Things just keeping better!

Happy Birthday Elder Salazar!

 This has been a good week! They just keep getting better; even more lessons than the week before. We had Elder Salazar’s birthday this week. So there is a lady that lives here that tailors our clothes for free, and it was her birthday, too. SO we went over in the morning to sing her happy birthday and give her a cake as a zone. Then I drove straight to the other elders’ apartment, and they had a sign for Elder Salazar’s birthday and a cake, and they shoved his face in. Then we went to Olive Garden for lunch for his birthday. He had a great day and got a few packages from some friends (thank you!). Then that night we went for a lesson at the Salazar’s house, and they somehow knew it was his birthday and had bought him a cake and a new tie, so that was cool.

SO the Salazar’s: they didn't come to church this Sunday. We went over to their house last night for dinner since they have been dying to feed us. They made a huge meal and invited some member families over. It was getting late, so we had to leave before a spiritual thought. I don't know if we could have gotten them all to quiet down. But we taught them another lesson. They hadn't read in The Book of Mormon, so we read with them. They seem kind of interested. I mean, they say they are, but I'm not feeling a lot of real intent. I think they do it just to be classy, so they can tell their friends they are religious and study with the missionaries or something. We will see what happens.

The Escatel family is doing well...also known as the Alejandre family. The kid, Aaron, is the one we are teaching. They came to church again, and we taught a lesson. At the end of the lesson, we were talking to nine-year-old Aaron about prayer with his mom, and the mom mentioned the images that he prays to. We kept asking about it, then he runs to his room and walked out with a big two feet tall cross that his dad in Mexico gave him. Then his little brother runs out with his cross. It was really funny, because we didn't expect it and didn't know how to handle it, so we just looked at Brother Duarte and told him to tell her about it. He very nicely explained, and she said they would keep them, because it was a present from their dad, but that they don't pray to them; They are just decoration or something and that over time she would take them away. Anyway, it was a funny night; I won't forget it.

Elder Salazar and I have gotten a lot closer this transfer. We really don't have much in common, but we just get along and seem to agree with each other about everything. Maybe that's just, because I brain washed him to do missionary work exactly the way I do it, ha-ha. In studies, I frequently will make my companion repeat something over and over again, and then an hour later or so, I ask them to say it again. I think I got that from Dad? For example, there will be a sentence in Preach My Gospel that says, "Nothing happens in missionary work until you find someone to teach." I think I made Elder Senn, Elder Ireland, Elder Salazar, and Elder Pyne repeat that sentence to me ten times a day just to drill it in. It's kind of hard to explain, but I always do things like that just to get the most basic principles across to where they remember. Yeah, now that I think about it, I did get that from Dad. He does that with us in FHE's or driving to scout camp memorizing D&C 13.

So the Morales family is fine, perfect as ever. Paula is excited about getting baptized soon and is still learning well. Her parents are so good at teaching her, so usually we will attempt to teach her something then look at her parents, and they will tell her two things, and she gets it. I guess after all this practice; we still just aren't as good a teacher as parents are. (I have awesome parents. I tell people all the time about how they taught me the importance of family prayer and scripture study by waking me up even when I didn't want to. I tell people I don't know what we read or what we talked about, because I was so so tired.... All I know is that my parents thought family prayer and scripture study was important enough to wake me up, so I am going to do it.)

We started teaching another part member family this week. The wife is a member. Her husband and his dad live there, and they are Jehovah’s witnesses and moderately interested. They didn't bash when we had our first visit, so that's a good sign.

We had interviews last week and a training from the assistants. President and I had a good long interview, definitely my longest one so far just kind of talking about the mission. The assistants trained on something called the five essentials. It is a basic outline for the way they want us to start doing the first visit with people (different from the first lesson.) In the first lesson you do now, you begin teaching, Jesus Christ/atonement, next ordinance they need, Holy Ghost, and invitation to partake of that next ordinance. It is just to set expectations better and ensure we are talking about baptism on the first lesson. It is really effective in this mission, because we have so so many people willing to talk to us but not willing to keep commitments, so we need to make very clear why we are there in the first lesson to make sure they actually want to investigate and aren't just wanting to talk and not progress. It is similar to what a lot of people have always done in a first visit called trigger the challenge. That is basically the same thing as five essentials and talks about the three work journey with commitments expected to take, how many times a week we will meet to help them, and then invited to take the journey to baptism, which is "the cure" to their "nic" (need interest concern, found at beginning of lesson). This probably doesn't make a lot of sense to everyone else, but it's what we learned about.

Facebook still feels like a waste of time, lots of sitting around and waiting, kind of tough. 

By the way, the one all the way on the right is Elder Hainsworth, my zone leader. His brother served in Mesa.

 This morning we had a cool zone activity. Instead of regular studies, we had a zone study in the mountains. We did a hike as a zone then had some discussion about Alma 32 and the 8 mtc fundamentals and how we can accomplish our goal in the next two weeks. Our zone leaders had a cool object lesson people could use for fhe. They said we were going to be stranded on an island for the rest of our life, and we had four minutes to write one last note to our family and loved ones. So they had us all sit down out there and write for a few minutes the most important things we wanted our families to know. Then before the time was up, they took all our papers and tore them up. Then they related it to how The Book of Mormon prophets feel, like Moroni, when we decide not to share their dying words with the people that they loved and wrote to (us, Jew, gentile).

Now we’re off to go shopping so Elder Salazar can buy some winter clothes for his birthday.

This week I was kind of reading about spiritual gifts in Moroni 10. To get them we have to pray for them. To be worthy of them, we have to have faith, hope, and charity as it says in Moroni 10. In D & C section four it says, “Faith, hope, and charity qualify us for the work.” It's because faith, hope, and charity qualify us for spiritual gifts like Ammon and his brothers developed and as a result had so much power and authority (Alma 17). I have been praying a lot for this transfer for the gift of being positive and have gotten it. I know the Lord give to those who earnestly seek.  

I love you all! Take care,

Elder Bassett

PS Thank you for Elder Salazar’s birthday package. You would have loved to see how happy he was...I think he is going to write you, Grandma and Sister Davis a letter today. Oh and good call on the shirt!! He was so excited. The blue tie is now his favorite tie, and the shirt is his new favorite shirt. He just doesn't want to wear it and get it dirty, ha-ha. He was really excited about having the same one as me. We went to a member’s house that night, and they commented how great our shirts looked, ha-ha.

Side note, President said in my interview he has a new assignment for me. Which means I am probably leaving Monte Vista, and I think they might bring travelling trainers back, mixed feelings. I will love it though. I guess we will see what happens.