FEB 10 - FEB 16 SEMANA 43 EN EL CAMPO MISIONAL CONCEPCION, CHILE

¡Por fin! ¡Pude mandar fotos!

Today, instead of writing much about the last week, I want to explain these last few weeks through pictures!

I've sent a montón so you can see what we've done these last weeks, through cambios and all.

Things are well in Coihueco, y hay mucha obra que hacer. The youth in the rama call me Nicholas Cage haha.

¡FELICTACIONES! a mi mamá, for her retirement! Congratulations, momma!

Y

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY, especially to Cris. :)

¡Disfrúten las fotos!

Mucho amor,

su Elder Trent Sellers

Día de Sandía actividad con la rama!

 Hubo una competencia de sandía!

Hermana Isabel y sus dos hijos, Leo y Francisco

Hermana Isabel is recent convert and the only member in her family.

Hermana Erika, Hermano Juan, Martín, y Daniela

Hermana Erika is the only member in her family, recent convert, and Relief Society President.

What almost a year in the mission does to a pair of shoes

What almost a year in the mission does to a pair of shoes

Cambios entre Longavi y Coihueco

For my dad

Las hermanas de Coihueco, Hermana Taylor y Hermana Cáceres

¡El Tranque! (the dam)

Regreso de las barras de CALABAZA

Jason Moya y yo, tocando en P-Day

Jason is the son of a recent convert, Lorenzo, and ¡músico!

Seth Hanson, mi amigo from Tri-City, MI!

Hermana Libeny y Michael

Presidencia de la Rama Longavi

¡La familia Cárcamo!

Hermano Muñoz

La familia de Hermana Carmen y Teory

My companion Elder Moore also wishes Travis a good one! haha

¡Tocamos a Hermana Carmen una ranchera por su cumpleaños!

¡Los mariachis!

¡La presidencia de la Rama Longavi!

La familia Ramirez

FEB 3 - FEB 9 SEMANA 42 EN EL CAMPO MISIONAL CONCEPCION, CHILE

¡Hola, familia querida!

Hoy día tengo una falta enorme de tiempo, pero quiero desear a mi hermano 

¡UN FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS Y DÍA FANTÁSTICO!

¡FELIZ CUMPLE, TRAVIS!

Coihueco is awesome, and there is so much to tell! Elder Moore and I have worked diligently this week, and that includes talking with just about every person that passes us by. Just about! You really get to know the town fast when you talk with everybody in the streets!

It's a beautiful, small, and unique pueblo, and even when the cambio was wild I am so excited to come to know the members and nonmembers here.

Right now, we're in the house of a converso, with Lorenzo and his family (we played music with his son Jason who isn't a member), and now we have to fly to the house! The Relief Society president has invited us to her house as part of a weekly Noche de Hogar that she holds with the elderes and hermanas, and we have that later to prepare for!

¡Que tengan una semana increíble, mi familia!

Mucho amor, mis amados,

Elder Trent Sellers

Sending Happy Birthday greetings to my brother Travis.

JAN 27 - FEB 2 SEMANA 41 EN EL CAMPO MISIONAL CONCEPCION, CHILE

I LEFT LONGAVI!

Saturday night I received a call from the zone leaders that there was to be un cambio de emergencia in Coihueco, and that a decision had been made to send me there in place of another elder! 

I was given the day Sunday to prepare myself, to say goodbye, and to pack bags, and the assistants passed by this morning to take me to my new sector!

¡Que loca la experiencia!

The mission has cambios next week, one week from now, but this happened and now I'm here in my third sector in the mission. I'm with Elder Moore, a great friend already from the mission and CANADIAN! The rama of Coihueco is small - the capilla is even smaller than that of Longavi - and I'm just getting to know it. I've been here for some 6 hours, and we've already filled the day with a paseo to a nearby dam by a beautiful lake - that's something else that I'll have to show in pictures when I am FINALLY able to send photos.

Coihueco, itself, is a small pueblo, in many ways smaller than Longavi but in others a little more developed. It lies to the west side of the cordillera (mountain range), being the closest sector in the mission to the Andes, I believe! It's a part of la zona Chillán Ñuble, so I'll being able to get to know Chillán, at last! There's Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds there!

Saying goodbye to Longavi was hard. I was really involved in the rama, and I love the people there so much. Never will I forget that special place! 

Even though it has been a bit of a shock, and even though I will miss them, I'm super excited and grateful for the opportunity to be here in my third sector already. That's not something I expected! It's going to be an amazing experience. There are us two missionaries here, and two awesome hermanas, and I know I will be getting to know the members and nonmembers super well in this small town. 

¡Saludos de Coihueco!

Mucho amor,

su Elder Trent Sellers

JAN 20 - JAN 26 SEMANA 40 EN EL CAMPO MISIONAL CONCEPCION, CHILE

This week we wore ourselves well out, but not too bad!

Elder Ramirez and I worked up and down the streets of the pueblo, from 7 Norte to 6 or thereabout Sur, road bikes to Los Cristales, and a bus to la Quinta.

Those things are all normal parts to the week, but más encima on Friday night we ran a Scout-influenced game night (complete with Robar El Tocino - Steal the Bacon!) and on Saturday we made and poured concrete, helped a lady move, and put together a despedida (farewell) for one of the young men, Alvaro, who is leaving on his mission to Perú Trujillo today!

Today, for P-Day, we took a trip with the zone to la Precordillera (the foothills of Los Andes)! It was impressive and beautiful. I stepped foot in a cool, crystal-clear river, and after we hiked up an incredibly steep hill to see a view of the foothills and mountain range out in the distance. I know, these last few P-Days have been pretty great! haha. The only thing is that it leaves us with a little less time, and makes it hard to send fotos! I have to wait until we're able to go to the capilla to send them, and that yet might be next week!

Tonight, we have a Noche de Hogar planned with the first counselor of the rama, and we have to get going to fetch our bikes!

¡Allí voy!

Les amo, mucho, mi familia. ¡Un FELIZ CUMPLE sea dado a mi prima querida Katie esta semana! ¡Te amo, cuz!

Amor de su misionero,

Elder Trent Sellers

P.S. There are two weeks left to the cambio, and then I am really not sure what is going to happen! With three cambios here, and given the situation, anything is possible!

JAN 13 - JAN 19 SEMANA 39 EN EL CAMPO MISIONAL CONCEPCION, CHILE

Never in my life have I planned so precisely each day!

We do so much, and the challenge is describing it!

This week was highlighted by a Conferencia de Zona. The conference was held closer in Linares, this time, and we learned a lot about the importance of working with the members of the Church. We also got to finally watch the featured film, Meet the Mormons, o Conozca a los Mormones en español! That was a real treat haha. It helps illustrate the normal and oftentimes inspiring lives of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the happiness that a knowledge of the Gospel brings us. I say that because the values of truth, happiness, and family really matter to me, and it has shaped me into who I am.

On Sunday, I was able to speak about that when I gave a discurso about families and the Noche de Hogar (Family Home Evening). It's because of you, family, that I have become who I've become to be. Thank you, momma and my dad, for teaching me righteous and Godly values and for raising me while being examples of those values.

So today, we went to las termas de Quinamávida, and the place was beautiful! We went with the son of our Branch President, Benja, and got to tour around the resort, see the pools, and hike up to have a lunch on the hillside that we packed with us.

I took a ton of pictures, and I'm going to send a few, along with others since Año Nuevo, next week. ;)

Right now, I have to run to change and go out to work!

¡Les amo, mi familia querida!

¡Que tengan una semana buenísima!

su Elder Trent Sellers

JAN 6 - JAN 12 SEMANA 38 EN EL CAMPO MISIONAL CONCEPCION, CHILE

¡Buena semana, mi familia, y ¡felices 10 meses de la misión!

Wow! It amazes me that 10 months have already passed by in the mission. I don't like to do much counting, but I am grateful for every moment and treasure every moment that I might have here. I sure do miss you, family, but know that everything is well and that the mission is the most incredible experience of my life. I've done some pretty awesome things, too, but the mission is incredible.

Y ¡que locas las semanas! Elder Ramirez and I have been busy in Longavi, with much to do and many people to see and visit. It's amazing how many people we meet, how many we really get to know, and where we go to find them. This week we took several bus rides into the sector, one the very same trip of 45 minutes, out towards the mountains. 

Last Monday we took a trip to el río Longavi, during el día de preparación, as you saw from the pictures Teory posted, and it was a blast! We went out exploring, up, down, and across the river, and were able to wade in a bit and enjoy the cool, agua Chilena! The campo of Chile is beautiful, and it is an awesome blessing of the mission to enjoy it, while we serve as missionaries.

This día de preparación, we're shopping and emailing here in Linares, returning to Longavi, and then going out to the campo later in the evening to celebrate Elder Flores' birthday with la familia Cárcamo! Elder Flores is one of my great friends from the mission, músico like I am, and he goes home this cambio! 

Speaking of birthdays, I quickly wanted to wish a FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS to Grannie, today, and Uncle Bob this week! ¡Que disfruten sus días, y las tortas! ¡Les quiero, mucho!

Of course, I love you all very much, and hope everyone has a great coming week. Right now, off to finishing emailing and preparing for this next week!

Les amo, mi familia,

su Elder Trent Sellers

TACO DINNER (YUM, YUM)

P-DAY  (PREPARATION DAY) OUTING

DEC 29 - JAN 5 SEMANA 37 EN EL CAMPO MISIONAL CONCEPCION, CHILE

¡Llegamos al año nuevo!

¡BIENVENIDO, 2015!

Wow, what a year, 2014. I spent the majority of it serving a mission in a foreign country, and what a blessing that has been. Being in Chile and helping the people here come unto the Savior and receive peace and happiness in their lives makes for a great year.

It's also really fun, and the Chilenos have taught me so much! That includes Español, and oh am I excited to be able to speak it, better and better every day.

This week was a great first week of a new year.

We passed New Year's Eve having dinner with Teory, her son Marcos, and Hermana Carmen, and got back to the house at 11:00PM, waiting for the new year. At midnight, we launched confetti in the house and made a lot of noice with party favors haha, and reflected on the past year.

New Year's Day and the following day, I went to Linares for a mini cambio while my companion, Elder Ramirez, went off to Concepción for leadership training. He is a newly-called district leader, and him and Elder Flores, both here in Longavi, make for the two district leaders in the entire Zona Linares.

It's been fun getting to know my companion this week. He is a real outgoing missionary, and I've come to realize that we both are really ambitious. It's funny, he likes practicing his English and I like practicing my Español, so many times we end up speaking between the two languages and answering each others questions or comments in the other's language haha. 

I'm looking forward to the cambio ahead. It's not going to be easy, but I'm sure I'm going to learn a lot and I hope that includes making comida Méxicana!

Love you, my family! Gosh, such crazy news from home! I hope everything is well.

Que estos cambios que vengan sean para su provecho. ;)

Mucho amor, y feliz año 2015,

su Élder Trent Sellers

P-Day

P-Day