walking in the hot, hot heat. transfer calls. and other adventures.‏

Dearest Family-

first off, can I just say how much I LOVE getting letters? especially the ones mom sends from my missionary friends. Sisters Hemming, Saunders, Wiser and Baird. and Elder Liston and Lippert. it is the best!

So. some notes I wrote down to talk about. 

- HELP THE MISSIONARIES! yeah. do I say that every week? we need you! with brings be to my next thing...

-Transfer calls! I am staying in my greenie area. with Sister Fudge. What?! yeah. I have been here 3 1/2 months and she has been here 2 months. gonna be great! and our Elders are both just ONE transfer ahead of me. all these young missionaries! I think it will be good for our ward, though, because now they know we NEED members to lessons. yes!

-the package! GREATEST! thanks so so so much! the skirts are both adorable and so comfy. I wore them both already^^ thank you! and, mom, I am using the rose oil. thanks! plus music? seriously the language of the soul. 

-We had a ward activity last night. dinner and a musical fireside. It was really good! some less actives and non-members came. so lovely! Us three sisters sang "Bridge Over Troubled Water" with some ward members. So awesome! the more Sister Pak keeps coming to those, the better. She fits in with the ward so good! we just keep praying for her. and her family.

so this week. LOTS of new things. We made TONS of invitations to that ward activity. we gave them to investigators, former investigators, less actives. And we gave 2 to all the members and asked them to bring a friend. we are really trying to get missionary work to happen in our ward. because it should be US helping THEIR missionary plan. I love our ward, though! They are like one big family! so funny and so strong. our bishopric is the best! ah. just love them. I learned what LOVE is on my mission. did I ever know how to love before? I did, but my heart is just FULL here. it has grown! in love for my family, friends, and EVERYONE else! it's the best!

On Tuesday we went to 12-week follow up training for Sister Fudge. Have I said how much we LOVE President? even if he wasn't my uncle! and our AP's are the best. One thing they said that I loved was about an Elder in our mission...Elder Pope. President Morrise said that every time he sees Elder Pope, it reminds him of the movie It's a Wonderful Life when George tells Mary to swallow the moon...then the light would shoot out of her fingers and toes and the ends of her hair. He sees that GOSPEL LIGHT in Elder Pope. and it's true! he is bright. and smiling. ALL the time. I want to be that! I want to have swallowed the moon and have light inside of me. its a beautiful thought, isn't it? we can all have the light of Christ shining from within us. it comes from the way we speak, the things we think, and the faith we act with. but it is attainable. for ALL OF US. 

I also got to go on exchanges that day! with Sister Kei! such a cute sister. ok...I just love all the sister! girl power! she asked me "how do you get over being afraid to talk to people?" and I said something along the lines of "you don't. You can still be afraid to talk to people. You just realize that something else is more important than you. that someday everyone will know what you know and they will say 'Cara! why didn't you tell me?' because our pride was more important than them? that would be a sad day!" geez! take your own advice, Sister Bassett! something is more important than me...the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

I read Elder Bednar's talk Ye Must Be Born Again this week. oh goodness. he is fabulous! I loved where he says "gradually and almost imperceptibly, our motives, our thoughts, our words, and our deeds become aligned with the will of God. this phase...requires time, persistence, and patience." that is where I am at right now! and, I would guess, most of us are. so let's be patient. I love this work. I love being immersed in it. It is the best thing. have I told you lately? how much I love being a missionary?

most of our investigators are on vacation, so we didn't meet any this week. this coming week is busy though! wish us luck. Sister Fudge and I need all the prayers we can get! and the gift of tongues!

I love you all!

Sister Bassett

                                                                    Seoul Korea

                                     Our ward missionaries with our bishop and his wife

                                              One of the cute young woman in our ward!

BAKING!

This week is just a blur of baking hot! I'm really thankful for a church that has air conditioning. and baking german pancakes! i have made them twice here!

in other news...Bible bash! ok. not bashing...just lecture? The Elders in another area referred us Sister J. So here is the story- We were supposed to meet her by exit 4 at the subway station. But then she calls and gives us directions to somewhere else. it is POURING rain. seriously! like coming through my umbrella, flooding the river raining. (side note...there is this sidewalk down by the river with stairs to come up to the road. people could come up! because the water was up the like the 3 stair! so these guys in plastic suits and really loud whistles had to go down and help them. wow!) So we are walking up and down the street, trying to find this Sister. and we can't finally she says she will just meet us at the exit. Phew! So she takes us to this movie theater place...we were a little worried. but we just sat at these chairs with her and 3 friends. they are all originally from China. And they talked at us. for like and hour. so we set up an appointment for a real lesson on Thursday. This time it is just Sister J and her daughter and a friend from Canada. all of the sudden, Sister J leaves and the daughter just starts going at the Bible...citing verses and talking about why we don't need the Book of Mormon, how she will only quote the Bible and they aren't her thoughts, they are God's word. it was...interesting. for like 2 hours almost. So much Korean so fast! I just bore my testimony about the Book of Mormon. That it is another testament of Christ...it is another witness that Jesus Christ was not just a good teacher or a great man, but the literal Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer or the world. I was a little surprised by my own conviction in defending it! but it's just the truth! The Book of Mormon truly is the word of God. I KNOW IT. I have felt it over and over, more than ever on my mission. I love it. 

and good news, Sister Pak finally prayed with us! out loud! we were so happy. She is my miracle. Even if she doesn't get baptized, I have seen her change. I have seen her 'get' the gospel and allow Christ into her life. She is a miracle. I love her with all my heart! We had a lesson with a member planned. We wanted to member to just share her conversion story and her testimony, so when she all of the sudden couldn't come, we were a little worried. BUT, we had done our best, and the Spirit did the rest. better than we ever could. We ended up talking about the mothers of the stippling warriors. (little back story, the night before, in English class, our gospel message was about friends. I talked about Ali...Sister Hemming. I talked about how a good friend is an example, they make us want to be better, work harder, smile more, be happy, love people and love life and just be more. ) She said that she wants to be that friend, that example, for her son. We each talked about our beloved mothers. and that SHE CAN BE THAT! it was so good. We just keep praying for her.

This morning, I was reading in Matthew 4 (i think) when Jesus calls Peter and Andrew, James and John to be fishers of men. It says that Peter and Andrew went STRAIGHTWAY and followed Him. and James and John IMMEDIATELY left their father and followed. I love those words. I am trying each day to have that faith....the courage to just follow Christ. To follow the promptings of the Spirit.

I love you! I love my Savior. I love being a missionary. I love the Korean people...sometimes after seeing them all day, I come home and I'm a little sad that I'm not Korean ^^ 

Love, Sister Bassett

No Longer A Greenie

Dearest Family-

yep. you read it right! last Wednesday was my 12 week mark, so I am officially no longer a greenie!

Monsoon season is almost over. On Tuesday night, it was about 8:20 and we were just coming home from visiting a less active. it starts POURING. YES!!! so we ran home because we had no umbrellas. haha people thought we were crazy i'm sure! but it was so fun. and soaking.

We taught Sister Pak again on Thursday. She is so close. She knows this is right. We talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ...she says that she knows she is building faith because she reads the Book of Mormon and prays every night with her son. When we talked about repentance, she said she is changing, but not enough. How can we help her see that we are ALL trying to change? even if we have been baptized for 50 years? we taught about after baptism...going to the temple and then the celestial kingdom. She asked if she and MinJeh (her son) could walk that path alone because her husband is not interested in religion. They are really struggling. But she is so good and always optimistic! MinJeh reminds me of Taven...always on the go!

so. update on how hot it is. I was making brownies and guess what? i didn't have to melt the butter to but it around in the pan. straight from the fridge to the pan. and it MELTED ITSELF. cool, huh?

We are just seeing miracles! mom sent me the latest letters from my best friends (thanks Mommy!) and they all talked about their miracles. so I've been watching for ours. This week we picked up two new investigators. They are amazing. seriously, just glowing. They are prepared! but...we like to think that about everyone! but really. they are fabulous. Also, we were walking home one night and said hi to this lady and kept walking. I couldn't stop thinking about how happy she looked, so I  was like, "maybe we should go back and talk to her?" but we were far away and it would be awkward, but thank goodness, my companions were like YA! lets go back! so we did. and she took a Book of Mormon. nothing more...but nothing less. it felt so good.

I love being a missionary. I love my Savior. I love the Korean people. I love you!

Sister Bassett

Two and a Half Fans

Dear Family-

We literally have two and a half fans. one of them broke, so we had to take the protector...grate thing off of it. and be really careful around it! No air conditioning. So it is super hot! I wake up with sweaty hair stuck to my face. BEST! haha what do you do. 

I have weird dreams here. and super realistic. A few nights ago I dreamed that a bunch of missionaries were taking a picture on top of this HUGE Korean flag. and I was falling asleep in the picture. and everyone was like 'Sister Bassett! don't fall asleep!" so in an big effort to not fall asleep, I woke myself up. so I am awkwardly half sitting up in bed, doing peace signs and kinda smiling. when I looked around and realized where I was, I laughed a little at myself and went back to bed. The next day I laughed my face off when I told Sister Arthur and Sister Fudge. haha, I crack myself up!

we are Bongcheon united. the five of us missionaries serving in 봉천 ward. and we are DOING WORK. (just for you, Garret ^^)

I was looking at my desk this week and there was a letter on there from Sister Rachel Saunders. and it was addressed to Sister Cara Bassett. It was crazy. sometimes it is still surreal that I AM A MISSIONARY! it is the coolest thing to be able to say that!

I tried duck this week! it was so yummy. They roll it up in little pieces and then you grill it and put it in lettuce with some garlic, red pepper paste, onions, and then stuff the whole thing in your mouth. YUM!

I actually like learning Korean! when I am in a lesson trying to understand and I just can't, it is frustrating. BUT during study time, I love it! It is a beautiful and interesting language. I am starting to learn the character, taken from Chinese. So each sound or syllable means something. I'm not really sure how to explain it, but it's awesome!

We went knocking doors the other day and got kicked out. they weren't too happy about the mormon.org cards in the doors! we were tempted to just say we didn't understand. but instead we just left. and laughed :)

We have this member in our ward who we just LOVE. Sister Lee. She just got back from her mission, here in Seoul, in December and moved up here to work. We saw her yesterday on our way to go proselyting and she said "oh, are you going to go testify?" YES! that is what we are going to do! it is amazing how changing the word totally changed how I saw it. yeah. We were going out to do some testifying...to tell about our Savior and His restored gospel and a Book that has changed our lives.

This week has been a roller coaster with investigators! 2 dropped us today. so that's a bummer. We couldn't meet Sister Pak either. and she was visiting her mother-in-law again, so hasn't been to church in weeks. I'm not sure, but I think that her husband might be caring more and more about if she attends church weekly. and she has been sick. So LOTS of prayers. We aren't sure what to do for her.

We also have baptismal date for Sandy on Saturday. Unfortunately, I don't think she will be ready. We taught about tithing yesterday and she said she could afford to pay that...that the 10% is really important to her. We have another lesson tonight, so any good karma would be appreciated. I think that she knows this is something good, but isn't quite ready to let herself fully accept it. and it might take a lot of time. 

The other day I forgot my name tag. it is AMAZING what that little piece of black plastic can do for you. One name is bigger than my own, JESUS CHRIST. I am His representative. and that is wonderful. When I got to put it back on again, I was sad for the day I will have to take it off for good.

I love you all! The Church is true. God loves us...He will NEVER leave us alone. We are His children. 

xoxo, Sister Bassett

Bongcheon Five

Dear Family-

 

Do I say this every week? that it is SO HOT? because if I do, I'm really sorry. But it is! Like wake up sweating in the night hot. So crazy! Also, monsoon season came back yesterday and today with a vengeance! its so great! my rain boots are saving my feet...and my other shoes. It also does this thing where it's not raining, like water coming down, the rain just is in the air. hanging there. so everything gets soaked, but your umbrella doesn't really do anything. its so crazy! I love it though. Seoul is built right up to the mountains, so all the mountains are SUPER green and beautiful.

 

Can I just say that we are seeing miracles in Bongcheon? really! We have NINE investigators. that is SO MANY for our area. I love it! We are so busy that we didn't have dinner til like 9:30 on Wednesday. It was awesome. We go to this cheap little restaurant so much that the ladies there know us ^^ so we walk in and she is all happy. Asks if I want a 소고기 쥬먹밥, the little rice ball thing I sent a picture of, and of course I do. they are SO good! i'll make them for you someday! anyway...so investigators. We have had five member lessons, which is fabulous. Teach with the missionaries! they need your help!

 

and speaking of our investigators, Sister Pak needs all the prayers she can get. She loves the gospel...her faith is growing so much. She reads the Book of Mormon, comes to church whenever she can, prays with her son...But she says she can't get baptized because she's not a good person yet. and that, because she is at a low point in her life, she needs to wait until she is up at a high point again so that her baptism will be a happy experience. she asked us if she can still have a relationship with God before her baptism. we said of course! so so asked us to just give her more time. We want so bad to teach her husband also, but he's not really interested. Any ideas? She is 35 and is having to go back to university because her husband's job is slowly but surely going away. ah. so hard.

 

we are also teaching a young girl, my same age!, named Yoo-jin. She is so great. she just takes everything in, asks the simple questions she has, and then says that it makes sense. If she continues to progress, we will be giving a baptismal date soon! And we teach two girls from China. They have NO religious background at all. It is hard because we have nothing to build on, but it is great because they are like a clean slate. Any idea for quickly learning Chinese, Garret?

 

Oh Korea. It is so great. Mom..sorry if you want longer letters! i'm just not sure what else to say! I'll try and write down little things this week. Our trio is going great, by the way. 

I love you all!

 

XOXO, Sister Bassett

My new mission president -

President Morrise & Sister Morrise with me!

 

TRIO!!

Family!

SO we are in a TRIO! we picked up our other Sister on Thursday...Sister Fudge. She has been here for a month! So I have 2 more weeks of training and she has 8. She is 23 (same as Sister Arthur) and from Florida. So fun!

We have 'tides' with our investigators...just like the ocean! and right now is high tide. we have EIGHT investigators. that is LOTS for Korea! We picked up 3 new investigators this week because one brought a friend. They are both from China...Chinese Korean. Lena and Arena. They both speak Korean pretty well, but obviously Mandarin better. Too bad Garret didn't teach me more! They are both so open and receptive....especially Areana. She had never been to church before moving to Korea 2 years ago and she said that when she reads the Bible, she just feels like she need to learn more about Jesus...like He could help her in her life. They are lovely!

And Sister Pak. oh goodness. We taught about faith and repentance this week and the Spirit was THICK in the room. We taught with a sister in our ward...returned missionary, kids about the same age...we have had dinner with Sister Pak at this member's house. She was so helpful! And gave a beautiful example of how Heavenly Father loves us...If her son makes a mistake, we will always forgive. We pick them up when they fall. We encourage them to keep trying. and that is just what God does for us.

In English class we were talking about the light of Christ...EVERYONE has it. And about how following Christ has changed our lives. I said, "when you come to English class, do we seem happy?" and they all agreed that we do. And I told them that THAT is what the gospel has done for me...given me joy in my heart even when everything else is going wrong. We have talked a lot in my Zone about how happiness is a choice. AND IT IS! we can smile and be glad and see the miracles all around us. or we can chose to not. We can give away our umbrellas to a soaking wet high school girl or we can complain about the rain. We can laugh about how buff our calves are getting from all these hills or we can frown about how tired we are. We can joke about how shiny our sweaty faces are or mope about it. 

I LOVE being a missionary so much. Can you believe I have been gone for more that 4 months! because I can't!

Have a fabulous week! It is raining like crazy...monsoon season! so we are off to buy some umbrellas! i gave my last one to a soaking wet high school girl :)

XOXO, Sister Bassett

Sister Arthur       Sister Fudge               ME!

A Week In The Life Of...

Dearest Family!

It seems like the most common question I get from all of you is "what is it like in Seoul?" So I'll try and tell you! A picture is worth a thousand words, so there will be lots of pictures this week! 

 ok. So the work here is hard. and kinda slow. We pick up almost all of our investigators from English class, so it is difficult because they just wanna learn English. All but one of our investigators has been found that way. BUT I started calling on the phone this week, and we have 2 return appointments from people that I called! Cool huh? not so cool is when I accidentally called a restaurant. I couldn't understand her, so I started to just introduce our message. And that got her real confused. I gave the phone to Sister Arthur. While she was talking, I told Elder Jenson the name of the 'potential investigator' that I had called and he said, "oh yeah...I love those noodles." "What, Elder Jenson?" "yeah. that's those noodles with the black bean sauce." I started laughing SO hard. Sister Arthur asks what in the world is going on, and the whole situation gets fixed with a few sorrys. haha so funny! #hangookproblems

WE HAVE A BAPTISMAL DATE! It is really exciting to have one of those around here. Do you remember Sandy? We gave her a date last Monday and she accepted. So cool. We have seen her just once since then, but we have another lesson tonight. She is nervous to make such a big commitment because she feels she doesn't know enough. She says she doesn't want to be a liar and say she knows more than she does. But she has a great desire to know and learn and believe. We have seen such a change in her. I can feel that she is happier....she seems more free. And the more she realizes that change has come from the gospel, the better. SO, that's our investigator! Pray for her! 

Also, our other one of our other investigators, Angelina, said she would get baptized...when she meets her husband. She wants to marry a Mormon because they love their families so much. Not exactly how it works. but ok. We're trying to help her understand that LDS families need TWO faithful people. But she is so sweet! She has a trip planned to come to America next October and wants to visit us ^^

Also, this week we had TRANSFER CALLS! because we are getting new missionaries from the MTC, we had a 3 week transfer. I am staying with Sister Arthur in our area, but we are getting another greenie! She has been out 3 weeks. Tri-panionship, here we come! so awesome. I was in the MTC with her for a little, so I know her. She is great. Can't wait to pick her up on Thursday! And since I have 3 more weeks of training, we will have 2 greenies. all foreigners. It will be great!

Ok. these paragraphs will be random. just stuff I think about during the week and want to tell you.

 Every day in Korea the old harmonies (grandmas) love us. they think we are so beautiful and can't get over that there are 2 foreigners wandering the streets. so they pat our arms and grab our faces. and say "pretty!" and sometimes they randomly give us this drink-able yogurt stuff that everyone here loves.

There is this super awesome Sister in our ward (originally from China. She is teaching us Mandrin, Garret. yes!) who was baptized last July. She is so sweet. we helped her move the a few weeks ago...did I write about that? So we are just walking around by the subway station and I hear someone calling "Sister!" so I turn around and there she is. Her adorable, chubby baby is on her back and she has huge shopping bags. So of course we took the bags and walked her home. So great to just be in the right place at the right time! She was so happy to see us.

In honor of the 4th of July, I wore red, white, and blue for like 4 days. 

I met President Morrise! haha it was so fun. and people kept telling me all day how much I looked like him. He reminds me of Garret so much!

I show Ross' graduation announcement to everyone. I'm so proud to be his big sister! he is so handsome! Also, Ross...ya know TJ Maynard? no idea how to spell his last name. Another officer? his like best friend, Cole Nixon, is serving in Bongcheon ward with me. go Warriors!

Lanny boy! I can't believe you can drive so soon. I love you! have fun at soccer camp. don't score too many goals ;) You are awesome!

monsoon season started. RAIN everyday. so much. my shoes are always soaking. 

I went to Costco today. Sorry that I took out money...I had to buy a membership and stuff. I bought ancient grains cereal. and chips with chia seeds in them. my companion thinks i'm awesome ;)

I love you all so much! Sometime I just want to scream and wonder "Heavenly Father, why did you call me here? I could be more effective in English!" but you know what? HE called me here, and who am I to question God? I am learning so much here and love it more everyday. I just laugh all the time. and so does Sister Arthur. we are doing better and better everyday. I am SO grateful to be a missionary. And deep down to my heart, I am happier than I have ever been. I love your emails. I can feel your support. I rely on your love and prayers. THANK YOU! I was trying to tell someone what Dad is like the other day, and I honestly coudn't find the words to say how amazing and wonderful he is. I feel like that about our whole family. I am the luckiest!

Ross, good luck on your talk!

All my love, 

Sister Bassett

 Sister Arthur and Elder Jenson…going over contacts.

 This is how we dry our clothes!! Sometimes it takes DAYS with the humidity.

Me cooking zucchini, tomatoes and rice! Yum!