Here in Olmue the earthquake lasted for about 3 minutes. We were pretty far from the center of it all so it wasn't that strong and according to the Chileans, the movement of the earth was side to side, which causes a lot less damage. The destruction comes when the earth moves up and down. I was in the chapel when it happened, in a meeting with all the leaders. In the beginning, we all thought it was a temblor (which just means tiny earthquake), they happen all the time here and last for about 3 seconds. HAHAHAHA oh my goodness the moment I wrote that there was a temblor! It's sooooo normal here, but there have been a lot more temblores since the earthquake. The people say it'll be that way for the next 6 months, if you're lucky you'll get to feel one when you come to visit :) But any who, it started shaking and we all thought it would stop in a few seconds…but when it didn't stop, and the leaders started to get scared and nervous, Hna. Lopez and I also began to get pretty worried! We all stood in the door frames of the church and waited for it to pass. Hna. Lopez got really scared and started to cry. I'm not going to lie, it was a pretty long 3 minutes! There was only one death in Olmue because of the earthquake, and no real damage. The death came in the aftermath. The light got cut in a couple sectors because of the earthquake and a lot of people used candles at night. The lady fell asleep with the candle lit and during the night the candle fell and burned down the house because of one of the replicas (little earthquakes that follow) However, I heard Coquimbo was hit really hard because of the ocean. It'll be interesting to see the difference when we go back. What I love is how the Chileans all group together during these natural disasters. El 18 de Septiembre this year was a neat experience because of how much the Chileans love their country and work together to overcome these trials.
Love you lots!
XOXO-Hna. McKenna
Fun Facts:
When we were in a lesson there was a temblor after Hna. Lopez shared the 1st Vision and I was testifying that Joseph Smith was a prophet!!! Hahaha ya, I guess you could say the earth shook because of the truthfulness of our message!
The Chileans always make juice from fresh fruits. When we were eating lunch in the house of a less actives the husband, who's not a member and a little out of it, offered us "grape juice" called chicha. We had no idea what it was, and he assured us it wasn't wine. I took one gulp of that stuff and it burned all the way down my throat and into my stomach!!!!! But to confirm my suspicions that I had just drank liquor, after lunch we went to visit the Bishop to see how we could help the ward, and out of nowhere he mentions something about chicha and how it's a homemade liquor. Well, if someone offers you chichi, I'm here to inform you folks that it is the Chilean version of moonshine!!!!!! Hna. Lopez and I started panicking and talked with all our leaders. We were informed that we didn't break the Word of Wisdom and that we weren’t going to be sent home, ha but that everything is a-ok! Ha but it does make for a pretty funny story!
We have a FHE with a less active family of little kids and made a treasure hunt map for them. I wanted to get really crafty and burn the edges and ended up burning the whole map!!! oops!
Photo Comments:
Hna. Cecilia celebrating her Cumpleaños with her daughters!
The activity of 18 de Septiembre!!!!
-familia Rios, they're going to move down by Concepción and they said the doors are always open when we want to come and visit! They're awesome and the wife is a great cook! She's an ex-mamita for the missionaries :)
-The Bishop and Hno. Severino with the real Chilean get up!
Hna. Monica (presidenta of the relief society) and her son Leonardo. He served in Concepción
The amazing view from Rebeca´s house!
Putting to good use the hand puppets Timette sent! This little girl LOVES them!
No comments:
Post a Comment