I AM GONNA LOSE A HUGE CHUNK OF MY HEART WHEN I RETURN HOME!
February 10, 2015

I'M COMING HOME MOMMA!!!

Well Mom, I don't how to tell ya. I'm still trying to realize that this is it, because it doesn't feel real to me either. It's like I am sitting on a train ride and I am the only one there and I don't know how long it's going to take for me to get back. It's pretty rough. I love my mission. Sacramento is my home. The people here I serve, I love them. And they love me as well. These past few days everybody has been trying to squeeze me in for a dinner or lunch or breakfast or brunch. In the past few days, I think I have had, like, 4 meals per day haha. It's been awesome, though, and I feel honored to be treated with such warmth. Last night was pretty special as well. I was eating with the Roberts (the family that houses me) and the Caspers (good friends). They were all commenting on how much they loved Elder Rentz (very great missionary and close friend) and I and were very grateful for our service. The Bishop called and told me that he was grateful for the work I put in for the group and I have been getting phone calls from former companions and other missionaries I served around telling me that I will be missed and, honestly, I am gonna lose a huge chunk of my heart when I return home. President Jardine wanted to give me an interview and it was probably the best one I'd ever had. We talked about what is to come, what I should do, things I should prioritize, and that I should go home, relax for a few days then, GO WILD (no, that's not what he said). I will tell you about the interview in more detail when I get home. At the end of it, he told me, "Elder Sierra, you've been in many places, you have had many "different" experiences that have helped you to grow in ways you never thought you could. I hope you know that your service has been more than enough. I hope you know that the Lord is pleased with you. I hope you know that I love you and will miss you very much." That one almost made me cry. The Spirit filled the room and I knew without a DOUBT that my mission was a success. I love my mission Mom. However, I love you and my family and friends just as much. I am more than ready to move on. I'm ready to reconnect with old friends. I am excited to see you all again and it will be a very joyous day when I get off the plane to hug you all again. It has been a great journey. I am ready for my next adventure. I love you so much Mom. Thank you for everything.

For the last time,

Elder Sierra

I DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME TO EVEN BE TRUNKY!!

Hey Mom,

Yeah, next Tuesday will be my final P-Day! Then I will be prepping to return home. I have a family that's gonna drop off some of my stuff, as well, to make the airfare a lot cheaper. That, and to transport stuff that I didn't want on a plane. So it'll get to you right before I get home. The Casper Family will be dropping them off and from what I hear, you and Sister Casper have been in contact with one another lol. I find it funny how some of the people here connect with you. To me it connects my family to my mission... ,Well Mom, I am happy that I can be of help spiritually when I can. I love being of service to others. It helps me to see the people the way that our Heavenly Father sees them. It allows me to feel His love as well. It converts me closer to the Lord and I lose myself in trying to love and serve others. This has been the ultimate lesson of my mission. 

 

Well, Mom, the work here is picking up little by little. The Villanuevas came again to church and I have asked Brother Villanueva to teach the lesson this coming Sunday. The Spanish class continues to grow and I love it. This has been one of my favorite areas to serve in. I have been in many and this has been one of my hardest challenges because this one required patience. I know things will work out whether I am here or not. Time and time again the Lord has let me know that the people here will not be abandoned. I am grateful for this place. It has taught me much and I love them and, even more special, I have felt the love from the people that I served here. They wish to keep in touch with me and they want me to return soon. I love it here. I love you Mom. 

 

This is my last week to go all out. I've got a lot of service meetings with the stake president, bishops and several ward mission leaders and there are, like, 10 dozen members that want me for dinner/lunch/breakfast/brunch/dinner and breakfast haha Seriously! I don't even have much time to even BE trunky! I got complimented by my mission president who said, "Elder Sierra, out of everybody in your group that is leaving, you seem to be the most collected missionary that is going home. You know you're going home and accept it, but you don't use it as an excuse to stop working. I'm proud of you."

I feel so SPECIAL! HAHA

I will return home with honor. Love you Mom!

Elder John-Gregory Sierra 

 

Here's a pic from the temple trip:

 

 Elder Rentz is on the left, and Elder Hinkley is on the right.

 

AND THEN IT HITS ME...WAIT, I WON'T BE HERE!

Letter from 1/26/2015

Hey Mom,

I have not received the package yet, but I am pretty sure it's at my place waiting for me. It'll be a nice present to return to. It really will be my final package haha. Man Mom, like, a little more than two more weeks then I will be back. It gets to me from time to time when I am talking to members and I will be setting up stuff in the future and then it hits me, "Wait....I won't be here!". Or my companion would remind me, "Dude, you'll be home by then!" It sucks, but I will be happy to be back. I just really love my area here. The Villanueva family did not show yesterday, but we still had a good attendance. 7 still beats 3-4 (still not including us). The familia Rodriguez are taking the temple lessons and getting interviews with the bishop so they can be sealed and it doesn't look like I will be on my mission to see it, but it's fine as long as it happens. Work is coming along steadily. I have finally made a system for the Spanish group so that they can always have support from the stake. I feel like I have accomplished what I needed to in the area now. All I am doing at this point is just patching everything up. I will be able to return home with a clear conscience. 

....Well Mom, I know it's a short letter, but I figure I'll just tell you the rest when I get home. I love you and will talk to you soon. Thanks for all the updates. 

Love,

Elder Sierra

Pictures from our last temple trip:

My mission president, President Jardine, and his wife.

 

PICTURES FROM RICKY'S BAPTISM

Elder Sierra got to go back to his first area in the mission and baptize his first investigator, and friend, Ricky, who he found knocking doors. It was awesome!

SHORT BUT SWEET
Letter from Jan. 19, 2015

Hey Mom,

I am fine. Trying to stay busy to keep focused. It's working. Our part-member family was at church the other day. And we had other Spanish members there as well for support. So, instead of 3-4 people, not including missionaries, we had 12 people (still not including missionaries). It was a great Sunday yesterday. The Spirit was strong.  We are going to try to keep the momentum going. Today we are going to a members house (it's more like a castle) and we are going to have  a BBQ and play a whole lot of sports.
Tell MJ I love them too and I would be both honored and happy to go and be with them again.

Well, Mom, I gotta get going.

Thank you so much for helping me with school and finances and what not

Couldn't have done it without ya.

Love you very much and I will see you in about 3 weeks

 

Elder Sierra

I AM DIFFERENT NOW...
January 12, 2015

Hey Mom,

Ricky's baptism was AMAZING!!! I have to say, probably the crowning moment of my mission. His family was all there and some of the missionaries that were there when I first taught him were there. The mission president was there, as well, so that was real cool. I had a member accept Ricky as my friend on Facebook so he could tag me in all the photos of the baptism, so you will be getting a lot of pics your way. All 85 of them.....it was great, to say the least. We went and got Chinese food afterwards and we gave him a quad with his full name on it as his gift. We had a great time. 

[In answer to your questions:] Thanks, Mom... the pants fit perfectly! I did the [baptismal] ordinance, so HECK TO THE YES!!... His family was super excited and there are two in particular (his sister and brother in law) that I know will get baptized someday. And no, none of them are members...yet. And yeah, that's his goal to go through the temple in a year with a faithful lds wife. He is SO EXCITED!...He plans to come to Utah in June. He wants to move out there someday...

I loved that baptism more than all the others. The Spirit was unbelievable. Even President commented to me, "In all the times I have ever seen you, you have never looked happier. And this baptism was one of the most spiritual that I have ever seen." Nuff said. 

 Work here on the other hand is really improving. The Villanuevas have started to come back to church and Hermano Villanueva is gonna give the lesson this Sunday on testimony and conversion. We are making progress and we are now teaching the Rodriguez family the temple lessons. Bishop is interviewing with them to make sure they are ready. We are LOVIN our time here. 

Thanks for helping me with the FAFSA stuff. I really needed that out of the way. And also for inviting my old companions to come to my homecoming. Don't worry I'm not TOO trunky. I am, of course, excited to return home and enjoy the luxuries of life, but I really do love it out here. It tears me up a little that it is almost over. It was so quick, so out of nowhere and it's passed like a dream. I am different now, I understand things differently, I think a little differently.....but I still act insane haha. Mom, don't worry, I am still having the time of my life out here and am growing a lot. I've got a lot to talk about when I return and I am excited. The families are already turning around and honestly, that came out of DILIGENCE. Truthfully Mom, anyone can be obedient and I am striving to do so, but there are obedient people that don't baptize at all because they don't obey the Spirit. That is the key here, honestly. Follow the Spirit. It can't fail you. Whenever I have ever given a training on obedience I talk about what we must be obedient to. It all goes back to following the promptings of the Holy Spirit who will always show you where you must go. He is showing me right now. We are seeing little miracles happen here and there and it's all because of that... if you're in tune with the Spirit, then you will automatically be obedient. So, there's nothing to worry about when you do that.

 .

I love you Mom and there's not much longer until I return, and time flies when having fun =)

Love you Mom.

Elder Sierra

NO BETTER WAY TO END YOUR MISSION
Letter from Jan 5, 2015

Hey Mom,

Thank you for the pants. I appreciate it. Can't wait for Ricky's baptism this Saturday. I got off the phone with him and he just got his ankle bracelet cut off and he is walking to his interview with President Jardine. I am really happy right now. I talked with President Jardine asking for permission and he said, "OF COURSE!! This has been a long time coming. There is no better way to end your mission than to go back to your first area to see your FIRST investigator finally get baptized. You have full permission to go." Like I said, I am very HAPPY right now! Now I am working on getting a ride, but Prez gave me permission to just drive there if there was no other way. There is nothing stopping me now haha. 

The area is going good. We are focusing everything on our less-actives and part-member families. We received spiritual confirmation that that is the best course of action. No point in finding new people to join a group if there is no group, right? Our top priority, however, is to get the Rodriguez family sealed. We are working very hard on that. We are teaching the temple lessons and we are setting them up with the bishop so that everything will be set in about 6 weeks for them to finally get sealed for all of time and eternity. There is not much to talk about on work. Not too much has changed between last Thursday and now so next week will be a longer letter. I love you Mom.

Elder Sierra

I WILL RUN TO THE FINISH! AND...RICKY IS FINALLY GETTING BAPTIZED!!!

Letter from New Year's Day 2015

Note to Dad:

I have already accepted such a challenge. The Lord has asked it of me. I will run to the finish. It means that my last transfer will go by the fastest, but it also means that the work will hasten and move along. My goal is to leave a STRONG foundation for the Spanish group so that when missionaries come in, they will no longer need to say, "Let's make a game plan!" There will already be a game plan. Instead, they will ask, "What needs to be done next?" I will achieve this goal and more, if I can. I have been honored to finish my mission in the El Dorado area and leave my mark. I will come home with my shield, with my honor, with my head held high......and exhausted. I love you too, Dad. I accept your challenge. I will talk to you next week.

Elder Sierra

Hi Mom,

I just got online and was talking to Ricky, telling him, THAT I GOT PERMISSION FROM PRESIDENT TO BAPTIZE HIM!!

I AM SO HAPPY! He called me today saying that if I'm not there, there will be no baptism. I am real excited... I love Ricky to death. He is one awesome convert.

I enjoyed Skyping with you all. It was weird because I knew in six weeks, I was going to see you all again face to face. However, it gave me great comfort to know that you were all happy and are okay. 

Well, we just had transfers yesterday. My brother, Elder Osorio (one of my closest companions) has been called to serve as a DL in East Sac. I was very sad to see him go, and from what he told me, he was very sad to leave me. We accomplished so much together and we had hoped to serve one more transfer together, but life goes on and he had to move on to bigger and better things. My new companion is Elder Mortensen. The guy looks a LOT like Jace (I found that very weird). Anyway, he is from South Jordan and has been out a little under 6 months. He is obviously a little fresh, but he is excited as any to go forth and work. He is a good kid and is pretty dang funny. We will make a good team. His Spanish needs much improvement, but that will come, all in due time. I am gonna have him start translating next Sunday. His Spanish will improve a ton by next transfer. I am leaving this area in his capable hands, so I gotta show him the ropes quick so he can take the reigns when I am finally gone. He was excited to serve with me haha. He heard a lot of stories about me and was pumped to have the chance to meet me and be my companion. I told him, "Whatever stories you heard.....they are probably all true haha". I am happy to have a good companion at my last transfer. I am very blessed. 

Well Mom, tell Ralynne I say happy belated birthday.... So. there isn't much to update you on. You heard it all when we Skyped last week. I will write again next Monday if anything comes up. I am trying to keep the momentum here and am praying that we will be able to go where the miracles are at. I love you Mom. 

Elder Sierra 

A LITTLE HOLIDAY CHEER

Recent pics from the Sacramento Mission:

Christmas Day on Skype

Some members sent this pic of Elder Sierra and Elder Osorio helping them with their Christmas tree!

Our Soccer team

Up in the mountains near Placeville, CA

NO FUE COINCIDENCIA QUE LES VI AQUI!
Letter from Dec. 15, 2014

Hey Mom,

Sorry I am sending you a letter so late. A LOT has happened today.

Well Mom, its hard for me to think of a present. I really got nothing. I mean maybe a harmonica so I can start learning how to play that too. Benjamin told me about his plans for the dance. I am happy he is having fun. It seems like he has a good group of friends and is happy, which really puts my mind at ease concerning him. He has always been a good kid... His date was cute. Tell him I say good job. 

So, work is beginning to pick up A LOT! We just got a new investigator, named Antonio, and we have a return appointment for tomorrow. He actually called us over and asked us to teach him. It was very cool. He enjoyed hearing the Plan of Salvation. He has just moved to Placerville and had seen missionaries in Mexico, but never actually talked to them. So when he saw us, in his own words, "No fue coincedencia que les vi aqui!" (It was no coincidence that I saw you here!) He invited us to come back and since he found out that I like to spar (he is a boxer) we are gonna have a little match tomorrow. It'll be fun lol. I will update you on what happens. Work is moving along. La familia Perez came to church yesterday and that was awesome. We are gonna see them again on Wednesday. Elder Osorio and I have seen that, little by little, we have been seeing miracles here. The best part is that we notice them after the trial of our faith and diligence every time. It's awesome!

I almost forgot to mention that something BIG just happened in the Sacramento mission. It was SO BIG that President Jardine called all the missionaries on a huge conference call last night. The news was pretty huge. We were the first ones to find this out. The stake presidents don't know, the Seventy doesn't know, and the other mission that is involved doesn't know either. They all won't know until tomorrow or so. So you will be also one of the first to hear. Our mission is getting SPLIT! Bottom half of our mission and a small part of the Fresno mission are going to become part of a new mission that will be known as the California Modesto mission. It was hard to take in. I served in three of the four zones that will be going to the Modesto mission. I loved serving there and I guess for me and a lot of the others we just feel that they are splitting our home. It's our mission that's taking the biggest hit. It'll be rough for the missionaries to adjust to, I feel, but I know it will be fine. California will have 20 missions total by July. That is when the actual split will happen, so I will be long gone before it happens for real. My companion is worried about going to the new mission. He'd rather stay in Sacramento, as I would assume most missionaries feel that way. It was tough for President Jardine as well. He is going to have to reassign about a 1/3 of our missionaries to this new mission and the language programs will be taking a huge blow as well. Well, only the Lord knows what's best so it's in His hands. That's all I have for ya Mom. Love you and can't wait till Christmas to Skype you again. Talk to you soon.

Elder Sierra

TRUE LOVE BETWEEN YOUR FELLOWMEN

Letter from Dec. 8, 2014

Hey Mom,

The concert was great! One of the missionaries took some pics and some video of the songs, so it worked out great. My talk is being made as I go.  I'm kinda just putting some dynamite stuff in there as I receive inspiration throughout the day. It'll be great... And yes, we did see the Christmas devotional with the members that we live with at their parents' place. It was a nice family setting. I enjoyed Elder Christofferson's talk the most. When the guy speaks I swear he just commands the elements around him. Real Majestic-like. Although, the part that touched me the most was the part when they were talking about the children waking up to a dill pickle on their plates, then hearing about all the things that they have to be grateful for. Then the boy finds a dime, runs immediately to the store, to which the store owner charitably takes time away from CHRISTMAS MORNING to give him bags of sweets for his whole family. To me, that really made the devotional. True love between your fellowmen and I think about the boy and how he didn't use the dime to get something for himself, but instead ran out to get his whole family sweets just because he believed Santa left a dime for them =) Work here is a bit slow at the moment, so there isn't too much to talk about, but we have a killer week planned that is full of appointments with investigators, service projects, and temple trip with the zone. I am very excited for that. Other than that, sorry not too much more to go on. A lot of appointments got cancelled so that's part of the problem, but we have been getting somewhere with our less actives. That's been AWESOME! We may start doing some reactivation pretty soon (which is a miracle in itself). We are still happy. I love you Mom Merry Christmas!

Elder Sierra

 THINGS I'M THANKFUL FOR

Letter from Nov 27, 2014

We asked Elder Sierra what he was grateful for this year and this was his reply:

 1.) I am grateful for my freedom. Freedom is God-given and it allows us to choose for ourselves what path to take. As we obey His commandments, we can achieve the peak of spiritual freedom. We were never created to be bound or enslaved by anyone, or anything. 2.) I am grateful for my family. For the bonds I have with not only my parents, brother, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandma, etc., but also with my friends that I consider my family as well. I am grateful that My Father in Heaven placed them in my path so that I could truly enjoy my life and share it with all of them. They enrich my life with happiness. 3.) I am grateful for the Atonement. I don't and will never understand the sacrifice of our Savior fully in my mortal life, but I can appreciate and apply it as much as possible. There is nothing more comforting than to know that my guilt can and will be swept away from my past mistakes. I can scratch it all away and move on. This to me will always be the most important part of the restored gospel that I share. The Restoration of Prophets, Apostles, Temples, and all the other little blessings are wonderful, but they are merely just icing on the cake. None of those things could exist without the Atonement. That is how Jesus Christ saved the world. 

D&C 46:7-8 

We must always remember to be thankful. Honestly, I do not believe the Lord really cares so much of receiving thanks, as much as he cares about us being able to see His acts of love and charity in our life. As we are thankful, not only do we show gratitude, but we notice the worth of what we have and it implies a greater meaning. It armors us against the adversary. We need never feel that we are alone, unloved, or forsaken. We should always be grateful that we are never alone. As long as we live in a state of Thanksgiving daily, Hell has no power over you. As a special servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, I testify that we will always be protected by the Armor of Righteousness as we clad ourselves with love, gratitude, and purity. May we celebrate Thanksgiving daily. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

His letter:

Hey Mom,

Sorry for not mentioning that last monday was not gonna be P-Day. Hope you weren't too upset lol. Las familias Garcia y Villianueva estan haciendo muy bien. No sentiamos que estan listos para aceptar una invitacion por bautismo pero vamos a tener una actividad la proxima semana con todas de las iglesias en la comunidad. Se llama "Guardando Cristo en Navidad". Voy a cantar por el evento y invitabamos las familias para venir. Ojala que sienten el espiritu muchissimo que pueden reconocer que estan en el camino correcto. (The Garcia and Villanueva families doing very well. We don't feel they are ready to accept a baptismal invitation, however, we are having an activity next week with all the churches in our community. It's called Keeping Christ in Christmas. I will be singing at the event and we invited our families to come. Hopefully, they will feel the Spirit and can recognize that they are in the correct path.) 

Anyway, so work is going great. We are moving everything along. What is cool that we have noticed about our teaching pool is that all of our investigators found us, instead of us finding them. We are LOVIN it! We just need to keep the momentum rollin. I received one of the packages two days ago. I didn't get the other one yet, but the pink camo stocking sounds legit haha. Speaking of camo-style Christmas, I have begun an operation here in El Dorado, an operation that has been a family tradition for as long as I can remember. It will be a stake-wide activity with members and missionaries alike, bringing good cheer and hope to the poor in heart and spirit of El Dorado. Operation SECRET SANTA is BACK!! We will be donning the santa camo hats once again. We are already beginning to find homes and families that could use some serious Christmas joy. The phase one: "Mark Your Targets" has already begun. I will update you on that operation next coming P-Day. So the zone here would like to say, "THANKS FOR THAT PECAN PIE!!!!!" (I shared). It was AWESOME (as always)! We appreciate the treats you send us, thanks. Also, for today we are eating with some members. We've got like 4 families that invited us over. We feel ill-prepared to eat 4 Thanksgiving meals, but we will see what happens with the upcoming match on Elders vs. Food! Other than that, we just had a turkey bowl that was setup by yours truly (that's just tradition!) and it was a blast. We got some good hits and I had some pretty good runs. Caught the ball on the 50 yard line, then I ran it down to the end zone (got by 7 people). It was legit. I got hit pretty hard as well (totally blindsided), knocked all the wind out of me, but I'm all right. It was a lot of fun. I'll send you a picture of my team (we won). We played against some guys we found on the field already. So much fun (cuz we WON). We are having a great time right now. It's a full-day p-day. So about the tree, we will be working with some members on a Christmas tree farm this Saturday and they said we can buy a nice size one for cheap. We are gonna have all the elders at our place opening presents at our tree, so we are gonna get a good sized one. It'll be pretty sick! I wouldn't send any ornaments until I get the actual size of the tree. I'll send you a pic on my next p-day. So touching on the new baby, she is ADORABLE!! I hope I get to meet her someday. There is not much else to talk about right now. Love you Mom! Happy Thanksgiving!!

Elder Sierra

p.s. tell all the Family that I love them.

RECENT PICTURES FROM THE SACRAMENTO MISSION

My whole zone on our hike.

 

Some of my district elders. My companion, Elder Osorio, is with the dog, Elder Bancroft is wearing the cowboy hat and Elder Yi is the Korean Elder. the member is Brother Swarbrick. He is awesome and takes care of me for ya! lol

Glorious Miracle! We got steak!!

THINGS ARE GREAT HERE IN THE HILLS OF GOLD!
Letter from Nov. 18, 2014

Dear Mom,

I am staying here in the hills (SO HAPPY) and I keep my current companion (even HAPPIER). Yeah, Osorio and I are stoked. We wanted to stay another transfer together so we could continue to see the work progress. We have added 2 new families, the Perez family and the Garduno family. They are all open to receiving the gospel and we are very excited that we finally have an actual TEACHING POOL!! On top of all that, the stake president (great guy) has granted us permission to go and work with all the ward mission leaders in the entire stake so that we can try to find more (Spanish) work and coordinate with them accordingly. President Jardine has mentioned to us many times on how much he appreciates our desire to get things rolling. He understands that work here is very difficult, but that we have been pressing forward and trying to be creative in coming up with ways to make the work here effective. We have had to work very closely with the wards, individually, as well as on a stake level. It's pretty funny. We meet more with the stake president than the zone leaders do, haha. I gotta say this has been one of my greatest challenges yet, but Elder Osorio and I just love it here. We love the work here, the members, the people we are blessed to teach, and we wouldn't trade it for anything else. Things are great here in the Hills of Gold. 

How is everything going for Thanksgiving and Christmas preparation? I hope that you guys aren't stacked with a long list of stuff again. Please don't kill yourselves by over volunteering again! Well, anyhow, I have been asked to sing for a multi-faith event on Dec. 5th. It's an event that is titled, "Keeping Christ in Christmas". I will be singing "O Holy Night" and also "I Wonder as I Wander". I am humbled to have been asked to sing. The Stake President had asked me to sing, so it will be a great experience. That is all that is happening as of right now. I will keep you posted if anything new comes up. Love you all!

Elder Sierra

A MIRACLE AND LA FAMILIA VILLANUEVA. LOOKS LIKE THINGS ARE PICKING UP IN EL DORADO

Letter from 11/10/14

Hey Mom,

Sorry that I am responding to you so late. Our zone just got back from an AWESOME hike in the mountains along a beautiful lake. We had a lot of fun. 

So, this week we did have a miracle. We got a referral from President Weston (Stake prez) and it went wonderfully. We have just added a family of 5 and we are very excited. They are the Garcia family and they have been very open to the gospel, especially the father, Juan. He has a very solemn and profound love for his family and he has had the opportunity to visit the temple in Salt Lake and the one here in Sacramento. He actually likes the missionaries and respects what we teach. In fact, after we gave the lesson he came up to us, gave us his number, then told us that Thursday and Saturday nights are the best way to go. I love it when they give us a schedule to come back haha. He is very humble and we are very excited. 

So now, we are working with him and also with a part-member family, la familia Villanueva. The wife is not a member and has been a little hesitant on being baptized simply because she is afraid of what her parents would think. Well, as luck would have it, her parents now live with them and we have actually begun the discussions with them......and they LOVE IT hahaha. So freakin' hilarious. I looked at Hermana Villanueva y le dije que, "No tienes ninguna excusa ahora." ( I told her that "you don't have any excuse now) So we are gonna see where that goes. It's not pitch perfect here in El Dorado, but things are getting better little by little and President called me and my companion and commented on the fact that things were looking like they were getting better. It's nice to hear support from your President. So anyway, things here are on the rise. 

I am happy that Benjamin and you have been having a fun time with genealogy work. I need to get on that when I return home. Right now, my work is for the living, not the dead, but once my mission here is completed I will get into the habit of doing that. That is pretty cool that we are related to Danish Kings. Well, mom, I don't have too much to talk about today, other than the fact that Osorio and I ARE SO HAPPY with the package you sent me. It is the best. We love the cd's. Thank you so much.

Elder Sierra

HEAVEN FORBID I QUESTION IT TWICE!

This week's letter

Hey Mom, 

This week hasn't been the best, as far as lessons are concerned. We haven't been having the best of luck in our area with lessons. It's been scarce as of late. Something that will change this week. We will try harder to contact more people and to get a lesson in. 

Something that has been nice, though, was that we have been doing a lot of service and have had many opportunities to work with members lately which has aided us in receiving referrals to find people to teach. We have also been strengthening the less actives and have found an investigator through working with them, as well. In short, we have seen some sparks happen and we are hoping to continue to fan the flames. 

There was one cool experience that I had. Last Friday, we were heading over to an area to contact a referral, Then, I received an impression to go and see Hermano Juarez. I'm all like, "We saw him yesterday, Why do we need to see him again?" Then the impression came to me again that we go to Hermano Juarez and Heaven forbid that I question it twice!! I turned to my companion and told him, "I feel like we need to go see Hermano Juarez," to which he responds, "I've been feeling the same." With that, we did an about-face and went to his home. We got there and saw that there was an ambulance there and I saw that they were carrying Hermano Juarez into the van. His sister came over to me and told me to follow her to the hospital. We got back into the truck and we booked it to the hospital. We got there before the ambulance did. He had fainted, due to pneumonia and water in his lungs, and now he is being prepped for open-heart surgery. We were able to see him real fast (he was not looking good) and offer a quick prayer for his health. The next day, we received a call from his sister telling us that he got moved to a hospital near downtown Sacramento and asked us to come over Sunday to give him a blessing before the operation. It was WAYYYY out of our area, but I wanted to be there to help, so I called President Jardine. I explained the situation to him and he agreed saying, "I believe it is a necessary and vital need to have the missionaries always be on call to help their members in their respective areas." He went on to add, "Usually, I wouldn't let missionaries go so far out of their area and I would get other missionaries to go there, but I trust you, Elder Sierra, and I know you love those you serve, so you have my permission to go and give him a blessing." That meant a lot to me. I really love my Prez. He is a great man and is very in tune with the Spirit. I wouldn't have any other leader. We went over yesterday to administer the blessing and the Spirit was there and it was a comforting feeling to everyone in the room. Ricardo Juarez feels happy and ready for his operation. We are expecting to hear how it went very soon. 

That's all the major news that has been going on lately. We will be throwing a surprise party for a cool Elder in our zone named Elder Bancroft. He is newer in the mission, but is a great guy. I had the chance to perform with him as we jammed on the guitar and the uke. It was pretty freakin cool. Elder Osorio and I have been planning this since yesterday and we've got everything prepped. We have a pretty unified zone (I really love it here). Mom I love you as always and I will hear from you soon.

Elder Sierra


Pics from a member's house in El Dorado Hills and from a concert Elder Sierra played in.

On a mission from God!

Jammin' on the uke with Elder Bancroft

THE YOUTH ARE WHERE IT'S AT!
More pics 
Letter from Oct. 20, 2014

Hey Mom,

Things are beginning to roll here in El Dorado. Elder Osorio and I are determined to get things moving here with Spanish work. We are still working with our prominent investigator named Margartia Mendoza and we have been talking with the members around the stake and several ward mission leaders about some ideas we are starting to implement here in the mission. We have also been getting a very positive response from members all around the stake. We have received several referrals last week. A couple of them, surprisingly, were from the youth here. Pretty awesome, right! I gotta say, referrals from the members are wonderful, but I have found that when youth reach out to their friends and invite them to learn about what we share, it is usually a much better turn out. They, for some reason, seem more intrigued, they aren't set in their ways and are more open-minded. Best of all, they are usually more curious. It's wonderful to see the youth try to help us in our work. I love the stake here. Work here is hard, and after about two weeks, we have deduced that tracting just straight up doesn't work here (most ineffective way to find people). EVERYONE is spread out and the Spanish people themselves are hidden all over. I was a little worried because I wanted to keep my teaching in Spanish up, but I have been translating sacrament a whole lot lately. I'm actually pretty good, when people aren't talking at lightning speed!! My Spanish has seriously come along. I understand 90% of everything. There are words here and there that I don't know, but vocabulary comes with time. Also, my grammar is coming along nicely, as well. It was TERRIBLE in the beginning of my mission, but now it's much better. Many people have asked me if I had learned my Spanish from my parents and I'm like, "No. Aprendi todo que yo se aqui en la mision." And they are like, "MANDE!!!!!" They thought I just grew up speaking it, which makes me feel happy. I have been working hard on my Spanish. It's an honor to be able to have finally gotten the language down. I can proudly say that I am proficient in the language and that if you stuck me in a random city with nothing but Spanish speakers, I would get around just fine. So anyway, everything in El Dorado is great. Its a very rural place, but I love it....What's also awesome is that we have dinner EVERY NIGHT! It's real cool. They all love it when we come by.

Us in the diner with some members of our district and the Roberts Family (the family we live with)

Golden Sunsets of El Dorado