Week 75: Birthday, Brazil, Blueberries

If I had to sum up the week in 3 words, it would be the subject line. 

1) We celebrated my comp's birthday this last week! We worked hard but celebrated a little bit in the evening after we went home. We bought some dinner and Hermana Rocha made a Brazilian dessert called brigadeiro which was absolutely delicious! I am learning a thing or two about Brazil and I think the food is the best part!

 

Feliz Cumpleanos to Hermana Rocha!

2) Speaking of Brazil, we found the cutest lady this week. We started teaching her...well my companion anyway. She only has been here in Chile for 4 months and she doesn't speak very much Spanish. But my comp speaks both! So I listen and nod my head and think back to the start of my mission when I was in a similar situation--haha. But it's really cool, I may not be able to speak Portuguese, but I understand a lot of what she says! It has actually been a really cool experience. And her husband is Chilean, so that helps. They are so great! 

3) Blueberries!!! Chile is very well known for their fruit! It is the best fruit and fruit season is just getting started! Yesterday after church, some of the members started gifting us blueberries. Now we have a lot and I am so excited. It was also the first time for my companion to try blueberries! They don't have them where she is from!! 

Also, we had our zone conference this week...in CURICO! Where I first started my mission. It was bittersweet. It was an amazing conference, as usual, with the focus being on the Book of Mormon. President and Hermana Harris seriously are the best The group of us finishing our missions this transfer is fairly large so it was sweet to spend the time with them as well and hear the final testimonies of all of us. The spirit was strong and it was a very sweet experience. And to finish where I started, in the same capilla/chapel, that brought back so many memories. I have learned so much on my mission and I am so grateful for it all. 

Something I have learned this week:

Pride is manifested in many different ways But the most interesting way that I have recognized recently is that sometimes we doubt our ability to do what we need to do, to be who we need to be. We think we are not capable of doing or achieving what we want or need. We doubt ourselves and our talents, our abilities. When we allow ourselves to think like that, to think we aren't good enough, we are being prideful and we are lacking faith in or doubting the love of God. We lack the humility necessary to recognize that, yes, sometimes we fall short of our goals, or we mess up, but if we give all that we can, He will make up the rest. We never fall short with His help, with divine grace. He is the difference. 

I love Ether 12:27. Weak things can become strong. And I love the definition of grace. Grace is divine help or strength that we receive through the bounteous mercy and love of Christ. Grace is an enabling power. It is the strength, the hope, the courage that we lack. We are in a process, we are learning, we are being perfected. We just need to be patient and humble. We all have equal access to grace, and we all need it. 

Love you all!! Have a great week!

Con amor, 

Hermana Eibert

Week 74: Turtlenecks and Tights

Hey everyone!

Talca is weird. One day we have a freak storm and lots of rain and it's freezing. And the next day it is very hot. My companion, being from Brazil, is used to 50 C (which is like 120 F?) and so she is still very cold sometimes. I am usually dying and I am already starting to have the wicked cool missionary tan lines, but she still wears her tights every day with jackets and turtlenecks. We look very different walking in the street, ha. 

 

Hermana Eibert and Hermana Rocha in Talca--18 November 2018

We have had some pretty big and beautiful miracles recently. My favorite is Josefa. She is the sweetest person I have met on my mission. She met with missionaries about 3 years ago in a nearby sector but due to having to move, she stopped attending church and couldn't get baptized. Recently she and her husband got a house and property and have settled down and she reached out to us. She has been coming to church all this month and she is so very prepared. She is golden completely and her baptismal date is December 1st. She radiates light and happiness and it has been so sweet watching her testimony grow. She kept in contact with the sister missionary that found her 3 years ago as well and it is just the coolest thing. We are so excited for her. 

 

Hermana Rocha, Josefa, Hermana Eibert

Today we played the makeshift missionary version of the game Headbands and then my comp and I went out to lunch to celebrate her birthday!! I have been blessed to spend many birthdays with companions. 

I had completely forgotten that Thanksgiving is a thing and that it happens this week. I was reminded today by other missionaries--haha. So in honor of  Día de Acción de Gracias...

Thought of the Week:

Alma 34:38... ¨Live in thanksgiving daily¨. We should be grateful and give thanks every day. There is so much to be grateful for and the more we express our gratitude, the happier we will be. 

I am so grateful for my family, for the gospel, for my mission, for the miracles and tender mercies that happen every day! 

Have a great week! I love you all and give thanks for you all too!

Con amor, 

Hermana Eibert

1) Josefa

2) Hermana Rocha

3) One of the weird storms of the week

4) Scenery around Talca

Week 73: Hot, Hot, Hot

Another crazy week! 

This week we were on the run everyday, with so much to do! We had our interviews with President Harris on Thursday and I was a little sad when I was reminded it was my last normal interview. President and Hermana Harris have been angels and I am so grateful for them. 

The heat is getting even stronger now but the weather has been crazy. It rained but it was a warm summer rain and then it was freezing after. Oh, Chile. 

Our mission this week had the wonderful opportunity and blessing to have a special conference with Elder Gong! It was amazing. And how cool it was so be all together as a mission again. A rare and special moment. Elder Gong took the time to greet and talk to each and every one of us. I got a good laugh out of the conversation. I told him I am from Olympia and he started talking about how beautiful it is there and when they visited they went up to the Olympia national park/rain forest and they absolutely loved it. They were so cute. His wife is the sweetest as well and also took the time to greet and hug us all (the sisters--haha).

The conference was absolutely perfect. Hermana Gong is an RM, and come to find out, she had a talk prepared for us but was guided in a completely different direction. She talked about some of the greatest truths she learned while on her mission and how each and everyone of us is a child of a loving God who knows each one of us personally, by name, and perfectly. And how important it is for us to recognize this worth in others. When we see others the way God sees them, we will always love them, no matter their flaws and imperfections. Elder Gong taught us a lot, but I think what marked me the most were three things: 1) when unexpected changes come, this is an opportunity and sometimes the greatest miracles come from these unplanned changes/deviations from the plans. 2) we need to work hard, but smart. and we cannot be too hard on ourselves. We have to give our best and know that our best is all that is expected of us. 3) the relationships we have, with family, friends, companions, etc. should be/are eternal. We need to take care of them

Apart from this great blessing....

We had lots of service opportunities this week and lots of happy moments. We are so excited as well for the upcoming Light the World 2018. Everyone is getting a little excited for the Christmas season (since thanksgiving isn't a thing here). 

Anyway, 

So many miracles this week. So much going on. I love Chile, I love these people, I love Talca, I love the mission, and I love you all. I am so grateful for everything I have learned and I am learning. 

Have a great week!!

Con amor, 

Hermana Eibert

no photos, sorry mom  

A Visit from an Apostle: Elder Gerrit W. Gong

Dear parents of missionaries from Chile Rancagua,

This past weekend we were visited by Elder Gerrit W. Gong. He took a moment to great each missionary. Here are a couple of pictures we were able to capture.

We love these missionaries so much! Thank you for your sacrifice.

Hermana Black

Misión Chile Rancagua

Oficina: (72) 223-2750

Celular: (9) 58112340

Week 72: Around the World in 7 Days

Hey everyone!

This week I learned that I really don't understand Portugues (but I can read it), Creole, Italian, or Chinese or sometimes even Chilean. This week was crazy. We have found so many new people to teach this last week and we realized that they have all been from different countries around the work. We taught a family from Ecuador, from Colombia, from Venezuela, from Italy...we have talked to Haitians and Cubans and all. It has been so fun! And my companion was studying Mandarin Chinese before the mission. She started writing on the window in Chinese to practice one morning. I just love that no matter where you are from or what you speak, the eternal truths are still true and still apply. And how cool it is to get to know other cultures as well. 

The first week of this cambio/transfer flew by. We hit the ground running and have been working hard and have seen the fruits of our labor. We are so excited as well for the visit of Elder Gong this Saturday as well. We will be meeting as a mission again which will be the best! 

Halloween is fairly popular here in Chile and it was fun this week to still be working and see the look on the people's faces when they found us outside their doors and not cute kids dressed up as princesses or Spiderman. But some of them still gave us candy--hahaha.

So many good things. 

My thought:

My scripture for this cambio: 

Romans 8:28

¨And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.¨   

With a side mention of DC 90:24.

Have a great week! Love you all!

Con amor, 

Hermana Eibert

#thenewcomp