Militza and her Mom

Hello,

Well, end of another transfer here in the vineyard of the Lord. It's been pretty great. This past week we have kept pretty busy, and it's been good. Our investigators are still doing well. It's awesome to see their progression and the ways that they grow in the gospel.

This past week we were able to have the baptismal interviews for Maicol and Militza, that’s the next step towards baptism. It’s an interview to make sure they understood and were prepared to get baptized and didn’t have any questions or concerns. They did so awesome and both passed. I love that family so much, they are so kind, and it's so fun meeting and talking with them. Maicol is the biggest ball of energy you have ever seen. Every time we pass by, he just wants to go and play futbol. 

He also just had his 8th birthday so we went over for that which was a lot of fun. They had some family friends there so we were able to talk to them, too, which was really cool. They live in another city, but maybe with time they will be willing to meet with the missionaries, too...we're working on it.

Transfers came and our district has changed quite a bit. Both Elder Brock and Elder Lopez have finished their missions and are headed home. The new elders coming to replace them are Elders Ward and Santa. My companion, Elder Jordan, also got transferred and he’s headed off to the city of Cuenca. My new companions name is Elder Henrie who is also from mesa Arizona. Turns out he and Elder Jordan are best friends from back home, so I already feel like I know him a little.

Elder & Sister Bitton have the missionaries over after district meeting

Mari's Baptism!

Hey everyone!

So it's been a pretty busy week! Life is good up here on the cold shores of Ferrol. Even though, to be honest, it isn't that cold....just a lot of rain. Like I said, this past week we have kept pretty busy, and we have been doing pretty good. Also want to shout out a big thanks to the ward! I got the poster you guys sent, and I loved it! It was super sweet to read all of your awesome messages.

So here is some stuff that happened this week!

We went and met with some members this past week. They are a super fun family. It's the one that I was talking about in a previous email that is going through a hard time and the parents have to live separate for a bit. Well some awesome news is that the father was just able to receive the Aaronic priesthood this past Sunday. It was super cool and just one more step towards their goals of being sealed together as a family for eternity. 

So, I mentioned in last week's big email the big event of this week was Maria’s baptism! On Thursday we built the font, then of course on Saturday, we filled it and did all of the final preparations. Of course, there were all kinds of little last minute mishaps that occurred with things like the programs, musical number, and the prayers, but the Spirit was there through it all so strongly!

It was a super special experience, and we are super happy for her. She was baptized this past Saturday by another member and then was confirmed as a member and was given the gift of the Holy Ghost in church the next day. It was a really cool and humbling experience. 

The covenant that we make when we are baptized is something that is just incredible. As we come out of the water, we promise to take upon ourselves the name of Christ. We do our best to follow him and his chosen servants. We look to him for help in the rough moments, and he is always and will always be there. Jesus Christ gave his life so that each one of us could have the opportunity to be born again through him. He did it all for the love that He has for us, and for the love that our Heavenly Father has for us. 1 John 4, go check it out!

I love you all! 

- Elder Bassett 

Hello family 

Man, it's been a pretty crazy week. So, we have been keeping very busy this past week, and we have had little time for everything. But it's been good to be this busy. The investigators are doing well, and we are currently working on finding more, so that when the current ones are baptized, we don't find ourselves with nothing to do.

One of our investigators, Maria was going to be baptized next week, but last minute, she told us she didn't want to next Saturday.....since her sister is going to be out of town. Instead, she now wants to be baptized this Saturday so her sister can be there. Ha! So she has her interview tomorrow, and if she she’s prepared, then she will be baptized this Saturday. As of right now, she really wants to be baptized this Saturday, and we are just making sure that she is completely 100% ready. Better to wait if we have to, to make sure that she is ready. 

So other big news, we haven't been able to say anything up until now, but there are big changes going down in Spain. We received news about our new mission president. His name is President Bussey! I'm excited to meet him when he comes, but I will be sad to say bye to President Pack. He has been such an incredible president, and he has helped me so much. I will be sad to see him go.

The other big change is that there is mission consolidation happening in Spain. Starting in July I believe, there will only be 2 missions in Spain, Barcelona and Madrid. Malaga will be combing with us. It kind of caught us by surprise, but our president explained to us that it is very normal. It's actually happening in a lot of other missions around the world. It’s going to be interesting to see how it all works out. Who knows? I could be serving in the Straits of Gibraltar or in Seville.

Well, I'm sorry guys, but I got Prisa and need to go. I'll see you all next time!

- Elder Bassett 

Greetings

We had a great a zone conference!

Hey everyone! 

It's been a pretty good week! We had zone conference, which went very well. We talked about safeguards for using technology and about ways that we can use technology more in the work. That's where we came up with the idea for the sweep the earth initiative. If you haven't seen it, it is basically a small calender of things we can do everyday to share the gospel through social media. The same general idea as light the world but all with technology and focused on missionary work a little more. If you haven't seen it or started it, I recommend doing so! It has been pretty cool already, and it's never to late to hop in! I'll attach the photos with this email. 

Hello my friends, family.......I greet you! 

Life is pretty good here in Ferrol. Cloudy and rainy about 75% of the time, but still awesome. Ha, on a serious note, I do love it here. The lack of sunshine does nothing to hinder the work....the rain, a little bit....we have been lucky though. The times where we have scheduled to go out and contact it hasn't been raining too much, so we are able to talk to some people.

This past week was pretty good. Elder Jordan and I have been trying to talk only in Spanish all day. So far we have been doing ok, ha. We still have moments of forgetfulness, but we’re getting better. I'm hoping that by the end of the transfer, it will help both Elder Jordan and me with our Spanish.  Talking to as many people on the street as we can is helping too. We do have member references in this area, which is great. We are also working in our area books to try and find new people teach.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Hey everyone!!

Elder Bassett and Elder Jordan

Man so it has been one crazy week! Lot of changes and adjustments, but honestly, I am loving it! Like I said last time, my new area is El Ferrol, and it is incredible! It's super beautiful here. It's not as cold as I thought it would be. It does rain a lot, though. We always need to carry umbrellas around, because you never know when a random rainstorm might come through.

So, I left the island Monday night and spent the night in Madrid. The next morning I caught a train that took me to the north. It was about a 6-hour trip. Not gonna lie, it felt pretty long at times. My train got in early, so I had to go find a payphone to give the elders a call to come pick me up...so that's the story of the first time I've used a payphone on my mission. 

That night, we dropped my stuff off and then went and got to work. My new companion is a pretty cool guy. His name is Elder Jordan, and he is from Mesa, Arizona. He just finished his training, so I am his second companion. He seems like a hard worker, and he is a pretty funny guy, so I am looking forward to this next transfer with him.