NOV 18 - NOV 24 SEMANA 31 EN EL CAMPO MISIONAL CONCEPCION, CHILE

¡Hola, mi familia!

¡Ya nos pasó otra semana divertida y buenísima!

Cambios happened, and now there is a true diversity in Longavi! Right now we are a Brasileño, a Mexicano, a gringo, and a Boliviano! Elder Flores, un bueno amigo Boliviano from my days in Conce, came here for cambios to end his mission here. ¡Estamos cuatro extranjeros, acá!

During the week, I reunited with my papá! Elder Withers was sent to Parral, a nearby zone, as Zone Leader, and I got to see him for a interzone class that we had there in his zone! It's so crazy thinking of the time that has passed and how much we've both grown. Elder Withers is goofy as always haha.

This week, Elder Mariano and I are preparing for the baptism of Teory! She is to be baptized this Satuday, and I am super excited for her. :)

An appropriate week, really, as it's THANKSGIVING WEEK back home! I'm so excited for that! We don't have the same holiday here, but I'll be thinking about the same all this week. Every day is a good day to be grateful, and I'm grateful for all of the many blessings I have here in the mission, and at home.

With that, I wish you, my family and all my loved ones, a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING! May you enjoy all the great food (especially my dad's mashed potatoes and my mom's coolwhip salad), and consider even more the blessings that surround you this week!

LES AMO, MUCHÍSIMO.

Amor de su misionero,

Elder Trent Sellers

P.S. Aunt Dee! I got another card from you a few weeks back and I forgot to mention it! Thank you so much, auntie of mine! I love reading letters from you. ;)

-----

Note to Dad:

I was gonna mention the mashed potatoes, my dad!! I've been thinking about those all this week! I'm gonna miss them, but I'm going to appreciate and love them even more now. ;) Make the good 'ol, buttery recipe! 

The auto show is this week, too! Are you and momma gonna go?!

Glad you had a good time with the gang! That Mexican restaurant is SO GOOD! I've been living with a Méxicano, mi amigo Elder Herrera! ;) He doesn't cook so much, but I'm going to get him to teach me some more!

Yeah, Christmas time is just beginning here!! Líder is so much like Walmart at home, and everything Christmas is already out on the shelves! 

I want to take some Christmas pictures to send as Christmas cards, but I think I'm going to have to wait until the beginning of next week. I'm going to see about that...

Yeah, there's home teaching here! It's a lot more difficult in Chile! I'm actually a home teacher here, and have companions! 

We also have the juste de diezmo these next few weeks, and I have to help with that as Secretary!

NOV 11 - NOV 17 SEMANA 30 EN EL CAMPO MISIONAL CONCEPCION, CHILE

¡Buenos cambios, mi familia!

Another 6 weeks have gone by and after having a new announcement of cambios, Elder Mariano and I are both staying with our callings in Longavi! Mi gran amigo Elder Siaosi (from Carlsbad, California - San Diego county!), however, is leaving and I'm sure gonna miss him a lot. 

These past 6 weeks in Longavi have been awesome, and the time together with Elder Mariano (Brasileño), Elder Siaosi (gringo, of course),and Elder Herrera (Méxicano) has made for some of the best weeks in the mission, so far. Lots of diversity in this house! haha.

This past week was a great one, and one of the highlights was the "Thanksgiving Dinner" lunch that we had with the matrimonio misional here in our zone, Los Minch! Hermana Minch, after the suggestion of Elder Siaosi and I, fixed us a traditional Thanksgiving meal, and it tasted in every way like Thanksgiving! Stuffing, cranberries, and all! And Elder Siaosi and I topped it off by making zepallo bars...which we also made for a third time overall for a Noche de Hogar during the week. Haha oh man. I know I mention food a lot.

Things are getting hot here! It's really beginning to warm up, and today it's hitting the 90s (in Fahrenheit - we use Celsius here, of course)! It's not summer quite yet, but I'm beginning to get an idea the heat here as a missionary!

The missionary fun is going well, and Elder Mariano and I are blessed to be preparing for the baptism of Teory, a longtime investigator and daughter of an older less active member. She has finally decided to make the decision, and I'm super excited for her!

Ok, family, got to get going! I should mention that in our letter that we received from President Arrington today, we are now being asked to email for one hour, instead of the allotted hour and a half which we've had previously. Also, they are asking us to keep our Christmas Skype within 40 minutes. That's going to be mighty hard, as there's SO much to say, but it's what they are asking us to do. I'm so excited for that! A lot has happened since we last talked in May! 

I'm so looking forward to Christmas! Just about a month away! ;)

Mucho amor, a ustedes, mi familia,

su Elder Trent Sellers

P.S. ¡Disfruten las fotos que por fin pude manderles!

¡Zona Linares!

"Thanksgiving Dinner" Lunch with Los Minch!

Los roqueros, or the Michael Jacksons

Misioneros disfrazados

Baile de Disfraz

¡Halloween se celebra en Chile igualmente!

NOV 4 - NOV 10 SEMANA 29 EN EL CAMPO MISIONAL CONCEPCION, CHILE

¡Buena semana, mi familia querida!

¡Hola de nuevo del campo de Chile!

Theres has been a lot of missionary fun to do this week, and it has made for an awesome start to one of the best times of the year! 

This week, on Tuesday, Elder Mariano and I had a mini cambio for the day and I stayed in Longavi with another gringo, Elder Butler, that came from Linares. We had a good time, working together as two compañeros menores haha. It was fun introducing him to the sector and testing how well I knew the sector myself. Im getting to know el pueblito and el campo pretty well out here!

Later in the week, Elder Mariano and I had a super funny experience contacting. We were riding our bikes out by Los Cristales, a part of our sector about 30 minutes out in bici, when we passed by and contacted a man riding a horse! I chatted with him, pedaling just enough to keep up with the horse, and handed him a pass along card. ;) Missionary fun, as dad and Elder Bevans would say! haha.

On Sunday, Elder Mariano was called as 2nd Counselor in the branch presidency! Another change, and another calling! Now, both of us have our callings as secretary and counselor on top of our responsibilities and callings as missionaries. Its neat being secretario here! I have to work with MLS and even have to count tithing! Lots of responsibility! Its great to help the rama as we can, and I know my companion will do a good job. The members love Elder Mariano, and he will work hard, I know.

Ok, family, have to go! Im without pictures this week, again, still having to fix things with my memory card. Will send some as soon as I can!

Les amo, muchísimo,

su Elder Trent Sellers

P.S. Super excited to hear about the changes in the stake back home!! Ive been thinking about that all week! 

P.S.2. We had lunch with our gringo friend Seth (from Michigan!) today! Its so awesome that hes from Saginaw! He emailed a few of his friends and a few think they might know Aunt Dee! Must be popular, Aunt Dee! ;)

OCT 28 - NOV 3 SEMANA 28 EN EL CAMPO MISIONAL CONCEPCION, CHILE

¡Hola, familia!

¡FELIZ HALLOWEEN!

Even in Chile, there's Halloween! It was a fun week, and between the normal days of missionary work Elder Mariano and I were placed in charge of planning and bringing to pass the Baile de Disfraz (costume dance) of the rama! In the time that we had, we gathered decorations and all. Friday night, all the members, a whole lot of less actives who hadn't been seen in a long time, and a few that we had never seen before gathered together in the capilla for a fun night together. The costumes were impressive, and even us missionaries were able to be a part of it. Elder Siaosi was a man from the munincipalidad, Elder Herrera a luchador de artes marciales, and Elder Mariano and I, after having dressed up as a man from the 80s and a roquero (rock star), were interpretted as two versions, before and after, of Michael Jackson! It was a whole lot of fun, and, even more than that, impressive and touching. Some of those that arrived didn't come with disfraz, but with the help of other members were able to find something to wear and something to be. I was able to do that for one of the younger youth in the rama, giving him the jacket that I had acquired and the glasses that I had brought. It was nice to see him and the others of the rama coming together, and doing things one for another. :)

The great weekend continued, and on Sunday came a surprise. I was called as Secretario de la rama! Having been in Los Hombres Jóvenes for just a week, I was called on Sunday to be the new secretary and now will be working with the rama on a whole different level. I'm excited for that, and the new opportunity to help the rama in another capacity. All in a rama in Chile!

Ok, my family, there is a ton more I want to tell you, but there's never enough time to say everything! Everything is well, and more so I hope everything is going well back home with you. I can't believe all of the changes and news that I hear from home!

Thank you to Sister Stokes, Aunt Dee, Aunt Carol, and Grannie and Papa for thinking of me and helping me a little bit more with the financial aspect of the mission. I'm super grateful, and I thank them. :)

NO PICTURES TODAY because I got another virus on my memory card, from ANOTHER ciber. If I put it in the computer again, it'll delete the pictures that I still have on it. I'll see what I can do and send some as soon as I can, hopefully next week!!

¡Les amo, mi familia!

MUCHÍSIMO AMOR,

su Elder Trent Sellers

OCT 21 - OCT 27 SEMANA 27 EN EL CAMPO MISIONAL CONCEPCION, CHILE

Hey, my family!

It's the end of October, and Halloween is coming our way!

It's great to hear the traditions are continuing at home, while I'm learning and experiencing new ones here. ;) 

This week has seen another Conferencia de Zona, my first one being in Zona Linares, and a Noche de Postre y karaoke with the rama! It was a super fun week, and spiritual as well having the opportunity to listen to our leaders during the conference. 

For the Noche de Postre, I made mom's pumpkin bars, but with a twist...squash! There's no pumpkin to be found anywhere here, so I had to adapt the recipe to use zepallo, a type of squash! Oh man, it probably doesn't sound as good to you as it was haha, but the zepallo bars came out GOOD! I literally had to carve out the squash, as nothing like it comes in cans, and it took hours of work and even hours in the oven as our gas-powered oven was running out of gas! Momma, you'd be proud! :)

 Just as well, things have been turning out real well with the missionary work we do each day. ;) Longavi has the ability to grow so much. Elder Mariano and I are working, finding new people and helping others come back to a knowledge of the Gospel. This week, one of the young men, Alvaro, received his mission call, and we had the opportunity to be there with him as he opened it. Since then, he's come out with us twice and it's been so awesome to hear his testimony as a convert and his animo to serve a mission in Trujillo Peru in another three months. With a few months in the mission already, I know better and feel even more convinced that the Gospel is true. 

It is true.

Alright, my family, I have to get going! I hope that you have a wonderful week this coming week, and a HAPPY HALLOWEEN! We're having a baile de disfraz in the rama! ;)

Mucho amor de su misionero,

Elder Trent Sellers

P.S. I need to mention that I met a man from Bay City, Michigan! His name is Seth and he is an English teacher here! He knows Kryziacks, Aunt Dee!!

Conferencia de Zona, de Linares y Parral

Conferencia de Zona, de Linares y Parral

One of the young men from Longavi, Alvaro, opened his carta de llamamiento! ¡Le toca Misión Peru Trujillo! 

ZEPALLO BARS!

Seeing as there is not much calabaza (pumpkin) to be found in Chile, I had to adapt mom's recipe for pumpkin bars using zepallo (the nearest relative, a type of squash)! They came out GOOD!

They didn't win the contest, but I was real proud of them! They're still not as good as mom's pumpkin bars, though. ;)

Zepallo (the nearest relative, a type of squash)

Noche de Postre, y ¡karaoke!

Noche de Postre, y ¡karaoke!

OCT 14 - OCT 20 SEMANA 26 EN EL CAMPO MISIONAL CONCEPCION, CHILE

¡Buena semana, mi familia!

¡Todo bien, acá!

It's been a real busy week, and I'm getting to do a lot here in Longavi!

Just this weekend..

On Saturday, we had a baptism in the morning! ¡Gladys se bautizó! That was super cool for only my second week here! In the afternoon, I taught a guitar class, we held mutual and spent time with the youth, and then spent hours cleaning the chapel and talking with la familia Cárcamo, the family of our Branch President, about the rama.

Sunday I was able to confirm Gladys, and then gave one of the two talks for Sacrament meeting about learning and teaching within the Church.

Just in the weekend, there was a whole lot to do!

I'm so grateful for the opportunities that I'm having here. I love Longavi, and I'm really looking forward to the experiences of these next few months!

This is the Lord's work. It's so neat to see it come forth in a small pueblito in the country of Chile. This is the Church of Jesus Christ. It is true. Joseph Smith was a prophet of God who restored the very same church, and today we have a living prophet Thomas S. Monson who guides us and helps us understand our Heavenly Fathers will for us.

I love you, my family. I hope you have a great week this week. Not a moment goes by that I don't think of each of you.

Mucho amor de su misionero en Chile,
Elder Trent Sellers :)

Trent's answers to some questions from Mom:

We are good on meals! The Relief Society President (wife of our Branch President) organizes lunches and we are fed every day by members, save P-Day. The mission gives each of us about $35.000 pesos Chilenos to give to the branch to help members with the costs of lunch.

In the house we have a gas stove-top oven (finally an oven! --- we didn't have one in Conce!), a microwave, a refrigerator, and an electric container to heat up water.

We get mail here regularly every month. The zone leaders go to Conce the beginning of every month for Consejo with President, and they bring the mail with them from the office. It'll take longer to get here, but it'll get here. ;)

We do our laundry when the others aren't haha, and we hang our clothes on lines that he have inside the house!

Elder Mariano and I are good friends! We're having fun working together. He's crazy and almost always up beat. It's so cool having a Brazilean companion! I'll probably be here for six months. It's especially a trend here in Longavi, with the callings that we hold as missionaries.

Thanksgiving isn't the same here, but we ARE having a Halloween party that us missionaries are in charge of ON Halloween! Christmas we usually spend with la familia Cárcamo (the Branch President's family), but they are going to be leaving the branch real soon and there will be some big changes. We shall see! It will be so cool being here in the campo for Christmas!

Ahh, I thought of some things for the next package! ;) ...

- Pilot G2 pens

- spacebags (one of mine broke over cambios and those have saved me!! Thanks for suggesting them so much, momma.. ;) )

- customizable stamper (one of the missionaries had one at home --- it would be so cool to be able to stamp our passalongs with our names and number!)

- PEANUT BUTTER

- Nutella (I had to leave a lot in Conce, dang it!)

Ah, and real quick, momma, I'm sorry for having to take so much out of my account recently! This first month here is going to be rough financially since we have to spend so much on bus rides and transportation, and bike repairs. Our trips are reimbursable, but our receipts only get to Conce once every month with the zone leaders! I'm going to take more money out today to help me get through the money and to cover bike repairs when I take it in. That could come out to $20.000 or so! Got to fix it up, though.

Welcome to Longavi!

That's the entrance to the pueblo!!  I got pictures by those two guys last week but they were deleted from my card by the virus!! I'll get some more by those guys this week! ;)

                Hahaha we went fishing by that big field today!!!  It's a big farming field, and there's a river that you can see

                that runs right along it. We were fishing above and to the left of that very same field, us four missionaries with

                a less active member and his friends! We live in 2 Poniente by the colegio in a casita with a huge palm out 

                front that looks like a pineapple!

Bicis, campo, y los Andes

Mi bici, y mi basura por el momento jaja.
This bike has a lot of problems, and I have to take it to get it fixed!

Bautismo de Gladys

¡Los misioneros de Rama Longavi!

Fishing in Chile (thinking of you, Uncle Bob!)

How's that for a mountain?!  I think of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit when I see it, thinking of the Misty Mountain.

OCT 7 - OCT 13 SEMANA 25 EN EL CAMPO MISIONAL CONCEPCION, CHILE

¡SALUDOS DE LONGAVI, MI FAMILIA!

¡Que campo hermoso!

Wow, what a sector it is, and what a week it has been! I made it here on Tuesday, taking a bus from the terminal in Conce, through Chillan, Parral, and up to Linares, and then from there back down to Longavi with Elder Mariano.

Longavi is way different than anything I have seen in Chile, yet! It is BEAUTIFUL!

The town itself is a small pueblito, with a plaza full of shaded trees and benches in the middle and surrounded by local shops. The majority of sector, however, goes way out, and to the ANDES!

The sector is huge, and literally touches the Andes Mountains! They don't look too far either, but they're yet hours away! Elder Mariano and I work as far as an hour bus ride or so will take us! 

The church situation is a whole lot different, too! Longavi is a rama, instead of a barrio, and the group of units is a distrito, instead of a stake. There is a lot to do here, and the missionaries do a LOT of it!

Just this Sunday, we were each assigned home teaching companions to go out with to visit less-active members, and Elder Mariano and I were called as Young Mens President and 1st Counselor! Elder Mariano and I are also edificadores de la rama. We are given a certain amount each month by the Church to fund activities in the rama. 

The missionaries here, with the llamamientos that we have, are able to do a lot more than other missionaries in the mission. It's a really rare situation, and a huge opportunity! I'll have to explain more about that. ;)

Overall, things are real good here! We live in a casita, four of us missionaries, and do our own laundry. Fortunately, we have a washer, but we do have to hang-dry our clothes. ;)

Dad, I did get your card two weeks ago! Thanks for the pictures. :) And, of course, the package! Thanks, momma and my dad, for everything that came with it! I had to cram as best as I could in my luggage for cambios! Unfortunately, I had to leave some of the peanut butter behind, dang it haha.

Also, I got a card from Aunt Dee! Thank you, Aunt Dee! I love hearing from my auntie in Michigan. ;)

Ok, got to go, my family! So much to tell!

¡Les amo, muchísimo, mi papás, y Pan!

Mucho amor,

su Elder Trent Sellers

con Rodrigo Inostroza

con la familia Lopez

con la familia Escobar

con Hermana Juanita, Hermana Ursula, y la Pamela

con Alejandro Inostroza y Cecilia Soto