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

Lovin’ Those Korean Sisters

We have two Korean girls living in our room. I'm not sure if I told you about them, but they are hilarious! They teach us Korean every night and are amazed when we say something correctly. It makes it so much more real that I am going to Korea. For 18 months. I cannot wait to teach those people and am already loving them.

Friends in the MTC

Sister Shayna Wiser (one of my bestest friends) and ME! We are in the same language learning building!  I love being a missionary!

First Week in the MTC!

Sister Bassett & Sister Sieverts

Dear Family,

I made it to P-day! Whoot whoo! Everyone kept assuring me that if I made it to Sunday, I was good to go. And here I am! Time is so crazy here...half the time I don't know if I've had lunch or dinner...we just study the gospel and try to speak Korean. It's awesome! 

Being dropped off at the MTC was an emotional rollercoaster. Saying goodbye, and then less than an hour later I am sitting in a classroom reciting the Korean alphabet. What? The teacher didn't speak ANY English until about Sunday. I know that it will help in the long run, but for the moment it is hard to not understand what is being said. Most of the time I feel like my head is going to explode, and it is great! I am learning so much. Everyone talks about how much they learned and grew their first few days in the MTC, but I guess I didn't really understand it until I got here. It is incredible! God's hand is in this work and I get to experience that everyday.

We taught our investigator for the first time on Friday. yeah, FRIDAY! after only two days! They really get you right to work here. I don't even have time to miss home or family! Anyway...Sister Sieverts (my companion) and I totally bombed the first lesson. So we could only go up from there! But last night was completely different. It was our third lesson and we were teaching on the Atonement as part of the lesson. At first, it was going alright. We were reading from our TALL books in broken Korean with awful pronunciation. And he was listening. But then, as we were about to close up, Cho-young-min (our investigator) started asking questions. He was asking about who the Savior was, why He died for us, how He could love us so much, and what he could do to repay Christ. And we started answering him... IN KOREAN! It was amazing! Our verbs probably weren't conjugated correctly and our sentences weren't complete, but we were answering. I told him that Christ is our brother, and just like Cho-young-min loves his twin brother, Christ loves us. We taught about God's love for us, that through the atonement, the Lord will take our burdens, and that we cannot repay Him. We can only have faith, repent, and strive to live righteously. As soon as we left our lesson plan, really tried to answer his questions, and let the Holy Ghost guide us, the Spirit filled the room. It was like Heavenly Father was saying to me "don't worry...I am in charge of this. And everything will turn out right." The gift of tongues is real! 

My District is the best! I seriously love them. God knew who I would need before I ever got to the MTC. And my District is it. We have so much fun and laugh our faces off at meal times. But we study hard as well. And we cry together when the Spirit touches our heart. One of those moments happened last night. Brother Madsen (our teacher) pulled us out one by one to talk with us. In my 'interview' I expressed my concerns about the language...among other things. One thing he shared with me was the section in Preach My Gospel, under "Learning the Language", called 'The Gift of Tongues.' It talks about the struggle that we need to go through in order to learn a foreign language. We have to work and study and do all we can. That hardship is part of the beauty of it. And each of us needs that. But it also talks about the language of the Spirit, and that is what allows us to "overcome obstacles and touch the human heart" as President Monson says. We are learning Korean so we can proclaim the gospel of Christ. Not the other way around. I cannot do this on my own. But the atonement in our lives isn't just for forgiveness. It is also for giving us more power than we possess on our own. We all need that. And we can all have that. [read that section in PmyG. you'll love it.]

Life is good. I sleep like a rock every night. The MTC is wonderful.

All my Love,

Sister Bassett

ps- the subject title...sometimes we add a Korean ending onto English words when we are learning how to conjugate. Like hard-ni-da. and then we laugh and laugh at ourselves. 

and I don't have time to reread this letter. so I hope it makes sense!

see ya!

Before I turn this blog over to my lovely momma, I just wanted to say THANK YOU! seriously... to all who have supported and loved and taught me over the years. I am over-the-top lucky. Although I will miss home and family and friends like crazy, I am so excited to serve the people of Seoul. There is no where else I'd rather be.
In just a few short hours I will be in the MTC. Which is wacko. I still feels so surreal. And I'm still packing. Which is totally something I would be doing.

I love this gospel. I love my Savior. I love my family. That about sums it up! I would love to hear from you, and will do my best to write you back.

xoxo,
Sister Bassett