Big Changes!

Hey everyone!

Ok, so this has been a super crazy week!

It all started with this last preparation day. I was in piso folding some laundry when our phone started going off. I go to check it, and it’s President Pack. I answer; he asks me how I’m doing. I tell him I’m fine. Then he goes on to tell me that I need to start packing, because I´m getting emergency transferred. That caught me by surprise. I mean I’d only been with Elder Freire for one week.

My new area is......the city La Laguna of the island Tennerife. Yeah, I’m in the Canary Islands. It turns out that I´m actually swapping with Elder Brasher; he is now serving in the office, and I’m companions with his previous companion, Elder Johnson.

So, when we received the news, there wasn’t a lot of time for anything. Because it was an emergency transfer, it was super last minute, and I had to leave the next morning.  I had time to meet with one family and say goodbye to Alvaro. Then the next morning, I was out of Móstoles. It was a little hard not being able to say goodbye to all of the investigators and members I have come to know over the past 5 months, but I bet one day I’ll be able to visit again and say high.

So, when I got out of Móstoles, that’s when the hassle started.  We had a mix-up with the times for my flight, so by the time we got there, the doors for my flight were already closed, and I couldn’t board. I then had to change my flight to the next available flight which was expensive and irritating, but at least I was able to do it. Then after we wait 3 hours, I say bye to my companion and start going through security… alone. (Which was super weird but necessary. It’s the first time I’d been alone in about 5 months.) I just started going through security when I noticed that my tablet is missing. I then have about 20 minutes before boarding starts, so I leave security and start sprinting all over the airport visiting the different places that we had been and trying to find my tablet before I finally just had to give up. I just went through security and got on my flight.

I thought that maybe I had been pickpocketed, but after a couple of days, we found out that it was only misplaced and that it is still in Madrid. So that’s nice. It’s not gone forever. The obvious downside is that it’s in Madrid, and it won’t get here until the 18^th. Until then, we have to rely on Elder Johnson’s device which is a little rough, but we are getting through.

Ok, onto the area! It’s called the La Laguna area, but it has two parts. La Laguna y Puerto de la Cruz. Normally there is a companionship in each area, but with the shortage of missionaries from this last transfer, the Puerto elders have been taken out for a time. So now Elder Johnson and I are here in La Laguna working in both areas. Kinda weird. I spent half of this last week in the piso in Puerto and the other in La Laguna. I only finished unpacking today. It’s been pretty good though. I’m loving it here.

Here’s a little bit more info about La Laguna: We have a ward here, not as big as Móstoles but still a respectable size. Our district is made of Elder Johnson and I, plus a companionship of sisters who are also in this area. The sisters are Hermana Warner training Hermana Wilden. The weather here is super nice; it’s super close to Hawaii both in weather and scenery. It’s nice to be out of the Madrid heat, but I’ve exchanged heat for humidity. It’s very beautiful here, really green, a lot of flowers. I´m really looking forward to this next transfer.

My companion is a great guy. He is pretty old in the mission and goes home this next November. He’s a really good missionary and a really big talker.

Ok. I think that’s about it. Sorry if I left anything out. Things are still a little unorganized. If you guys have any questions, feel free to ask, and I’ll try and give you an answer.

My spiritual thought for this week comes in the form of a talk I listened to this morning that I absolutely love. It’s by Elder Holland, and it’s called The First and Great Commandment. This isn’t the first time I have listened to it, but I love it every time. It is truly powerful. It talks about the importance of loving the Savior and showing our gratitude for everything that He has done for us. I want to invite everyone to read the talk and to think about what we each can do to show more love for God and for His Son, Jesus Christ.

I Love you all! Until next week,
-Elder Bassett

I only had time for a couple of goodbyes. I hope everything goes well for Alvaro and his baptism on Saturday. Pray for him!

Goodbye to Elian