Sister Jakob's Chile Concepcion South Mission Journal: Chilean BBQ and Black Dogs!

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

So I´m sure you´ve heard the news...

Yeah, the north is completely flooded and has been for a while now. Houses and cities have been completely swept away! I pray every day that the people here can be protected. The forest fires here in the south have been really bad. All the forests around Curacautín have gone up in flames. It´s a shame because there are really old trees called Araucaria here that take hundreds of years to mature and they´re all burning. Right now the fires are a little better because we received a little bit of rain. It´s interesting. The climate completely switched around. We´re having a drought in the south and floods in the north! Don´t freak out, but I heard from one of the members here that scientists are predicting a earthquake around Concepción at some point. I´m sure it´s nothing though. It´s hard to predict the intensity of an earthquake before it happens... and there are lots in Chile!

Today (Monday) we had our zone activity! Asado (BBQ) Chilean style! The BBQ is pretty much an oil drum with charcoal inside and a grill on top. We had steak and sausage today but normally Chilenos cook a whole lamb on a spit over the coals. It was really good! While we ate, we watched the "Saratov Approach". It's a movie about the kidnapping of 2 elders in Russia. It was really intense! Mom, Grandma...don´t watch it!

This week was a week of prayer. My testimony in the power of prayer really grew. We prayed that we could find people that would bless la Rama aquí (branch here). Specifically we were thinking of future Sacerdocio (priesthood) holders. Immediately after, we knocked on the door of a super bueno hombre se llama Louis (super good man named Louis). After that, encontramos con 3 otros hombres! (we met with/found 3 other men!) All of them have great potential and a desire to learn more!

Another time, we prayed that God would lead us to someone who needed the help of our Saviour in their lives. We walked down the street and knocked on the door of a future investigator se llama (named) Carla. Her family opened the door with tears in their eyes and told us that their father was dying and they couldn´t travel to Concepción to say good-bye. We offered a prayer for them and shared words of comfort. After this, they said that they knew that we were sent of God to help them and that the last time Mormon missionaries knocked on their door was when their son was gravely ill and they couldn´t find a cure for him. It´s cool to see how the Lord guides our actions day to day to bless his children!

GENERAL CONFERENCE WAS AMAZING!!! Unfotunately, I don´t have much more time to write about my thoughts on the talks that were given but, if you didn´t have the opportunity to watch it, I suggest you put aside some time and watch a talk a day. I know that God truly inspires the leaders of the church with the words we need to hear to cope with our modern-day world.

(Want to watch a session or talk from General April 2015 General Conference? Click here.)

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2015/04?cid=HP_SU_4-5-2015_dPTH_fGC_xLIDyL1-B_&lang=eng

Enjoy this Vine!