December 27, 2010

Long time no talk! Oh wait, I can actually say long time no SEE this time! It was realy good to see and talk to you all the other day! I have to admit that when President Swenson told us the other day in the conference that we could use webcam I kind of argued with myself as to whether or not I was going to use it or not (afraid that it would make me trunky). But I'm glad I did because it didn't make me trunky at all - it was just nice to be able to see you all. Better than a normal phone call if you ask me! With just a phone I can play around with the camera or anything, hehe. I hope you enjoyed how I started the conversation haha. Good times.

Well, let's see if there's anything to write about - it's always hard to write the Monday after a phone call because we already talked about everything. I guess I could share the interesting experience we had Saturday night:

Alright, so after the phone call I went down to the ward's (Lican Ray) Christmas party. There I was happy to see that my convert Veronica was in charge of all the food and stuff - she's such a strong member! It was also good to see all the members and old friends and stuff :) The bishop and his family had an interesting number - they did a mini play of the decapatation of John the Baptist....I'm still looking for the Christmas message in that one...haha. Anyway, so my companion and I were supposed to meet back up at 6:30. I called at 6:20 and he still hadn't been able to connect with his family. So I waited and waited until about 8 and called again - still hadn't been able to get through. I guess the situation isn't so easy connecting with Nicaragua. So we decided that he would do his call another day and decided to meet up in the center. A member from Lican Ray drove me to the rally point, and when we got there the elders my companion was with called and said they didn't have any money so they sent my companion ALONE on a bus that was going to pass by where we were. I was like...retards, you're not supposed to do that, but ok. So I sat waiting for my companion, but he never got there, haha. Then the elders he was with called and said that they had sent him on a bus that went to a DIFFERENT part of town. I was like DANGIT!! So we jumped into the van and zoomed over there. I stopped the only bus that passed by, and the driver said that a missionary had gotten on but had gotten off in the center...where we had just come from. DANGIT!!! Again we jumped into the van and went back to the rally point. My companion was not to be seen. Then the member's parents call and say they need to be driven back home because the activity was over. We get in the van, pass through the center looking for my companion, and then decide to go back to the church and send me out with a different brother from the church so he can take his family home. I was pretty frustrated at this point - stinkin' elders! Haha. Anyway, so we're driving down the road and we pass in front of the stake center...my companion wasn't there. But he was down the street a little further looking really dismayed - any missionary who is forced to be alone would feel the same! So we pulled over, I jumped out and then everything was ok. Turns out that I should have just stayed in the spot where I was at first and everything would have been ok, but the elder who called me gave me bad instructions that made us go to a different part. My companion did get to where I should have been, but when we had already left. And then when he realized that he ran over to where we had gone because he knew the bus went over there too. When he got there we had already gone back to where we were at first, haha. So he started to walk back over there hoping that we'd see him at some point. And we did. So it was pretty chaotic for about half an hour but everything turned out alright.

Hmmmm, what else. Well, this weekend we should be having another baptism if everything goes well. His name is Michael Espinoza. He's a reference from a member - turns out a few months ago he started wanting to get closer to God and start a new life, and his uncle (who is a RM) gave him a copy of Gospel Principles which he began to read. Then his uncle brought him to church where he met us, and then he put a baptismal date for himself! He's a great guy and will be a great missionary some day.

Well, I don't really have anything else for this week. Just that story and the cool experience with Michael. We already talked about everything else on Saturday. I'll look forward to hearing from you all this coming week! Love and miss you all tons! Enjoy that snow and cold up there - it's hot and summertimepoohead here! But that's ok - I enjoy summer :) Chao!

His name is...er...was Bob

Bob had a foot transplant

Elder Santa

Santa Pyramid

Love,

Trevor

December 20, 2010

**Note from Trevor's mom: I have to explain (maybe I shouldn't) about the picture "Giant Indio Picaro" ... maybe not. Oh well, he sent us this doll thing like the figure on the left. You pull it up, and out pops... well, enough explanation. Sorry!

Heeeyyyyyooo!

Well, first of all I'll just have to say that I'm a floooooof brain - I forgot to bring the information about the phone call, but I will be able to call you and tell you all of that, or go to a computer and send you all the information. This is what I have planned as of right now - on the 24th I will be at Mario and Jimena's house, so there won't be a way to get the call done then. On the 25th I have planned to go visit people from Lican Ray, so you can probably call me at the Millahual's house. If you don't still have that number let me know and I can get it to you. I'll probably send it to you anyway. But yeah, the call will be on Saturday, the 25th. So plan on that. I'll call and give you all the specifics before then. So buy the card and all that stuff.

This last weekend we had a baptism! Woooo! Her name is Sofía Plaza. The cool thing about her baptismal service is that her inactive mother came! And her father who isn't a member took an hour off work (he drives a taxi) to come see her get baptized. Her grandmother that we reactivated about a month and a half ago also came. So that was a good experience. This ward is really strong and has a great young women program so she'll be well taken care of.

Anything to get to a baptism! Even rob a wheelchair from a cripple!! (we borrowed it)

So on Saturday I re-experienced something that hadn't happened to me since I was in the MTC. I rolled my ankle! I REALLY rolled it, haha. On Saturday mornings we play soccer at the church with members and investigators. So the ball went up into the air and I jumped to intercept it, and one of the players from the other team backed me and threw off my ballance. I came down really hard on my right foot, which wasn't lined up right to land correctly, so I rolled my ankle. It hurt A LOT and I couldn't walk for the rest of that day. So I stayed with a member while Elder Neira ''worked'' with Elder Lusk (I put quotation marks because I found out later that night that they didn't do ANYTHING - GRR!!). Elder Lusk's companion, Elder Laurito, went back to his old sector for the day because there was a baptism there that he was going to participate in. Anyway, so yesterday was a miracle - my foot was better enough to walk on it! So I was able to work for the rest of the day. After church we went to lunch at Mario and Jimena's house (they made some really good mashed potatos with some pork and yummmmmy ribs and stuff like that). Right when we were about to leave Mario told Elder Neira to go cut his grass, haha. We always offer to help them with something but they never have anything for us to do. So anyway, we go out back to start cutting the grass - lawn mowers are very rare here, so we started doing it with a giant pair of garden scissors. I went back inside to look for some more tools and guess what I found....A MACHETE!! Hehe, first time in my life that I had cut grass with a machete. Maybe I'll show you all how to do it when I get gack. Since doing it one time makes you a professional and all. Funny, that's the second time I've found a machete this week - I did an intercambio with Elder Hall and his companion Elder Adams and they had a machete at their house in Nueva Imperial, haha. Fun stuff.

Hanging with Mario, Jimena, and Graciela

Practicing my machete skills in Nueva Imperial

Well, we got cambios here in Maquehue! I'll be staying with an Elder Sanchez from Nicaragua and Elder Neira will be heading out to the zone of Coronel in the sector of Lota. That's in the north of the mission. President Swenson called me last night and told me that Elder Sanchez is obedient and a hard worker so we should be doing lots of great things here this cambio. From what I've heard Elder Sanchez is a great guy so I'm looking forward to working with him. I know him by sight, but not personally.

Things are going really well down here in CHEEEEELAAAYYYYYYY! I'm loving every second of the work. The missionaries in the zone are really excited to be working and as far as I've seen they trust in us as their zone leaders. We've got two new district leaders this cambio so we'll be helping them out a lot. And there will be two greenies getting here tomorrow. So we'll have to pull some fun jokes on them, haha.

Kamalu and me making pancakes on our 17-month day

Well, I'm just about out of things to say for the week. I'll have to start doing what I did at the beginning of my mission again - write down during the week what I want to say on Monday so that I don't have mind-blanks here and there. But anyway, that's something I can do all by myself, I'm a big boy haha. I hope you all have a GREAT Christmas. I'll do the same down here :) I'm looking forward to next year when I can celebrate it with all of you! But I'll make this last mission Christmas the best one ever. Oh! I haven't recieved the box just yet, but we have a conference here in Temuco on Thursday - I imagine it will be here by then. So hopefully I'll have it! I bought some stuff for you all today so I'll try to get that sent off soon. I love and miss you all very much! Merry Christmas! Or rather, Feliz Navidad! Or if you like, The Police Stole My Car!

Santa!!!

Giant Indio Picaro

Love,
Trevor