El momento de ir vino ya...

Well it's really weird to think about but it's here. I had my last pday today, and tomorrow I will be getting on a train up to Madrid. I'll spend the  night there, and one more day visiting old friends we have taught and going to the temple. The next morning I'll be on a plane flying home.

It's a surreal experience, those who have been in my shoes understand how it is. I have a lot going through my mind and my heart. I've come to love the people of Spain and the people that I have come to know. 

I just want to bear my testimony that this church is true and that this is a divine work and mission. I haven't been perfect, but I've done what I could. I have seen the power of God in my life and the life of those I teach. I'm grateful to those who have supported me along the way. I really do love you all. Thank you for your examples and your devotion to follow God in your own lives. God be with you till we meet again!

- Elder Bassett 

Hey everyone!

It's transfer pday, so there isn't a lot of time. We are saying bye to a couple people in the zone, and there isn't a lot of time left in the day. Things here have been going pretty good. We have been keeping really busy, and we are still finding some more people. We have been having trouble meeting with some of the people that we have found recently, so we are trying to work on having more daily contact. 

We received the transfer news. We are both staying, and we are getting a new missionary, too! Elder Kohlström will be training; we will be trio training for the next couple of weeks before I head out. It's super exciting, and I'm looking forward to working with a new missionary. Other than that, Hermana Strand from our district is heading out, and we will be getting Hermana Cushcagua.

The people we are teaching are doing good. Like I mentioned, we haven't been able to meet with a lot of them, so in every case we haven't gotten past the next couple of lessons. We have been doing a lot of Facebook finding recently; we have found some people through it. I feel like we have been relying on it a little too much recently though, so we are going to be striving to get out a little more and talk to people in the street. 

One cool experience from this week was that we went and met with a family that has been having a hard time recently. The mom is a member, but her kids aren't, and we are trying to teach them right now. This past lesson, we talked with them about the atonement and shared gracias a el with them. You could really see that the spirit had an impact on them. The daughter talked to us a little more and opened up a lot. She said part of her believes that the church is true, but in her heart she hasn't and doesn't want to ask because she was worried that if she finds out that it's true then it might cause divisions in her marriage. She was really sincere, and I really feel like someday she will join the church. At this point, we really focused on helping her have the desire to pray. I'm excited to see how it goes with her.

I love you all, and I hope that you have a great week. Take care till next time!

- Elder Bassett 

Hey everyone! 

It's been a pretty good week here in the Cadiz zone and the Cadiz area! We have kept pretty busy! We found 2 new people this week. One was a street contact from about 2 weeks ago, but we got to meet her for the first time this week. It was a quick conversation in the doorway because there wasn't a man home, but we were able to set up an appointment to meet up with her in the park tomorrow. So we are super excited.

The other guy we actually found through online proselyting. We started talking online, and then we met up with him this last Friday. The appointment went pretty well, and we are excited to see his progress as we keep meeting with him.

This past Saturday, light the world started! I'm super excited to see how things work out this year! I hope everyone had a good time for the worldwide day of service the first of December. In Cadiz, we went with a couple of other members and collected a bunch of food to give to those in need. I was a little worried about the activity (that it wouldn't work out), but we got a lot of help from the members in the area. 

That morning, we messaged all of the members and reminded them about the day of service. Then we invited everyone to pray to have an opportunity to have an unplanned act of service that day apart from what they already had planned. We did the same. That night while we were visiting members’ houses collecting food, we had a cool experience. It was super simple, but we walked by an old man unloading his car. We asked him if he wanted help. He said yes, which kind of surprised us because they never say yes, ha. We were able to help him unload his car, and he was grateful. It was a cool experience and a testimony to me about the power of prayer. 

On Sunday, we presented more about light the world to the different organizations during third hour. We had already mentioned it before, but this time we gave them a printed calendar and 2 pass along cards. The calendars were for them, but we invited them to take the pass along cards and with a spirit of prayer, think about 2 people that they could invite to the special sacrament meeting the 23rd of December. There were a lot of members who were excited about it and I'm excited to see how it goes. 

I love everyone, and I just want to say how grateful I am to you all! Things here are going well. I'm excited for the Christmas season and for the opportunity that we have to focus on the lives of others and to give as Christ gave. Take care everyone!

- Elder Bassett 

Hey everyone!

I hope everyone had a great week! Things here have been going pretty well. We have kept pretty busy. We are starting to find a couple of cool people who we are trying to meet with. We have been able to set up a lot of appointments, but we have been getting failed a bunch recently. But we have also been seeing a couple of cool miracles. One day, we had the goal to teach the restoration in the street 4 times. Ha we gave a good effort, and it didn't look the best. Literally everyone told us that they weren't interested until the very last person. We taught her, and she said she was actually trying to find God more in her life. It was right at the end of the day; it was a cool little miracle to keep us going. 

Amongst other things that happened was zone conference. It was super good; the focus was on baptism and the restoration/The Book of Mormon. I really loved it to be honest. I feel like I learned a lot about more ways to improve the invitations that we extend. This was actually the last zone conference that I will have before going home, too, so some other elders and I plus the hermanas from my group gave their final testimonies. Not gonna lie, it felt pretty weird; never thought that that day will come. Still have a decent amount of time left; though, so it's all good. I also got to see a bunch of old mission friends, which was a lot of fun. It was good to see them all. Zone conference just so happened to coincide with Thanksgiving, so we had a Thanksgiving meal that was a lot of fun. Ha on the train ride back right before we all got McDonald's together too which was kinda like the second thanksgiving. 

On Saturday, we got to go and do a cool service project. Apparently, it was the día del niño. We went to this organization and helped the little kids plant flowers in a public park. It was a really fun service, and we got to meet a couple of new people. We invited some of them to church, and we taught the restoration to one, but he left before we could get his number. 

We are starting to get light the world started here in Cadiz. We announced it to the different classes during 3rd hour on Sunday, and everyone is pretty excited. For the day of service, we are going to meet up at the chapel and then go around in groups of 2 to the houses of other members to collect food to donate to local organizations. We are still trying to get it organized a bit more but other than that it's all-good.

I hope you all had a great week take care and talk to you next time!

- Elder Bassett 

Hey everyone!

Things here in Cádiz have been going really well! We are having a good time and keeping super busy. This past week we had a couple new things happen. On Thursday, we met with the ward council and talked with them about Light the World. We started brainstorming ideas and stuff that we could do. I'm super excited to see how it goes. Other than the main service project, it looks like we are going to try and do a ward choir and go to a couple public places to sing Christmas songs. Other than that, the ward missionaries and our companionship are going to be trying to visit as many of the families as we can and share with them the calendar and the family home evening activity. We are also organizing a big Christmas dinner, which will be exciting. 

Another day, we went and did service for an older family who are super great. We are helping them build a garage. It went pretty well; we made a lot of progress. There is a man that always comes and works with us named Vicente who is super great. He is a member but hasn’t been to church for a really long time. He is from the countryside and is so hard to understand, ha, but he is super great. He is 80 years old but is such a hard worker. We were given gloves to work with, but he said, “No. A cat with gloves on can't catch the rat.” He is super funny. 

Other than that, we were able to meet a couple new people this week. One is Angelic and is a friend of a less active member we have been meeting with. She is from Colombia and is super nice. I'm excited to keep meeting with her. Another is named Johanz, he is also pretty new here. He is from Peru. We met him talking in the street. He is a super nice guy and is going through a pretty rough time right now. 

I hope you all have a great week talk with you next time!

- Elder Bassett 

Hey everyone!

I hope things are going well! Life here in the mission has been going super great. We have been out in the streets a lot talking to people and passing by addresses of less active members and potential investigators.

We are going to start trying out a bunch of new things this week. We have a couple of new ideas for online proselyting that we want to put into affect. We are also going to try and go knock even more doors this week.

In other news, we also have ward council this week, which is super exciting. We talked with the bishop a bit. We are going to be using it as an opportunity to present Light the World and start brainstorming ideas for how we want to implement it here in Cadiz. Also, we will discuss what service projects and activities we want to implement. I'm super pumped.

I also had a meeting this past week for missionaries that will be going home soon. It was actually a super good meeting. There was a big focus on being self-reliant and on living a consecrated life. I learned a bunch. There was a talk that was shared that I really loved. You should go check it out! It's by Elder Christofferson called Reflections on a Consecrated Life. It's from October 2010. Have a great week everyone!

- Elder Bassett 

Hey everyone! 

Things here have been going well. We are still striving to find people to teach. We've been working on talking to people in the street and on meeting with less active members and trying to help them come back to church. We have found a couple of cool people and right now we are striving to meet with them but are having trouble setting up appointments. Poco a poco. 

We are still trying to work with Julian. He has been opening up to us a little more recently and has shared a little more about what he has been going through. Last time we passed by though for an appointment, he wasn't there, and we haven't been able to get in touch with him again. 

We have also been working on getting to know more members and strengthening them and our relationships with them. The members here are super great and the nicest people in the world. 

To be honest, I can't think of any other big noteworthy things that have happened this week. I love you all and hope that you have a great week!

- Elder Bassett 

 

One of the great members in our ward

Greetings!

Hey everyone!

It's been a pretty good week! We have been focusing on meeting with the families in the area that have been struggling recently and helping to animate them to come back to church. We met with a couple new people and one man named Miguel came to church this past Sunday! That was super exciting; he hasn't been to church in over 16 years. He came out and said it felt really good to be back. He was able to meet with the bishop too which was super great. 

We have started to meet with Julian. He has been addicted to drugs and alcohol most of his life and is still in the process of trying to give them up. He believes a lot in God though and has started to read a bit in The Book of Mormon. Right now, our biggest goal (my companion and I) is to help him stop drinking, so that he can feel the spirit easier. It's been a work in progress but we have some high hopes. 

He came with us to an activity Saturday, which as super great. It was basically a music concert and a bunch of videos centered on the Savior. He really liked it and had a super good time. It was a pretty good activity.

We have been starting to have some cool experiences talking in the street to people. We are starting to meet some cool people, and we are in the process of trying to start to meet with them. Things are still picking up poco a poco. I'm enjoying Cadiz and the field. It's awesome to be a missionary! Take care everyone and have a great week.

- Elder Bassett 

After getting locked out of the piso one night, I unsuccessfully tried to pick the lock

Hey Everyone! 

Things here in Cádiz have been going pretty well. We had district meeting, which went pretty well. We are a district of 4, us 2 and the hermanas. The hermanas of the district are Hermana Harris and Hermana Sullivan. But we had transfers today and Hermana Harris is leaving to Seville. Coming in will be Hermana Strand who is from Norway. There were a couple of cool things that happened this week that were a lot of fun.

One day, we were invited and went to help teach seminary, ha that was a lot of fun. There were 3 kids, and they didn't seem too tired. We talked about the Godhead and practiced teaching together. It was a lot of fun. After that, we went and did some service at the property of an older couple. They only have about an acre of land, but they have a bunch of fruit trees, a pool, chickens/ducks, a house, 2 sheds, 1 garage, and another one in the process. It's so cool, because they have built everything there themselves. When they started out, it was just a plot of land with nothing on it.

They are an older couple who have been in the church for almost 50 years. I love talking to them about the growth and changes that they have seen in the church during their time. They said that when they started out they were in a small rented hotel lobby with 4-5 people. They saw all of that grow into the stake that the Cadiz providence has today. They are a super great couple and despite their age, they really know how to work as seen by everything they've built. 

We were helping them lay more cinder blocks on the wall of the garage. Enrique, the husband, was walking around showing us how it was done. He's in his 70s and has a bad leg that forces him to walk on crutches, but it doesn't stop him from going to shovel the cement and move stuff around. They are a great family. We are going to be trying to work with them a little more to help fellowship Olga and also try and get to know her husband a little bit. 

Another cool thing that happened was a stake primary activity that we went and helped out with. It was a mock missionary experience. All of the little kids received mission calls, went through the mtc and came and taught lessons with us. Ha, it was a lot of fun, and the kids were all super cute. Our job was to help the elders learn how to tie ties while the hermanas helped out by letting the girls braid their hair. After that, we went and all of the parents were the people being taught while their kids taught them about prayer. It was all super cute. I had a little kid teach me about how we pray to God, because he doesn't own a cellphone. That one had me laughing a bit.

It was a moving thought to look at all of the kids (there were about 40), and to imagine them all as missionaries one day. Someday they will have the chance to go out and share the gospel, and I think the world isn't ready for what's about to hit them! "In the next 10-20 years"

This past week, I also had an inspiring experience with online proselyting. I got a random friend request from this woman that I don't know that lives in Alcorcón, an area right next to Móstoles, my first area. I had no idea who she was, and we didn't have any friends in common so I don't know how she found my profile. Not gonna lie, that happens a lot, receiving friend requests from people that we don't know. I would say I've received hundreds. Generally when I get a request like that, I send them a message first asking if we've ever met before. I've never really gotten a response back and with time I usually delete the request. 

This time though, I got a response back from this woman. She said that we hadn't met before and that she didn't want to bug me, but she was a little curious. We started a conversation on Facebook messenger, and it the led towards religion. It turns out that recently she has been feeling the desires to believe in God and find peace but had been having a really hard time finding faith. We talked for a bit about that and about the blessings of the gospel. In the end, she said she was interested in meeting, and she gave me permission to send her profile and phone number to the missionaries where she lives. They got in contact with her the next day, and now they are starting to teach her!

It was a super cool experience for me, in part, because it was so surprising. It came out of nowhere and turned into a teaching experience really quick. It was just another way that my testimony has been strengthened in the blessings of technology and social media when used in an appropriate way. I love you all, and I hope that you have a great week!

- Elder Bassett 

Conference!

Hey everyone!

Well, it's been a super crazy and awesome weekend! It all started out with conference, which was super great. I loved the sessions that we were able to watch. One of my favorite talks was the one by Elder Brough where he talked about finding joy amidst hard things. I also really loved Elder Rasband’s and Soares’s talks. They were both very inspiring and really helped me on my own personal questions that I had.

I loved what President Nelson said about the name of the church. He spoke so clearly, and I really felt the power of what he said. As he spoke, I thought of the power of repentance and the chance that we have as a people. It is true that in the past, I've become comfortable with the nickname Mormon; it is oftentimes more well known than the actual name of the church. As we have been explained the importance of the true name of the church, we all have the opportunity to repent and to stop making the same error we did before. 

As the Prophet, he is giving us guidance for ways that we can improve and has promised us the blessings that will come from doing so. I'm excited to experience those blessings as we move forward. And continue to try and improve. I'm so grateful that God sends living prophets to us in our days to communicate to us and help us to grow. How comforting it is to know that God still guides and leads us through a living prophet. That's one principle that we always talk about, but really seemed to hit me more than ever this last conference. 

Noemi and Daniela are doing great. They had their baptismal interview this past Sunday, and they are ready. They should be baptized this Saturday. I'm so excited for them. They have really begun to live the gospel and are seeing the blessings of it in their lives. The opportunity to be a tool for the Lord in helping people experience that is one of my favorite parts of being a missionary.

In other words, we watched one of the sessions of conference at the Bussey’s home. That was a really fun experience to be there with them. We talked a bit about what we had heard and had some insightful moments. Afterwards, President Bussey pulled me into his office, and we talked for a bit. He told me that after praying about it, he had decided on where my next area would be. So with that, he told me that my next companion would be Elder Kohkström, and my next area would be Cadiz. 

I knew it has been coming for a while, and to be honest I'm excited. I've heard a lot of good things about the area and my new companion; I'm excited to go and see what the Lord has in store for me there. It's going to be good to get out and work again as a normal missionary. I am a little sad to say bye to the area and the people I have come to know and love, but they are all in good hands. 

Well, I can't think of anything else to mention, so I'm going to be done writing for today. I just want to say that I love you all, and that I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is God’s church on this earth. And He is guiding and preparing us every day. Take care everyone and talk to you next time! 

- Elder Bassett 

El Campo! Y Milagros

Hello to my friends and family who I love so dearly! How are ya?

Ha, things here in Cadiz are going great. I know it still hasn't even been a full week since I got here, but it is just so awesome. It feels really good to be back in the field again. I'm going to try and fill everyone in a bit on what's been going on, so have patience with me!

We have been working on visiting as many of the members as we can for 15-20 minute each to try and get to know them and gain their trust. Our plan is to go in and get to know them and then we have been starting to share the lesson of the restoration with them in about 5 minutes. So far, we have only been able to get a couple of families, but we are seeing a lot of miracles from it. 

It feels super great to be out in the field again. I've been missing my past area a bit, but it's really nice to be fully dedicated to the work again. Noemi and Daniela weren't able to get baptized this past Saturday, and they are probably a little stressed, so if you can keep them in your prayers. 

My new companion is named Elder Kohlström. He has been on the mission for about a year, and he is from Sweden. His last area before this was actually La Laguna which was his we do d area and mine as well. He came into this area and has been doing what we call in missionary work “whitewashing”. He got here and then, instead of their being a missionary to train him in the area, he entered with another missionary who was new to the area. Basically, it's like coming in to a new start and learning everything from ground zero.

He and his last companion have been doing a great job, and the Lord has really been blessing the work here. Yesterday, there was a baptism that came with a miracle of a story. If you’re a missionary or future missionary listen to this! 

The woman's name is Olga, and she is 82. She is from Chile but has lived in Spain for the past 30 something years. About 29 years ago, she was at the bus station in A Coruña, Spain. There she met the missionaries. She met for them for a couple of months but for a variety of circumstances was never baptized in the church. Flash forward to a couple of months ago. Olga is walking in the streets of Cadiz looking for a jewelry store. She enters a couple and isn't decided on which one she wants. Finally she decided to go home.

On the way home, she passes one more jewelry store and for some reason she feels like she should go inside. She goes in, starts looking around, and eventually starts up a conversation with the man behind the counter. They talk for a bit and eventually the topic goes onto religion. Olga mentions that over 29 years ago, she was meeting with some missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints. That worker then responds and tells her that he is the bishop of that same church here in Cadiz. 

The bishop invited her to the church again, and she started to meet again with the missionaries. With time, she decided to be baptized. She wrote and told the missionary that had first found her who had stayed in touch all those years. That returned missionary, who is now married and the father of 4 children, decided to come up with his wife and this past Sunday, was able to baptize the same woman that he found almost 30 years before.

That is just such an incredible miracle to me. It's a witness to the seeds of faith that are planted into the hearts of people. It's also such an incredible witness to the importance of staying in contact with those we have taught and are teaching. Some people are ready when we are with them, some aren't. The Lord knows His children and is preparing the path for them to return unto His Gospel. How incredible is that to know?! 

I love this gospel, and I know it's true! I love you all and hope you have a great week!

- Elder Bassett 

Hello Again

zone conference

Hey everyone!

So as you can see and have probably noticed, my P-day was changed again and is on Tuesday this time. This time, it was because we had a lot of office work to do yesterday that couldn´t wait, so we moved it to today so that we could get everything done in time. Well, Last P-day was on Thursday, so not a lot of time has gone by, but I will try and fill you in as best as I can. 

On Friday, we went and helped a member move to a new apartment. Unfortunately, she told the ward really last minute, and she started right in the middle of the day when most of the members had work, so nobody was able to come. We also had Zone Conference the same day, so we weren´t able to come until the very end, unfortunately. We were able to make it to help with the last load that she did. She had such a great attitude about it; though, and she is the nicest lady. 

We did stay at her place though to help her set up the Bunk Bed for her kids. She said it was the simplest one that IKEA had, but I have never been so confused in my life. Ha. it is all finished now; though, so the confusion is past, I am calm, and the family is getting settled. 

Zone Conference went pretty well. We had a lot of tech problems which made things a little stressful. (Biggest of those being the projector going haywire at every possible second.) Then half way through the conference, the front lens kind of melted; so that was rather unfortunate. Ha! The majority of the morning half of conference was President and Hermana Bussey doing training while I sat next to them fidgeting with the projector. It all worked out in the end though, and it was a pretty good conference. 

The focus this time was on Exact Obedience and how to exercise the Power and Authority of our calling as missionaries. There was also a big focus on the Holy Ghost. There were a lot of things that stuck out to me that I really enjoyed. One thing that was talked about was the importance of completely dedicating ourselves to the work at which we are about, keeping our focus on our missions and letting ourselves be changed to help us become true disciples of Christ.

The people that we are teaching are doing well. On Saturday was the baptism of a man named Jorge who was being taught by the sisters. Daniela and Noemi came early to the baptism, and we were able to teach them a little bit before. They also came to church the next day and even though they had to head out afterwards pretty quickly, we were able to still teach them later that day through a video call, "YAY for the blessings of technology!!!". They are both doing great and are on track to be baptized the week after General Conference. 

Hey everyone 

So as you may have noticed, my p-day is on Thursday this week. That's because the Bussey’s are wanting to incorporate zone p-days in more, so that they can spend more time with the missionaries.  This time, they did the este zone which is ours. Next transfer, it will be another zone. We spent some time at the mission home and have been hanging out together which has been fun. 

The training in the office is going well. Elder Sullivan has picked things up pretty well, and he is already working on his own. I let President know, and as soon as he feels ready or things line up logistically, I will be leaving the office. It's super weird to think about after being here so long.

The people we are teaching are doing well. We are trying to get better at finding time every day to send messages to the people that we are teaching. To have more contact with them basically. That helps because of how much struggles we have sometimes to get out of the office. 

One cool thing that we did this week was that we relied a little on our technology when we had one of those moments. We didn't have time to get out of the office, but we were still able to teach this woman named Doris over a video call. 

Video calls aren't a replacement for in person lessons, but they are super helpful add-ons sometimes. It is crazy to me to see the applications of technology in missionary work. It is such a testimony to me that the Lord has His hand in everything. 

I love you all, but I need to leave already, talk to you next time!

- Elder Bassett 

Hasta luego!

I don't know if I've ever mentioned, but it's kinda of a thing to say bye here in Spain as a greeting. Most of the time, they just keep walking though. As crazy as it sounds, it's true. 

Thus past week has gone well. It was transfers so we were super busy. They have been finished though, and there weren't too many problems. It's always a huge relief when transfers end. Not gonna lie, that is always a stressful 2 weeks. 

With this transfer, we said bye to one of my companions, Elder Keffer. He has been in the office since last November, and he was definitely ready to head out. He has been my companion for the past 6 months, and I'll miss him, but I think he will have a good time in his new area. 

In other words, I also received another new companion named Elder Sullivan. I've only been with him for a couple of days, but I'm excited. He seems like another great missionary. I will be training him, and he will replace me in the office, so I can leave soon as well.

So right now, my companionship consists of Elder Sullivan, Elder Sure, Elder Kraut, Elder Gergov, and myself. I will try and send a pic today as best I can.

The best I could get

In other news, this past week we had the open doors activity of our chapel. The members put in a lot of work, and it was geared up to be a pretty big event. Unfortunately, only about 10 nonmembers came the whole day. Some members were a little sad, but those ten people who came had a good experience.

I love you all, and I hope that you have a great week. Talk to you next time!

- Elder Bassett 

Weekly

Hey everyone!

I hope that you are all doing well! Things here in the mission have been going well.  We have been in the office a lot this past week, so there really isn't much to remark on except office stuff. That work is going well though. I was able to finish all of my projects. I also just finished updating my responsibilities packet, which just gives a list of instructions on how to do my job. The idea is that it will help the new missionary that I train when he comes into the office. When I came in, it was super old and out of date. I've been working on it for about a week and a half. When I started, it was 36 pages...now it's 47 pages. The guy who comes in is going to have a lot of reading. 

The people that we are teaching are doing well. Daniela and Noemi are doing great. We finished teaching them all of the commandments, and they have accepted everything. They have been so humble and accepting of everything that we have been teaching; it is so incredible. The faith I have seen in others on my mission is always so inspiring to me. 

I hope everyone is keeping up with the challenge to read in The Book of Mormon. I have been enjoying it so much! If anyone wants to do it and still hasn't been able to find the materials let me know, and I can send it to you. It’s also a great missionary opportunity if you would like to share it with someone. Either message me on my email or Facebook, and I can get back to you. I would definitely recommend it. 

Hello

Seasons greeting outside the season!

This has been a pretty decent week. Things for my job in the office haven't been too crazy this week, so I have been to finish a lot of stuff that I've had tabled for awhile. Of course, it's all going to pick up again in about a week for transfer prep but for now we aren't running around so much. 

The people that we are teaching are doing good. Vilma got a job, which is super exciting. She has really been wanting to work and has been looking for a while. Even better, the work she is doing now is taking care of the baby of one of the members in our ward. It's super great how the members have been helping her out and keeping her included in everything. It’s so nice, because even though her family is open to us right now, she is still having to be a bit of a pioneer, and it hasn't been easy. The ward has been really supportive.

Daniela and Noemi are also doing great! Noemi has a really busy work schedule, so we can only meet on the weekends. We were able to meet with both of them on Saturday and Sunday. They are progressing a lot and have a baptismal date for the end of this month. Keep them in your prayers!

Maybe some have already noticed my posts on Facebook, but the church has started another campaign in Europe. At least, I think it's just in Europe. If not, then awesome; more blessings for everyone! It gives a list of 21 different questions that people might have. Then it gives several questions to respond to and a scripture from The Book of Mormon to read on top of it. I've been doing it myself, and I love it so much. One thing I love about The Book of Mormon is that every time I read a scripture, I feel like I learn something new. I want to invite everyone to do it!  It doesn't have any set dates, so you can start whenever you want! 

If you want to know more about it, or if you want to know where you can find out more, then feel free to message me on Facebook, and I can help you find the list of questions and scriptures for the challenge. I love you all, and I hope you have a great week!

- Elder Bassett 

Hello!

Hello to my wonderful Family and Friends!

I hope that you are all doing well, and that you are having a great time enjoying life wherever you may be! Things here are going pretty good. They have been keeping us pretty busy in the office. We had our Preparation Day today instead of on Monday, because there was a Zone Conference yesterday that we needed to help out with. Happy to report that the conference went well, and there were a lot of missionaries that left edified and strengthened!

Things in the office have been a little crazy. We had another change yesterday. Elder Liza had finished his training of Elder Gergov, so he left the office and our new companion Elder Kraut joined us. Elder Liza will return home in one transfer. Elder Kraut is a really cool missionary from Sandy, Utah. He was also trained by Elder Simmons, my “mission Dad”. Elder Keffer will be training him. So, at this point, our official companionship consists of Elder Gergov, Elder Eyre, Elder Keffer, Elder Kraut, and myself. Not gonna lie, it’s a little crowded in the apartment sometimes. Ha! But we are making things work, and things are progressing. 

Today we went and had a cool cultural experience. The name of our area is called San Sebastian de los Reyes, but it has a nickname called the Pamplona Chica. That nickname was given, because hosted in this town is the second biggest Bull Run in all of Spain, "Second to Pamplona where the official one is held". (Pamplona is in the Barcelona mission.) We went today and saw a bunch of runners doing their best to get out of the way of a bunch of massive bulls traveling at impressive speeds. It was a really cool experience.

After that, we went in the Coliseum and watched a bunch of kids doing tricks and trying to avoid the bulls as best they can. When we went, there were about 40-50 older teenagers and people in their 20´s all doing tricks around this one bull. In the event we went to, the bulls aren´t hurt at all, so we just spent a bit watching people doing the classic dodge with jackets they had on or just trying to do tricks. One kid kept hopping over them which was super cool. He did fall once, but everyone scared the bull off before it got to him. Luckily, throughout the whole thing, nobody got hurt (Except a small graze on someone’s leg). There were a couple close calls, though. It was definitely a really cool experience, and it´s one more thing to check off of the bucket list. 

Hey everyone 

Super sorry but I don't have any time at all today. We had our temple pday. Then we had to go pick up the Busseys from the airport, so we haven't had anytime at all today. I just wanted to check in and tell you all that I'm doing good. The area is going well and the work is progressing, till next time!

- Elder Bassett 

Enjoy the pictures!

This is some of our district minus Elders Liza and Gergov who were in the front seat.

We did apartment checks in mostoles and I got to pass by Alvaro! 

Elder Liza was giving me a haircut last night, because it was crazy long. (And Elder Gergov watching.)

Hey everyone!

So it's been a pretty busy week, mostly in the office. I also don't have that much time at all today, so it's going to be a pretty short email today. Well, we haven't had that many lessons, because we have been in the office so much. The few that we did have were really good though. We had a couple with Daniela, the daughter of Noemi. She and her mom are both doing great, we are just having some trouble meeting with them. 

There really isn't much to say about our office time. Most of the stuff is well, office work. I've been working a lot recently on Concilio tickets for the leadership conference, interviews for president, random reports here and there and about 10 other random jobs I have right now. I love you guys a bunch, sorry about the short email, have a great week!

- Elder Bassett 

Prayer

¡Buenos tardes mis amigos!

¡Espero que todos se encuentren bien! Things in Spain are going great. Not much has happened since the last email since p-day was Wednesday last week. We have been keeping really busy in the office. But we have also been able to get out of the office a bit, which has been really nice.

On Saturday, we were able to take a break from the office and devote the morning to passing by people and talking in the street. We ended up spending the entire morning doing that, and to be honest it felt really good to be out. Usually when we leave the office, it's to go straight to a lesson, and we always come back to the office right away afterwards. It felt good to just walk in the street and talk to people with out having to worry about office stuff for a bit.

Sunday was super great. We ended up going to a hospital to give this woman that we have been teaching a blessing. She just had knee surgery, and it looks like it's going to be taking a while to recover completely. We talked for a bit about how she has been feeling with everything, and she mentioned something that I thought was interesting and that can maybe be relatable to some people.

She said that sometimes with everything going on she will just get frustrated and lose the desire to pray. Basically at times when she feels like all of this bad stuff is happening to her, it's hard for her to feel the desires to look to God. That got me thinking a bit. Often times when someone gets hurt whether it be physically or emotionally, the first reaction is usually to withdraw from everything, to protect yourself or shield yourself. 

When someone gets burnt or cut who wouldn't feel nervous or hesitant at first for someone else to look at it or try to help. That's something that can be natural and when it comes to spiritual things, but something that we need to overcome. If we are feeling frustrated, angry, or depressed and can honestly say that we can't feel the Spirit is when we need to overcome that instinct and turn to God. 

2 Nephi 32:8 says "For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray". Our Father in Heaven extends His hand out to us, and anytime we feel a lack of desire to do the same, we can trust that that desire isn't coming from a good source. 

It may be hard to do sometimes depending on the situation, depending on how we feel, but reaching out through prayer will always help us and show us what we need. I love you all and that was just something that I wanted to share, take care till next time!

- Elder Bassett 

Transfers

Saying goodbye to my 'mission Dad', Elder Simmons.
He went home yesterday which felt really weird.

Hey everyone!!!

Man this past week and a half has been so crazy!!! We have been working on transfers and that has been filling every wakeful and sleepful moment. This was the first transfer as a merged mission, and it was super, crazy and hectic. There were A LOT of changes. Over 86...which is not very easy when you only have 3 days to make plans, but tickets, and organize the movement of over 260 missionaries. Yeah I'm a little tired. It's all finished though. 

Due to transfers, we didn't have much time to meet with the people that we have been teaching. But most of them are doing pretty well. Vilma has been getting fellowshipped so much by the ward right now, and it's awesome! They love her so much. Her family is starting to open up so much to us, which us awesome. 

Update on the companionship: with the change, we went from 3 To 5. Our new companions are Elder Eyre and Gergov. Elder Gergov will be replacing Elder Liza, and Elder Eyre will be having the new job of the fulltime technology elder. 

The office can take some getting used to. The late nights are exhausting.

It's super nice, because he will be taking a lot of my responsibilities off my plate. It's going to help a lot, because to be honest, I've been a little overwhelmed this past transfer with all of the changes.

One unique thing that we learned recently is that with the merge our mission is the 3rd largest geographically in the world. Definitely could feel that sometimes buying tickets and scheduling interviews for all of them. But a change has been announced that will change that.

It is so exciting, because in Galicia (where I served before in the northern Spain) a new stake was created. It's a special time, and it's so amazing to see the joy of the members there. Many of them have waited over 40 years to have a stake. I'm so happy for the members and to see the way that the church is growing is wonderful. 

With that creation, it was announced that the new stake will be part of the Barcelona mission. It's not official yet, but when it's approved, we will be losing the north part of our mission. I'm happy to see the growth, but sad to say goodbye to the members and missionaries there. I have a lot of good friends serving there, and it's sad to know that for some we won't be seeing them again. It's the way of things sometimes. This church is a church of change and growth! And that's great. It's a part of progression.

Baptism Day!

Hello my family and friends!

Things here are going pretty well! This past week has been really great and super busy. The office has been keeping us super busy. The biggest thing that has been keeping us busy has been prepping for transfers. It's been super crazy, but it's working out. (Our office credit card isn’t working correctly, so we can’t buy travel tickets.)

This past week Vilma was baptized! The service was super great! Afterwards, Vilma shared her testimony; the Spirit was there so strongly. I think that was probably my favorite part. I love being able to see and hear the testimonies of the people we meet here in Spain. She was super happy, and it was a special experience.

We have started to meet with Vilma’s family, too, which has been great. When we first met them, they were a little cold with us and didn't want to talk too much, but they have opened up a bunch since that first time. They are still opening up little by little, but this last week after the baptism, we were able to share the restoration with them. The message seemed to touch them. We are going to be passing by to drop off some Books of Mormons for the rest of the family. 

Sorry so short

Hey everyone

I just wanted to say sorry ahead of time, because I have very little time today. A large chunk of the day I had to spend trying to figure out this problem that we have been having in the office, and it took a lot longer then planned. 

The people that we have been teaching are doing Great. We have 2 people who are going to be baptized this Saturday. Their names are Vilma and Daniela. They are both super ready and excited. The only struggles they have at this point would be opposition from their family. If you can keep them in your prayers so that they can hopefully recieve a little more support from their families. I love you GUYS! Till next time!

- Elder Bassett 

Big Email

President & Sister Bussey 

Hello everyone!
Well, it has been a very interesting week to say the least. I remember that last week my email was super short, but I don´t remember what exactly I talked about. Ha, so I will try to fill you in on a lot of good details from this week to try and make up for it. 

So after p-day, we had a normal Tuesday in the office working on well...office stuff. That night, we went to the train station to pick up all of the zone leaders who would be attending the Mission Leadership council the next day. That night, 8 elders came to our piso to spend the night. Being in the office, we have a lot of extra mattresses for this exact reason. The most I´ve ever seen in our piso was 14 missionaries who were going home plus us 3. 

The next morning, we went off to Concilio; we arrived early and helped get everything set up. We ended up setting up the tables in a big U in the gym to have more of a council like setting. Not going to lie, it felt really cool. I laughed a bit when one of the elders said that he felt like we were in a huge Jedi Council. 

Normally, the office elders help with transportation and setup and then head out, but right as we were about to get started, we realized that they needed someone to translate. So Elder Liza and I stayed to translate while Elder Jäger and Elder Keffer went to the office. Downside of the situation, Elder Liza’s English is pretty decent but not to the point where he could translate very easily. So I ended up translating the entire meeting....10:00-5:00 with an hour lunch break. I downed maybe 6 water bottles, but my throat was still feeling a little hoarse by the end. 

But I really did enjoy being able to attend; it was a very amazing experience. We talked a lot about making sure that we are centered on Christ and that we do all we can to be examples to the other missionaries. A big section was also focused on setting goals as a mission as we progress forward together. It was really cool to see all of the leaders from both the north and the south who used to be from different missions working together and having good open discussions about how we can all improve and get better. I lot of good goals were set, and it was cool to see it all.