You cannot Graft Good Branches onto a Corrupt Tree

After a while, you just cannot figure how to start your letter off. So I will just say, God is good, the work is great, and Longaví is crazy.

This week was just a sweet, well worked week. I feel like Longaví has been struggling a little, there are many new converts, and we reactivate menos activos all the time, but the attendance never goes up! But we have a plan to change all of that of course!

 Elder Mackliet is such a good worker and knows the gospel through and through. He is just a missionary machine, always knows how and what to do! So I finally decided to buy myself a new part for my bike, and consistantly it keeps breaking on the same part, with the brand new piece, when we are way far out in the boondocks. So after the third time, my companion just tells me this phrase, Elder, your bike keeps breaking because ¨You cannot Graft Good Branches onto a Corrupt Tree,¨ and bro, your bike has been corrupted. His is such a champ right haha!

Oh! Good story, last night, we had a noche de hogar at 7:30, and it endedat 8:45, it was great, we shared The Testament with a less active family and a random nieghbor came in mid video, sat on the couch and even got interested in our message. After as we were leaving, we realized the walk back was going to be a little miserable since there are no street lights, we both forgot our flashlights, it was supppper foggy (by the way it is foggy every single night here because it is so humid and cold, and then the people add on to the fog with all the smoke burning from the stufas. But to our luck! As we started to leave, for Longaví a cab comes by and ask us if we are heading into town, being the end of the month, we don´t have any money right, well he says its on the house and we hopped in faster that a hot pepper! We talk to him and he tells us that he has been searching for God in his life, and his family as well, then he asks us to come by and we say Tuesday we will give you the best lesson of your life, we get his address, number celular, and by then we are in town, drops us off and drives off. So sweet huh!

Well this week, we have been continuing to work way far out to find new people, and this past thursday we decided to spend all of our day out in Miraflores, the morning, lunch, and the afternoon, which adds up to be 11 hours. We knew that we did not have any money nor food in the house to bring so we just headed out with the hope that someone would help us out with lunch. Well after finding a bunch of cool familes out there we finally hit 1:30, the ideal lunch time. At the first house we get to we say, Alo, an oldish lady comes out of the house, and  I just ask ¨Señora, we are missionaries of the church of Jesus Christ, we are from Longaví and we do not have a place to eat lunch¨ and the very moment after I said that she said pass in and I will see what I have. Well she made us a humble lunch, we talked, ate, and asked her why she decided to help us. She said she has children in Mexico whom she is worried about, they are far from home, and also do not have a home to go and eat. She prays everyday that they are alright, and says that she hopes that if they were to ask someone for lunch, they too would bring her young boys in. She told us one cannot pray for mercy if they too are not willing to be merciful, and as such she will always help those who ask. Funny part, after we shared a scripture and asked to return she said that she does not want to hear our message, but if we are ever in need, we know where she lives! How strange but awesome as well right haha! There are so many things to learn, and traits to attain. Another story that comes to mind is how a return missionary once told us that his mother would always buy those janky things people try to sell in the streets, buses, or in the plaza, because everyone has a family they are working for, and the fact alone that they are working, and not stealing, and doing nothing, is enough reason to help out our fellow brothers and sisters. Be that helping hand right?! The people here are so loving, and caring, more than any other around. I know that Longaví is a little Zion in my heart, humillity in the Lord is all around.

Be of good cheer, for the Lord is always with us. I am glad for the time I have here in the mission, and know that I will not have another opportunity to be where I am today. Help our nieghbors, to find out if they need help we need only just ask. Be the better man. Don´t regret your time that you used on the things you wanted to do rather than what you should have done. Be like Jesus, aim for perfection, and joy will flood your souls!

With much love from Chile,

Elder Siaosi

The day we rode our bikes to Miraflores for the whole day, and decided that it would be best if we just ate lunch their with someone that we did not know (hoping someone would help us out). Someone did actually, love the people here! And thus we just sat at a bus stop bench doing our studies till we hit the road again to work!