HAPPY DIECIOCHO, FIESTAS PATRIAS, OR CHILEAN INDEPENDANCE DAY!

September 18 is Chilean Independence Day, and the festivities began early in the week.

First, dinner at Lindquist’s with their beautiful Chilean tablecloth featuring the Chilean National Flower- the Copihue or Chilean Bellflower.

On Tuesday our Self Reliance office friends invited us next door to their office for empanadas de Pino and Berliners that were filled with dulce de leche and cream.

Two BYU students arrived this week and will be doing a three-month internship for their Spanish minors in the Self Reliance Office. Megan Eddington is from Ohio and Juli Jarvis is from Oregon. They came to our apartment for dinner this week.

On Friday Ricardo Castillo (one of our communication directors) invited us to his home for almuerzo to taste his wife’s homemade empanadas, which are a big part of Independence Day celebrations. She had been up since 6:00am and made over 90 empanadas de Pino. They were filled with a ground beef mixture with onions, raisins, a hard-boiled egg, and olives. They were delicious.

As we walked this week, we enjoyed seeing families celebrating in the streets. Many activities were geared toward children.

On Saturday the Ramirez family invited us to their home for almuerzo to celebrate Diechiocho or Fiestas Patrias. Our feast included homemade empanadas de Pino with pebre (a tomato, onion, cilantro, and garlic mixture), asados (barbequed beef and pork), and Choripan ( grilled sausage served in freshly baked marraqueta bread, served with avocados and onions. And of course, Mote con huesillos to drink (peach nectar mixed with cooked wheat and a dried peach)

SPIRITUAL FEASTS

On Saturday morning the sister missionaries in the four Santiago missions were invited to a spiritual feast. Sister Camille Johnson, the new General Relief Society President, and Sister Susan Porter, the new General Primary President spoke. Sister Johnson’s message centered around the thought, “You are loved.” Sister Porter focused on “You are needed.” Elder Costa, a counselor in the area presidency accompanied them on this tour of Argentina and Chile. They also joined us in our sacrament meeting on Sunday. We were strengthened by their presence and words of counsel.