August 26, 2009

(personal messages to family left out)

Allllrighty, updates. Elder Harper and I, as of about a week and a half ago, have been called as Zone Leaders for our branch. We have many responsibilities - it's a big job, but of course we accepted the invitation whole-heartedly. We're happy to serve in any way we can. There are 5 districts in our zone with about 10 Elders per zone - so it's a pretty decent-sized zone.
We FINALLY got an apostle at one of our Tuesday night devotionals! Elder Scott came and talked to us about the importance of developing the skill of using the spirit in our lives and how it can be a great protection and blessing against the adversary (and of course for our own personal benefit). It was such an amazingly spirit-filled meeting. Elder Scott also performed two apostolic blessings during the meeting: one to confer upon us the gift of tongues, and another to bless us with safety and security as we go out into the mission field. I had not yet experienced such a blessing, so to say the very least it was an amazing experience. I think it is easy to underestimate how blessed we are to have a prophet and apostles in the world today. I couldn't imagine what life would be like without the restoration of the Lord's true church.
It seems that the swine flue may be rearing its ugly head yet again. In the last week there have been five confirmed cases (two of which were in my zone). I am, however, in great health - never felt better. So no need to worry about that. I'll be out of here in about 3 weeks anyway, so hopefully I, and the rest of the Elders, can evade that dratted flu.

Short list of things I need/you should know about:
1. I need more paper for letter-writing :-)
2. I could use another sheet of return-address stickers.
3. I'm pretty sure down in Chile we will have what are called "Mamitas". Basically they are women that the church hires to take care of the Elders. I don't know to what extent, but I've heard that they will do our laundry (not garments if they're not endowed) and cook one or more meals for us per day. I bring this up, besides the fact that it's pretty interesting - I'll have a "maid" and you won't!!!! :-p (I kid, I kid - or I chist, I chist; chiste - joke hehe)- but because I've heard that sometimes it can take a week to get the clothes back....so I'm not sure if I'll need more garments/socks. I'll see what I can fine out and let you know more.

Well, that's about all I have time for this week. I love and miss you mucho! Looking forward to getting more letters :)

Love,
Trevor

August 18, 2009

Dear Fam,

Thanks for all the goodies, the pillow case, and that wacky tape! I've already made it through the Reeses and a few packs of Oreos with the help of some of the other elders. Sharing is caring, right?

So I experienced a great tender little mercy today/yesterday. Yesterday during gym I rolled my ankle pretty hard playing basketball, and it made me turn into an Ian ... er ... I mean gimp. Same thing, no? Hehe. Anyway, so it hurt ... wait, maybe I did it Friday ... I don't remember. Anyway, it killed to walk on. Literally, elders and hermanas were droppin' like flies. And the, all of the sudden, today on the way to sacrament meeting it just stopped hurtin gand now I can walk perfectly normal. I guess the Lord just wants me to be able to play soccer tomorrow. Hehe, I kid, I kid. But yearh, I'm very grateful because now I know I didn't mess up my tobillo.

Justin (if you're not gone yet) -- I laughed really hard at your messages you tried to give me. But I couldn't understand a word you said 'cause you're too stooooped hoooo heeee ahoohe ha ... aheee ... hoo...huh? Oh, Man. Cheeseburger.

Cami -- I want to learn how to play that song you were playing in the background in the tape. It was shweet.

Mom & Jasmine -- Don't hog all the Alexis fun! Leave some for me when I get back! On second thought, Joel is her dad so I'm sure he'll refuel her crazy gauge from time to time. Speaking of which -- I had to concentrate to understand your message, Joel, but I did get it. You just keep working on that pronunciation ;). You're ready to talk to Spanish speakers in Virginia, though -- hehe.

Kelton -- make sure you're smart with that money; they don't pay people to throw potatoes at cows very often.

Ian -- not cool about Palin. Fair enough, though, I guess.

Dad -- I've been using your advice while reading the Book of Mormon again. Thanks, it helps a lot. Oh, and I think my companion might be able to challenge you for your Boofalo title; he can pretty much strike up a symphony on demand. It's gotta be the juice...

Well, it was great to hear you all on the tape! I'll work on recording a side for you but I literally have zero down-time here, so I'll do my best. Looking forward to hearing from you again!

Love always,

Elder Trevor Vincent

p.s. I've been thinking about asking for another set of Quad scriptures because I've come up with a color-code for marking (or inherited one, rather -- I've made a few changes) and my English scriptures now are filled with red so it's not too great. I do get about a 40% discount at the bookstore here, though, so maybe i'll just have you deposit a little money for me sometime.

p.p.s. Nice definitions in Balderdash! My district got a good laugh out of that part!

August 5, 2009

Alright, so I figured this week I might as well just write me letter to you and anyone else who wants to read it in an e-mail considering I haven't really gotten any personal letters.

Thank you so much for the pictures! It brightens my day when I get to see Alexis and the rest of the family :)

I do have some things that I need and some things I need to tell you about really quick:
- I need a few more pairs of sports socks (2ish)
- If you could send me my knife or a letter opener that would be great.
(Personal items excluded)
- I could sure use a pair of sandals/flip flops for the showers
- I need some things to attach to my luggage so that I can identify it
- Elder Harper's mom has been talking to the mothers of missionaries in Concepcion right now and she said that it can get pretty cold there and that the insulation and heating isn't very good, so I may want one of those stuff-sack sleeping bags. The ones that are really warm but don't take up a lot of space. I haven't decided if I'm going to wait until I get down there to get one or not.
- It's a good thing we got that flee cover! Elder Harper's mom said that some of the other mothers said that the flees can be irritating. Also, the thermal garments seem to be popular, so thank you for thinking to send me some!

As far as daily life goes, I'm having a great time. I have 5 gym periods a week, all of which I spend out on the field. I don't have my schedule right now and I'm not familiar enough with it to tell you exactly when those are, but that's ok. If I saw you or anyone else I knew I would have to end the "meeting" within 30 seconds. I've been getting pretty good at soccer :) I absolutely LOVE playing it. Which is a good thing since that's the national pastime of Chile. I just can't wait until I get to go down there and get schooled up by an 8-year-old...haha.
The devotionals here are great. We haven't had any MAIN general authorities yet, but the speakers that have come are good. We had the director of international MTCs here last week, so that was kind of cool to learn about. There are 16 MTCs in the world, crazy huh? The one in Brazil is the largest Church-owned building outside the US. I also really enjoy the service project my district has been assigned to, which is taking down the gym after devotionals and firesides every Sunday and Tuesday night. It takes about 30 minutes because we have about 25-30 Elders working on it, but it's fun every time.
I've been seeing a lot of my friends from out in "the real world" in here. So that's been kind of fun. It's also fun to be considered among the "veterans" of the MTC now. Meaning we've been here long enough that we're part of the regular crowd and not the "frightened puppies" that arrive every Wednesday. There's not a whole lot of difference though considering we're all only here for a couple weeks. It's fun though.
Well, that's about all I have time to write for this week. I'm kind of scatter-brained when I write e-mails, but I'll try to get better at that. Please feel free (everyone) to write letters and I'll do my best to reply as quick as I can. I love you very much!

Love always,
Trevor