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.)