Exchanges, miracles and haircuts!

Hola Familia y Amigos! (Hello Family and Friends!)

Ok, I know I said that I would have lots of picture this week but we were sooo busy!  I feel like our days are cram packed!  I´ll promise I´ll improve in my photo taking skills!

This week we had ¨Grand intercambios¨entre las misioneras en nuestro distrito (Big exchanges between the missionaries in our district. - The missionaries get to travel to another town and work in a new companionship for a few days.  Not like a transfer which is a permanent move to a new area.)

 

I went to go work in Tolhuaca with Hermana Mendoza.  She came in the mission field the same time as me!  We had probably one of the most spiritual lessons I´ve ever had!  We found, through inspiration, by accident a menos active (less active member).  I know the Lord led us to her because we found her during a time when she needed our support the most.  She was very distraught.  We shared Alma 7:11 with her and bore our testimonies of the Saviour.  She bore her testimony in return and shared a miracle in her life.  She had a very rare and sudden illness in her leg.  She was in the hospital for about a week when the doctors told her that they we´re going to have to amputate it.  She said she was up all night praying and pleading that God would help her find a way to support her family if she didn´t have the ability to walk.  The next morning, the doctor came to take her to the operating room.  When they inspected her leg, it was completly healed! Not a mark to behold that it had been severely infected just the day before!  

 

 

 

 

 

Alma 7:10-12

 

10 And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.

 11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

 12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

I know through Jesus Christ we can receive divine strength and support because He knows exactly how we feel and knows exactly how to help us.  Jesus healed the sick during his mortal ministry. I know that through faith we can see miracles in this day as in the days of old.

 

 

Today I think we´re going to cut our hair...I´m thinking of going short...really short.  Like an afro!  Think I´ll follow through?  I´ll send you the pics!  ;)

 

 

(Mom's note:  Proof that Eden's hair doesn't do afro all that well! This is the face I think we'll all make if she isn't joking about the hair!!! She's about 5 years old in this picture.)

 

 

Check out the new Easter video I mentioned last week.  Click on the link below to watch it and think of the blessings you have in your life #becausehelives

 

Love you all!  

Hermana Jakob

Legal Citizen of Chile!

Hola!

Mis queridos (My dear ones).  Esta semana fue muy ocupada (This week was very busy).  On Wed., we had to travel to Temuco (about 2 hours by bus) to attend a conferencia de Zona (Zone conference) with President Bluth and los asistentes (the assistants).  It was really good!  They talked a lot about faith and how we need to have faith when we contact, teach lessons and pretty much n ieverything we do. Faith is a principle of power.  We act in faith and do the best we can and the Grace of Jesus Christ helps make up for the rest.

I was reading the Liahona (one of the church's monthly magazines) and they have some really good articles in there this month! One that I really like is called "El Poder de la Fe" or "The Power of Faith".  It's a story about a person who was going through a trial.  She prayed every day that God would take her pain away but the dull throb in her head never seemed to waver.  She thought that she wasn't being healed because of a lack of faith.  She continued to study the scriptures and pray to help build her testimony and learned something new.  To remain patient during afflictions. Faith is hope in principios verdadero (true principles) but to have hope that God will take away the trial is not a basic principle.  Heavenly Father understands us, loves us and desires to give us all that is necesary to help us return to His presence.  On ocasion, this includes tests, problems and trials.  If God took away all our trials simply because we ask for it, we would be losing the experiences we need for our salvation.  Heavenly Father loves us and we need to trust in Him.  When we do this, we will receive the support and strength that we need to endure our trials.  

 

(Want to read the article on "The Power of Faith"?  Check out the link:  https://www.lds.org/liahona/2015/04/the-power-of-faith?lang=eng)

We went to the next city over so I can become a legal citizen of Chile!  I felt kinda like a convict! They took my fingerprints and everything! (Part of the process to be able to stay in Chile for 18 months)  After that, Hermana Crandall bought a heating blanket for the winter here.  It gets super cold here at night. 

Thank you for the wonderful Valentines and the packages!  It cheered me up to receive things from Canada and read your words of encouragement!.

OH!  The church is launching a new Easter campaign.  It's called ¨Gracias a Que El Vive.¨ (Because He Lives)  It´s super bonita (beautiful) the video and on April 5 it's supposed to be the only ad on all of Youtube!!!  I encourage you all to help share the knowledge of the amazing gift that Jesus has given us!  

  

(Check out the link for "Because He Lives"  http://www.mormon.org/easter/teaser and sign up for updates.  Series of messages begin starting March 28th! Make sure to check it out!) 

Sorry, I don´t have any pictures this week.  Again, the computer erased all of them...grrrr!  I promise I´ll send double next week.  

Les quiero! (Love you all!)

Hermana Jakob



Picture taken in Nauvoo IL before leaving on my mission.... because a blog just needs pictures!  Until next week!

 

Cambio Neuvo, Companera Neuva (New Transfer, New Companion)

Hola familia y amigos! (Hello Family and Friends!)

So...summer is officially over here. It is so cold during the night and the only thing we have to heat the houses (and most missionary houses are like this) here is a gas space heater and of course you can't sleep with that thing running during the night.  The risk of CO poisoning is too high.  Entonces (then), we´re going to go out and buy sleeping bags to help keep us toasty warm during the night.  I want one with a hood.  Winter here is going to be a cool experience (excuse the pun).  

We had transfers on Tuesday.  Hermana Rimmasch went to Santa Juana and Hermana Crandall came here from San Pedro.  It´s quite the change for her!  San Pedro is a bustling city, kind of like Toronto.  Curacautín is a little country town.  Despite the change, she loves it.

  

A little about my new companion Hermana Crandall.  She´s from Colorado, US but studied at Provo antes la mission (before her mission). Shes the youngest in her family.  She´s a super awesome missionary and I´ve already learned so much from her.  I feel like it is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.  (Did I just quote a movie?)

I´m very grateful to have her for a companion.  In all seriousness, she was an answer to my prayers that I could find a way to amplify my calling as a missionary.  I just hope that I can support her.  I still feel like I a baby out here!  The language is coming along.  I can understand more than I can speak now but we´ve made it our goal to speak Spanish all the time to improve this debilidad (weakness).  

Probably one of the best experiences this week was when we knocked on the door of a house we had never tried before.  A woman, Juana, opened the door and immediatly let us in.  We were a little taken aback because we hadn´t previously known her and people normally don´t let us in until we explain who we are.  We talked with her and her husband for a bit and shared the Restauración (the Restoration) and invited her to pray.  She didn´t have interest but I felt inspired to give her husband a copy of the Book of Mormon.  He´s Mapuche, which is an indiginous people here in Chile.  I explained that the Book of Mormon, like the Bible, is sacred scripture and testifies of Christ and that the people in this book are his ancestors.  They joy on his face when I gave it to him...words can´t describe!  I was instantly filled with the same joy.  

Another great spiritual experience that we had this week was when we were teaching Ramón.  His sister from Argentina is visiting and he invited us over to share a little bit with her.  We watched the Restauración (Restoration) video with them and after, there were tears in her eyes.  She said she had talked with the Mormon missionaries before but never understood why they talked so much about Joseph Smith but that after watching this movie, she now knows.  

As missionaries, we share what we know to be true.  That through a living prophet, Jospeh Smith, the Church that Jesus Christ established was restored.  Because of this, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only one that has priesthood authority to make convenios (covenants) like baptism and marriage con Dios (with God) that will perpetuate beyond the grave. 

Many other churches claim to be the only true way but how can we know for sure which of all is correct?  Like Joseph Smith, we ask you to pray to Heavenly Father, to receive this knowledge.  Don´t trust our words.  Heavenly Father knows what is best for you.  He loves you and wants you to return to Him.  He will guide you to back to him.  All you need to do is ask with an open heart and and be willing to follow the guidance He gives you.

LES AMO MUCHISIMO!! (Love you lots) XOXOXO

Hermana Jakob



Our district before last transfers.

My new companion Sister Crandall with curry that we made.  How awesome! She wants to eat healthy and I'm really happy to do so as well. We're also doing 'Insanity'  during the mornings.

Last Week Before Transfers

This week was the last week before Cambios! (Transfers!)

There are changes going on!  Hermana Rimmach, my mom, (her first training partner is called "mom") is leaving for Santo Juana acerca de (near) San Pedro.  I´m sad to see her go.

 

My new comp is coming from San Pedro.  Her name is Hermana Crendall (sp?) and I must admit, I´m a little nervous.  The first time I met her was at 12:30 de la mañana (in the morning) during Return and Report a few weeks back.  We had to sleep over because San Pedro is 5 hours por (by) bus.  The bus ended up getting there super late because there was construction.  Needless to say, the Hermanas weren´t too thrilled that we were knocking on their door that late at night and Hermana Crendall scared me a little.  I know everything will be fine though :)  You always learn a lot from your companions.  

 

Besides that, things have been kinda slow.  Ramón blessed the sacrament this Sunday!  He´s doing so well! He´s a special convert and loves to read el Libro de Mormon (Book of Mormon) and learn. I don´t think he´ll become inactive any time soon.  

We held an activity with the ward this week and watched" The Testaments."  Everyone was crying at the end.  I get pretty emotional when Jesus heals Helaman´s eyes so he can see him.  I like to think that we, as missionaries, are the hands of the Lord.  We are here to help people heal spiritually, and guide them to the pathway to the Celestial Kingdom.

(Blogger will not directly insert YouTube video link with pretty picture, but if you are interesting watching "The Testaments" video here's the link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r5Zwj9e2os  It's an hour long.)

 

Love you lots!  Sorry it´s short this week!  I´ll give you all updates on the new Cambio next week! 

Hermana Jakob

 

 

 

Family of Maria Christina

All of us with Hermana Udaliah.

This is a photo of one on the members in our ward.  She´s almost deaf and can´t see very well but comes to church none the less because, she´s said ¨there´s nothing more important than the Santa Cena!¨ (sacrament)

Hermana Nelly and her son Roque with a load of sopaipillas!

Hemanos and Hermanas!

 

Cool Dreams, Earthquakes and Volcanoes!

Hola Familia y Amigos (Family and Friends)!

So this week´s been a scorcher!   There´s been solar flares so it´s been super hot here.  As well, this thing called ¨Polche¨ or southern wind has started and it´s so strong that it rips the tin roofing off the houses here.  Apparently it´s a normal thing pero que peligroso! (but how dangerous!) 

  

We had a pretty awesome week.  My testimony that God has prepared people to hear the gospel has been strengthened.  On Monday, Hermana Rimmasch was inspired to knock on the door of this one house.  A man named Robinson opened the door and at first he seemed hesitant but he let us in to talk to him and his wife, Graciela.  We taught them the first lesson and after inviting them to be baptized, Graciela started to talk about her dreams. I thought, "Öh no! They don´t understand.¨ But she started explaining how she believes Joseph Smith saw Jesus and God the Father because she´s seen Jesus in her dream.  Then she talked about how she believes that Heaven is more than one place but three distinct places.  She had a dream that she was climbing a mountain to Heaven and that each level in Heaven was more beautiful than the last but it took more effort the higher she climbed.  Hermana Rimmasch and I looked at each other with open mouths.  We were so excited to hear this!  We bore our testimonies that what she said was true and talked about the three degrees of Glory in Heaven.  We´ll be going back tomorrow to talk to them some more.  

Our new member, Ramón, is doing so well!  He went to Concepción to visit his family and he shared the gospel with them!  We´re so proud!

Our investigator Viviana quite smoking this week!!! She´s been smoking since she was 12 years old. Super excited!  She knew it was a requirement for baptism.  She said one day, she just decided to stop and hasn´t had a desire to continue since then.  I´m so happy for her!

We had a miracle this week.  An investigator named Juan Carlos came to church.  Now some background story. He´s an Evangelist and was a missionary for his church a couple years ago. The last lesson we had with him was pretty...upsetting.  We´ve really been trying to get him to come to church and feel the different spirit that´s there.  He said he had no desire to go and probably wouldn´t anytime soon.  With heads hanging low, we left.  

Then, a week later, encontramos con el en la calle (we ran into him on the street) and he said that he wanted to come to church!  I don´t know what happened but it wasn´t anything short of a miracle!  

To those who heard...yes we had an earthquake here but it wasn´t that big.  In fact, we didn´t feel a thing!  Apparently people felt a tremor during the night.  There is, however, an volcano erupting in Villarica.  I heard that they were starting to evacuate but it´s just a rumour as far as I know.  Don´t worry, it´s not close to our location.  

(Villarica is about 100 km south-southwest of Curacautin.  Earthquakes are a common occurrence in Chile.  They are usually small and most people don't even notice them!)

Well, that´s all I can think of for this week.  Take care!

Les Amo muchísimo! (Love you lots and lots!)

Hermana Jakob

Cool perspective from the bottom of these stairs.

"Knock and it shall be opened unto you"....notice that this door doesn´t have a handle...it´s actually pretty normal around here but the colour of the door reminded me of that picture of the Saviour

.....the picture Hermana Jakob was referring to.....

Perro más feo!(Really ugly dog!)  It has an extra leg! or.. at least it´s tail looks like it!  Poor thing has no other chances in life!

Pizza with Natalia

Nuestro investigador se llama Viviana.  Ella tiene 17 años. (Our investigator's name is Viviana.  She's 17 years old.)