2nd Letter!

OK! Officially the second email! Ha! Every p-day morning, we all countdown until 8:30; we all get so anxious and excited. I was definitely so pumped to write.

Well, things here in Spain are going great; the language is coming, and we are having a great time. Where to start? Last week after I wrote everyone, we went to the temple. That was a great experience. I did it in Spanish, which was a really cool experience for me. I had a great time, and it really helped me focus. After that for our p-day excursion, we went to the Plaza Del Sol in Spain. It was so cool, but unfortunately, I had problems with the SD card in my camera, so I won't be able to send photos from that until next week, but I was able to take some.

Plaza Del Sol e Fuente

At the plaza we got churros with chocolate; they were so good! The chocolate came in a little chocolate mug and was thick and super rich. I loved it, but everyone else wasn't that big of a fan. I definitely think that everyone in the family would love it, except you, Whitney; it would definitely be too much for you! We had a good time then the day ended, and it was back to work.

My companion to the park last week was Elder Sherman; I don't have a pic of him, sorry. This time, we didn't do as well as I did the first week, but that's just the way it is sometimes. We were still able to pass out 2 copies of The Book of Mormon. I'm super annoyed with myself though, because we talked to this one couple from Ecuador that seemed generally interested. I gave them a Book of Mormon, but I completely forgot to get their contact information. I'm frustrated at myself, but the only thing I can think now is that it's in the Lord's hands.

It's weird to think about, but we are at about the halfway point for our stay at the MTC. Elder Heninger has a saying he heard when he was serving. (He served for 3 months in Vancouver while he was waiting for his visa, because it's hard for Canadians to get visas to Spain. They just shipped him right into an area- no MTC or anything, crazy!) But the saying goes like this, "The days go by like weeks and the weeks go by like days," and it is honestly so true. Now that we are really in the groove of things, every day seems pretty repetitive. Each day seems like it takes forever, but then the week is over before you realize it. Still though, while it is repetitive, I still love it. We are having a great time, and we all get along so well. It really feels like a big family. I'm kind of sad, because this is the last week for the Brazilian missionaries. They are leaving so soon. I'm going to miss them; they bring such a powerful spirit. It is honestly amazing.

I can't think of any big things that happened. Like I said, now that we are pretty into it, not much is changing. So I'm just going to share a couple of random experiences, and we will see what I can remember. A couple of days ago, we were playing futbol or soccer and Hermana Barlow from my district got kicked pretty hard in the shin. She was in a lot of pain. At first I thought she was just making a big deal about it, but later it swelled up a bunch, and when she straightened her leg, her knee would make these popping sounds-definitely not good. Also, when we got back, Elder Souza (my first park companion) had been playing soccer at another park and had done something to his knee. He was on crutches, and we didn't know how bad it was. That night right before dinner, I noticed one elder who wasn't eating. He said it was because he was fasting. When he told me that, I just couldn't get it off my mind. I'd already grabbed my food. I just sat staring at it for, no joke, 5-7 minutes before I finally just gave it away and started fasting, too. The next day Hermana Barlow was fine, and Elder Souza was still limping a bit, but now he walks normal, even if he does have to be a little careful. That was definitely a great testimony building experience. I was really worried about Elder Souza since he is leaving at the end of the week. I'm really happy he is better. We get along so well.

Another cool thing for Dad and Whitney, my companion’s dad served his mission in Guatemala, too. The same mission as you, Dad. He served in ‘89.

Another thing I remembered, this is more of a funny story. We were on the train/metro headed back from the plaza and Elder Heninger and Elder Taylor (an elder also in my district) were having trouble talking to this guy. They called me over to help them understand. We got talking, and he is a member. We talked for 10-15 minutes in Spanish before it was time to go. When we got off the train, one of our teachers tells us that that guy actually used to teach at the MTC and speaks perfect English. He was just testing us; we all laughed about that for a while.

So other things that happened: Yesterday we went to the pit, and so many people were already playing soccer there that we went to a different spot. Elder Castagnetti, who is my district leader, was sick. So we walked and eventually fell behind from the main group. We had no idea where to go, so we just ended up wandering for awhile. I took some pics of the pit and our exploring adventures, but unfortunately, I lost the data for some reason. I don't know why. Hope that doesn't happen again! Oh well. I'll try and send again pictures of the pit another time; it is so cool.

Other random stuff. I'm getting along well with the cooks. I have all of their names down by now; there is Diana, Silvana, Iinma, and Eevaline. They are all really nice ladies. I probably spelled their names wrong, but I just wrote them out phonetically.

I think that's going to be it for this week. If I think if anything else, I'll send it while I still have time, love you all, and I miss you. I'm so grateful to be serving here in Madrid. It's a beautiful city full of beautiful people.

‘Til next time!

Elder Bassett

Elder Heninger

Elder Heninger, Elder Taylor, Elder Castagnetto, Hermana Johnson, Hermana Clarke, Hermana Barlow and Hermana Storheim