October 19, 2009

Hola!

Well that was quite the letter for this week! Makes me smile hehe.

I'm glad to hear that things are going well and that you all are keeping busy. As I was reading your letter about how you're getting all these work opportunities both inside and outside the music industry I couldn't help but think that the Lord is putting his hand in and helping you stay at home more often. You know, with the home-run business (and a family business at that), the steady job that would allow you to have less personal-studio hours, etc. To me that just says blessings from the Lord to be close to your family as well as have further experience with what you love doing. So I'm happy to hear about all that!

Don't worry too much about sending snail mail - yeah, it would be nice, but I really really look forward to these e-mails every Monday and I only get snail mail once a month. I think I mentioned this in one of my e-mails, but all the mail goes to the mission office in Concepcion, and then they give they give it to us once a month when we have interviews with the president or when we have conferences. So we don't get mail delivered directly to the house - we don't even have a mailbox haha. Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen a single mail box my whole time here. Interesting.

Glad to hear the house is coming along well, can't wait to see it! I wish I could be there to help you out with all those things, but for now my work is here. I'd love to help you out with whatever needs to be done when I get back, though.

It's was weird to read that you're just about done with your fall break because all the kids here are getting close to the finish of their school year - it's almost summer! The weather is warming up rapidly, which is great. Most days we go out in short sleeved shirts. Elder Kester has been sick the past few days, though, so he's not too fond of the sun at the moment.

What would I like for Christmas...hmmm. I was thinking the other day I'd love this year's game-day shirt from USU, and maybe a USU hoody? (large) Really anything you want to send - maybe a shirt that you all made together or something with messages on it. Like what you did with the piillow-case. I've always been terrible about telling people what I want because the truth is I'm always happy with what I get. My favorite goodies though, are Reeses. Anything with chocolate andn peanut butter, really. I still haven't found peanut butter because it really doesn't exist. One of the members told me there is a place in Concepcion that I can ask for them to order it, but I'm NEVER in Concepcion, so I don't think that's gonna work out.

Updates and fun stuff-
1. The other day Elder Kester and I were walking down the street and there was a hop skotch drawing and...well...we both played hop skotch haha. I'll bet it was pretty funny to see two missionaries hopping.

2. The cigarette packs here have a design that I think should be implimented in the US. The majority of the package has the warning label saying that smoking will kill you, and then a tiny part of it has the insignia of the company. And on the back there's an old man and it says you could be next. Haha, pretty sweet huh? Never thought I'd say that about a pack of cigarettes, but I think it's a good idea. I took some pictures so I'll try to attach them.



3. So this morning I went to open the fridge to see if we had anything to cook up for breakfast (keep in mind we don't usually eat breakfast), and when I opened the door I yelled to Elder Kester, ''We've only got some jelly and stick!'' We were laughing so hard for a good while after that. We have some raspberry jelly and the stick is this food called Nalca. It's basically a branch or reed of some sort that people peel and eat like a banana. It kind of tastes like an apple. We went to the store called ''Bigger'' (it's basically the Wal Mart of Chile - and it has the stupidest name ever haha) and bought some bread and crackers.

4. The other day we watched the Restoration video with two of our investigators, Irasmo and his wife Karina - that movie brings the spirit every time. I love watching it, and it's even better with newer investigators because you get to see their reactions. They both loved it and went to church the next day. So things are moving right along as far as the work goes. We've got two baptismal dates set up and we've got a couple more that could be solidifying in the next week or two. This coming week is the last week of the transfer, so I'll probably be getting a new companion here in Cabrero.

5. When you were telling me about Kelton's gaming with his friends, I thought about the gaming situation here. Nobody has any sort of gaming system in their house. Some have computers, but not too many. Well, here in Cabrero, at least. But there are some game systems and stuff in some of the internet cafes, like this one. I'm sitting right next to a playstation 2 where this little kid is screaming at his digital soccer player haha. Good times. Just thought I'd share that fun bit of info.

Well, I'm going to try to get some pictures on here so I can send them to you (*They're already posted here, in case you couldn't tell). I'm very glad to hear that Grandma has improved a lot and is getting back into the somewhat normal swing of life. Send my love to her and everyone else. I look forward to the weekly messages! I hope all is going well, I love you all and keep you in my prayers daily! Sorry if my letters sound a little scatter-brained at times!





Love,
Trevor

October 12, 2009

Howdy, howdy, howdy to you!

I'll just start by giving you the mailing address for the mission:

Elder Trevor Vincent
Misión Chile Concepción Sur
O'Higgins 940 Of. 503
Casilla 3560, Concepción, Chile

I'm not sure if the address for packages is different, but I imagine it would be the same. It would be a good idea to find that package (Dad might know where it is) because it also has the information for when I need to sign up for school again. But there's that address for you! :)

I'll bet you're very excited to get things going on the house. Don't worry about feeling 'spoiled', count your blessings that you live in an area of the world where you are able to enjoy such things. But I think it would be great to get involved in some humanitary activity - experiences like that could do everyone a bit of good, I think.

Thanks for getting up early to send the letter! Elder Kester and I actually got on the computers a bit early this morning (8:30) because we had a zone activity in Los Angeles at 11. But when I saw that I hadn't recieved an e-mail from you yet I decided I would only use half my time this morning so I could respond later. So here's a few updates and things I thought you'd appreciate:
1. I remember you mentioning something about Sara talking about animals in her letters home. I really only have one animal to talk about: dogs! THEY ARE EVERYWHERE. There's no such thing as a dog catcher here, and everyone has guard dogs (every house has a fence around it, I'll send pictures sometime) and those dogs just love to make more little dogs. There's dog poop everywhere, and you can't walk down a street without getting barked at. Sometimes I just want to punch the dogs right in the face to get them to shut up haha. So yeah, that's just about it for animals. Oh, and there's lots of cows.
2. The other day one of our investigators called us in the morning and asked us if we could go over and help her paint her house - which we did. It turned out to be a bigger job than we had anticipated, so we spent about 4 or 5 hours cleaning the front of the house and painting it. I didn't like the color she chose (orange), but we got it done nonetheless. And she went to church on Sunday! And she wants to bring her kids next week! So that family is moving right along :)
3. My ears hurt very much during sacrament meetings on Sunday because, well....nobody can sing. And nobody knows any of the hymn save one or two. Soooo...yeah...painful.
4. The people - generally VERY nice. You could be arguing with someone and they'd still offer you a drink or a piece of bread or something. And then there are the people who aren't so nice. The other day we tried to talk to this lady in the street and she wouldn't even shake our hands - she just shook her head and said no (to which Elder Kester said, '¡Super amable usted!'). And then the other day a car drove by and this guy leaned out the window, yelled something profain and showed us his beautiful birdy. Haha, great stuff. No matter, we're working hard, and we're loving it. There's this lady that likes to give us free frozen juice and milk, and she's not a member! We'll have to work on that :)
5. Since we're in a smaller branch, sometimes there are sundays when either there is nobody that is ready to give a talk or teach a lesson, so guess who the branch president thinks is always ready?....the missionaries! Yaaaayyy...? Haha yes, we have given many a lesson or talk with about 5 minutes heads up. Good stuff.

Well, that's about all I've got for this week. I don't think I'll have time to send pictures this week, but if I have enough time I'll do so. It was great to hear from you! I've got an e-mail from dad I've got to check as well, so I'm going to go do that.

It's always great to hear the updates on the family! I'll look forward to hearing from you next week! Love you!

- Trevor

October 5, 2009

Hola!

Wasn't conference amazing?! When President Monson announced the temple to be constructed in Chile, Elder Kester and I jumped for joy and started laughing almost - it's very exciting. It was kind of funny, though, because it seemed like we were more excited than the members! Then again, there were only about 3 members at that session. And then there were the same people at the second session...5ish at the preisthood...25ish at the first session on Sunday, and then back to about 4 (excluding Elder Kester and I) at the second session. That was a new experience for me - nobody watches conference! In Cabrero, at least. At least we didn't have to deal with the huge traffic jam of people leaving before the meeting is over hehe. Dad should appreciate that one. Oh man, I loved conference so much this year. Especially the talk Elder Holland gave about the Book of Mormon. I'm definitely going to be watching that one again later when I get a moment. I probably won't be here when the temple in Concepción is finished (or maybe even started), but I'll be able to say that I took part in preparing this part of the world to recieve a temple at least. I'll definitely have to come back here and visit sometime after my mission.

I'm soooo glad to hear that Grandma is doing better! She must have felt pretty left out with that meat business - but now she can have Grandpa to do everything for her, which is great. I've never really tasted his cooking, but you're never too old to learn something new, right?

I do feel pretty lucky that I got to skip winter this year, but keep in mind that when I come back I'll be getting a double-dose and then you can laugh at me then hehe. It's still been pretty chilly, and it rained cats and dogs yesterday (I don't have my rain gear except my umbrella and my coat, yet, so needless to say my pants, socks, and shoes were soaked). It has been warming up, though. The other day I went proselyting in short sleeves with no jacket. The members around here say it gets really hot during the summer, which I'm actually looking forward to - they can't believe that I prefer hot over cold. The country-side is absolutely gorgeous here! This morning Elder Kester and I took a bus to Concepción to run some errands (we're still in Conce) and I got to spend an hour looking out the window avoiding watching the movie Speed on the bus TV. Farewell Babylon! hehe.

I'm glad to hear that the Lord has been blessing you in regards to finding more work - make sure you take every opportunity you can becuase you never know when the next one will come. But I'm sure you already know all the ins and outs of the music business. You're very fortunate to have that other teacher who is willing to sub for you, count your many blessings! Also, stay optimistic about the arthritis - atitude is half the battle. I'm sure that older lady that still practices to this day is where she's at now because she kept the right atitude about it. I'll pray for your fingas Mamacita (and your hip)! Shoot, I'll just pray for you, sound good? I thought so.

I don't know how long a package takes to get here, but I would imagine a month at least. I sent some letters at the post office the other day and they said it can take anywhere from 8 days to 3 weeks to get a letter from here to the destination in the States. Once again, I'm a stinker and forgot to write down the address and bring it with me, so I'll be sure to have that for next week. But igual, I believe the addresses are in that packet I left with you and it should also have the phone number of the mission office, so you can call and get all the info you need. I really wouldn't know what to tell you concerning that because I've never recieved or sent anything.

Dun dun dun! Meeting with the stake president eh? I wonder what that's all about. Take the advice given by one of the speakers in conference yesterday (I'm blanking on the name) - When a call comes, you accept it! If you do end up getting a call, I know we'll all recieve blessings as a family for it. Maybe he just wants to chat and have a cup of hot chocolate? Couldn't hurt to hope, right? I agree, Dad is a great gospel doctrine teacher. I really wish I had spent more time studying scriptures with you all, I love studying the scriptures now. If only I had found this out sooner!

Good to hear that Cami is staying busy, tell her that I said to keep on keepin' on! Oh, and as for the questions she sent me in a letter - 1. No, Sprint does not keep a copy of all your text messages that they will give to you. 2. Yes, it costs money to use facebook and internet, so I would suggest not using it. 3. The contract on the phone should run out July of next year, but you can ask the people at the Sprint store for a solid date.

Who is the nurse at the Doctor's office that knows me? I don't know if I'm aware of anyone I know working there...interesting.

That's exciting about the new roof! You'll have to send me pictures of the house when it's all done, and pictures of the family so I can show people around here. They're all really interested in seeing pictures of where I'm from. I've showed many people the pictures you sent of Alexis and the fam and they all adore them.

As far as I go - I'm doing very well. Elder Kester and I have a great time every day. Recently we've been doing divisions with members of the ward and other missionaries in the surrounding sectors, which has really pushed me to be able to swim on my own when it comes to speaking the language and, really, just being a missionary. It's such a great experience - I'm learning how to talk to EVERYBODY, which I think will benefit me later because there is now way I'm going to be leaving Chile as a shy person. Just not going to happen haha. There are still times when I don't understand a word someone says (usually the teens that mumble, or the older people who have no teeth), but generally I'm improving a lot. The other night we passed by a contact's house and we left with 2 baptism dates! So many things are possible if we just thrust in our sickle with all our heart, might, mind and strength. I think the only way I could be happier is if I had some snacks every night hehe. There are little shops called Negocios where I can buy stuff like that, but it would be good to get some American goodies from time to time 'wink wink' haha.

Well, I've gotta write a letter to the President before my time runs out. I love you all and look forward to hearing about how things are going back home! Stay strong, work hard, pray always, study the scriptures daily, and eat lots of peanut butter for me!

With all the love in the world,
Trevor

September 28, 2009

Mammmmmmacita!

Ok, ldsmail is working this week. I won't be using gmail - I only did last week because for some reason we couldn't log into ldsmail. But all is well now, so on with my letter haha.

That is pretty funny that you thought Kelton was me - we really don't look alike at all. But it's good to know that someone back home is thinking about me from time to time. Somtimes I don't realize how far away from home I really am. But that's ok because I'm loving it down here. Chile is amazing!

If you could repost my snail-mail address again on facebook that would be great because I'm not sure who has it and who doesn't. I did tell Chauri to give you a call if she lost it, so apparently she did haha. I don't have it memorized, but I do have it. It's also in that package I left you, so you can find it there. All the mail goes to the mission office in Concepción and they give it to us once a month at mission conferences with the President. So let the family members know that if they'd like to contact me quicker, e-mail is the way to do it. I have an hour here for e-mail, so it's better than the MTC. But generally, people can just read the forwards you send out because I don't really have time to write everyone individual letters. But let any family members that are interested know that they can e-mail me if they would like.

This is my opinion on what is going on with the Obama thing - people are whiners. They are only happy when they get what they want or when they are complaining about things they don't agree with. I agree, the 8th article of faith should not be ammendend, and it explicitly states what the Lord wants us to do. So I think everyone should take a look at those basic pillars of our faith and rethink their actions. I shouldn't get too much into politics because I need to stay focused on the work at hand here, but I think Obama is doing as well as he can with the circumstances he was given. Of course he's not perfect, but at least he's trying to fix it, not just sit around whining about it.

The weather here has been pretty good. The mornings and evenings are still pretty chilly, but I'm doing well. My bed is calientita each night when I get into it. Those pajamas you gave me are great! I haven't had to wear the thermals, so all is well there. Our living arrangements are pretty good. Our apartment is about the size of the family room at home. There is a small bathroom, in which we do have hot water when we have the gas heater on, 2 bedrooms, and a bigger room that has our study table and a small kitchen. One of the rooms is used to keep our luggage and clothes, and the other has two beds and that's about all that can fit in it.

One of the things I would like is just to have some more munchies around the house hehe. But that's not a necesity. We usually don't eat breakfasts in the morning, but the members give us lunch every day, which is great. The food here is amazing. You really should go to that Chilean restaurant more. Ask them about Completos, Casuela, Pancito, Sopaipillas, and Empanadas. I had some fried fish the other day at a member's house, and to say the least it was divine. Everything here is fresh - fruit, meat, fish, etc. I'm eating enough, but of course I'm a growing lad and could eat more haha. But don't worry about me eating, I'm doing fine in that area. Feel free to send little treats though hehe.

As far as the money goes, it's a lot easier than I thought it would be, and I can actually access my bank account on the internet here. But I'll change the password and give it to you if you'd like. Visa is used down here, so I can go to an ATM and get money. And the way they do the monthly money here is they gave us a debit card the first day and each month they put a certain amount of money on it. So when we need money we go to an ATM at a bank and withdraw some. Elder Kester and I usually just withdraw everything so that we don't have to keep going out of our way to the bank. I carry about $20 with me (10,000 pesos) usually, and I keep the rest in a super secret spot in the apartment. Shhhhh, don't tell anyone!

I'm glad to hear that Grandma is doing better. I hope she can eventually make it back home and that Grandpa will be able to take care of her. I would encourage you to see her as often as you can, but I know you all have busy schedules. Do what you can, and send my love.

Updatesssss, let's see. We had 4 more baptisms this last week. Daniel (12), Claudia (10), Cristina (16), and Yasmira (14). Daniel, Claudia, and Cristina are all siblings - children of Herman Cicilia Sanchez who was inactive for about 20 years until just barely. We're really happy that she decided to bring her family back into the church. Yasmira is the daughter of Veronica, whom we baptized last week. She couldn't get baptized a week ago because of problemas mujeres....haha. It was a lot of work to pull all that together but we did it. I baptized Daniel and Cristina, and Elder Kester baptized the other two. After the baptism I gave Yasmira a blessing of peace and comfort because there was an accidental shooting this last week (similar to what happened in Provo this last summer) and one of her friends was killed. It's sad how things like that happen sometimes, but we can continue and find comfort in the knowledge that we have of the Lord's plan for us. It was the first blessing that I had given, so I was a little nervous, but it's amazing how the Spirit of the Lord works through you when you are doing something like that. I also performed the confirmation of Daniel and Claudia yesterday in church - which was also a first for me. The branch president also gave Elder Kester and I the last-minute assignments of speaking in church...at 10pm the night before hahaha. Don't you just love that? (I figured out how to the right-side-up question mark!!!)

Everyone here tells me I speak really well and that by the time I have as much time as Elder Kester I will speak basically fluently. I'm reminded of what Justin would write home about what the people in Belgium would say about his linguistic talent. I guess it just runs in the family, eh? Haha, I chist I chist (chiste - joke. There's a little spanglish for ya).

Well, I really wish I had stuck with playing the piano when I was younger because once the word got out that I played a bit of piano, everyone wants me to play for sacrament meetings, special numbers (with a one of the young women in the branch who is a good singer), etc. So I'm frantically practicing trying to improve my lack of piano skills. But at the same time it's a blessing because now I'll be able to keep in touch with my music roots. Speaking of which, I have been able to use my iPod here on a nightly basis. Elder Kester loves the music I brought so all is well there.

Well, that's just about all I've got for this week. I'm going to, now, to attach my camera to the computer so I can send some pictures home. I'm sorry if I can't figure it out but I'll do my best! It was great to get an e-mail! Tell the wrest of the family (immediate family really) to start writing me so that I can know how everything is going back home! I'd love to hear from you all! We're gonna head out now to go visit the Sanchez family (the one that just had three kids baptized), so I'll write more next week. I love you all and look forward to hearing from you!

- Trevor

Here are the pictures he sent:

September 21, 2009

Hola Mamacita!

Sorry it took so long to send an email - things have been insanely busy here. The first day I got here President Swenson and his wife did have me write you a note, but I believe they are sending it through snail mail, so it might not get there for awhile. CHILE IS AMAZING! I love it here, the people are nice, the food is great, etc. It is still a bit Chile and there isn´t really such a thing as indoor heating except for gas heaters and such so that is fun - reminds me of the good old days in the Virginia house!

I´ll fill you in a bit on what has been going on here -
The first day we didn't really do a whole lot - we did a little orientation with the President and his wife and such, and then we went to the capilla in Concepción to meet our companions. My companion's name is Elder Kester from Springville and he is great. We've been working really hard and having a great time - nos pasamos muy bien. For the first couple of days he and some members would pull some pranks on me because I couldn't understand everything. One time we went to eat dinner with a family, he didn't tell me they were already membersband the mom was talking about how she didn't believe in any churches and that she felt like she had an evil spirit in her that she wanted me to take out hahaha. And the dad, Marcos, asked me to go buy wine for them. Chuta! I was very confundido, but I'm learning how to not be the greeny now. The people here speak a billion miles an hour, so everything I thought I knew about spanish just flew out the window haha. I am understanding a lot after a week, though. I like to say that mi español es roto pero estoy arreglándolo.

I'm serving in Cabrero, which is about an hour east of Concepción. It's about an hour north of Los Angeles....CHILE hehe. Cabrero is just awesome - I love it here. The 18 of September was the equivalent of the 4th of July in the US, so there was much celebrating and eating of fooooooood! I must have had a billion empanadas and the carne was amazing. Everyone gets a kick out of my spanish, which is ok - I'll learn quick and show them all hehe.

We had 3 baptisms this last saturday! Veronica, her hijo Mauricio, and su sobrino Hector. Mauricio and Hector asked me to baptise them, so I've had my first baptisms already, yay! They're a great family, I just hope they stay active - inactivity is a pretty big problem down here. There's probably about 500 members on our records and only about 50 go every week, so Elder Kester and I are trying to fix that. There are few member families that are capo and are helping us a lot. We've got 3, possibly 4, more baptisms set up for this coming saturday, and one more the following saturday. Hector's mom went to his baptism and now she wants to get baptised - how cool is that¿ I don't know how to do a regular question mark on spanish keyboard...yet. I'll figure it out eventually.

The people here are so nice - everyone gives hugs and besos. As missionaries we're not supposed to give or take besos just because of false accusations and stuff, but still, everyone is so nice. You could be fighting with someone and they would still offer you some pancito, which is a very tasty bread they eat with meals here. I want to learn how to make it. From time to time there will be a group of muchachas walking on the other side of the street who will whistle and yell something like Hey baby! It's pretty funny. It's also fun to be walking in the streets and pass by a borracho, drunk, passed out on the sidewalk. Elder Kester and I get a good laugh out of that.

The money is pretty different here - I still have to get used to seeing things priced by the hundreds. One American dollar is worth about 500 Chilean pesos. So that's another fun thing - I'll try to take a picture of some money sometime and send it to you.

I had a bit of a culture shock when I got here - I hadn't really every seen poverty before I got here. There are wealthier and better of people here as well, but there are a lot of people who really don't have anything. Some houses' roofs are held down by logs and stones. We went to eat lunch with a member family one day and you could see through the floor to the dirt and there were flies just buzzing around the room everywhere. But I'm loving every second. Elder Kester and I work day in and day out for the people here and it's an amazing experience. I feel really scatter-brained and incoherent haha. I can't think of much else to say except that I love and miss you! I'm here, I'm safe, and I'm loving every second of every day. Even the times when no entiendo nada. I'm a little disoriented with writing everyone, so just let everyone know that I'll get into the swing of things and then everyone will get, hopefully, coherent letters. Well, I'm gonna go - there's so much to do! Love you!

-Trevor

September 9, 2009

Trevor's...er...Elder Vincent's final MTC email!!!

Good to hear from you! I didn't really get any mail at all this week, except for that wonderful care package :), so it was good. I love getting mail/email, it always brightens up my day.
Thanks for the update on Grandma, I'm glad to hear she's doing better. I'm sure she's much happier to be out of the hospital and into somewhere a little bit more homely - I know I would be if I were her. Pass along my love, I'll keep her in my prayers/fasts.

Good to hear you're keeping busy, sounds like you don't really ever have a dull moment. I have to say I'm pretty happy about not being there to smell that plant stuff hehe. But then again, if I weren't on my mission I'd be back up at USU by now so I wouldn't smell it anyway :-p. I'll bet your pretty excited about the new bed situation - be very grateful for that, I have no idea what I'll be sleeping on by this time next week haha. I've talked to a few returned missionaries from Chile, though, and they all have wonderful things to say about it. I'm sure I'll absolutely love it. I woke up this morning feeling poopy (headache, kind of threw up a little in the bathroom, etc.) but I seem to be doing much better already. My stomach feels fine (I was able to eat most of a breakfast at the temple) and my headache/sore throat seems to be subsiding. So I'm pretty sure I just had a little fluke. Hopefully it doesn't resurface!

As far as the music situation goes - I'm really hoping I get to listen to some of it at some point. I've gone 8 weeks without hearing a single song (that wasn't sung by missionaries) and it's really taking a toll. I neeeeeed music, but we can't listen to ANY here. So hopefully that will get better out in the field. I haven't heard anything about my mission president, but I will make sure to be completely obedient no matter what. I hadn't heard that category of mission presidents thing before, so I'm hoping it's not actually like that. We'll just have to see. Sleeping bag - I'm not sure what I'll be able to get down there, but I sure don't want to have more weight than is allowed - waaay to pricey. So I'll just have to bring what I have and make it work. I can alwasy get some stuff down there as well to help out. Darn these weight restrictions!
As for the money in my account - I have NO way of knowing how much is in there (except for keeping track of my receipts), so it would be great if there would be some way for you to let me know what the balance is. I don't know how the bank would like that. Maybe I'll be able to check it online when I get out into the field. Once again, we'll just have to see :).
Photos - I'm not exactly sure what I would do with them, but I guess it couldn't hurt to have them. I've never really sent anyone pictures of myself before haha, so it'll be a new experience if I end up doing that.

Flight plans - I did get them and I sent them to you in a box along with with the Santa Biblia and some pictures of me/my district/and some Elders from my zone who have left already. Just to give you a visual on what some parts of my life here are like. I should be calling between 8 and 9 on Monday though, so let me know what the situation there is - and who I need to call.
Well, that's just about all I've got for this week. Next week I'll be in Chile!!! Ahhhh, it's crazy. I'm feeling a bit nervous and maybe a little scared, probably because I've never been outside the country before, but I am looking forward to it very much. There's nowhere else I'd rather be, so I'll just keep that mind-set and trust in the Lord to help me. Alrighty, can't wait to hear from you again - love you mucho!

-Trevor

September 2, 2009

By way of explanation of his first paragraph, a lady from our ward saw Trevor at the temple this morning and asked if he wanted her to tell me (mom) anything. He said, "Just tell her I love her." She was so impressed with him -- how cute he is, how attentive he was in the temple (his buddy was dozing), how much Kelton's looking like him - even could see a bit of Cami in his eyes.

Mommmmacita!

Glad to hear you got the message! I saw them this morning, I didn't think they would get back to you that fast haha. But it's good to know they did. I've actually been seeing quite a few familiar faces in the temple over the past two months. Two months! It's crazy to think that I'll be out of here in less than two weeks. I only have one more temple visit left before I leave...kind of a sad thought. Maybe when/if you and dad come down to pick me up in two years we can run up to Santiago to go to the temple :). I'll probably want to spend most of the time in Concepcion (if you do come), though, because that's where I'll be familiar with. We'll just have to see how that plays out. I've heard that some of the parents of the other Elders in my district want to come pick them up as well. I'm sure everyone would want to, since Chile is the coolest place in South America and all...hehe.

Thanks for doing all you could with the shirt, I'm surprised all your momma tricks didn't work! It was a dry-erase marker that did the damage. I'm not sure how I got it, but there it is.
As far as packages go, don't send too much more food cause I'll have to just give it away when I leave if it doesn't get eaten. Sin embargo (however), small bags of chips and reeses/oreo packages are always welcome though :). As far as money goes, I've heard, from a returned missionary from Chile, that some places in Chile actually use American money. I'm not sure how that will be in my area, but I thought that was pretty cool. I could use another small deposit in my bank account as I will be replenishing my toiletry stash before leaving, and it would be good if I could get like $20 in cash. I'm pretty sure I'll still be able to use my debit cards down there, but I may have to have you send me new ones depending on when my cards expire.
I'll be getting flight plans tomorrow!!!! Hopefully anyway. We don't need visas or anything so there shouldn't be any delays - we'll be out of here a week from Monday! That's pretty crazy about all the other guys from my age group being all around the world. We just got a new teacher transfered to our class who got back from his mission in Madrid about a month ago. Back a month and he's already teaching in the MTC haha. Good stuff.

Well, that's just about all I have for right now. E-mails always feel so scatter-brained. I did send a letter today as well, so that might make more sense. OH! So the new spanish bible came out, and I bought it. Soooo, I'm going to be sending you the other bible I was using. It's a nice one, so I'm sure you'll appreciate it. By nice I mean it's leather bound, not like the triple I sent you. It has a few markings of my own in it, but it's still pretty blank for all your thoughts ;-). Alrighty, I'll look forward to hearing from you. Love you!

-Trevor