Welcome to our blog

William and I were encouraged to keep up the blog he started for the Iceland trip. It was suggested to us as a good way for our friends and supporters to keep up to date on our work. This is going to be a challenge as William already has five other websites he is in charge of. So I will do my best to learn the blog and add posts and articles as well. We are not Facebook savvy and wonder how much people want to know about our day to day lives. But we do take seriously any advice to strengthen our work at Truth for the World, so we will become "bloggers". We look forward to any comments you would like to make.
Today is a beautiful day here in Georgia with our home blooming in a variety of colors in the front and back yard. We have been spoiled by Seth's garden tomatoes which we work into almost every meal. It will be a sad day as that last tomato is eaten.

Katrece

Advertising the Problems

It is true that one can have a basic understanding of a nation simply by observing its advertising. The whole point of advertising is to provide information about a product or service and to convince the buying public to want it. From this public offering one can know what is needed or desired. And because advertisers attempt to appeal to society (or a certain group in society) one can also know the general attitudes and perhaps even the problems of that country. What appeals to people tells a lot about them.
If you look at the history of advertising in this country you will see the changes through the years from pen and ink illustrations of wood burning stoves and hardware to the various forms of modern commercials. This history exposes more than mere technique or technology. It shows a constant decline in morality in every facet of society. Current advertising shows no respect for the home. It commonly presents little respect for marriage or authority but it is self-indulgence which is praised. The simple line drawings of fashions in the 1800’s are replaced by enormous, soft porn photos. The problems of a society are evident for all to see in high definition by advertisers.
Ten years ago when we were moving to this area we noticed a billboard we had never seen before. Right beside billboards enticing one to eat at McDonald’s, purchase groceries at Kroger or drink coffee at Starbucks loomed a smiling woman with large letters of how easy it is to divorce. It was disturbing then and continues to be disturbing. The very existence of this billboard advertised more than a service, it advertised a problem in society. The ad was from a certain law firm setting their services and price for uncontested divorces. This billboard does more than advertise a service. It gives an indication of a disease in society just like a pox or sore gives an indication of a disease in the body. If divorces were not prevalent and such big business there would be no billboard advertising divorce lawyers. If society were not so taken by immorality and complacent to sin there would be no public ads of nudity (suggested or otherwise) displayed in the malls. The ads of a society are like a barometer in that they show the current extent of moral decline. Are we shocked anymore by the Victoria Secret ad which hangs in their store window? What about the Abercrombie and Fitch photos of shirtless men to advertise their clothes? Of course there are certain advertisers who purposefully see how far they can go and know that if they push the limits soon the limits will be extended as society becomes more corrupt, coarse in nature and willing in moral decline. We should all be ashamed.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy -- meditate on these things.
Romans 1:32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

saying goodbye

Monday morning was downtime, so I took the opportunity to start packing. Linda made a wonderful brunch of omelettes and toast which filled the B&B with a great aroma. We skipped lunch to ready our appetitte for Gyða´s cooking. Her meal was delicious and plentiful. It was hard to say goodbye. I hope they will use the lessons we leave and continue to grow. I urged them to stay with us in Georgia the next visit to the States.

There are things which I have not mentioned about the guesthouse we have stayed at for the past 13 days that are wonderful. The couple who manages this place are very nice and helpful. The kitchen is well supplied with drinks and food that are offered always and has helped with the cost of eating out. The entire inn has beautiful photos hung everywhere which show the beauty of this island. We have met many people from all around the world- Scotland, Austria, Russia, France, Denmark, Germany, Italy, and those from Iceland flying out to other places. We were able to help the couple from Italy with sightseeing tips because of William´s expertise. It was nice to help others.

I am ready to head back. The country is beautiful and has been a good stay but I am ready for home and to smother my children with hugs and kisses. I hope you all have enjoyed the blog. I have never blogged before so we have learned as we go. Love to all and see you soon!
Katrece

We are heading back to the States today. We will get to Boston and spend the night there. Our flight from Keflavik gets into Boston too late for us to catch a flight to Atlanta.

We have had a good visit. The total number of teaching hours is 12. That is all we were able to do with the schedule of everyone here. Lat night we were invited to Marias and Gyða´s house for supper. She made fisk (fish). Jimmie told her it was the best meal we had eaten in Iceland. That is true. We have had decent meals in Iceland (no complaints) but her cooking is excelent. Charles can tell you that as well.

I have started another ad campaign in Morgunblaðið - One of the major news papers here. It is actually a good thing I went the wrong way to find the Morgunblaðið building last week. Over the weekend we were told that the latest version of the Icelandic Bible had 1 Corinthians 6:9 changed. It no longer condememns homosexuality. It is not mentioned on the list of those who will not see heaven. There has been a bit of an outcry among some in Iceland concerning this and other changes. Thanks to Linda we used this in our ad for the BCCs. "Has Someone Changed the Bible? Study what it actually says in a free Bible Course."

We went for what I thought would be a short visit to Linden. The religious radio station in Reykjavik. I guess I should have expected that it would be longer. We went to introduce Katrece, and the Hills to those in charge (a couple named Mike and Sheila) and to see if they were using our radio programs. It turned into quite a visit with coffee, tea, chocolate and Pentacostalism. They have not used our material and say they are interested in the one minute programs. I hope they use them. Like the Omega TV station, Linden Radio is founded on a determination against the Lutheran Church of Iceland. The state church is a pathetic tax eating thing.

I hope someone can come for a longer stay and perhaps an extended visit to help the Christians here.

Teaching 6 children with a limited resources

Keeping the children´s attention in their first Bible class was challenging for Linda and me. We tried to get them to sing "Jesus Loves the Little Children" in Icelandic with the children not knowing the tune and Linda and I not knowing Icelandic. I think we did our best and hope they will try to keep the Bible classes. The lesson was simple and translated so I think that went well. They knew the answers as we kept reviewing. We had pages to go with the lesson that they enjoyed coloring. We hope the ladies saw how easy it is to teach a simple lesson without much material. Unfortunately after the children´s Bible class the kids left for another room and did not stay for worship. That was disappointing after we taught and encouraged in the week´s lessons how the children need to be in worship. There is still a lot of work to be done. William thinks overall much was accomplished so I will try to look at it that way also.

Tonight the four of us snacked together and played cards again. It is a good friendship.
Love to everyone and I look forward to being home soon- Katrece

Today ended a beautiful day. It started off wet and cold but ended up sunny and clear. It was clear yesterday and it became almost as clear today. It becomes astonishing when you are so accustomed to seeing distant mountains as hazy that are suddenly extraodinarily clear, or suddenly seeing mountains you did not know were there.

Linda and Katrece taught the children´s class today. The ladies were with them in the hopes that they would be encouraged to teach the children in classes. That was a first for Iceland.

I taught the men and then gave the sermon. In worship we sing one song simultaniously in Icelandic and English. Then we sing the rest in Icelandic since there is no English version of those hymns. All in all things have gone well. We were able to gain everyone´s trust and answer questions that were hanging around. I know they have been strengthened. How long will it last? They need someone here that is strong and can help every day.

Today may be our last day with Marias and everyone here. It is possible we may be able to do something on Monday but that has yet to be planned out. yesterday was lay-low-and-quite day. We may have overdone it on Friday and we needed to rest. Yesterday was the clearest day I have ever seen here. I honestly did not realize how beautiful Keflavik actually is. The view on the horizon is usually clouded even if the sky above is blue so you do not see great distances. Yesterday the horizon was clear and the view from the coast was stunning. There is sea and then from one side of the ocean to the other (left to right) is nothing but distant snow covered mountains. It was an unbroken, panoramic view. Charles and I were suprised when the clouds lifted one day in January but yesterday was even clearer. You could see the whole northern landscape from Keflavik.

After the last lesson, we were able to get Marias to agree to have a children´s Bible class. I suggested Linda and I could teach and show the ladies how easy it is to conduct. His grandchildren would be there for once because of babysitting and we wanted to jump on the opportunity. Linda and I decided later to teach on Jesus feeding the 5000. The youngest child knows how to say Jesus so we thought that would be a good lesson. Linda has been trying to translate "Jesus Loves Me" in Icelandic to sing to them but it is difficult. We will work on it more today. We do not expect them to learn songs in English.

Friday was a day to ourselves and William took us on an adventure. It was not a day for an umbrella! I have never felt such cold or hard wind. My legs were going numb! But we saw the most beautiful landscape and took pictures which will not do justice. William said this in January and now that I am here, I understand even better. A coastal cliff we took many photos at was unbelieveable and later the pictures did not show the beauty. William wanted to bring lawn chairs and just sit and drink it in. You would also.

I have met many people from other countries that are staying at the same inn. It makes me feel inadequate since they know several languages and can speak to me in English. I only know English and some words in other languages but not enough to converse. Everyone is very friendly.

In the evenings if we all are not too tired, we play cards. Linda is very good and won five hands of Crazy 8. No one else won. If I am Queen Frostine, Linda is Queen of Cards. We all get along well and that is good when on a trip together 24 hours a day for two weeks.

Friday was a beautiful day. We took a drive north past Reykjavik and up into Snæffellsnes to see among other things Snæfellsjökull. That is the volcano used by Jules Vern in his book Journey to the Center of the Earth and has a large glacier on top. The whole peninsula is a set of mountains and fjörds. We entered by driving on the south side of the mountains next to the sea. Here was a wind like none we have felt since we have been here (nor did Charles and I in January). It was fierce and unrelenting. During the drive I was actually able to use the wind to help slow the car while going down a mountain road. I have no idea how fast the wind was but it would have carried anyone away in baggy clothes. Once we reached the western side we were out of the wind. The northern side of the peninsula was even quieter.

We saw plenty of snow on the ground and in fact it was snowing in the town of Borgarnes which is funny because that is the way Charles and I left the town back in January. Yesterday it did not snow before Borgnares and it did not snow after Borgarnes but only as you enter and stay. Does it ever stop snowing there?

It is amazing how cold it gets here once you begin to go up a little in altitude. The roads on the coast were above freezing (about 3 degrees C). When we took a road on a mountain pass (one that does not go that high) we began to see ice everywhere and a large frozen lake. And when we began going down the other side we saw waterfalls a plenty where the snow was melting off the sides of the mountains.

We returned back to Reykjavik for supper and then back to Keflavik for bed.

Thursday was the end of our series of lessons. That makes 10 hours of lessons with questions and answers. Things went well. Jimmie spent two hours on his last lesson. Included was time spent answering questions such as: Are we saved by the blood of Christ or by baptism? We have to keep in mind these Christians know very little and they pick up things from the denominational world.

When I designed this set of lessons I hoped I could get them to commit to meet on a Sunday followed by four nights. They did. Today and tomorrow everyone is too busy to meet. So we will meet them again for Sunday. We convenced them to try a Bible study for the children and a seperate class for the adults before worship. That is progress.

We have managed to accomplish the things I had hoped for this trip. That does not always happen.

more teaching, shopping and Ikea

We headed off Wednesday morning to go to the large mall and find gifts for family. William is truly amazing how he navigates the town so easily in the squall we often face. He shifts gears, defrosts the windshield, makes those crazy roundabouts (like our intersections) and drives in heavy rain and wind. We have safely arrived every time. If I were here by myself, I would walk everywhere and not get as much accomplished.
Lunch today was back to the Ikea store for something new and cheap eats. I choose what they have as their daily special. It is a kind of breaded vegetable patty served with couscous and snow peas- very good. William, Jimmie and Linda all had chicken and eggplant. But the big thing was to go back for ice cream! They serve an ice cream cone for 70 kronur (50 cents?) that is amazing. It tastes like the best ice cream mixed with cool whip- full of cream and probably very fattening. You can have it vanilla or dipped in chocolate. YUMMY! William and I bought 3 and shared them. I was being teased by Jimmie and Linda but I don´t care- it was good! I told William I now will think of this as Icecreamland instead of Iceland. He said I can be Queen Frostine. That is why I love him.
Linda gave her lesson on the woman´s role in the church. There is still much they do not understand. The scriptures she gave and read for submission puzzled them and they thought they could never speak. Linda answered and all is well. She perfectly covered how a woman cannot take the lead in worship. Darlene said she had been asked to lead singing by the men in times past. Thankfully she knew that was not allowed and refused. Linda also taught what the women can do and needs to be doing. I then started my lesson on teaching children in Bible classes. I stressed again how important it is that the children are coming to worship and it would be very good to have Bible classes for them. We talked about how you can make learning fun and how to teach different ages. Before coming here, I weeded through some material on my shelf and brought examples of Bible class take-home pages and crafts. Linda and I told them they could make up songs for teaching in Icelandic and the children would learn better. I believe we made a lot of progress and we pray they will do what they have now been taught.
Love to all my family and friends-Katrece

On Wednesday we woke up to rain, wind and an outside temperature which was closer to freezing that I expected. We have noticed that it is generally colder now than the first few days we were here. I am also seeing more snow on the mountains. We have also noticed that it has been very very windy with powerful gusts during the day when we are driving to Reykyavik but later around sunset it become peaceful. The drive back to Keflavik after our Bible studies are rather calm.

We met again for our fourth day at Marias´ house. This continues to be productive. Jimmie began with a lesson for the first hour whereupon a question was raised and we spent the next two hours answering the question. It seems that Gyða is not convinced that a good man (a very good man) would be punished eternally by God if that man did not obey the gospel - become baptised. Her foster fother was evidently a very good man and read his Bible regularly. If that is true then he did not die as an ignorant man. He will be judged as one who read the will of God but refused to act wholely upon it. That is difficult to hear and is an emotional subject. The fact is that punishment waits for the man who knew to do right and did not do it. It also waits for the one who did not know the will of God and then died in sin. The Gospel is here for a reason. If men were in a place of safty in ignorance then God should never have given us the Bible which brings us the truth. And it is the truth which makes us free not ignorance. If ignorance were a safe place then Jesus shoud never have given the great commission to anyone.

It was a productive but tiring day. We returned back to Keflavik at about 10:15 P.M. and went to bed.

First let me get to the bad news. I intended to write about this yesterday but forgot to include it. I had Marias call our Icelandic BCC student. As it turns out he did not begin our courses but was signed up by a friend who did it as a joke. That is a bit dissapointing. At least we know someone saw the ad.

Yesterday was another great day. Before we went to our Bible studies I took everyone to the shopping district in Reykjavik. It is a place filled with shops and foreigners in Iceland. Let me tell you how unusual this is. I have had Katrece here for a complete week and only yesterday went shopping. She has yet to even see the larger mall in Reykjavik - the Kringlan Mall. Since it is raining today I think we will. Katrece has quickly learned the the word "utsala" which means "clearance sale".

I had mentioned earlier that spring was approaching. Yesterday it began to sleet in Keflavik and then later in Reykjavik. It was too warm to collect much on the ground. I learned in January that the weather here changed rapidly and can be very unpredictable.

The Bible studies went very well. I spent my entire hour on a question that had to be addressed. It was brought up in Jimmie´s class and we could not let it be a problem. Marias questioned why God would punish someone who was very good but did not obey the gospel? He could not believe that God would do such a thing. The answer to that question can be found all through the Bible beginning in Genesis 3. I hope we put this one to rest. He is very eager to learn and said he had learned a lot from us. All of Marias´ daughters were present again last night. This is going well but I know this small group needs someone here on a regualr basis.

Teaching what is hard to accept

Tuesday evening we met back at Marias' home for another Bible study. Jimmie continues with his 8 point lesson. In this study, Marias brought up a question that so many struggle with and we knew the answer would be hard to hear. He said he does not believe God would send one to Hell if they had been a good person. Later the men talked more about this and Marias was referring to Gyða´s foster parents who he believed were such wonderful people but now gone and not in the church. Jimmie and William both so gently, but through the Bible, showed the answer. He may now be accepting. I know that is a heart breaking fact to consider in my own family, friends and the world in general. Why else would God send Jesus to die?
As we separated for the next hour, I told the ladies what I taught would be hard to hear also. My lesson was on the home God wants us to have. I already knew that it is very accepted in Iceland to live together and have children and marry later. I had them read what the Bible says. They also do not bring their children to worship. We read many scriptures about teaching children and worshipping as a family. I encouraged them to watch their children´s friends and be sure they are making good companions as taught in I Corinthians 15:33. The 17 year old daughter goes out to meet others dressed immodestly and it is okay with Gyða. Linda and I will teach this more before our time is up. I made sure to talk slowly and ask Gyða if she is understanding. They all said it was clear and I did not get kicked out of the house. I now am catching myself using sign language while speaking. Afterwards I asked Linda if I sound as though I am talking down to them because it was bothering me. She said no and thinks they understood. This is all so new to me! We all are trying so hard to teach big lessons in the short time we have.