Zone photos/Zone activity

The Work and the Glory

My family and my sweet sweet friends!

I am going to keep it short today. In my sector we have been doing great. Beginning to enjoy every single moment of the day. The hard ones, the walking, going by people that are not even there. The Mission as we know it. But the little things are what keep us going right. 

A good story to share with the kids. Two Sundays ago a family came to church. Two adults and their baby child. Our mission leader told us that the husband was not a member and that we ought to pass by. Well we went by four times that week to find them and we could not. We called them, left notes, nothing. Well the whole week had gone by  and we had failed to find them. On Saturday night we planned for them to come again to church trusting in the Lord. We planned an un fixed cita at 8 in the night. This Sunday they also came to church. Well we fixed the cita al tiro. They said anytime, then said come at 8 without us even saying anything. MIRACLE! That night we talked to the man (Arturo) about baptism. He wants to get baptized in two weeks. It is a lot of work for us to do, but he said we could pass everyday if it would help him get ready faster. Well, the only thing better than a reference is one that has been prepared by God. The family had gotten married 9 days ago and the man had given up smoking and drinking for years. The wife wants nothing more that to be sealed to her family for all eternity. I do not know much but I know that the Lord works in mysterious and miraculous ways:) The work will never stop until it is done.

The zone itself that I am in is doing great! Everyone is baptizing. Every week we have at least one. One experience that I have enjoyed, teaching or helping missionaries to remember what thing they can do and which are against the rules. I do not want them to think that I am better than them or that I think bad about them. But sometimes you just have to say it how it is. Put it on the line and let them accept it or not. Learning more everyday I am.

Take it easy guy:) Stay swanky.

Elder Siaosi

Las Colombianas y massage chair!

Just a little update

Everybody,

Another week bites the dust. I do not know what goes by faster, the time or the rain from the sky. I was just talking to Elder Gonzalez, my companion and it is amazing how fast things go by, and yet every minute counts and needs to be important in our lives, every minute. This week was one filled with miracles and trials. We have both been a little sick, and yet leaving to work everyday some miracles happens. For instance, one day we left and started contacting. We talking to a mother who was returning from school with her daughter. We asked them if we could share a message with them someday. She asked ¨puede ser ahora porque necesitamos ayuda de Dios ahora? ¨ How great right! They both accepted fecha. It is the little things everyday that make the weeks seems so fast. Today we had a zone activity in our church building. We had breakfast and played some sports. It is good to see the zone coming together and having fun. Takes a load off the shoulders a little to see the missionaries having a good time. They are all great and doing fine. A few are sick, but the spirit is still high.

 I thought becoming a zone leader would make me feel this different spirit of power, I have now realized that it is just more responsibility, which is a good thing, but it does make one have a little more stress. Bringing it all together that is. But I am glad that the Lord trust in me, I trust in him too.

I want to let everyone know how much I miss them. I try not the think to much about home, but that is like trying to make a chilean stop talking about futbol, it doesnt happen. Have a great week loved ones:)

Elder Siaosi

         Going to the mall to take an english test for my companion. 

The first donuts I have eaten since the states.

Zone activities

New Leaders, New flaite, Zone Conference

A Busy Bee

Hey family!

Doing great in Talcahuano. The joys of feeling lost in a new area always bring back the humble acknowledgment of how badly we need companions in our lives. I am so glad to be with Elder Gonzales, he is a great guy and a wonderful missionary who has a lot of heart. I am loving the new area. I have been a little sick lately, but nothing too big. 

This week, I would like to share some verses from Moroni, Chapter nine. This is a very sad chapter in which Mormon is telling his Son all of the calamities that have fallen on the Nephites. And he is basically saying goodbye to his beloved son. But there are two verses in which Mormon gives some counsel to Moroni to give him encouragement and hope. In the spirit of applying the scriptures to ourselves, I invite you to read these words as if Moroni is writing to us:

“My son, be faithful in Christ; . . .may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever.

And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor diligently; for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God.

If we are feeling down, may Christ lift us up! Remembering his sufferings and death, his mercy and long-suffering and the hope of his glory and of eternal life - this is what can give us the desire, the energy, the strength to labor diligently so that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness. The enemy is real but we belong to the army of the Savior of the world. There is no doubt as to who will be victorious. We will win!

Love, 

Elder Siaosi

Gettin' Moved Again

Dear Family and Friends, and everyone else,

It is that time of the mission again! I am getting moved to Talcahuano Norte with Elder Gonzales as a Zone Leader over Talcahuano. Two more transfers left remain, so Talcahuano just might be my cemetary. Glad to be heading to a new sector. I was granted the opportunty to better my Christlike attributes in Valle Hermoso. Sad to be leaving my son Elder Cano but I know that he will be in good hands. Grateful to be given the opportunity to serve as a Zone Leader. Glad to be able to serve in Talcahuano Norte as well. It has been a good long time in Valle Hermoso. I gained a testmony that the Church is true even inthe darkest  parts of the world. This past week we had some interesting days filled with rain and service. I think I gave more service this week than I have all the mission. We found so many people from just giving service. Even brought someone to church with date because they listened to us and wanted to know why we are so willing to give! Overall great week! We just need to be more willing to give service and have charity!

Best of wishes and love to everyone on the other side!

Elder Siaosi

It has been a while hasn´t it since I wrote something home, it get hard to think about what to write home and not having the time makes it even more of a struggle. This week were had a few experiences to share. First of all, the week of on and on rain combined with the blistering winds makes for a pleasure of a walk outside. My companion asked me if it is always like this here in Chile, I told him no. Sometimes instead of on and off rains, it just never stops raining. :) 

We have been having a hard time finding people here in Penco, it is one of the oldest cities here in Chile and in such the people have already listened to the missionaries and didn´t want anything or they belong to another domination. So what we did in the Zone, is we sent all the missionaries to one sector for three hours and blasted them to find more people. Each day we got into 5 more houses. Five new households to teach is pretty good in each sector.

Sometimes I feel like we fall into the attitude of ´we gave it our best` and so there is no more to give. It is a very dangerous attitude, It leads to mediocrity. to failure, and to depression. These things destroy the spirit and the heart. How can we lose ourselves in the work, in our callings, in the scriptures, in football games, in the classroom. I think the main reason is that we need to understand why we are doing what we are doing and what we want to gain. In the game, we need to remember that our coaches know us better that we do and that we have not given our all until we have won. There is always more work to be done, why quit if we have already gone so far I think to myself. Let us forget about what we cannot do and start thing about the reason to be going forward. It is not about how hard you can hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward!

Lose yourself!

Love you all, got to go!

Elder Siaosi

Jake pasted this link onto his letter to me this week...man I love that boy! What he learned from his Momma and Coach Rocky Butler ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-sUKoKQlEC4

Futbol y Carne Asado

and one with the Sister Missionaries

They say a picture sends a thousand words, so I figured I sent a few ten thousand!

Conferencia de Zona

Tita Cut

Noche de Luz

un horno de barro

Copa America