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| My new son! Elder Salazar originally form Honduras. |
Well I am in Logan, Utah...west of Main Street and right in
the center of everything. Our branch is called Monte Vista and is very
small...not quite as small as Idaho but close. The ward in the past (a year
ago) was really good with missionaries. The past year the missionaries haven't
worked with the members which made a lot of members really mad at the
missionaries. So mainly people have told us to start working with them again
which is awesome. There is moderately low trust, but it should shoot up really
quick.
OK, I am jumping ahead. I can start with the beginning of
the week. So last week about 32 new missionaries came into the mission. We were
all (trainers) waiting in the office and as soon as the Spanish ones showed up
we said hi, and I was surprised to see Elder Sewell. I had no idea he was coming
as a visa waiter in our mission. (He went to Buena Ventura with Elder Banchon. Elder Banchon was Elder Ward's second
companion. That’s in central Ogden between Mt. Lewis and Jefferson 2nd.)
So eventually, after some very anxious waiting (I think I was the most excited
person there), we all went into the gym and got ready for the meet your trainer
meeting. I guess it's just the culture of our mission, but the way we do it is
really loud with lots of clapping and cheering. Elder Pali and Elder Graham
both used to work at the Polynesian Cultural Center; they get the metal chairs
and do the Samoan drum thing that they do as the drumroll. It was a big group,
so everyone had lost their voice by the end of it. At the beginning, one of the
assistants, Elder Key, came up and said he was excited for me. The night before
they had had a testimony meeting with all the greenies, and Elder Key said as
soon as Elder Salazar stood up he, president, and the other assistant all wrote
my name down. That was the only one they all three agreed on as far as whose
companion they should be. So it was definitely what the Lord wanted. Elder
Salazar was about the fourth one called up. They did the drumroll and yelled
out my name, and I ran up and got him and carried him away, the usual stuff. I
guess we are pretty weird. Elder Sewell mentioned, "This is a weird little
ritual you have going here." That pretty much sums it up. So after that,
we waited for several hours for the shuttle up to Logan.
Once we finally got there, we managed to get our way to our
apartment from the transfer point, because the housing coordinator is nice to
me, and I asked him to drop us by so that was nice of him. We got to the house,
and at this point, I still hadn't been able to reach the missionaries that I
was white washing out. I was obviously frustrated; for two days he still hadn't
called me back. I ended up talking to him the next day, and he had four potentials
for me and only two addresses. So we had 0 investigators and nothing from him
at all in the area book (he served there for six months). Luckily, the two missionaries
we live with know where some things are (they serve in the other half of our
ward). The missionary we white washed out kept apologizing for not doing a good
job, but either way, we had work to do.
The first project was cleaning up the one bedroom apartment
for the four of us. It had lots of mold growing in the bathroom, and the place hadn't
been cleaned probably in months. So we spent the first day cleaning everything
and trying to get the smell out. Two cans of odor spray and two candles have
kind of helped. Then we went grocery shopping and got everything set to go to
work the next day. We met the bishop, that was first on the to do list. He is a
white guy and seems pretty good. Our ward mission leader is less active and is
in Mexico for the next month, oh boy. The bishop suggested we start using
progress records since he said he hadn't seen one in a long time, and he gave
us three referrals. That was a good start.
We were riding our bikes to a potential’s house and kind of
wondering what to do when I felt like we should stop. So we did and knocked a
door. It was a less active white guy, not interested. Walking back to our bikes,
a truck pulled up and asked us if we wanted to get out of the rain (it was
raining at the time, and we didn't have jackets). So we jumped in and threw our
bikes in the back. Turns out, he is a ward missionary in English. He drove us
around the next two hours showing us Hispanic houses. Later on that week, we
went to his ward correlation meeting and got a few more names.
We went to our stake correlation this Sunday. That didn't
help as much since it was mainly for the other two missionaries in our ward and
the area they cover (it was the meeting with all the English ward mission
leaders). There is one guy named José Franco that we were told by four
different people to go visit and was so, so interested. We went to visit, and
he got mad and said he wasn't interested anymore and slammed the door. The
people who gave us the referral were all really confused. That has happened a
couple times with people that got mad at the last missionaries serving here, so
there is a lot of trust to build with the nonmembers, too. There is one family
I was told to visit by an elder that served here a year ago. He said it was
five easy baptisms. I went to her, and she has been taught for months and never
invited to baptism and has no interest in it, because she thinks missionaries
are just there to chat.
Having said all that, there is a ton of work to do and WAY
more people to visit than I had in Jefferson 2nd. We have spent a lot of time
tracting. Yesterday we had six appointments set up, and every single one fell
threw. So right now we are just looking for the ones who will listen. Our one
ray of hope was a lady we found the second day who wants to get baptized but
has to find a job and then move out of the house she is in, because she is
living with a man. She is very sick and old though and doesn't know if she will
be able to. Pray for miracles!
The second day of the transfer we had our zone study. We all
set goals and made a zone goal of 24 which is high for our zone, but our theme
is "Do you believe in miracles?" Our companionship goal is six; that
is obviously very high for having no investigators. I normally wouldn't do that,
but Elder Salazar really felt good about it and said we need to have faith. This
is one of those things that I want him to learn from, so I didn't say no about
it. I have prayed about it and know that it is doable if we can work hard and
see some miracles start to happen.
It has been very, very hot everyday which makes riding a
bike especially fun. Let the record show that I hate wearing helmets. I think I
will be bitter if I don't fall and hit my head, because I will feel like I wore
the helmet for nothing everyday.
So the other thing that needed to be cleaned up is poaching.
I have found out about six different people that are being taught by
missionaries outside our area and being brought to other wards. So I called all
those missionaries and patiently told them we would be taking over. The sister
missionaries have like five investigators right in the center of area; how does
that even happen? Elder Saldaña has been teaching a family of four for two
transfers in our area and bringing them to the ward on the other side of Logan.
Right now we are trying to get them to come with us so we can baptize them in
their ward, but they say they already like their ward and don't want to switch.
It's tough I am not exactly sure how to handle it.
My district is great. The sisters are awesome. Sister Sonasi
came out with me, so I already know and have trust with her. The missionaries
in Temple Blvd are good, and the ones in our house are good as well. Elder
Coronado and Elder Mark live in our house. We started out setting some
apartment goals with them. Elder Mark mentioned he wants to start doing better
with the morning schedule, so I have been getting them up and making them go to
the gym with us every morning. Elder Coronado is awesome. He has been out four
months and has so much good desires. I was his zone leader when he first came
out. He feels like he is lost and doesn't know how to do missionary work,
because he never did 12 week. So I teach 12 week to three missionaries
everyday, ha-ha. It's kind of fun; it's like school. We have been trying to
help the two of them, too, on how to use the area book, finding, teaching stuff
like that, so I think it is good that the two of them are living with us. (Still
in contact with the Goldthorpe's? Elder Mark is a really close friend of theirs
from St. George.)
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| Elder Coronado |
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| Elder Mark |
Elder Salazar is the best. He is from Honduras and moved to Florida
when he was ten. His family had a rough start and eventually made it making a
cleaning business. So he likes things to stay clean like me. He knows he has to
be obedient, because that's what his dad always taught him. His dad is a good
man and wanted to give him what he never had, so he drove out from Florida to
drop him off at the MTC. Elder Salazar
really wanted to work, because that's what his parents taught him. He obviously
already speaks Spanish. He is the second Hispanic I have ever met who knows Spanish
grammar, because he took four years in high school (the only other one is Elder
Senn). We get along well and are working very, very hard, the hardest I have
ever worked at anything in my entire life.
On Sunday, all four of us spoke. I decided to be mellow and
just talked about the spirit in conversion. I decided calling them all to
repentance wouldn't be the best way to get them all to love me. I kind of
realized while I was talking that I don't really get nervous anymore so I can
actually manage to smile a little bit while I speak. Obviously, it's a small
branch. I think it would different if it were a full ward, but at least at
church it wasn't too bad. During church, we passed around a list and got all
the people willing to come out on splits and will have 6-9 splits to work with
us every night. They said they wanted to work; I hope they meant it. There is a big problem with young women
flirting with missionaries in this ward, so several people warned us about that
and I was pre-warned by all the texts I found on our phone. Elder Salazar was
kind of disgusted missionaries would even flirt with 15 year-old-girls; it’s
pretty sad. So we smiled at and tried to build trust with everyone in the ward
except all the young women, ha-ha.
After church, we went to a guy's house named Sergio who
gives the missionaries lunch every Sunday. He went off for 20 minutes about how
we need to work with the members and how the members are watching us and he
would find out if we broke any rules. So we took his advice and took him
tracting yesterday for three hours. Usually the missionaries go to his house
for lunch and then watch church movies afterward; hopefully we can break that
tradition. He is a nice guy. I feel bad for him; he is the only member of his
family and the only one in the states. I think he was mad the missionaries
stopped calling him for splits since he has so much extra time, so we will have
to put him to work. It was actually really good going with him, because he knew
where a lot of previous investigators from a year ago live. There are a ton of
potentials, and so that's what we are doing right now.
Hopefully by next week I can report back on progressing
investigators. Pray for us, we really need it right now. One concern I have as
I have before is talking with everyone. If I am riding my bike and there is a
guy mowing the lawn that is very obviously a white member, should I talk to
him? We spend so much time talking to members, and it feels like just
waving to them would be more effective since we are just driving by anyways,
but maybe I am just trying to get out of talking with everyone. What does
everyone think? Well, I think that is all to report for now. I hope everyone is
doing well. Take care!
Elder Bassett
PS On a side note.... I left my luggage with everyone elses’
last week... the sprinklers came on. Elder Plowman was out there and tried to
save some stuff, but a lot of my ties are ruined and my favorite suit. Anything
I can do to fix them? They are just really wrinkled up and misshaped now,
because they all got soaked…EVERYone's suitcases did. I still have plenty of
ties that didn't get ruined, so it's ok, just kind of sad. I put my ten
favorite ties on top so they wouldn't get wrinkled…and those were the ones that
got ruined. I am taking my suit to the dry cleaner, though to see what they can
do.
Also, can we wear light suits now? People keep asking me
about the missionary wardrobe changing on the news or something. (Mark sent him the link and you can also read this from the Dessert News. Taylor responded:) There are lot of things in here that people here already do; a ton of
missionaries wear light suits even though we aren't supposed to. I guess it's
good they are allowed to now. A shoulder bag riding a bike would be awful. Well,
bookmark a couple websites with some man purses…I might request one next week.
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