THE RICCARDI LETTER

Sept. 21, 2016

This is is a REALLY Cool letter! I read it a couple of days ago and it's given me so much motivation for the work! It's a long read but totally worth it.

THE RICCARDI LETTER:

drive.google.com/file/d/0B22_4gaeybhbS3I2Yi16dHhKeWJkbWpBUlBBTzF4TEZJNm1B/view

CHILE IS...QUITE A WILD RIDE... BUT THE LORD TRUSTS US HIS SERVANTS

September 21, 2016

Wow,

So Chile is... quite a wild ride! I kinda don't know where to begin, but I think I'll start with the language. If you think you know Spanish pretty well and are looking for some humility, just visit Chile. The people here are basically speaking the Thick Scottish accent of the Spanish world. It's so crazy because they have TONS of slang and they speak like they're on a shock clock or something. One of the things they do also is drop S´s at the end of words. I haven't heard "mas o menos" in, like, 5 days. It's just "ma-o meno" and some people don't pronounce S´s at all! They also have this "Po" thing that's like a filler word for them. It means absolutely nothing but some say it every other sentence. "¡Ya po!" "Yo se po!" "ayudame po" Nevertheless, I'm improving a lot and like what one of the Elders in my house says, "It gets easier every day". My comp, Elder Sims, also says my Spanish is really really good for a greenie so that's nice. It just sucks still to not always know what's going on.

Our house is a bit dirty and sketchy but not too bad. It has no heating but lots of blankets so we dont have many problems, especially since summer is really starting now. 

Saturday, we got this reference for this old guy named Alfonso. We went by to talk to him and he was very nice and quite interested. All of the sudden though, a guy came up to my comp and started talking to him. My comp then told me I had to talk to Alfonso solo! It was a super-scary task because older men are the hardest to understand because they often have no teeth and have a wicked accent. So I just conversed with Alfonso for a bit and then started introducing him to the Gospel. Eventually, I taught him the Plan of Salvation completely and he was loving it. I was using a pamphlet and he was asking me if he could borrow it to read before I was even done. So I finished up with Alfonso and committed him to read, pray, etc., which he was very excited to do and then my comp was done with the other dude about the same time. I told him about Alfonso and how it was pretty dang difficult and he then told me how his guy just came up to him and told him he couldn't decide between going to work or taking his life. My comp talked him down and shared a little message with and got his info to pass to other missionaries (he lives outside our area). The guy's wife left him and his two kids and he was just getting tired of life. By the end my comp got him smiling and he went off to work. It was a bold reminder about how important our work is here and how much the Lord trusts us as his servants.

On a less serious note, the food here has been pretty nice. We get fed every lunch except p-days and we don't do a lot for dinners since dinner is hardly a meal here. They just pack it in for lunch and have a snack late at night. Since we don't have tons of money we do things like have cereal with milk and then pour some basic instant oats in there. I've actually been eating surprisingly healthy for breakfast. The lunches however are at the mercy of the members which means a lot of bread, rice, or potatoes, and Coke. They love their Coke here.

But, yeah, the people here are not huge on health. They don't eat wonderful nor do they keep their living spaces clean. It's not like we live in a super ghetto area, people will just not better their living circumstances. It's usually what you see in the difference between the active and less-active. 

The ward here is kinda small. Around 40ish members. This last Sunday, it was only 26 because of the 18th of September which is the Chilean Independence Day. If every member actually went to church every week we would have about 80-100 active members. But the thing is, they lack ánimo. 'Animo' is a specific Spanish word that kinda means 'excitement', but also will, like the will to actually go to church or read the scriptures. So we are constantly passing by less active member homes as well as doing contacts. The members are nice here but very few of them help with the work, like... none of them. So we never get referrals. 

Today we bought a fardo which is a 40 kilo bag of ties. It's kinda crazy but sadly, it was actually a really ugly one and there weren't many good ties. 

Let me know what else you'd like to hear about. 

Love, 

Elder Sierra 

P.S. This is is a REALLY Cool letter! I read it a couple days ago and it's given me so much motivation for the work! It's a long read but totally worth it.

THE RICCARDI LETTER:

drive.google.com/file/d/0B22_4gaeybhbS3I2Yi16dHhKeWJkbWpBUlBBTzF4TEZJNm1B/view

DAY 2!!!

Sept 14, 2017  

Second day in Chile and it's a p-day! They're on Wednesdays here so that's neat! I'm online for a little over an hour!

​So yesterday, we arrived at about 6:30 a.m. I don't know how I didn't die because I only slept for 4-5 hours on the plane. The food on the plane was really good though, (compared to the Comedor at the CCM). It was some pollo con arroz (chicken and rice). I was actually on an aisle seat in the middle triplet of seats and there was no one in the middle seat, so that made for a comfortable [ride]! When we got in, we went [straight] to the mission office. We had a couple hours of orientation which was really boring because we just wanted to get out there! 

The President is really cool. Last p-day, he had a district over for Papa Johns [pizza] and to watch Star Wars 7! He's way chill on rules and lets us leave the mission for p-days for about any reason. 

My dad (trainer) here is super-dope! We get along really well and he's related to the Greens! He's cousins with Sydney! He's from Herriman, Utah, so we relate to a lot of stuff. He took me to get my first completo last night and it was pretty cool. It was just a big hot dog doused with condiments and avocado, which is surprisingly good. We're serving right now in an area called Las Amèricas. It's a barrio [neighborhood] with streets named after countries. It's pretty small but it has some good members in it. Elder Sims (mah dad) says there's only about 45 active members in the ward so there's lots of work to do. Yesterday, we were doing a little contacting when Sims went up to a middle-aged woman and started talking to her about stuff including her beliefs. He ended up giving her a Restoration pamphlet to read and we kept talking to her. I, of course, was talking less but I noticed her expressions and felt she was feeling the Spirit. I then bore my testimony to her saying that, though I couldn't speak the language well, I could testify of these things and that what you're feeling is Heavenly Father confirming these things in your heart. She had tears in her eyes and is excited to meet with us. We might today even. The Spanish isn't too bad right now, but the Chilean is killer! It's sometimes like they have a numb tongue, just going at it! 

"com stà uste, de don è" [instead of 'Cómo está usted? De donde es?"]

But, I'm getting a bit more used to it with every interaction. Sims says I'm doing pretty slammin' for a first day greenie, but it's still some buns sometimes. 

Today, we went to the stake center as a zone and played soccer, football, and a little basketball and later had some Choripan. It was like a Chilean cookout! And it tasted amazing! I seriously wonder what's going on in [North] America that they don't have these! 

The peeps and other missionaries here are nice. The typical Chilean greeting with people you're mildy comfortable with is a handshake into a quick hug, then another handshake to top it off. It's pretty cool, actually. With women we do a horizontal high five into a fist bump. It's pretty bacàn, like what we do in the States sometimes. I have some pics of my apartment and comp (maybe) that I'll try to upload! Chao Chao! 

Love,

Elder Sierra

P.S. We also have a mission dog named "Dude". He's in the pic. He was found one day when two missionaries were being attack by another street dog and Dude came up and straight "merced" it. He likes licking bricks and pushing them around. He also loves missionaries and follows them around a lot. He's killed another street dog since the last one (there are a lot of street dogs here).

Dude is probably going to the Celestial Dog Park.

DUDE WITH HIS BRICK

OUR KITCHEN

ELDER SIMS AND ME

Sept. 12, 2017 


Hi Family!

We actually have nothing to do right now. We've packed all our clothes so we can't play sports! We're just biding our time...It's kinda funny 'cause my companion lived in Riverton about 5 minutes from us, south on 1300. Whenever we talk about home, we're talking about the same place.

In total, there are 14 missionaries in the CCM going to Santiago South [Mission] today, and 16 more going to North, and around 40 missionaries just on our plane to Santiago. It's crazy!! We have a water bottle with a built in filter that will last for 2 years. I've been also praying for a native trainer and one in general that's gonna be hardworking. Know that I'm keeping all of you in my prayers, even Haylie... 

...I did an ugly tie raffle. Here's a picture of the tie I won. I definitely got out on top XD

We were about to play another district in ultimate frisbee and I was like "Hey, let's all wear black 'cause we're 'bout to attend a funeral!"

We also got pranked via sticky notes.

I can't believe in about 40 minutes I'll be leaving Mexico! 

In 40 minutes I'll be on a bus out of the CCM on the way to the airport, on the way to Chile.

I have to go now, I love you and might get to send an email from the airport but I'm not sure. 

Keep hanging in there!

Love, 

Elder Sierra

Last memories of the CCM:

GETTING OUTTA THIS CAGE IN 5 MORE DAYS!! 


SEPT. 7, 2016

So first of all, we have P-day today because Friday of week 6 is a field prep day with, like, 50 meetings so we got it switched to today. I'll be on in the evening probably about 5ish. 

It's crazy. I have, like, only five days left! I'm SUPER excited to get out of this cage here! We are only allowed to eat at the same comedor for 6 weeks and it gets to ya! I even asked my branch president if we could order Pizza Hut on p-day but he said teachers or other people cannot bring food in from outside the wall. It's like a legal thing. They allow packages of donuts but, apparently, anything else from outside the wall is not assuredly safe! But I'm not even sure if this comedor is safe! I also can't wait to teach REAL people and to actually get the chance to work hard! It's so difficult to lose yourself in the work when you haven't even started the work!!! 

Not really much has been happening except success in teaching our fake investigators. One of them, Sara, had a problem with smoking and I had just happened to have read a scripture that day about Alma the Younger recounting his experience with his repentance. (Alma 36: 18-21) (I think). I discussed the scripture with my investigator and applied it to her life. I asked my teacher (who played the investigator, which they base off real people they taught themselves) what she thought about my scripture I shared and she said that Sara liked it a lot when she taught it to her and I was like, NO WAY! It was just some random scripture I stumbled upon during personal study so I thought that was cool. 

Also thanks for the package! I shared a lot and used some of them to make it through the Devotionals on Sunday :P 

On another note, I really am so glad to hear how well everyone is doing... During Sacrament meeting I remembered something that President Stevens ( or someone else, I can't fully remember) told me before I was set apart. He said that if I was obedient to the mission rules and followed the commandments, that the Lord would care for my family even better than I would be able to if I were still at home. I can definitely see that the Lord has kept his promise, like always. I have so much to be grateful for and there was a devotional that made a really good comment about the Atonement. Many people think that the Atonement is about doing your best and Christ pays the rest. But really Christ paid for all of it. Our good deeds and charity on this Earth are so that we can stand before Christ and show him what we made out of His sacrifice, that we can be comfortable in His presence. 

Love,

Elder Sierra

Here's a picture of me looking for investigators:

PARROTS EVERYWHERE

Some pictures of my comp and my district. And yeah,

my eyes are closed. I know. I'm sorry :(

HELLO THERE! ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST...
SEPTEMBER 2, 2016

Wow! So I just today got your letters because there's been a huge back-up in the post office! 

I'm in the same hallway as a missionary who's the son of a guy that 'Ubered' Dad! Isn't that neat?! He sent me a picture of them both! ... 

...Also, thanks a TON for the package! It was nuts and probably the biggest thing anyone has gotten. I wasn't even done with the last one! I set some of the stuff out on the table in the back of our classroom to share and we've been snacking the whole week long...

...This last Sunday was really awesome! We watched the video Finding Faith in Christ (I think that's what it was). It was really awesome and I'd never seen it before. We also had a devotional on Tuesday and I've been doing CCM choir. This week, we did the EFY Medley in Spanish. It was the simplest one we've done, but it was by far the most spiritual. It was also my last chance to sing in the choir, which is sad, unless we leave on a Wednesday, which is super rare. 

At the same devotional we had a talk about specific prayers, basically not being general when asking for blessings but actually asking in more detail (kinda how the Bro. of Jared prayed specifically about the stones). I've started trying to apply it to my life and it's made an incredible difference in how I pray and how I receive answers. I started saying specific prayers. I had purchased a couple of bags for Elder Bryan Poulsen and his companion from the Temple store. He was leaving the next day, though, and I wasn't able to find him. On his last morning I said a prayer that I'd be able to find him soon after breakfast. Right after breakfast, on the way back, I saw an elder poking his head out the window of a classroom. I asked him if he knew Elder Poulsen and he said he was in his class. We also found great success in our lessons after I started praying for specific things in our lesson, like that we could think of questions to ask and that we'd be able to better find out their needs. We've also started having great success among our investigators. We were never bad before, but we seem to have hit a rhythm where our last five lessons with 3 different groups (just one of them having two, i.e., a total of 4 investigators,) have gone great and we've been making good commitments. It's really funny because most people would think that missionaries are like the Harvard professors of the Gospel, and to an extent that might be true, but really, we're more like kindergarten teachers. Our goal is always to teach everything SUPER simply and we're teaching people who know some to absolutely nothing about the Gospel. 

Please see the shared videos of G-Cheezy biting the dust in our dorm. We also seem to have different perspectives on having mice in our home. We've already figured out a name for the next one we see. He´ll be Steph Scurry (after a basketball player named Steph Curry). We're thinking of using a box (perhaps the one you sent me) to make a type of trap for him.  

In regard to a package going to Chile, I think just grabbing my ties in my drawer and throwing them in the box will suffice, I underestimated how many ties I want/need. I also wouldn't mind a small flash drive filled with music. Something weird happened with mine and I lost quite a few of my songs. 

I love you very much! And I'm always so happy to hear about home. I think of home everyday, but I'm never homesick. It seems like something that you just brush off in all the business. 

And yes, I'm taking supplements. I got sick a week ago but got over it pretty quickly and didn't have to change my pace or anything. 

Tell Dad we get an hour of gym time 4 days a week and a p-day where we basically play sports all day, so I'm fine there. The food could be better and no one really seems to go in without their system getting messed up. I'm all right, though.

Also it'd be neat to get some pictures of you guys! Ya know... so I don't forget what you look like.... :P

The pictures with elders in P-day clothes was from our little safari we went on today. We went around the CCM to some fields where we could find parrots! We then stealthily took pictures of them 'cause there's lot of them! It was dope! We'll probably do another one next p-day. 

We also went to the visitors center next to the Mexico City Temple. It's really neat and had a really cool kids area. There's a lot of great stuff for visitors, like a kids' place that looks like a place from the Book of Mormon and a pretty hallway which was actually kinda random. The place was almost like a walking discussion.

The notebook is our plans for steph scurry

HALFWAY THERE!
WITHOUT FAITH, SEEING IS BLIND

August 26, 2017

So once again there´s actually a lot to write about so I´ll see what I can get in. I´m actually going to the temple again today so we´re taking a bit of time on emails before we go at 8:00 and then we'll come back. 

So, yeah, my comp got appendicitis and he got back on Saturday. He´s recovering really well right now and is even playing sports. Also, our district is now the oldest district in the zone and we´re only 3 weeks in. Our branch president took us aside on Sunday and asked if we´d like to be zone leaders and we, of course, agreed. It turns out ,we were actually recommended by the previous Zone Leaders. It´s been really interesting so far as a zone leader. I have less responsibilities than I thought, but there´s, like, 6 districts we're over! 

Our rest from the torment of Big Mike only lasted about 10 days. We found another mouse! We named him G-Cheezy (a pun off some rapper named G-Easy). At 11:00 at night, our new District leader runs into our room and wakes up the four of us yelling "WAKE UP! WAKE UP! HE¨S HERE!!!" We all knew what he meant and rushed into his room. G-Cheezy had been in the trash can and they put a chair on top of it to trap him. The rest of the story is documented on video which I´ll upload later today since I forgot my camera right now.

We have a district in our Zone that's one week younger than ours who we loving call the "Meat Head District". This is because half of them are just not gifted in the realm of common sense, but we actually love them a lot and they´re all out here for the right reasons. One of the meat heads a few days ago saw a bird chillin' about 15 feet away from him in a tree. He promptly picked up a rock and nailed the bird, killing it instantly. An Hermana (sister) saw the whole thing and was freaking out a little bit so he just picked up the bird, threw it in a trash can and walked away. Another one of them actually went to Bingham and I somewhat knew him. His name is Christian Paul. He´s really funny, but also fits in well with the meat heads. When they found out about our mousing-killing, he opened all the doors to his casa (house) for two days trying to invite animals in. He later complained how he only got mosquitoes. While it might sound like we don´t like the meat heads, they´re actually our favorite district, besides our own, in the zone and we´re even going to play them in ultimate frisbee in about 30 minutes. Considering how they´re 80% comprised of jocks we´re probably out of luck.

I had a really good Sunday this week. The devotionals and movies we watched were on faith and were actually really insightful and I learned a lot. One of the more memorable phrases was that without faith, even seeing is blind. I think that's super cool because it's true that a lot of people find the Gospel hard to believe and that you see different wicked people in the scriptures who see Angles or other forms of proof and don´t change, or fall back into iniquity. Faith seems to have a lot to do with knowing that Heavenly Father will bless you as you are obedient. It seems like that´s what separates the people who hold fast and those who don´t.

I´m out of time, so just remember the Church is true and everything else usually falls in line!

Bye!

THE CAPTURE OF G-CHEESY OR, ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST:

This is called an Elder Sypherd. Quite a peculiar one