Big Eyes

Family!

Ross! I am so glad that you got to go through the temple! How was it? do you feel so old? I can hardly believe it! And I can't wait to go with you sometime! Still crossing my fingers to see you at the temple here in Seoul!

Speaking of Seoul...I am currently in the Seoul South mission! I am about 30 minutes south of the river. So, unless I get transferred during my 12 week training, which isn't likely, I will be in Uncle Marshall's mission. kinda crazy!

This week was so busy! I love it that way, though. It is easy to feel like a missionary when you are running up all the hills in 봉천 because you are almost late for curfew! it is so great. I expect to have some really good calves when I get home. 

Sandy is done with the 6 week program, but wants to keep meeting! We are having our first all gospel lesson tonight. and we are going to try and get her to commit to a baptismal date. so pray for us! she talked about how the chapel is like getting away from real life...her fortress. We can find that EVERY DAY! In the scriptures, prayer, church, and especially the temple. I got to go to the Seoul temple on Tuesday. and it was beautiful. they do English sessions three mornings a week, so we went to that. can I just say how much I love the temple! I always feel like a beloved daughter when I am in the celestial room. My MTC companion and I sat together in the celestial room...I was so glad to see her! There is something comforting and empowering about the temple...I am worth something. Ross (and everyone else...) go as much as you can!

We slept over with the other Sisters (Saunders and Park) in our Zone so that we wouldn't have to travel so far to the mission activity. And the mission activity was so great! We had a spiritual meeting to begin, then we went to this huge park and played games and went to the zoo. FUN! Crazy statistics from the meeting: in 2 transfers, there will be 62 missionaries available to train 58 new missionaries. I am counted in the 62 available!!! WHAT? yeah. that is real life here in Korea! it was so good to be 'out' of the city for a day. 

I know you wanted to hear about my day to day life, but I"ve just gotta tell you about Sunny. She is a new investigator we started teaching this week. At first, she didn't want to do the 6 week program because she didn't want to hear about the gospel. But she really wanted private English, so she started. We were just talking (in english...) about ourselves and she asked us how we joined our faith. Then I talked about how I left in the middle of University to come on a mission. She asked why, and I said that this gospel makes me so HAPPY and so I wanted to share it. She was so impressed with us...not getting paid, just serving. When I was talking about serving a mission, I mentioned the Book of Mormon, so we got talking about that. she was SO surprised that we believe Christ visited the Americas. She loves the Bible, so we said that they support each other. that led to a little about Joseph Smith. and then Sister Arthur wants giving a little overview of what we would be teaching in the lessons. When she got to the Plan of Salvation, Sunny looked at us and said "you really have answers to those questions?!" she goes to church and reads the Bible, but wishes that the good feeling would last longer. I just KNOW that this gospel is what she is looking for. I pray that she will open her heart and mind and see that for herself. WE HAVE THE ANSWERS! we know the most glorious truths ever. And it should make us happy! So we should be sharing it!

Sharing the gospel goes for all of you, too! I am a HUGE believer in members at lessons. they make all the difference. please read the quotes on page 12 and 13 of Preach My Gospel about missionary work... MOM, DAD, GARRET, MIKE, ALAN and ANYONE else reading this, your mission IS NOT over! every member is a missionary! So do what you can where you can. 

On Saturday night we had dinner with Scott's family...me, Sister Arthur, and our zone leaders. We have the BEST zone leaders ever. they are wonderful and great and AUNT GLENDA, I hope you tell them about this letter too ;)  It was so crazy...I felt like I was in America! The chicken divan was JUST like momma makes it! and Melody is getting so old. She will be taller than me soon!

Mom- we haven't taught the bus stop woman. Yet. also, I found some buckwheat pasta here. i'll let you know how it tastes.

ok. life in Seoul. normal missionary schedule. our area has TONS of hills. and random little tiny shops everywhere. We ride the subway and buses. Funny story about the subway, people sell things there. just walk around. I can't remember if I told you about the crazy guy yelling that I would have salvation if I bought his toothbrushes. I didn't. 

we teach English class 2 times a week. and I LOVE it. after class on wednesday, Thompson comes up to me and says "Sister Bassett... you have very big eyes. I think maybe I should envy you?" (imagine what they would say about Rachel Saunders...) haha, so funny!

I love raddish kimchi. half the time I love it, sometimes, I really don't. the food here is so good! I'm getting used to spicy.

All my love,

Sister Bassett

It’s really chewy...

Dearest Family-

On Monday we had another lesson with Sandy. An adorable RM from our ward came with us and she really helped. As we talked about church and bore testimony, I think that she could feel a difference in the room. and she accepted the invitation to come with us! She talks about the peace she feels when she comes to church, so I hope that she felt how strong it is during the sacrament. We did take her to gospel principles, though, and the teacher went off trying to teach her about all our different scriptures. I think she was a little overwhelmed... Tonight is our last lesson with her on the 6 week program, so after this if she wants to keep meeting, it is only for gospel. Pray that she wants to!

Jay and Skylah (have I told you about them? They are best friends and such beautiful girls! Jay is Christian and she goes to another church, Skylah was raised Buddhist, but she says she doesn't really have a religion) are so great. A Brother from our ward came and taught with us...the Plan of Salvation. I am a HUGE believer in getting members to lessons. So good! They said they would come to church, but didn't show. we'll see why at our lesson tomorrow! Skylah loves meeting with us though. 

ok. the language. I am almost half way through pass-off! So that's awesome. they have different things you have to pass off for each lesson...vocab and scriptures and reciting the first vision. DAD- this is the thing I was telling you about in my phone call home, that my Zone Leader is pushing so much? yeah. it takes most people months and transfers. but hopefully I will get it all done this transfer! Especially with everyone pushing me so much!

Funny thing of this week- couples wear matching things here. all the time. like "we're dating. in case you couldn't tell by us holding hands, we'll wear matching sneakers." seriously. like bright pink matching shoes...or matching purple hair...or shirts. this is a true story!

Also...people just wander out of the hospital. really! I'll see people just walking into a restaurant with an IV in their arm. or smoking. It's awesome.

BUT the big new thing I did this week was EAT OCTOPUS. yeah. we were walking home for dinner and this sweet Sister from our ward saw us. When we told her where we were going, she grabbed my hand and said she was going to take us to dinner. and she did. to Korea Octopus Food. That's the restaurant. It tastes pretty good! Really chewy. and the little suction cup things on the legs come off in your mouth and it feels so strange! It was so great.

Thank you for your love and support! I am so blessed. The letters from my other friends out on missions inspire me every week. And Ross. I am so excited for him to be a missionary! He will be the best. I loved getting an email from his ldsmail account today. With all the ups and downs, I just have to remember that THIS is exactly what I always wanted. I love the people here. And I love the gospel like I never have before. When people don't listen on the streets or won't take a card on the bus, I just want to say "this is important! this is the best thing you are going to hear about...EVER!" and it is. 

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY! I forgot about that until mom mentioned it :)

All my love,

Sister Bassett

Getting to know Korea

                                 Our Zone dinner with my companion, Sister Arthur! YUM!

Family! 

Sorry about the letter, or lack of it, last week. Here we go for this week!

Korea is always an adventure. especially when you are will another Sister that has been here 6 days. Yep! Exchanges! Sister Saunders and I (the one from my MTC District) here together for a whole 24 hours. It was fabulous ^^ I love her so much! We street contacted for a while in the evening but, jokes! we don't speak Korean! so the next day we set up a street board withmormon.org on it and SANG! in the middle of a busy sidewalk, we stood there and sang hymns and passed out cards. for over an hour. it was great. We talked about the FIRE we felt in the MTC and working to never loose that fire. That's what the MTC is like now! The missionaries out here didn't get to see the amazing feeling that is there now...the 19 year old Sisters coming, the floods of missionaries every Wednesday, the devotionals. So we get to bring that fire and spread it here!

I taught my first REAL lesson this week. It was so neat. Her English name is Sandy (she is on the 6 week program, 30 minutes of English, 30 minutes of the gospel). She is was asking about the Book of Mormon and saying she didn't understand it. I bore my testimony and shared a scripture that really touched me this week...Jacob 5:72, about the Lord laboring with us...I talked about the comfort that verse gave me and just started crying. She said that she wants to believe God is real. She wants someone to rely on. It was great. The next day was Katie's lesson, same program. It was our first time meeting her. After we gave her a Book of Mormon, she sat and read it before English class. So we'll see!

I had dinner in 강남! that is Gangnam (is that how you spell it?)...like in the song. So delicious! and so much food! 

**Line of the week: I was with Sister Saunders talking to this lady on the bus. She asked where I lived, and I was trying to explain that I live in 봉찬 but I was going to 노량진 to sleep at Sister Saunders house. But instead of conjugating it to say "I'm going to her house" I said "shall we go to her house?" the woman looked startled, and said " Me?" um...no. not what I meant to say ^^

**Miracle of the week: after dinner we were planning to go street contact to make our goal of 140 contacts for the week. But it was raining buckets. We said a prayer and felt good about going out, so we did. Sister Arthur even prayed for it to stop raining. We went to the subway station. And NO ONE would listen. The had umbrellas for shields. So we started to head back home. Sister Arthur asked if we could stop at the bus station and I said yes. We talked to a few people there, and then this woman came. Sis. Arthur started talking to her and she had met Elders before! When and where, no idea. But she asked when we could talk about Joseph Smith...she asked US for an appointment! She was really interested in the Church. Just before, I had felt like "oh, maybe we shouldn't have come out..." NOPE! don't doubt the Lord! He knows what He is doing. (thanks, Daddy, for that reminder)

Mom- could you email me some recipes? cookies...or anything really. 

Dad- I found a Korean Rigo Chapparro! seriously. he reminds me so much of him!

I love you all! Have a wonderful day! I know like I never have before that we can turn to the scriptures for comfort and direction. ALWAYS. God will not leave us alone.

xoxo,

바 셋 자매

We are pleased to inform you that your missionary has arrived safely to the Korea Seoul Mission happy healthy and excited to join us in God's great work!!

Thank you for sending them prepared and ready to go!

If you have questions or concerns please contact us at this address.

Korea Seoul Mission Staff

BEST Friends!!

What could be better than to be in the same building with your best friend, Sister Ali Hemming, who will be serving her mission in Poland.

Half-way to Seoul

Family Dearest-

One month down, one to go!

Sorry for my very uneventful letters...life goes pretty much the same around here. We wake up at 6:30, prayers and get ready. Breakfast is at 7:20 and then either class or study time. Then lunch, class or study time. and then, (surprise surprise) dinner and then class or study time! Back in residence halls by 9:30, we usually spend the next 45 mintues laughing and talking and eating food. My room is lucky and has a fridge, so we save stuff in there from sack breakfast...bagels and cream cheese makes for a great end-of-the-day snack! Quiet time at 10:15, then lights out at 10:30. Write in journals, say prayers.

I am pretty sure that I got the best time to be in the MTC. Easter and Conference? yeah. I'll take that. and talk about missionaries! 65,634 out + 20,000 with calls + 6,000 interviewing...that is 91,634 missionaries! We are a mighty band of youth, a modern-day army of Helaman. How grateful I am to be a part of it! When we watched the between-sessions special, I sat and thought about where I was last Conference...sitting in the Willows eating icecream is where. And I remember hearing the age change for the Elders and I KNEW is was coming...19 for the Sisters! I was so excited. And opening my call and getting dropped off, everything happened SO fast. I am so thankful that I didn't wait, because there is NO WHERE I would rather be right now. Sometimes we have to take a leap of faith before we have time to think about it. If we know it is right, just do it!

I won't try and recap how incredibly phenomenal Conference was...just watch it. But since many of you probably didn't watch the YW Broadcast, I'll tell a little bit about it. Sister Dalton is one of my heroes. I just love here. When we are standing on the edge of a big decision, DON'T back down! act in faith. be fearless. I loved her comments of departing from family and a former life to embark on the journey that God has in store for you. I probably really appreciated it because of how much it applies to me. In that same broadcast President Uchtdorf gave 3 ways to joyfully and safely make the journey back to God. First, remember that the Lord is with you. He sees you as you are and if you look for Him, you will see that He is looking for you. Second, learn to speak the language of love. That is everyone's native language, we will be able to do miracles if we practice that language enough to gain fluency in it. Third, be of good CHEER! be grateful for where you are in your journey. Find your way home, in every sense of the word.

Just one quick funny story from this week... there are so many Sister here that they have switched a bunch of the bathrooms from Mens to Womens. so, understandably, it is hard to tell the difference. On Saturday, I told Sister Sieverts that I was going around to the restroom on the other side. The one upstairs had been made into a Sister's bathrooms, and I just sorta assumed that this one was too. NOPE! As I am walking out, Sister Sieverts gives me a funny look and says "did you just use the men's bathroom?" um...yeah...that is exactly what I just did.

Luckily no one was in there! We laugh so much here, but when I come to email, I can never remember why. Probably because we are just so happy. or because the language is coming along just swimmingly ;) it's tough stuff, but we love it!

Love you all!

Sister Bassett

April Fools and Easter

Happy April! Can you believe March is over? I hardly can! This past month has been incredible.

Last Tuesday, after I wrote, we had the big Tuesday Devotional. Lawrence E. Corbridge spoke and it was just what I needed. I probably say that every week, but it is! His wife shared the story of a young Sister missionary...she had just arrived in Brazil and said it was "the most silent week of her life." She couldn't speak the language and didn't think she could teach. Near the end of the week, they were talking to a woman in the street. The woman looked at this Sister and said "You have a light. And you don't need words to share that." Sometimes I forget that I am going to Korea to preach the gospel, the GOOD NEWS! Learning Korean just helps with that. It isn't my purpose. In 3 Nephi 18, Christ says that He is the light we hold up, the example that He has given us. If we follow His example, we can be that light no matter where we are or where we are from. I volunteered for this mission, saying "here I am! Send me." Elder Corbridge encouraged us to "serve a mission, not just go on a mission." and that is just what I want to do.

And then Easter Sunday. What a beautiful day to reflect on the life and resurrection of our Savior. I read through the account of the Savior's last days, His atonement, crucifixion, and resurrection, in Luke and Matthew on Sunday before Sacrament. As I was reading in Matthew,  I came to verse 53 in chapter 26. I was filled with gratitude for Christ. He was willing and able and WANTING to be our Redeemer. In that verse, He says that he could have called down legions of angels. But He didn't. He could have saved Himself. But He didn't. He chose, instead, to save us. Just as Elder Bednar describes, Christ shows His character by turning outward. Because of the atonement, we can present ourselves at the feet of the Savior over and over, to say "help me become clean." We can do that everyday...or several times a day! because, for me, I need that.

"Dear God of new beginnings and second chances, here I am again." {not sure who that quote is by, but I absolutely love it.}

Christ knows what it feels like to be frightened, insecure, disappointed, and hurt. He will weep with us and carry us through our trials if we will let Him. But He also knows what it is like to feel joyful, confident, and fearless. And He wants to be with us during those times as well. He will succor us, run to our aid, when we need it. He hears our prayers. I don't understand how...because here at the MTC I'm pretty sure that at any given moment hundreds of us are praying for the comfort of the Savior. But I know that He does.

We had an MTC-wide Sacrament meeting. The Sacrament was passed to over 3,000 missionaries here. Is that astonishing or what? Bishop Gelrad Causse and his wife spoke. They brought such a beautiful spirit with them. Sister Causse expressed the thought that "Christ is not here to condemn us, but to save us." So rejoice in His atonement!  And Bishop Causse gave a wonderful talk on gaining a testimony of the Savior. To be able to say, as Elder McConkie did, that when we see the Savior, we will not know any better then than we do now that "Christ is the Savior, the Son of God.”

Sheri Dew came for the Easter Devotional. She talked about the influence we have on others and our own tendency to be influenced. So how does Satan try to get us?  He tries to confuse us about [1] who the Savior is [2] who we are [3] how we recieve personal revelation. The Savior is the answer. He already atoned for your sins. He already offered you a way home. We are children of God and He wants us back...our pedigree can be written on one line. and if we ask God, He will show us how He speaks to our souls.

As you can see, Sundays are the best. They are a time to recharge and remember why I am here. Ahhh...love it!

Yesterday was April Fools! We can't pull any crazy pranks here, but a Sister in my District did an awesome one. Sister Washburn and Sister Dorman have been the only two girls in their room until last Wednesday. They got 4 new roommates. Sister Washburn does a pretty convincing Scottish accent. So...we all talked her in to pretending she was from Scotland for FIVE DAYS! It was hilarious! Her roommates were so impressed. So last night, for April Fools, she starts telling this story of her friend who got to the MTC and pulled a joke on her roommates. and then she says (while acting it out) "then my friend stands up, throws her arms out, and says 'April Fools! I'm from Idaho!'" we all start laughing our faces off. The roommates take a minute, and then bust up as well. so good :)

Line of the week that I messed up in Korean- asking if Joseph Smith baptized the Church before we restored it. Yeah. That happened.

I love you all! Thank you for the letters and prayers and support.

Sister Bassett