Week 49: Whoohooo

Hermana Little and Hermana Eibert in Guadalupe, San Fernando, Chile--27 May 2018

Hey everyone!

Recap of the week: 

This week was interesting. It was a bit slow since I was sick, but things picked up a bit in the end. Basically, there is only one way for us to go right now, UP! We have tried our best to remain positive, and I think that makes all the difference. Positivity is definitely a choice and it is so much better to be happy. 

We also had a very cool Book of Mormon activity this week where we had all the big banners again and were talking and sharing with people in a flea/farmers market. We talk to about 72 people (just me and my comp) in about 90 minutes. We got rejected a LOT, but the few wonderful contacts made it all worth it! There really are good people out there. I got shushed and told to be quiet and my companion got crossed, a dog peed on one of the banners, and a whole slew of strange and offensive things, but there were tender mercies and miracles, and like I said, worth it. They always outweigh the negative things.

We fried french fries this week too, so that was cool.

It is raining today (another tender mercy, how I have missed the rain!) which means that winter is just about to set in here in Chile (por fin!!).

This week is going to be crazy, so maybe I'll have fun stuff to share next week. 

Thought of the week: 

¨A quality life is one that positively influences others and makes the world around it a better place in which to live. A quality life is one that is constantly growing, expanding its horizons and enlarging its borders. A quality life is one that is filled with love and loyalty, patience and perseverance, kindness and compassion. A quality life is one that is based on eternal potential and not confined to this life only. A quality life is a life well-lived.¨ --Elder M. Russell Ballard

I love, love, love this! A quality life is a well-lived life! How true is that? And we are all in the process of learning how to do that. But we really do have an eternal potential we can't fully understand. And we deserve to be happy. We are here to have joy. Why should we not? A quality life depends on us, our desires and our choices. 

Love you all!

Con amor, 

Hermana Eibert

ps. "I'm a peacock, I look real pretty, but I do not fly." (quote of the week)

Week 48: That is Alarming

New Companionship--Hermana Olivia Little and Hermana Ashley Eibert in San Fernando, Chile

So our sector is pretty big and when we have to visit the sector of the elders a lot too...we get lost a lot, all of this last week actually. It was a big adventure. I am so grateful one of the elders here has been here 6 months and knows the sector well. But my new companion, Hermana Little, and I are learning together and it's fun! We have seen many miracles just from exploring and talking to everyone. Hermana Little is awesome! She is from Saratoga Springs, Utah/Chicago and I am so excited to work with her this cambio! 

Fun fact: our sector got a new phone this week and we had alarm problems one morning. The alarm didn't go off and my groggy brain decided to throw out the comment that is was quite....alarming. I am punny, even at 7 in the morning. My companion and I have been throwing puns around all week now and it is safe to say that it will be a great cambio.  

This week we went to our consejo de liderazgo, or our meeting to work with the leaders of the mission, and it was another sweet experience. I love how the spirit works and how we all have so many different ideas, but when we finally hear the answer, we all reach an agreement. I have learned so much from this opportunity.

We also had another open chapel in Chimbarongo. This was a sweet experience. Usually people just pass through and we can give them a tour of the chapel and talk a bit and they leave...but one sweet lady came in and we started the tour with just her. We listened to a short audio about Christ and she started crying. The spirit was so strong and she started to share her story. She had been with her sister when the elders invited them to take the tour. Her sister didn't want to and she is from Santiago and doesn't know Chimbarongo. Even with these two things working against her she decided to stay behind. She shared that her son had passed away about 2 years ago as well and she was looking for peace. We were all crying together in the end, and her story and her faith touched my heart in a way I wasn't expecting. I pray she can find the peace and the light she is looking for. I am excited for her!

This week has been crazy! It flew by and I feel like this cambio is going to fly by too. 

Thought of the week: 

Our actions should reflect our words and our words our actions. I love that Christ was the perfect example of this. We should love everyone. We should serve. (Mosiah 2:17) Loving as Christ loved...that would change the world. I think I have said this before, but my testimony has grown so much and I know that we have the capacity to be instruments in the hands of God to be answers to other peoples prayers, and God, through other people, answers our prayers. Love is the key. We find joy in loving and serving others. 

Have a great week everyone. Remember to be happy, to be joyful, it's a choice. Love others and love yourself.

Con amor, 

Hermana Eibert

1. Hermana Little and I

2. Horses in a river with some cowboys, San Vicente

Week 47: I Feel Old

13 May 2018--Mother's Day Call from San Fernando, Chile

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO ALL THE WONDERFUL MOMS OUT THERE, ESPECIALLY MINE!!!

I love you all and I am so thankful for all the wonderful women that have loved and guided me throughout my life!! I hope you all had the day you deserve. 

Also: I am so grateful for my mother. The guiding hand and love of a mother makes all the difference in this life. A mother has such a strong influence on her child. I love the story of the stripling warriors and how their righteous mothers taught them the gospel and to walk in righteousness and they said  ¨we do not doubt our mothers knew it.¨ I do not doubt that my mother knows it. 

And the skpye call with my family yesterday, the much anticipated, long awaited, counted down call....I am so grateful for the family I have, and even though they are crazy, they are mine. And I am so grateful for technology and the internet worked just fine! 

You know you are old in the mission when people start to tell you that you're getting ready to die...and you have your last skype call. Today marks 11 months in the mission. I haven't figured out where the time is going, but it has been the experience of a lifetime and I am trying to cherish every minute that is flying by. 

 

Our District--Hermanas Eibert, Hermana Dumes, Elder Pead, Elder Bartol, Hermana Garcia, and Hermana Lyons

This week has been crazy, as you can imagine. We started it off with our last district reunion/celebration (and this district right now is the literally the best). I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to serve with these wonderful people in the vineyard of the Lord. They have taught me so much and have helped me grow in ways I didn't think were possible. I am especially grateful for my sweet companion, who I will be saying goodbye to tomorrow. She is heading to Cachapoal in Rancagua and is going to kill it as the new Hermana Leader Trainer. I will be welcoming my new companion, Hermana Little, tomorrow, so I will have to let you all know how that goes next week! I am excited for this cambio and I know the Lord has a lot in store for us!

We also had the crazy opportunity to get on the radio here in San Fernando. We introduced ourselves (which was really funny, the radio guy forgot we are Mormons and not 7th day adventists). After we clarified who we are and our purpose, we got to announce some activities the church has coming up here in Guadalupe and our English classes we have started to teach. It was exciting and we made friends with the radio guy and his family! Cool experience and a fun way to share the light!

 

11 May 2018

We had intercambios this week too with the Hermanas in Chimbarongo and I had the opportunity to lead my area. It was fun and I am a little less nervous for my companion leaving me now. I still have a lot to learn, but things will be okay! I still learn so much everytime we have the opportunity to work with the other hermanas. They teach me more than I could ever teach them. Hermana Barrera this time came to Guadalupe to join me and we witnessed many miracles together. One of which I want to share. We decided to visit a contact from a couple weeks ago to see if she had some time. We found her and her family, who immediately welcomed us into their home, no questions asked. We shared with them a bit and it was easy to see the man's heart was very hard. He was very hard on us and drilling us with questions. We testified very simply and explained our purpose and we shared a bit about the atonement of Christ and the perfect love of God. It was amazing to see the spirit working with him. His heart softened completely. He went from drilling us and trying to knock us down, to asking earnest questions. He committed to reading the BoM and he wants to pray. It was a beautiful experience. 

All in all, this week has been crazy. But I have seen the Lord's hands in every detail. 

I love you all. Have a great week!! 

Con amor,

Hermana Eibert

Also, we had another chapel open house this week. We had the opportunity to go and help the small branch of Peor es Nada, a small pueblo close to San Fernando. Just so you all know...Peor es Nada means "nothing is worse." But the people were great and it was fun! 

Not sure if it's a gargoyle or a dragon--Hermana Eibert and Hermana Dumes in Guadalupe

Week 46: Psyche! Winter isn't Coming

Last week was just mother nature getting my hopes up. This week was hot, though it should be basically winter time here in Chile. But that's okay. I will patiently wait for the rain. 

I bought a hat because it was COLD!

This week was crazy. We had our interviews/capacitación with Presient Harris this week and we also had to teach a class, my companion and I. We talked about how important it is to hablar con todos con amor. To talk to everyone with love. We had so much fun preparing the class and teaching in the 2 zones. It was quite a learning experience for me and I love that we work as a team in the vineyard of the Lord. 

Among other crazy things this week: I colored my companion's hair for her, we ate HUGE completos (the famous chilean hotdog covered in guacamole, tomato and mayo--I didn't believe it at first, but they are actually pretty good), the power went out in our house. There is never a dull moment in the life of a missionary. 

My thought of the week: 

I have been studying a lot in the book of Alma. Just so you all know, it is by far my favorite book in the BoM. Something that has really struck me is how differently people can react under affliction. The pattern in Alma, with all the war, is to see the people pass through times of peace and times of conflict. An example I have always loved, that kind of works, is the difference between an egg and a potato. In a pot of boiling water, the fiery furnace, we can place the egg and the potato. The egg will harden and the potato will soften. The same happens to people, to us. When we pass through trials, heartaches, tragedy, loss, addiction, stress, etc., we have to choose how we react. We always have our agency. 

We were sharing this point with a family here in Guadalupe and my heart melted when they got a bit emotional and the father humbly said that they had chosen/and are choosing to be the potatoes. The testimony and faith of this family touched my heart.  I know that no matter how hard the trial, we are not alone. We are clay in the Maker's hands. And only when we pass through the refiner's fire will we be perfected. We have a potential, a divine potential, that we don't fully understand. We must trust in Him and move forward.

I love you all. Have a great week!!

Con amor, 

Hermana Eibert

1. completos