I Ate Conch This Week

Hi cute friends!!!

This was a wonderful week! I'm so happy!!! How was your week??? Happy?

I ate conch this week. Memories?! Conch, aka sea slug, in all its forms? It's actually called loco here, which is a fitting name because to eat something like that is LOCO. This week it was on top of lettuce with a touch of mayonnaise, but I knew the truth. You can't disguise that rubber boot texture.

You asked what it's like to be an STL: I have 2 meetings each transfer where I see President for leadership training. I LOVE every time we have these meetings, I learn sooooo much. And yes, I am keeping a journal of notes from all meetings! The focuses change every transfer, but we're expected to keep previous focuses and add the new ones on. Last transfer the focus was the Book of Mormon, which was really awesome for me. I learned so much! This transfer is " how we can increase our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His promises" and, obviously help our investigators to do the same. This is another perfect one for me because one of my favorite things to do is to search for the promises God gives in the scriptures. It's not too hard because there are THOUSANDS of promises that can be ours if we do what we are asked. I love it. So good. I know that I was called here not only for the people of Chile but also because I have so much to learn from President Morgan. He is such a blessing in my life.

Love! Kisses!

Hermana Siebach

PS-- Hermana Briggs is related to us!! She comes from Milo Andrus too!!! Woohoo! Milo, bringin' us all together :'-) 

I LOVE EVERYTHING!!!

Hola!

I LOVE EVERYTHING! I love my mission, I love my companions, I love the cute people that we visit everyday, I love juice, I love my family, I love THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST!!

This week has been really lovely. A little bit crazy, but lovely. I want to tell you about some people that I met.

Karina: she's 23 and about to get married because she loves a boy and doesn't want to wait years and years to get married like everyone else here because she feels that families are important to God. TRUE! The family is very important to Heavenly Father and what greater than the additional knowledge that they can be together FOREVER?!?!? I love it!

Marcos: he's searching for a way to strengthen his relationship with his wife and their two little kids. We got you there as well. Go Marcos!

I feel so blessed to serve in a place where the temple is so close. We teach people about eternal families multiple times everyday. The majority of them have seen the temple before and now they can picture themselves going there to be sealed with their families for eternity! 

You asked how the language is, now that I'm nearly half way through the mission. I feel pretty confident in my Spanish (Chileno, if I'm honest). It's been a huge blessing. I had to start making all the phone calls at 3 months I think, so by now it's okay, but I still don't love it. Never been a huge fan of talking on the phone anyway, and ~ low key ~ I think I'm going deaf hehe. I ask everyone to repeat themselves mainly because I don't quite hear them the first time, but also to give me a little extra time to figure it out, so the phone is extra hard to understand. Even though Hermana Briggs, my new comp, is from the US, we speak Spanish most of the time because English has honestly become a little uncomfy to speak. I feel like I'm betraying my homeland, but it's okay for now. Y'all are going to have to teach me English again when I get back!

This week there was a group of us missionaries in the metro so we whipped out our hymn books and sang for all the people of line 4!!! It was awesome. The hymns have serious power. I love that so many of the lyrics come from the Book of Mormon and its teachings

Love y'all! I hope you're smiling and dancing and singing and sharing the gospel with your friends and neighbors!!

Besitos! 

Hermana Siebach

Here's the last time I saw my mission mom. Ciao Hermana Navarrete!!!​

By Small and Simple Things...

Moments before Hermana Karstulovic´s fam came to steal her away from me. Happy tears :')

Hola!! Tu pensasten que yo estaba finito, pero no!!!!! That's not real Spanish. It's something that I said to Hermana Karstulovic one night when I was VERY tired, and it stuck. The translation is basically, "You thought that I was gone, but I'm not!!!!!" After two weeks MIA, doing all the finishing-your-mission things for my cute hermana, I gave her a tight squeeze goodbye, and here I am!!!! With a new companion and time to write my cute fambily!!!

We had cambios yesterday and who is my companion?! The one and only HERMANA BRIGGS!!! I love her! I did a little happy dance when I found out that she was coming here to Las Condes!! We shared a house together in Javiera Carrera for almost 6 months and she is my FRIEND! She's a hard worker and loves the Lord and we're going to see miracles here together

This past week we found a lot of amazing people to teach!! There is the cutest old couple named Avion and Alicia. Just so y'all know, "avion" is airplane in spanish and yes, that is his real name. He says his dad liked airplanes so why not name your child after them? I like that. It opens up a whole new world of names!!! We contacted Avion in the street and outta nowhere he started telling us what he believes about free agency and guess what!! Me too! I believe the same!! We shared with them the role that our ability to choose plays in the plan of God and they loved it! They also asked why we go by Hermana and we explained that we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father, so that makes us brothers and sisters. By the time we left, they were calling each other "Hermano Avion" and "Hermana Alicia". Tan tiernas :'-) Stayed tuned to see what happens with them!! 

This week I have been thinking a lot about Alma 37:5-6

• 5. And now behold, if they are kept they must retain their brightness; yea, and they will retain their brightness; yea, and also shall all the plates which do contain that which is holy writ.
• 6. Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.

We talk about verse 6 a lot and how God uses imperfect "small" people to bring about great things. I love this interpretation of the scripture, but as I was reading, I realized that it's literally talking about something completely different. In verse 5, God commands that they keep the records they are making clean and shiny. Then he points out that they might not see this small commandment as something very important, but that doing this small thing will bring about great things, and its true!!! Imagine if the prophets had let the records rust and rot and decay? We would not have the glorious guidance that comes from the scriptures!!! I like to think about this in our own lives and how if we are doing the small things that God asks us to do, miracles will happen! Great and marvelous things will come to pass! Whether it is in the world, in the community, in the family, or on a personal level, doing the little things that God asks of us will bless our lives and the lives of others. Invitation: think of some of the little things that you can do to improve your relationship with God and your sensitivity to the Spirit. and then tell me how it goes!!

I love y'all! Muchisimo!!! Besitos!!! Side thought: I remember I used to get upset with Dad because I thought he was interviewing my friends every time they came over to the house. But this week I was with a different companion everyday and I found myself doing the same thing, hehe! And it's because I love them! And I want to get to know them better!! Ask the people that you love about their lives!! Everyone has amazing experiences and thoughts to share!!!

Okay that's all. Thank you for all your love!!! Ta ta!

Hermana Siebach

Matching!!!!! I swear, we didn't plan it....

 BIENVENIDA A LAS CONDES HERMANA BRIGGS!