Serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Concepcion, Chile from November 2013---October 2015

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Feliz Navidad y Año Nuevo!

Hey Hey, second week here in Chile and loving it. Enjoy the life in Quillon (the really hot ¨Valle de Sol¨) So I have been seeing some pretty funny stories. First two people in my mission that some people might recognize. Is Elder Paulson and also an Elder Clawson. Elder Paulson is the brother of a Chase (Chico) Paulson who was on the BYU lacrosse team, and Elder Clawson lived in Laguna, and was good friends with the Berthas and many more persons! It is a small world huh!

So Christmas here was strange, mainly because it was hot and not too many people had decorations up, but it was great nonetheless. The Latinos celebrate Navidad on Noche Buena, which is just Christmas Eve, but they have the big dinner and open presents on Christmas Eve and on Christmas day everybody sleeps in and takes the day to rest. Also was able to Skype the family on Christmas day so that was a real pleasure! Later on Christmas day, the whole zone met together and had a devotional and just spent the day having a swell time with each other. Well when the day was finished, all the buses that would have taken us back to Quillan were not on work because of the Holiday and so we got to stay with our Zone Leaders, in their mansion I swear haha! The whole day was great, and though it didn`t not feel like a normal Christmas, I still loved it greatly. From what my companions here tell me, is that the new year is even more of an experience than Christmas. Everyone is giving and sharing and fiesta-ing to celebrate the new year. The new day!

The week was normal, nothing to crazy, no baptisms, noting out of the ordninary. But I did realize, in a lesson with a recently converted member. Is that everyday is a miracle. It is a miracle that the sun comes up every morning, it is a miracle that we have the knowledge of the doctrine, and it is a miracle that I am able to understand Spanish! I am so very grateful for everything, thank you all for you love for me. My companion everyday tells me that our exito (success) is almost on the same line as our obedience to the rules and laws wich we have been given as a missionary. A funny thing my companion says all the time is that God does not give us rules so that we have to follow or be punished, God is a loving father. He gives us rules so that he may bless us when we love him enough to follow his commanments!

I love you all at home and wish the best for everyone! Hope you had a merry Chistmas, and I hope you all have a Happy New Year! Enjoy the lives you have, for you never know how long you have!

Con Amor,
Elder Siaosi!



Monday, December 23, 2013

VIVA IN CHILE

Buenos Dias, everybody. Por Fin made it to CHILE, and the first thing I ought to say, it is soooooo Hot here haha! Unlike the Estados Unidos, it is Summer here in Chile and I got send to the mission zone of Chillian, in the Quillion District and it is no where near the coast. But on the bright side, I am in good grazing land I there is tons and tons of fruit, some fruit I have never seen before! My trainer only speaks Spaniosh so you already know that strugglwe, but at least I shall learn Spanish fast. His name is Elder Miranda and he is de Peru. Also in our casa we have,  which is just like a small dorm, there is Elder Mills, from Utah, and his companion is Elder Rojas, whom is from Argentine, and he only speaks spanish as well. We are able to ride bikes here, and I am sio glad I brought a backpack as well, we just carry those around with us all day. Also, unlike the United States, people here love, and I mean love to talk to other people, once you start talking to and old person they go on for days!! The people are very nice, and with almost every visit they give us some kind of drink, sometimes I have no clue what they are, but usuallly they give is soda, with some kind of fruit to eat, and then we talk about almost everything. I always get asked questions like how old am I, they think I am like 30 or something. But just imagine the fastest rapper ever, so youy fast have trouble understanding what he is saying, but then having him rap in spanish, that is how the people here talk haha! but all is well.

Thank you so much for the package Mother, I am so happy to have presents to open this Christmas, even though it feels like the dead of summer, oh wait it is! Also love the Christmas decorations, it is odd seeing al the decorations up, it being super hot and all. Oh which reminds me, the sun comes up here at like 5, and doesnt get dark until like 11!, we are out contacting untill 11 sometimes, it is crazy! Also everyting here is a rush, we correr everywhere, mas rapido all the time cada dia! At this rate the time in the mission will be over sooner than I know it. I am so grateful to be here, the vistas are so beautiful, I can see the andes mountinas with snow on them and there is green everywhere. Most of the houses are not build too well, but they are all mostly well kempt and look well. I am grateful that the people here are so nice and warm it would be a much harder time if everyone was bitter, but here everyone also is chiste (joking around) and they laugh a lot! Going to miss being with the family and friends this Christmas, but I am happy to be somewhere where the people are loving and giving all uear round!

Nothing too special happened this week, just a lots of meetings and contactos, and making sure recent converts and menos activos feel needed and are nourished! Church was interesting! The singing, sweet mercy it is so bad haha! But the talks were great, we had the niños have their navidad presentations, and class was alright, I understood little of it ahha! Hopefully by the end of a month being here (mission President said usually it takes us gringos 3 months) I will understand what the people are saying. One funny example. Usually when you first contact someones house (everyone has gates so you say ¨Alo¨at the gate)  and they open their door you say Hola Como Esta, stuff like that and then you ask them if you can meet them, aka shake their hands by saying Podemes Saludarle, well this one time I said Puede Ayudarme, and this means Can you help me? For the rest of the day my trianer could not stop laughing. Other than that, I have been meeting members, ward and stake leaders. Oh there is one ward here in Quillion made up of 60 active members. And Contactos para dias!

Nada mucho except I miss all y'all. Hope you are all well and remember that no matter what we recieve this Christmas, we can all wake up this Christmas and be grateful for the gift of the Atonement! I am going to miss you but I would have it no other way than to spend this Christmas serving the people in whom I am have called to. Till next semana, Adios. Cuidense!

Con Amor, 
Elder Siaosi

Pictures of the Laguna, my companero, and the Chile serving missionaries from the  CCM

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Jacob has arrived in Concepcion, Chile!

we received this brief but informative email:

Looks like I made it!

Elder Siaosi

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Feliz cumpleaños!

Happy Birthday Mother! Had time to spare so thought I would send you some pictures! Love you and wish you well!


Con Amor,
Elder Siaosi








Thursday, December 12, 2013

Last Week in the CCM

Hey Yáll, only three more days until i head out for Chile! I am so stoked to head in to the field but I have my worries. But doesn´t everyone, going to a strange place with strange people in a strange land. One of the best parts about my district is that most of he people I love are going to the same Mission. 

Thank you so much for the package! it was the best thing that happened here yet! Almost as fun as when one of the hermana´s in my district accidentally swung a tennis racket into my head and cut right above my eye. The doctor said i would need stitches but i did not want janky stitches here in mexico so the just bandaged it up and now it is as good as new! All healed up and everything!

So the most glorious even that happen this last week, due to the needs of refurbishing the dorms they moved all the Elders into ¨casa´s¨and they only have ice cold water for showers, which is no bueno! I also have two more roommates, who are both fast spanish speakers from the US. They are so annoying at night they never go to bed!  However the interesting thing about having met these two new missionaries are that I have found out about the underground tie trades, and those are quite intesting. I have been trading a tie I found under my casa bed all the way into a sweet red tie that I can wear for Christmas in Chile!

Speaking of Christmas we were able to watch the Christmas Devotional, and it was sooooo gran! we need to remember that Christmas is not about present, or even about giving gifts to others. It is all a remembrance of the greatest gift the human race has ever received, that of the gift to return to Heavenly Father and live joyfully all our lives after we die. Are these things not ¨Good tidings of great joy?¨ How will we spend our Christmas? Thinking about what kinds of items we may receive this year, or what how great it will be after we finally have the rush of the holiday season. Or shall we give service to those others around us. I will miss the times of Christmas Eve with the Wardles, or the overwhelming burst of happiness from the babies after they open every present. I would love those moments when we would open a present, and love it so much that we would not want to open anything else. Why can´t we feel like that every Christmas morning, just from remembering the greatest gift of all. As the scriptures define Christ, why can we not be filled after having received the Prince of Peace. for peace comes to all those who desire of it. How sweet the sound is, such amazing grace and love. Why can we not always feel full from the Spirit of thanksgiving and desire for Christ.

This past SUNDAY may have been one of the most spiritual expereices yet. I gave a full 10 minute talk (i guess we were not supposed to speak more than 5 minutes) but it was all in Spanish and I only needed a few notes! The closing speaker of that day was one of the Preisdency of our ward and he talked about one of his step fathers passing, and after having servied for the church for more than 45 years spoke his last words, which were these ¨enjoy the faith, for it shall carry you far.¨ To makes things better President Holland spoke on never losing faith, his literal words were, for all those who have served full time missions and fall away from the church, Ï hope I would find you in a dark alley!¨ He spoke with power, that after having served a mission there is not a day he doesn´t look back and graciously thanked God for the change in his heart he recieved to the Lord. To end the night we watched the Restoration and it was just as good as the rest of the day, a few quotes I jotted down that I would love to share follow:

  • From Joseph to his Father-¨you have watched us all our lives, now let us watch you¨as he lay sick in bed dying¨. Thank you Dad for love you have given me throughout all the times. Some days have been rough, and some have been blessed, but through all the days you have always loved me. 

  • Emma Smith-¨Have you ever thought God asks to much of us?                               Joseph-         ¨I do not allow myself¨

  • Joseph- The Lord brings us down to build us up.¨
In my district many people have been through thick and thin. Brothers and fathers have left the church and tear at the family, Fathers have passed away, disease has broken families, and death humbles all. But what we all have in common is a knowledge that our purpose is jsut and what we have to pass along is of love and Christ. Compassion is a strong bond, that creates relationships that hold forever. And these empathetic cords can only be formed through trials themselves. Experiences that have changed all our lives in differing ways, are what keep our grip so strong onto the iron rod. How can we not have Hope for our work, and for the future. One of my new favorite quotes come from the wonderful prophet, Gordon B Hinkley: No greater joy comes from being the answer to someone else´s prayer.¨ I am so grateful to do the work and cannot wait to enter the field through all its thorns and thistles!

Love you alls!


Elder Siaosi









Friday, December 6, 2013

Es la temporada de navidad

Querido mi familia y amigos!

Que es la mejor época del año no es así, un tiempo de regocijo y recordar a Cristo! As soon as we hit December the whole CCM has been moving in Noche Buenos, also known as Pointsettas! And they are absolutely everywhere! It reminds me of home at Poinsetta Park! Christmas music is everywhere, and ever hymn we ever sing is a Christmas song (except for called to serve, which we sing daily). It is so great! I have the date that I am flying to Chile! It is Monday the 16 of December and I fly out at 7:25 in the noche. the times seems to go by fast but day to day is still taking forever, maybe it is the interesting foods for meals or the daily struggle to learn Spanish that makes the days all blend into one giant day!  Oh another fun fact, I am actually not serving the full two years. Everyone that is going to a BYU school is returning on october 20 (or at least that is the day it says we are to be released) so that we can return in time for school registration. 

Over the past week I have been able to be privileged to hear many great talks for the general authorities. Starting on Thanksgiving day we were privileged to hear from Russel M Nelson. He spoke of growing up to be men through the wisdom of the Lord. The first step to growing up is you have realize that you must decrease yourself to increase others. Pride is the childish of all traits in oneself. Many times of pride are bad, like in oneself, and in your past choices. But not all pride is bad, pride in your family name, and towards your ancestors is a good type of pride, family moving all the way back to having pride in your God. Once you begin to decrease yourself and stop trying to teach the gospel from the knowledge you know and let God administer what is needed to be taught through you.

Which leads into another talk given by our CCM President, President Carl Pratt. He spoke on the gift of the Holy Ghost. Everyone has the ability to feel the spirit of the Lord, and we have the ability to invite the spirit for others. And once anyone receives the Holy Ghost they accept the admonition to continuously invite and re invite the spirit into our lives.

And on this last Tuesday, due to the giant snow storm in Provo, gotta love that Utah weather. So we had an old broadcast from President Bednar and he spoke of becoming a Preach My Gospel missionary. In other words we must change ourselves to be the example of Jesus Christ that we want to teach others about. Bednar also taught us that we must treasure the doctrine we teach and have because how can we ourselves come unto Christ is we do not have our own knowledge of how precious his words are. Once we have converted ourselves, through the gran teacher, the Holy Ghost missionaries will be able to teach all things. Again Elder Bednar also told us we had to decrease ourselves to increase ourselves. As Elder Bednar concluded his talk he told us this ¨You can do this,¨the Savior has done more, and he knows that we are able to do all things. All of the Apostles pray for not only the missionaries but all the members daily. Every part of the growth and sustainability of the church is through the members and missionaries.

I listened to a great talk one day while on my free time. It is a talk by Jefferey R. Holland called Broken Things to Mend. it speaks of all the hardships and though who are poor in spirit, to have more expereinces with Christ and to not be afraid of what is to come, but to have a Hope for what we know will be our day of great Joy where all of our hardships will be made light. Much thanks to a quote from Sister Bertha, 

“When life is hard, remember - we are not the first to ask, 'Is there no other way?” 
― Jeffrey R. Holland

The times here are great and the learning is wonderful. I know it will not be as simple out in the field but I´m grateful for the gracious walls of the CCM, it is a sweet escape from the outside world. It is amazing how gracious the people of Mexico are and the whole latin culture in general. Everyone loves everyone. The work is joyious. One thing I am trying to memorize before the field is the Christmas story of the sheppards, or as I like to call it Linus´s story.

Lucus 2:8-14

 8 Y había pastores en la misma región, que velaban y guardaban las vigilias de la noche sobre sus rebaños.

 9 Y he aquí, se les presentó un ángel del Señor, y la gloria del Señor los rodeó de resplandor; y tuvieron gran temor.

 10 Pero el ángel les dijo: No temáis, porque he aquí os doy nuevas de gran gozo, que serán para todo el pueblo:

 11 que os ha nacido hoy, en la ciudad de David, un aSalvador, que es CRISTO el Señor.

 12 Y esto os servirá de aseñal: Hallaréis al niño envuelto en pañales, acostado en un pesebre.

 13 Y repentinamente apareció con el ángel una multitud de las huestes celestiales, que alababan a Dios y decían:

  14 ¡Gloria a Dios en las alturas, y en la tierra apaz, buena voluntad para con los hombres!


I love everyone and miss everyone! In closing I would like to talk about something I came to realize when I was reading about the miracle of Peter walking out to Jesus on the water. Peter having had faith in the Lord at Jesus’ invitation, Peter “walked on the water, to go to Jesus.” (Matt. 14:29.) Yet his faith failed due to the hard and great winds of the sea, and the Lord reached to rescue the Peter. ¨One sees a powerful spirit with seeds of perfect faith taking its first weak steps. Before criticizing Peter for his incomplete faith, perhaps we should take a few steps on water¨(DR. RICHARD LLOYD ANDERSON) We just have to have enough faith to make it in this life, so that Jesus can catch us and bring us to safety. I can´t wait to return home and tell of all the great stories I shall make!

Elder Siaosi



So the following pictures are of: one of our district leaders (who is on the lds.org  website as a model) he is on the right row, 4 downme in front of the muscle man, and and me in front of a manger.








Thursday, November 28, 2013

Week 3

Hey Yáll! halfway done at the CCM. There is a hermana here The time seems to fly by, yet I seem like I´ve been here forever. Today I was able to go to the temple again on Thanksgiving and again it was only in Spanish. But what better day to go to the temple on THANKSGIVING! I´m so grateful for being able to have Prep Day on Thanksgiving as well. Though I am not having Thanksgiving at home, which I greatly miss, especially Mom´s cooking, I am grateful for being able to be from a country that has religious freedom and having a day so that we can remember how great our lives are, thanks to the hardships of others. 

Sister Bertha, thank you so much for those missionary books, they come in handy so many times, and are such good reads. And also thanks for the letter, it´s so great to get letters in the mail, not to sound  prideful but it sure does feel good to get mail in the district mailbox! Especially since the Elders in my district have gotten almost 3 times as many letters as the Hermanas! One funny event, my companions received three big packages from his brother and sister and they were loaded with rootbeers and krispy kreme, i don´t know how he got the krispy kreme, but the perk of being his companion is he shares the treasures with me :)!  Also thank you for all the love sent my way, it means a lot to me. Sometimes the days here feel long and repetitive but it is a pleasure to learn new things everyday. One thing I learned from TRC (which is basically the missionaries practicing teaching members lessons from the gospel) is that the Spanish we are learning is like talking to little kids, we speak so SLOW and the Mexicans speak like lightning, and from what I hear the Chileans make the Mexicans look like snails on how fast they speak, the field should be a joy.

Our Devotional on Sunday was such a good one! It was a recording of President Holland´s talk to the missionaries at the CMM. He spoke straight and with fire in his voice to the crowd. A few things he talked about:

¨Do not go back to what you were¨ 

President Holland expressed the thing that frustrated him the most in the Church, and it is when returned missionaries fall away from the church. He expressed that missionaries should not go on a mission unless they having a burning desire to teach others what great news you yourself know to be true. And he went on the say that if you have received such a witness then it is your duty as a witness to never forget what you know. It reminded me of one of my favorite quotes: 

“You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know.”

President Holland also discussed that if you plan to change your investigators lives, you have to change yourselves, and I guess this can relate to almost all things in life. You have to live the life you want to teach others. You can not expect others to change if you will not put in the effort to receive that same change. Which furthers tom, you have to live the life you want to teach. You can not teach someone about following the law of tithing, if you yourself are not honest in your actions with your fellow men, or so on. From which, I am really going to strive to change my own life. To be a better loving person, and to take things seriously and with more diligence than before (I assume my mom has been waiting her whole life for this).

One thing that will greatly affect my lives,and i have to say almost everyone that knows me, will be if I have more Hope in all things.


Hope is often considered something as might or might not happen. That hope is unsure. BUT hope is a knowledge of things that are! Hope is something that you have when you believe! Hope that the sun will rise, hope that gospel is true, and hope that the Savior will come! Hope is a firm knowledge, and faith is having hope.

My times, running low to be on my emails but I just want everyone to know how grateful I am for everything. How grateful I am for the USA and for my family. How grateful i am for the Lord Jesus. Through small and simple things, all can come to past, and through small and simple things we have made it this far. Its because of family, friends, the scriptures, the spirit, the love of others, and the desire to endure all.

In the words of Mater ¨I don´t have to know where i am going, i just have to know where I have been.¨


Elder Siaosi



Here are some more fun fotos for the personas in America!


























Here´s a fun fact for all those back at home, this is doctrine from my doctrine teacher, but I have always wondered why God´s plan wound be to have Adam sin and take the fruit. And then in the scriptures it describes Adam and Eve being as little children, having not known good from evil. And little children, thought they may make the wrong choices are free from sin. Thus our teacher explained that Satan had confused them and persuaded eve to take of the fruit. And a reason that Adam and Eve could not have kids without eating of the fruit is because that did not have feelings for each other, mainly because they did not know what feelings were, having never eaten of the fruit, and so it was all in God´s plan that they must eat of the fruit and leave the garden to follow all of God´s commandments.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Week 2

¡Que Bueno! Everything is great here at the CCM. One thing that I find funny, the time seems to fly by, but at the same time everyday takes forever to go by! I am quite sad I missed Justin´s farewell but I know that I would much rather be there for his homecoming! Only 102 weeks left right! I think that it such a bittersweet circumstance that so many of our close friends are serving missions all around the same time. 

Life here is quite a routine, we wake up around 6-630, which is sleeping in an hour that home life, so that is a blessing (Best wishes to Jason). Then breakfast is at 7:15, which is followed up by personal study, and language study. Then Lunch comes around and after we usually either teach mock investigators, reenact certain situations, ie knocking doors or meeting people on the streets. Then we finish with more language study and a class on the fundamentals of the doctrine, which is just class on religion. Mixed in between the day are various addition study times and breaks. Oh and not to forget the best part of the day, besides dinner, is Gym time at 3:30! that basically sums up a normal day. On Tuesdays we have devotionals around 8 and on Thursdays we have PDAY! 

Something funny about this last week, I believe it was on Monday we have a stress management class, mainly people are stressing about not understanding Spanish, but the best part was in was entirely in Spanish! And speaking of stressing, my companion is totally not speaking any Spanish!  I find it funny, though i shouldn´t that he butchers trying to pronounce certain words!  Oh and he got me SICK! I´m better now but I had the worst cough ever! Speaking of cough, he has about 200 cough drops and they smell the worst! He eats them LIKE CANDY!!!!!!!!

I´m so glad little JAAAASON did well in High Rollers, it´s quite an experience. Tell Jason that he needs to step up his game so that can go to BYU his freshman year while I am there! I miss the babies, especially playing games with Curtis and watching Corinne freak out at Curtis. Send me some pictures back so that I see the family and friends! So on the 20th of November, Mexico celebrated their Independence day from some country, I forget but at night, the sky was lit up with fireworks (which sounded a lot more like bombs, we all know about Mexican Fireworks) and that was a good time. 

This Tuesday´s devotional, the member of the 70 for Mexico, Hermano Alverez (i think that´s his name) spoke on Hastening the work of the Lord. He described the truth as flooding all of the Earth, and each missionary is to make sure every crack is filled! Just like Dad said, talk to everyone, the one person you don´t talk to, will be the crack that doesn´t get filled. Almost everyone you are going to meet is going to be a stranger, yet we have the abilities to change their lives. Prepare to meet God today, and your life will be limitless.

I miss everyone so much, life here is very regular, which isn't a bad thing but I miss the outside world (AMERICA), and great food(that Katsu Chicken mom makes), or playing with the babies. Stay strong and pray for me, I sure am praying for home. Amo Ustedes! 


Elder Siaosi


I hope to send more later today, we can only take pictures on Prep Day. But here are a few ones I thought you would enjoy. Especially the pasta and Mexican! The others are a bunch of mary Dolls I wanted to buy, and the other is my favorite Elder in my District!




My companion is the guy wearing the aviators, the picture describes him well. The other with the iron cast is the man who first created the school which became the CCM.  The others are some phun fotos!





Thursday, November 14, 2013

Week 1

November 14, 2013

Querido amigos y familia,
It´s been a full week here at the CCM (MTC in espanol) and it´s been quite intense.The days seem long here, but they are all good days. Thursdays are my Prep Days. The weather here has ranged from 46 degrees mid day to 85. They only speak Spanish here in the CCM and it´s extremely difficult, but i know like 100 times as much as before i left. I can actually keep a good conversation going, but teaching is a whole another thing. I´ll begin with my companions, as my official companion is Elder Albert Steven Bence who is from LA, then the other mates in my district (of whole are all going to Chile Concepcion) are Elder Bertolio, Elder Stockford, Elder Taylor and Elder Judkins. There are also 6 hermanas in my district of whom three are going to Concepcion as well. 

As the first day here began, we had back to back meetings, again mainly is spanish, and to make things even better our Spanish teach barely speaks english. As funny as it sounds, I´m grateful for taking spanish in high school because at the very least i at least know how to pronounce words in spanish. Also having taken three years I surprised at how well i know the grammar for the spanish language, considering i still have troubles with english grammar. Well basically day one was just learning what to do and not do do here at the CCM. But day two! We had to teach a an investigator in spanish, and can I say we didn't even have our first spanish class till day 4, but to sum up me and my companions efforts we spent most of the time looking things up in our spanish to english dictionary. The good news though we found out after he spoke perfect english and was just a teacher. Phew! I thought we were going to make him not want to know more about the church!

 As the week went by I would find my understanding of not only Spanish but the gospel become stronger. On the first Sunday, which was a blast, we had a fireside after. The speaker was the Manager of the CCM and during his talk he spoke of his mission and how hard the Spanish was to learn and how odd the food was! Furthermore he spoke of the difficulties and struggles during his mission, which he later followed up by telling us he served in the Chile Concepcion mission, OH JOY! But as he spoke he discussed something that he believed all missionaries, and anybody else for that matter should live by. That being the theme "Remember Lot's wife," or never look back and what you are missing, but look forward to what is in store. Especially when what´s ahead is a path of righteousness and honor. I especially thought this was special because I am constantly thinking about all the things that I am missing serving the Lord and it really hit hard that what I left behind was the past and I needed to put all my efforts in the future, wither it being serving a mission, school work, or raising a family. Once you realize that you have left the distractions of the past, you can have one eye to God and you will begin to teach others better than your own knowledge. Such great stuff.

Well I can say after Sunday much of what we do here is the same (there is only really one purpose of being here anyways) and that is "Inviting others to come unto Christ by helping them understand the restored gospel." In so mainly what we do is one, learn spanish and two, learn about the gospel, which I'm realizing i may not finish learning well after my mission! On an upside, I was able to not only receive but to give a blessing to help out our missionary duties. One of the hermanas had asked me to give her a blessing and it was quite an experience. One I hope to feel many more times in my mission! Later that night I started to first understood why it is important to love your companion, and that even though they may get on your nerves, there a relationship that is much stronger than any pet peeves.

On Tuesday there was a missionary fireside broadcaster from the provo MTC (I saw Alec Sipple like three times on the screen) and in that fireside I wrote down two spiritual notes that I would like to share. The first being, in anything you do, have the pride in your lives to be able to speak to others and to look in their eyes with a knowledge of the spirit and the gospel. Second, that God will meet you halfway in all you do, but that doesn't mean He will do it for you, you have to work for what you want! 

To conclude with the series of events, I was able to go through the temple in Mexico city and it was so beautiful, almost as gorgeous as the San Diego temple! 

On a more temporal note, thanks to my Mother, I have the strongest desire to have a clean room, and to make sure everything is kempt and clean: I have actually gone off on my roommate about leaving socks on the floor. I feel like a mini you, and also, thought the food here is alright, I'm missing on all the home cooked meals and not mexican food forever! I thought I liked mexican food, but then i realized if I had any food everyday it might start to seem plain. I can say that I have been eating some interesting things down here like pigs soup and other fruits i didn't know existed. Also I have never been so exited to do my laundry before everything here gets so dirty so fast. 

I miss home very much but I am glad to be out serving in Mexico soon to be Chile. It is an experience here that I would not be able to have anywhere else and I know that it will just grow the longer I'm out. I find myself taking things more seriously, which i assume most will be grateful for, and I am beginning to have a greater love in my life for my family, friends, and the Lord. Thank you for all of your support and love, till next week.

Buenos Noches, y gracias por todo, con amor,
Elder Siaosi




A picture, of what it looks like outside of the CCM, my district, the gorgeous temple, and the preflight to Mexico. I'll have much more next time, but we can only use our camera's on Prep Days!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Looks like we made it!

November 6, 4:05pm 

Hey! Just arrived to the mtc in mexico and it is absolutely gorgeous! One thing about Mexico city is that it is the second largest city in the world and in so there is a lot of ghetto and the people look like they are struggling. But once we passed in the mtc here it is absolutely amazing! There were many people on my flight to Mexico from Arizona, and I sat next to missionaries. There are guys from LA and Hunnington! There is even a guy here named Elder Joe who is in the same mission as me! Crazy huh. Well so far I`ve gotten my name badge and place to live but other than that I am still going to get it all. In such i must go now since I still have much to do before the days over. Love you all and I miss you already! Oh on a side note, my Spanish is actually better than >I thought it would be so that's a plus! For now, Adios! Hablar luego!


Elder Siaosi

Goodbye Elder Siaosi!












Tuesday, November 5, 2013

What a Fortune!



      It was a good fortune to get a few months before the mission!

The mission call!


Hey everyone! It's the day before I leave and I'm prep'ing my blog before I leave so everyone can see the life I have in service of the Lord in Chile! As Josh Collin's once told me "what's fun, unless everyone can see." I hope to have a swell time and make y'all proud! As of now I'm going to be located in the MTC in Mexico city with the address which should be to the left of this post!  You can send letters/packages there if you want, or you can email me at jacob.siaosi@myldsmail.net . I believe I will only be able to email once a week so the replies may be slow! But most appreciated will I be for the messages!

There is also a website which I'm fairly new to called DearElder.com. Just a one-time registration, then enter the name of the mission and then the missionary and type away. DE prints them and sends them to the Church pouch system every Monday, so Sunday night is the deadline each week. Seems easy enough!

Also a word to anyone reading this, has most likely affected my life for the greater, and I thank yo so much for all you've done. Been a friend and mentor to me, keeping me comforted, and just being there for me in times of need. Thank you for just loving me for who I am and making me into the man I am today! I miss you all so much and hope to converse with you sometime in the future. Love you all and can't wait to serve! See y'all in two!