so they will know your travel plans. There is no need to print this itinerary. Please note the check out time and you will receive a copy of the itinerary when you depart. As you prepare to depart the MTC and travel to your mission, please adhere to the following guidelines: 1. As soon as possible, please watch "Travel Day Video" found in the My MTC app under Services > Travel. 2. Frequently clean hands with soap or sanitizer. 3. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or your elbow when you cough or sneeze. 4. Avoid close contact with anyone, to include handshaking and hugging. 5. Please do not depart the MTC if you are not feeling well, your travel can be booked for a later date. 6. Upon arrival to your mission, please notify your mission president if you are not feeling well. If you have questions, please come to the Travel Office in T4-136 between the hours of 8:00am-5:00pm, Monday through Friday. Sincerely, MTC Travel Office

Steinninn Lausnarans

Góðan Daginn Allir! Þessi vika var góð! Ég er að læra meira Íslensku, og dvalarleyfið mitt kom! Ég er mjög hamingjusamur! This week was so long too! Congratulations to my Sister, Brother-in-law and his sister! (My sister in law? or would that be reserved for my brothers' wives?) They graduated from BYU and had their graduation ceremony last week! I'm still working on Icelandic! My teacher said that when I'm fluent enough to understand what I read, I'd be able to read Old Norse as well, which is insane! Elder Christiansen is awesome! And all the other Swedish/Norwegian sisters too! It's really nice to have other people learning similar languages and going to places closer to Iceland. It's also really weird though, because a whole bunch of my missionary friends are going to the field next week. It's gonna be weird not to see their faces and say hello to them in passing. Yesterday Elder and Sister Gonzalez of the Seventy came to give our devotional! It was really good, but I think choir was my favorite part. Brother Eggett is awesome! He fills the practices with stories about songs and missions and it's so fun. We sang "More Holiness Give Me", and he gave us a moment to look at the lyrics and choose which phrase we'd like to have applied to ourselves. It took a while, and had a lot of back and forths, but I decided on "More joy in His service". I'm so excited that I get to be a full time missionary and representative of the Lord and His church! It makes me so happy that I get to be here and to dedicate everything I have over the next two years to him! I'm so excited to get to the field and to serve others! Even if I have no clue what's being said. My teacher quoted "The Best Two Years" movie when it says "that isn't the language they taught me at the MTC" and she said that was about accurate. 😂 She also said that when I'm there I'll pick it up really fast because I'll be so exposed to it. My ankle's been healing very well! I'm super glad too. I was scared I wouldn't be able to play soccer, which is the main sport in Iceland (and pretty much all of Europe) except they call it by the name that makes more sense (fótbolta or football) because you actually use your feet for it a whole lot more than American Football. One of my Teachers is visiting Iceland right now so I don't have any more classes with him, which is kinda sad. I'm super excited to try all the food! Apparently fermented fish doesn't taste the best, but I'm not sure if I believe my teacher when he said he was dry heaving the entire time he tried to eat it. Sheep's head is also one I'm really looking forward too! My teacher described one of the areas in Iceland to me and told me where a super good restaurant is. He also told me there was this building called the Christmas house that was devoted purely to Christmas, year round. It sounds super awesome! Bless bless! Öldungur Rasmussen