Misadventures and Miracles

Hey!!!!

So it's only been a couple of days since the last time that I wrote, but they were an eventful couple of days. So I'll try to keep you filled in on the fun and spiritual things that happened.

So we had zone conference on Friday, which went super well. I was a little nervous, because it was with 4 zones and one of my responsibilities was to order the pizza for lunch. First time I've ever ordered 36 pizzas, and I was slightly worried that the pizza would never show up. Thankfully it did, and everyone was happy!

So another fun thing that happened is that the morning of zone conference while we were moving packages of missionaries into the chapel, our companion Elder Jäger ripped his pants. Pretty badly, too. So he was stranded in the bathroom while we had one of the matrimony sisters sew his pants back up for him. It was super funny, and we were all just laughing so hard about it. They were able to get it fixed though, and Elder Jäger was able to leave the bathroom. 

The zone conference itself was really great. We talked about how to improve our teaching and the importance of invitations and commitments. That is something that we are trying to work and improve on. I really enjoyed President's words. 

On Saturday, we had an intercambios with the zone leaders, which went really well. We were able to see a lot of miracles, and we found a lot of people that we are going to start teaching soon, I hope. One was a lady that we found in this little Latino store who we started to talk to. She talked to missionaries 3 years ago but didn't have a lot of time then. But now said she was interested in meeting again. We were able to set up a cita on the spot with her, and she even said that she was going to bring a friend of hers which was really cool.

My Giant Arepa-totally worth it!

One funny/painful thing that happened: on the intercambios, we decided to make some arepas. (Arepas are from Venezuela and Columbia; they are super good.) It's a traditional food that is eaten in both Venezuela and Colombia, and they are super good. It looks like a thick corn tortilla and you can put food on top of it or you can stuff it with stuff. They are super good. So we are making these arepas, and me being me, I get the wonderful idea to make a giant arepa. So, I form the dough and put it in the oil where we are frying them, so far so good. So, I go to flip it and when I did, I may or may not have flipped it too hard and splashed myself with the oil in the pan....not fun. Ha, but it wasn't serious or anything, my arm just stung for the rest of the day. 

The oil burns

So to close this email I wanted to share a very special and spiritual experience that we had as a companionship last week. We went and ate with a family who is really awesome. Afterwards, we shared a message with them about the plan of salvation. To give a little background, about 4-5 months ago their 2 month year old baby got sick and passed away. That night they opened up to us a lot and shared with us a lot about how they feel, and what they are going through.

After they opened up, we talked to them and testified of God's love for them. The Spirit was there so strongly, and I honestly cannot remember a moment where I have felt more guided by the Spirit. All I know is, that a 19-year-old kid from California with the experiences that I have could not relate enough or fully help a family in that situation without help from God. If I knew nothing else, then that night would be enough to give me a testimony that God lives and loves us and activly is watching over us. I hope we can all remember that, 'til next time!

- Elder Bassett 

The hole in Elder Jäger's pants

The birthday presents keep coming