Why Iceland?

So I've been dreading this and looking forward to it. When Ang told me she was starting a blog, I was not too pumped. It's just not my thing. Then she told me that I had to write the first entry with the story of "Why Iceland?" That kind of got me excited, although I know it will equal a lot of typing. Without further delay, here it is:


Somewhere between 1999 - 2001
I know the years are kind of vague but I really don't remember exactly when this first part happened. I was involved in a bit of a church plant. I was not directly involved with the inner workings, but more just around for the prayer meetings and volunteering some time helping out, like delivering flyers. The church was on Saturday nights, so I was still attending the vineyard church at that time. One evening we were in a prayer meeting when I felt like I should turn around. Behind me was a large wall map of the world, and instantly my eyes were drawn to Norway...Yes Norway. Iceland comes in later. At that moment I knew that I would go to Norway someday by myself for a short time and that I would just be lead, so I wouldn't plan where to stay or any other preparations. Well every time I heard of Norway after that my ears perked up. I wanted to know about everything, and it seemed like I heard about Norway more than I would have normally. I was attuned to all things Norway.


September - October 2002
I was working in accounting and was ready to move on from my job. A 3 week trip to India and Nepal came up in the church bulletin, and Ang and I decided to go (married 3-4 months at that time). I quit my job, and within a few days there was Maoist(rebel) uprisings in Nepal and the country was basically closed. The trip was cancelled. I was praying in the shower about what to do. Look for a new job? Norway came back to mind. I mentioned it to Ang who always knew this was something I wanted/needed to do. She said "We have the money, the time, and no kids, so I think you should do it." So it was decided. I talked to the travel Agent, who gave me a route through Germany. I was planning a 2 week trip, with 9 of the days being in Norway and 5 somewhere else. I decided against going through Germany after doing my own research, because I have family in Germany, and I figured I'd only go there once in my life, so I would want Ang with me (now I'd have to take both boys too). So I decided to go through Iceland. It was also cheaper, with less time in the air and in airports. I didn't know anything about it so I started reading up and was fascinated by it on many levels. So in Mid-October I flew to Minneapolis, then to Iceland (stop-over), and then on to Norway. I remember flying over Iceland early morning and being totally taken in by the land. It looks like a different planet with all the black volcanic rock covered with bright green moss. I couldn't tell how high up we were because it threw off all my depth perception until we crossed over a few roads. I didn't make any plans in Norway or Iceland, and I didn't know a single person. The only thing I knew was that there was a Vineyard church in Oslo somewhere, but there are vineyard churches all over the world. So I arrived in Norway, took the bus to Oslo and got off in the city centre...now what?? Why am I here?? What do you have up God?? In short, after about an hour wandering around, I was almost in tears. Why God have you forsaken me? I thought to myself. The people were very busy and cold and I had no idea where I should go. I thought God would lead me in very direct ways. I said to others that I went with no expectations except what God had in store, but really I thought I was there to save the whole country single-handedly. I was very discouraged. I stopped by some stranger's house, but not much came of it. I slept in the train station until 2 or 3 in the morning when it closed. Then I spent the next 3-4 hours wandering around the main streets wondering what in the world am I doing here. The next day I got some sleep in the train station again, and then used the internet café to look up the Vineyard church there. It took me all day to find it because it had moved once or twice. Eventually I found it on a Friday evening. There was a small coffee shop being run there for prisoners recently out of jail who want to get on their feet. I walked in and started talking and telling people why I was there. They were all amazed that I would take such a risk and trust God...I still felt quite lame and not so special (I really wanted to meet the King, but never did). They took me in, and took really good care of me. The first night I slept in the church office on a couch. The rest of the time I stayed with one of the Pastors (an American married to a Norwegian) at his house in the country and at the church building with some young guys working with multiple youth groups. The church had an old factory building 4 stories tall...much like our Vineyard in Winnipeg. The 2 young guys had their own rooms in the building, so I stayed with on of them. We had lots of fun, and played lots of soccer. I met one of their friends who actually came to Winnipeg for 6 weeks when Ang was pregnant with Isaac. I went with them to many different youth groups that they were involved with and shared my story as to why I was there. Again, people thought it was neat, but I still felt like I hadn't accomplished anything yet, but it was still fun. The day before I was leaving, one of the guys (Anders is his name) asked me what I would do in Iceland, and I said I had no idea. He said that he had done YWAM (Youth with a Mission) in Hawaii with 2 Icelandic girls, and he would call them to see if they could help. A few minutes later he was on the phone with Alda (our good friend now), telling her my story. Then I spoke to her for a bit and it was all arranged. I arrived in Iceland, and picked up at the airport (45 minutes from the capital city) by Alda. She took me to her place, where I met her husband Unnar. For 5 days, I think we really hit it off. They took such good care of me there, and we had lots of laughs. Unnar is a big F1 racing fan like me so that was nice. Not many of those around Winnipeg. I was also introduced to Bogga, one of Alda's girlfriends. The 2 of them showed me around a lot while Unnar was at work. I felt like we had all become good friends then, in a short time. It was quite a contrast from being in Norway sleeping in a train station on my first night, to staying in someone's home in Iceland. I really liked Iceland and all things Icelandic...except for the fish, cooked sheep heads, sheep testicles, and some orange malt beer drink.


After that trip we all kept in contact. They knew how much I liked it there, and it was always a running half-serious joke that "One day when you move here...." Or "You should just move here already." So I have been talking about Iceland for the last 5 ½ years, and bugging Ang about it too. When I came back I looked up Iceland in the phonebook to see what I could find (I had no idea at that time the strong connection with Iceland and Winnipeg area). I found the "Consulate General of Iceland" in the phonebook and decided to go down (I had no idea what it even was). There I met Gunnvor. She was/is the secretary for the Icelandic Consulate General in Winnipeg. She has become a good family friend. I told her I just went to Iceland and wanted to learn more. She gave me lots of brochures and we talked for a long time. She told me that she actually teaches Icelandic lessons (starting the next week) and that I should come...so I did. I actually took the classes 4 -5 times over the years, and looked into taking Icelandic at the University of Manitoba a few times too, but it never worked out because of scheduling. A few months ago Ang took the course as well.


Our friends Unnar and Alda had wanted me to come back with Ang (and now Isaac too) someday, and finally we decided to do it. In July - August 2005 we went to Iceland for 4 weeks. For the first 2 weeks we were in Reykjavik and stayed with Bogga and her now husband Agust. They let us use a car the whole time we were there, which was a HUGE gift. Without these 2 couples being so generous to me and to us, none of our trips including the one we are going on now would have been possible. They have all been such blessing. We had lots of fun with them, and got to know them pretty well too. I got Agust into playing poker. We also went whale watching, which was neat.

After 2 weeks we drove 8 hours to the East side of the Island where Unnar and Alda had moved, are now living, and where we will be staying. We stayed there for 2 weeks, and the connection with them grew a lot in that time.


October 2006
Unnar, Alda and son David come visit us for a week, and some friends in Minneapolis. I introduced them to Gunnvor and they met the Consulate General as well. We found out that Unnar and Gunnvor are actually something like 3rd cousins twice removed or something like that. All Icelanders are related it seems.

August 2007
Unnar says something to the effect of "So are you ever going to come here or what? I mean seriously." I emailed him back and told him that I wanted to give a real good answer, not just another half-joking pat answer. Ang and I talked it over for a month, then one day I came home and Ang had a big smile on her face. I said "Are you pregnant?" She said "No. I think I'm ready to go to Iceland now" (Sept 12/07). After that we started planning and preparing what we needed to do and get in order to go.

Since then we have been planning, asking questions, filling out paperwork, burning the wrong paperwork and filling out the “right” paperwork, asking more questions, and praying. It has been a fun journey so far but not without it’s stresses. We are very excited about all this, but not unrealistic. We don’t think of Iceland as a sort of “Promised Land” for us, but we just want to serve, and live, and have a bit of an adventure. There are many fun little stories and confirmations along the way too, but I won’t be able to share them all, but a few won’t hurt…and then I’ll will include an update (Today is May 16th….we were supposed to arrive yesterday).
My friend Sherwood who works as the Chief of Staff for the Mayor of Winnipeg had taken to sending mail intended for the mayor of Winnipeg, from Iceland (Sister City to Winnipeg, as well there is a huge Icelandic connection in Manitoba) to me. He would put it back in an envelope from the Mayor’s Office and send it to me. He knew I would enjoy the magazines, cards, and books much more than the mayor. I guess after awhile of this “Official” type mail, he figured I needed an official title too. You can all call me “The Honourable (I think he meant Honorary when he put “Hon.”) Consul Liaison to Iceland. I like it.

I remember being in a prayer meeting for house group leaders from our church a few years ago @ our Pastor Nathan’s place (Hugely important person to me). I remember I couldn’t get Iceland off my mind, so I prayed that God would give me a really clear sign if it was ok to still think and consider going to Iceland or if I should just drop it. Everyone else was praying for people in their house groups and for the city and other unselfish things well I just thought of me. No matter. God answered my prayer. One guy said he had a picture of himself standing on a big glacier and there was a volcano exploding in the background. Then Pastor Nathan said “Fire and Ice” and the guy went on to talk about something completely different. It was like that little piece was just thrown in there for me, and then on to something else. Well if you know anything about Iceland, there is almost nothing more clear when you are praying for “a sign.” It is known as the land of Fire and Ice….or ice and fire J There is also probably no better person to have said it except Nathan. I love that guy and appreciate his consul so much. We had/have talked many times about Iceland. That was a very cool feeling that night.

So we are going. What are we doing there??? Well here is the skinny on our living/job situation: Our friends Unnar and Alda are part of a church in the main city Reykjavik. The church owns a property in the country about 8 hours away (closest town is called Egilsstadir. 10 minutes North. Pop. 2500). On this property are 2 houses and a big guesthouse. There is a family living in 1 of the houses, Alda and Unnar live in the other one, and we will live in the upstairs of their house. It is a separate suite with all of our own amenities. Then there is the guesthouse. It has about 40 beds, a church sanctuary, a large eating area and an industrial type kitchen. For the summer months I will be working at the guesthouse. During the summer it gets a lot of foreign travellers plus there are church conferences, youth groups, etc.. coming through. At the same time I will be training with Unnar to work in advertising/graphic design/TV and maybe some photography for after the summer months. He has his own business in that field. The guesthouse is a stone throw away from the house. I think Ang will put some of the pictures up on the blog for you all to see. There is another Icelandic family moving to the area to be part of the community. They have been studying in Minneapolis (they are the friends Unnar and Alda visited with when they came and saw us) for the past 3 years. We actually met them in Iceland within a few days or weeks of them leaving to go to Minneapolis, and now we are returning within a few days or weeks of each other again. There is also another couple coming in a year to join the church community there. We may be building some houses on the property.

Does it all make sense now?? Good.

THE UPDATE as of May 16th - 12:14
Well we bought some plane tickets back in February thinking wishfully that our applications that arrived at Icelandic immigration in Mid-March would be done by Mid-May (60 days). Immigration says that it takes 90 days to process, but we thought we would take that risk, because we could just “switch” our tickets. Well when our visas didn’t come in time(our time) and I tried to switch our tickets….I got frustrated. It wasn’t that easy, and we won’t make the same mistake again. We aren’t buying tickets now until we have visas in hand, which SHOULD be mid-June. We lost a bit of money on the process, but oh well. You live, you learn. So we’ll probably be in Winnipeg for a few more weeks. We have word from Immigration that they are processing our applications. We found a new snag or 2, but it seems like something that shouldn’t take too much effort to remedy. So we are hopeful, and over our little mistake. There is soooo much more that I could share, but my hands hurt from typing, and your eyes are tired of reading. Thanks for taking the time for this. Life is good, so enjoy.