Week 27: Feliz Navidad (They sing it here too!)

Feliz Navidad to all!! Love you all so much and hope that you all enjoyed Christmas and family and remember why we truly celebrate!!

Christmas Eve in Rengo with Hermana Sainsbury

This last week has been one of the coolest weeks of my mission. We started off at a low, lots of weird things happening and we were really frustrated with our appointments and different things and it's crazy how one small thing can change the way you look at things completely. We have seen miracle after miracle this week. So beyond blessed. 

The Chilean Christmas is awesome. They usually don't have ¨cena¨or dinner, but Christmas Eve at about 10 pm they have a huge traditional dinner. We had ours a bit early with some sweet members and it was a potato/meat fest and absolutely delicious! Hot chocolate with cinnamon...I'm still not sure how they make it because it is so very different from ours, but still so good! But they have their dinner at about 10 pm and then at midnight all the children open their gifts. It is so fun! 

We got together also with our zone, a bunch of other missionaries, on Christmas Day yesterday and we had french toast, a talent show (hilarious!!) and a white elephant gift exchange. It was great and we learned to never trust the elders with a funny white elephant gift exchange. 

Hermanas Eibert and Sainsbury on Christmas Day 2017 in Rancagua, Chile

AND THE BELOVED SKYPE CALL. Bless my sweet family and my best friend. It was so good to see their faces. I'll try and include a picture from my end...since you all have probably seen my face-haha. There was a miracle there too, since we had a computer and skype all set up and it didn't work. I could hear them and see them but they couldn't see me. We ended up rushing across town to a sister of a member, who in fact is not a member, but was willing to open her home and her personal tech stuff to allow us to talk to our families. She was so sweet and I have never been so grateful. This Christmas season has been a special one. 

My companion is literally the best. We had a blast together and I am so grateful to have spent Christmas with her. We had our cute little makeshift fabric tree and our light up Santa (thanks Gale!!). Only true friends gift each other peanut butter for Christmas (which is nearly impossible to find here). We have spent our p-days relaxing, playing and eating ice-cream. What else can you do with the blistering heat? So grateful for her and everything she has taught me! 

Thought of the week: 

Tender mercies guys. They are so real and we have them everyday. 

Remember the girl that I met and we are teaching/meeting with that I felt like I had met before and there was something familiar about her? She is absolutely amazing! And it has been such a blessing to see the changes she is making in her life! She came to church with us on Sunday and was just so happy! Christmas miracles-haha!! We are also teaching the sweetest family and this last week the daughter, Ignacia, told us how she found us. She has had a lot of heartbreak and hard things in her life and she's only 18 and she had been praying for help, praying for something. She had been walking in the street and felt like something told her just to stop. She stopped and said she didn't know why she was just standing there, that she had needed to get back to her house but was waiting for something. Little did she know we were racing down a side street nearby, I was leading and about to take a sharp turn on my bike. Hermana Sainsbury just about crashed into me because she saw this girl off in the corner of her eye. Next thing we knew, we were tumbling over ourselves to get to her and talk to her. The Lord really is in all the details. We have been now meeting with her and her mom and her little siblings and they are incredible. The 4 year old daughter always get excited when she sees us coming down the dirt road and calls us ¨las amigas de Dio¨. The friends of God...Moments like this I feel the responsibility I have on my shoulder and I know I need to give it all I have. That was another miracle...the dirt road. We have talked to everyone and know all the roads and such, but this one dirt road that leads to a house in the middle of nowhere that nobody knew existed, this is where this sweet family lives. We would have never found it on our own. 

The Lord is in all the details. 

I LOVE YOU ALL. Have an amazing week. 

Con amor, 

Hermana Eibert

Visiting with Hermana Ramirez in Rancagua for Christmas Zone Activity
 

 

Week 26: I'll Be Home for Christmas (Next Year)

Christmas time...is almost here.... (sing that)

What a week! So much has happened this week and I have no time--haha, but highlights of the week: my comp ate 6 empanadas. We were meant to be the best of friends. She is awesome--haha. I love the Christmas season. People are so much happier and friendly and kind and caring and loving and everything during this time of year. Something about the holidays brings out the best in people. I love it. I don't love the heat, it feels so wrong for December--haha, but it'll be okay. I'm excited for Christmas!! #lighttheworld #iluminaelmundo

Thought for the week: a quote that I loved from the most recent general conference

 ¨God calls to you. God knows your every thought, your sorrows, and your greatest hopes. God knows the many times you have sought Him. The many times you have felt limitless joy. The many times you have wept in loneliness. The many times you have felt hopeless, confused, or angry. Yet, no matter your history--if you have faltered, felt broken, bitter, betrayed, or beaten--know that you are not alone. God still calls to you.

--Uchtdorf

Love you all. So sorry, I literally have a dozen people I have been meaning to send letters to, there really just isn't time. I love you all. Have a wonderful Christmas. 

Con mucho amor, 

Hermana Eibert

 

(and no pics cause the internet sucks and nothing will load #help)

Week 25: Would Someone Get This Walking Carpet Out of My Way?

What a week!!

 

It is so stinkin' hot. My dad told me it was somewhere in the 90's this last week, since I don't know how to calcuate 35 degrees C. Whoops. But it's on the uphill climb and I'm frying, but it's incredible the strength we receive. The mornings usually start out cooler and cloudy and the afternoon is like a furnace--haha. Still rocking the wicked cool tan lines. 

The funnies of the week: Since my companion is a gringa too and has less time in the mission, we are learning together. But we still have some pretty funny moments. Like when we were talking to a young girl who was standing behind her fence with her dog in her arms. Hermana Sainsbury asked her what her name was and the girl responded saying that her puppy was named Princesa, or Princess in English. Hermana Sainsbury then proceeded to introduce herself to Princess and ask Princesa how her day was and what she was up to. I leaned in a whispered, in English, that the little girl had been talking about the dog. We ended up laughing and walking away awkwardly. But it was so funny. 

It is also funny when my companion tells everyone that she absoultely loves cerveza (beer).....but she really means cerezas (cherries). It's fun. 

But seriously, my companion is the best! If you can't tell from the pics, we have hit it off pretty well and we have seen so many miracles together too. I love it here in Rengo. 

This morning we took off with our zone, 12 missionaries total, and disappeared off into the middle of nowhere for some bushwacking. I'm covered in sweat, cuts, bruises, scrapes and all, and there were spiders (YIKES), but it was fun and super pretty. We hiked along a river and took lots of pictures. The mountains here and the hills remind me of the movies and they are so green and lush and prettty. The smaller ones also make me think some times that there should be a Y up there....missing Utah just a little bit--haha. 

I am also a very happy and very patient missionary. Star Wars comes out this week....not that my sister hasn't been counting it down for the last year...but I have taken to quoting the movies all this past week. It's great, and my comp loves it too, so we really do get along just swell. It's now a challenge to see how many we can do. My favorite was when there was a bunch of scruffy looking (jajaja) dogs and I yelled ¨would someone get this walking carpet out of my way!¨ But seriously. Enjoy and no spoilers--haha!!

My thought for the week: 

 We should find joy in the little things. We should do everything with intention. We should choose to be happy. And we should helps others "along the way¨. I have discovered that helping others find true joy bring true happiness. And its perfect for the season! What are you guys doing to #lighttheworld?

"But to what end were we created? We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy. Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness."--President Uchtdorf

 

Lots of love!!! Have a great week!! 

Con amor, 

Hermana Eibert

 

Week 24: Ready to Tango in Rengo

Hermana Eibert and Hermana Sainsbury in Rengo, Chile

 

So my last companion had a phobia of chickens (same level of fear I have for spiders)....and she would definitely struggle here in Rengo, where I am now. It is a lot more ¨campo¨ or fields and space. There are lots of horses and wagons and chickens and orchards, vineyards and mountains. It is absoultely gorgeous here. The people are a lot more humble and so amazing. So much love here. 

This week has been absolutely killer. Hermana Sainsbury, my new companion, is absolutely amazing! And I was worried about language, being she has 3 months in the field...but we haven't had any problems communicating, talking, teaching, everything! It has been great and we have seen miracles upon miracles! 

Rengo is completely different, but I love you. I traded our cute little apartment in Curico for a cute little Chilean house! The ONLY downside is that I discovered Chile has tarantulas. Please pray for me. 

This week we were teaching this young girl named Emily. I was incredibly shocked that she seemed so familiar, like we know each other. I don't know why or how, and we definitley haven't met here in Chile before, but she is incredibly familiar. She is amazing and I am so happy to be working with her and teaching and helping her. My testimony in that there are people waiting for us, and that there is a reason for every mission call, every transfer, every sector and companion has grown immensely. I am incredibly grateful and beyond excited to be here and to be a missionary helping people everyday. I love Chile, the people, and the gospel. 

My thought this week:

Maybe someone can help me out with the quote, the poor missionary I am without much internet access, haha. There was a recent quote from general conference that I loved that talked about how God usually answers our prayers, guides, protects, and helps us through other people. I love this. I know people have been put in my path, in my life for this very reason. So many answers to prayers come through those around us. And how grand it is to look for opporunities to help with this. We should be looking everyday for ways to love and to serve and to help. We can be His hands. His hands were hands that healed, that loved, that helped, that lifted others up. I want my hands to be like His. And as long as I am alive, I want to do what I can to help those around me. We have the ability to be His hands. We can be the answer to a pray, a cry for help. How much love our Father in Heaven has for us. 

Speaking of being His hands. A lot of you have probably heard of Light the World. Ilumina el Mundo!! It is so beautfiul and I challenge each and everyone of you to do it! In this Christmas season, it is the perfect way to keep Christ in Christmas and to share the love and light. Watch the Light the World video at this link: 

https://www.mormon.org/

I am doing the challenge! I hope you will too. 

 Lots of love! Hope you all have an amazing week!!

Con amor, 

Hermana Eibert

 

PS. My cute comp, Hermana Sainsbury and I (in our twinning same dresses but different colors haha).

And our cute chilean house (not so cute when there's big ugly spiderrrrrs.)