Happy 추석!‏

Family!

Hi! Korean Thanksgiving was so fun. so good. I got to wear my 한복, so that was awesome. and see all the missionaries. I love being able to see the two sisters from my MTC district and talk about where we are now. Because of 추석 we didn't teach any lessons today...everyone goes to their hometown and things just kinda shut down. it was crazy to see my busy, busy streets so empty! anyway, I'll send some pictures.

Friday was the big fall cleaning day. Hi. our house is a mess. we spent hours cleaning and still not done! that night we went to 김포 for dinner, about an hour way. ate so much good food. She is the Stake RS president and he teaches Sunday school. the daughter just got back about a month or 2 ago from serving in temple square. such a good family!

then on Saturday, we had dinner with two of my favorite grandma's in the ward. I ate a small chicken. REALLY! in a soup. bones and all...you just pick them out. it was really yummy! and fruit. and kimchi. and veggies. and this tea that tastes like vinegar and honey and i love it. SO FULL! one of the grandma's, 김명자 (Sister Kim) is coming to Utah for 6 months! so she got mom and dad's phone number and wants her daughter to call you. so be ready for that. She is wonderful...so happy and energetic and full of light. she has helped me so much. even though we can't really understand her, she just laughs and says "I love you!" and I can feel it.  our investigator,  Sister P, loves her! 

Speaking of Sister P, she will be baptized this Sunday. She is wonderful. keep praying for her! 

Mom, this is a shout out for your essential oils...I had the WORST head ache this week. I was so dizzy and sick. so, I took some peppermint and fennel, and the next morning, Boom! I was just fine! so thanks :)

It's been a crazy week. I don't really know what to say. so i'll send a bunch of pictures. 

LOVE YOU!

Sister Bassett











President and Sister Morrise with Sister Bassett…dressed in their festive hanboks.

                                                                                               




                                                                                     





                                                     Sister Fudge, Sister Arthur, Sister Bassett

set goals, make plans

Dear Family-

So two weeks ago, our Zone Leaders asked us to prayerfully set goals at the next weekly planning and then watch for how God helped us make those goals. the week that we just finished was that week. They also asked us, at the end of August, to make a goal for how many baptisms each companionship wanted to help have during September. SOO...

this week we made almost ALL our goals. more than we ever have before. it was so awesome. We even had 2 people at sacrament, which has NEVER happened for us before. But the biggest miracle was Sister Pak. we really thought that one baptism was a good goal for September. We knew that Sister Pak was ready, but she already told us that she wanted to be baptized October 6. So we wondered "who else is prepared?" well...sadly, no one else was. BUT on Thursday at our lesson, we mentioned that General Conference was the week she wanted to be baptized. and Transfers are the Wednesday before. She said "I'm ready...I can be baptized on September 29" and then when she realized that I might leave, she started to tear up. I love her so! We taught Tithing that night. She accepted. We taught Word of Wisdom on Sunday. "I can't drink coffee anymore? ok.." she accepted. law of chastity. also accepted. SO PREPARED! I am awestruck. all in all, she will be baptized the day before September ends. Miracle, anyone? It is the greatest blessing to be able to be a part of all of this. My heart has been opened in ways I didn't know it could be. 

This week I started the Book of Mormon again. I LOVE IT! let me read it all the time! really. I learn SO much. and it is ALWAYS relevant. literally, a voice crying from the dust, written for our day. I was reading about Laman and Lemuel. and Nephi asks them how they could forget that they have seen an ANGEL! how?! but then, I think, "sister Bassett! how could you forget the miracles you have seen? that the Lord can do anything?" they probably didn't write it down. so i have really been trying to record the miracles I get to see in my journal. little things are the best :) 

I have a testimony of PRAYER. I know, like I never have before, that God lives and loves us. each one of us. I love and am grateful to each one of you!

xoxo, Sister Bassett

Two Orphans

Family!

so...our mom left this week! Wednesday morning we dropped Sister
Arthur off for transfers. Ah! I miss her! she was so wonderful...the
longer I was with her, the more I loved her. and we have definitely
had an adventure! Good thing we always have our Father in Heaven to
rely on and not just ourselves!

we teach an idiom in English class every week. so, if you have any
ideas, send them my way!

this week. dragged Sister Arthur's suitcases to the post office so
they could send them to her new area. So funny! she said goodbye to
ward members and investigators and we took tons of pictures (i'll send
some next week). we have really been trying to advertise for our free
english class because that is our best place to find investigators.
english flyer all the time! we taught english class...still one of my
favorite things! we are trying really hard to understand and speak
Korean! it is crazy for me to have to be the one that people are
talking to. but good. I know that it will help my language so much!

we taught some GREAT lessons this week. Lena, do you know her?, had
just english interest at first, but at her last lesson she said she
wants to come to church. She wants to know what we believe. We talked
about studying the scriptures and she promised to read everyday. we
just love her! so glad she is home from her vacation.

and 유진. i don't think i've talked about her before. She is lovely. We
have taught the Plan of Salvation the last 2 times. She has a really
hard time understanding why God gave us a plan...why He is there. And
also, our Korean is a little rocky.

I really want to talk about Sister Pak's lesson. We want to give her a
baptismal date this week, so please pray for her! We discussed 3 Nephi
32:3 and Moroni 7:13, i think. we just talked about how the
scriptures, the words of Christ, will tell us ALL things we need to
do. And that all GOOD things come from God. She often makes memos
while we are teaching, so we pointed out that was the Spirit. We
invited her to write down any promptings/impressions while she reads
Alma 7. She is wonderful. We taught with a member who was baptized
about 10 years ago, without her husband. She has a powerful testimony
and was wonderful for Sister Pak. At the end, Sister Pak just said
that the past week she had made so many mistakes...all small, but they
make her feel bad. We talked about how that is ok, every week at
church we get to take the sacrament and be clean again, to try again.
she said that's why she need to diligently keep coming to church. You
got it!

Yestderday was the day of miracles. I have been praying every night to
know what to do for our area. Because I was scared! How was I supposed
to run an area? And my Korean...lacking. BUT, yesterday we were
walking to go visit some less actives and amazing things happened. on
our way there, Sister Fudge just looks goes up to this lady walking my
us and offers to help carry her bags. She didn't need help, but she
pulls us into the shade and starts talking to us. Long story short,
she speaks really good english and wants us to come visit. She just
wants to talk with us. So we gave her a Book of Mormon, exchanged
number, and went on our way. Later that night, she texted us just to
say thank you for the good book, hope to see you soon! wow! then, on
the way home, I felt like I should just talk to this lady waiting at
the same bus stop. so I did. she was really nice, and guess what? she
wants us to teach her daughter english! we were waiting for the same
bus, to we rode and talked together the whole way home. She wants to
have us over for dinner with her family. So cool! THEN at our bus stop
going home, we talk to this lady and she asks about us as
missionaries, we say that we came to serve. and we teach about Jesus
Christ. She asks if we know the Bible. yeah, we do! so she wants to
meet to talk about those things. WOW! if we had gone down a different
street or been at the bus stop at a different time or crossed the
steet one minute later, we wouldn't have met those beautiful sisters.
Amazing, isn't it, to see the blessings of the Lord in our lives. I
KNOW He is mindful of us. He loves us. He is our Father. I am so
blessed to be a missionary and see miracles everyday. Best time of my
life!

have a wonderful week! you are in my prayers!

all my love, Sister Bassett

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