FIRST OFFICIAL LETTER!

Hey everyone! First email! Man it feels like it's taken forever to get the chance to write everyone. I've literally been watching the clock counting down until I can write everyone; I've never been more excited to write an email in my entire life.

OK, so where to begin? I guess a good start would be the beginning, that makes sense right? Ha! Well. OK The flight in was fine; it felt pretty long, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. I just spent the whole time sleeping and writing in my journal. When I got to the Salt Lake airport, I was able to meet up with about 5 other missionaries. From there, we all flew to Paris. In Paris we picked up another missionary from England, then it was off to Spain.

It was definitely really exciting to get to Spain. Our Paris flight was delayed an hour, so I was worried there would be nobody waiting for us, but there was a guy there to welcome us. We loaded the vans, and it was off to the MTC. The MTC is right next to the Madrid Temple, and it is so beautiful! I'll try and see if I can get a pic to send in a bit, but we are only allowed to take photos on p-day and the last day. Since this is our first p-day, I don't really have any pictures, but I'll send some as soon as I can. The MTC really is a special place. It is always so easy to feel the Spirit here. A lot of the missionaries are bugged by the strict rules and busy schedules, but I love it! It's so nice to feel productive, and obeying the rules really helps to bring the Spirit to the environment.

We got here Tuesday afternoon. The first couple of days were just an intro to everything with a lot of devotionals that were really great. We didn't really have our first language lesson until Friday. While I've been here, I've discovered my Spanish is a lot farther along then I've realized, and while I have been here I've progressed so much more. The gift of tongues is real, and I can see it in all of the other missionaries and their progress. It really inspires me. My MTC companion is Elder Heninger from Canada. When he got here he was only able to say the word ‘much of’, which is not ‘mucho’ at all, ha-ha. But just this Monday, we were teaching a lesson, and I was having a convo with our investigator. While Elder Heninger couldn't speak, he was able to tell what we were talking about. After 3 days of language lessons, it is honestly amazing.

We start every day waking up at 6:30, and we are in bed lights out at 10:30. They blast The Battle Hymnof the Republic in the morning to help us wake up. It is so fun; I laughed the first day I heard it. Everyday we get an hour for exercise; during that time we usually sign up for sports. So far we have done basketball and futbol (not the American kind). Soccer has definitely been my favorite. The first time I played, we went to this place called the put. It is so cool; I can't wait to show you guys a pic. It's like a sunken cement stadium that is all graffiti-ed up; so cool. Our first time there, a local asked if she could play with us. It was pretty fun. Afterwards Elder Heninger went up and asked for her number, and she was giving it to him before he could explain we were missionaries. We were all joking that she thought he was asking her out for valentine's day the next day, but really I think she just wanted to play soccer. Another time we played soccer with two little five-year olds who were actually pretty cool and good. I found out after though that even though we were going easy on them, they were smack talking us and cussing at us a bunch. That really bummed me out to think about little kids like that being taught that it is cool or even OK.  Aww well, on to happier things.

So we went to the temple last Thursday. As always, it was a really special and spiritual experience. They always recommend going again after we email, so I'm pretty excited.

Elder Souza and I

Our first Saturday was a very special experience. We all got on the metro and went to the park to try and talk to the people and to proselytize. Remember, this is after only one lesson in Spanish. It was incredible to see elders and sister who could barely speak try and share what they loved so much. I felt the Spirit so much. We have different companions when we go to the park every week, and my companion was Elder Souza from Recife, Brazil. His Spanish and English are limited. So to give context, before going to the park, president made a promise to him that he would find someone who spoke Portuguese. Not only did that happen, but they lived close to his home town. They are going to contact his family, because they are really excited about The Book of Mormon, and they want to know more. I feel really blessed to have been part of that experience, even if I had no idea what they were saying in Portuguese. After that, we all gathered together and sang a couple hymns. In total Elder Souza and I were able to pass out ten copies of The Book of Mormon, which was really cool. I really hope that the people we talked to read about it and want to know more. We had a testimony meeting afterwards that was really special where everyone shared their experiences. Not everyone was able to pass out Books of Mormon, but we all were able to learn and progress through our struggles. It was a very emotional meeting.

The food here is pretty good; a lot of fish; a lot of bread; a lot of sugar/chocolate. I've been making an effort to get to know all of the cooks’ names to get to know them better. I think I have all of them, but I keep forgetting.

The other elders are so cool; we all get along so well. Missionary humor is such a real thing, and it is so much fun. For example, we all gathered around just to watch my companion give another elder a haircut. We were all laughing and joking around, because it was a "special" moment, ha. I know it's dumb, but we were having a great time. We have done this thing the past couple of nights that we are calling ‘zone kickback’ where we all gather around at 10ish and sit in the hallway and write in our journals. That's been pretty fun. Ugghhh there is so much I want to say, and I don't feel like I gave enough time to say it all.

One thing on Sunday, we watched an old MTC Christmas devotional from Elder Bednar about the character of Christ. It was a really amazing talk; it really inspired me to change and be better. I definitely recommend that everyone checks it out.

I need to start closing up so I just want to say one more thing. While I have been here, I have seen and heard amazing testimonies from the other missionaries. I have seen amazing servants of God crying because either they miss their family, or they feel lonely or stressed. But throughout all of that they persevere; they continue on learning the language; they continue to work hard and study hard. And it is hard. They do all of that, and I do that, too, because we all have a testimony of the truth of this gospel; that we love our Savior, and we want to help the people of Spain to feel His love and to feel the Spirit everyday. I love this church. I am so happy to serve. I love you all and can't wait to email you again next week!

Elder Bassett

PS Hey mom I don't have much time, so I just want to email you and tell you I love you. Thanks for writing me. I was so excited to open my tablet and see that email waiting. Other quick things I forgot to say in the big email, my district is Moroni and everyone is awesome, the language is coming along really well, and I'm really starting to love the people here. I love you so much I'm going to try and take a pic to send with my tablet but I don't know how well that will work.  Love you so much, and I miss you all! Oh and I just want to say I'm learning so much about the work you did in AZ, and the work you do now. I just want to say that you are incredible! Please send me feed back on my emails, tell me what I could do better or what you want to here more about specifically! Love you so much