Week 10 - From Max

Week 10 - Max

Monday, May 27, 2013

8:59 AM

Hola familia!!!!!!!! Como estan?!?!?!?

How is everyone doing back in West Valley?! I am sure missing ya'll over here in Spain but I really am loving it over here!

This week was pretty crazy. As I said in my subject, I had an Other Side of Heaven experience this week. I dont know if you all have seen it, but the movie Other side of Heaven is about Elder John Groberg and his mission experiences in Tonga. There is one part in the movie where the daughter of his investigator tries to seduce him, but he stays strong and proceeds to teach her the gospel. She ends up getting baptized.

My story is similar but doesn't quite have such a happy ending. 

On Tuesday, I believe, Elder Peroni and I went to teach Elena and Alberta. Alberta is the little ten year old girl who wanted to wait another week to be baptized. Well when we went over, she said she didn't want to be baptized anymore! At all. It broke my heart so much to see this little ten year old girl turn down the truest and coolest thing in the world. She is such a sweet little girl, and really has such a sweet light of Christ in her! But she refuses to be baptized! I love her so much and I think that's why its so hard to see her say no. We are still working on her though and still go to her house a lot because her Mom is a member and invites us over. (P.S. This little ten year old did not try to seduce me.....hahahahahahaha)

Anyways, so we talked to Alberta outside the Piso, and then proceeded to go into her house to talk to Elena. When Elena answered, she said now was not a very good time because her cousins were over. Before we left, however, she asked if we wanted to meet them. We said okay and went in to say hi. We walked into the room, and there were two Romanian girls, about 20 to 25 years old, sitting there smoking and drinking wine, whisky, beer, and everything else! One of them wasn't wearing very many clothes they were both drunk drunk drunk. They asked who we were and we told them. One of them didn't speak very much Spanish, she spoke mostly English. They asked if we were there for the party and Elder Peroni said, "We are here to teach you the gospel of Jesus Christ!" They just laughed and laughed. And as they laughed, I just felt this horrible feeling. I literally felt the spirit leave and I could feel Satan's presence. I knew that we needed to leave, but Elder Peroni is so kind and wants to baptize every person he sees (think Elder Calhoun in The Best Two Years) haha There is nothing wrong with that, unless the Spirit is gone. The girls then told us to sit down by them. We said no we couldn't. So instead, we sat down across the room from them and pulled out a restoration pamphlet. One of them stood up and went over to Elder Peroni and sat on the armrest of his seat. He continued to try and teach, but they just laughed and asked why he was so nervous. She then began to give him a message, he hurried and stood up and pushed her off. Meanwhile this is happening, the other one (who couldn't speak English) walked over to me and just kept saying, "You are my baby." She tried to sit down on my lap but I hurried and stood up by Elder Peroni. The longer we waited, the worse it got. Satan really was in the room! I was terrified. They just kept asking, what's wrong with us? Why don't you like us? OH an meanwhile, the member (Elena) was in the other room with her daughter so she didn't really see any of this. Well after a while, I finally just said to Elder Peroni, "We need to leave!" And we ran out the door with them laughing. Seriously though, this laugh was like the devils cackle. It was freaky!!!! We headed over to our Piso and began to pray. We prayed and prayed for the spirit to be with us. I was shaking. I was terrified.

But as I prayed and prayed, I realized that the whole time that we were in the room with those girls, I had been thinking of Joseph of Egypt. When he ran from Potiphar's wife. I realized that the Spirit was still with me even in that situation. I had thought that the spirit was completely gone and that it wasn't coming back. But I realized that really, the Lord is never going to leave His missionaries alone in situations like that. He´s not going to say, "Well, good luck to you. Hope you can make it through." No...in those situations, the Lord is going to be with us the strongest! That is when He really fights with us. I also began to think of the prophets in the Book of Mormon and how strong they are. For me, this story felt very similar to a Book of Mormon story for some reason. Two missionaries going to teach the gospel. They are rejected by children and then seduced by women. However, the Lord was still with them and they stayed strong to their beliefs! They were not willing to give up what they know is true!

All in all, this story really strengthened my testimony and helped me realized that the Lord is with us always, even in hard situations like that. As long as we don't purposefully put ourselves in those situations, he will always stay with us.

Well, as time went on in the week, pretty much the whole mission learned about it. We got a call from our APs who asked about what happened and how long we were there. We learned (or at least I learned) that we ALWAYS need to have at least three men in the room, because of situations like this. I never knew that. I just thought we couldn't be alone with a girl. They informed us of that and said thank you for being strong and not staying any longer. Later, we had interviews with the President (the whole mission, not just Elder Peroni and I) ha-ha But he asked me about the whole situation. It was nice to talk to him about everything. I love being in Malaga because I feel so close to President and the APs and stuff! We are the closest area to them (besides the area that they're in.) In fact today, we were able to go to Fuengirola (the President and APs area) and play kickball with them and have a bbq! It was so so so fun! I love having a President who can come out and legitimately play kickball. Let me just say, I didn't have to go easy on him! Haha

Anyways, I hope this story all makes sense, I don't have time to read over it. It was a scary experience but it sure built my testimony like crazy!!

Ive got to go now. Just know that life is going good over here in Spain! I sure miss all of you but am loving the work that going forth!

Carry On Carry On!!!

Love you!

Love, Elder Bassett

Week 10 - To Max - Rosey

Hi Little Brother, 

I am sorry I did not write last week, but I figure you are getting so many emails that taking a week break would not be a huge deal. Things at home are good as usual.  Yesterday we had annual Saturday pool cleaning where all the male cousins (and me?) go to get the remaining water and gunk out of the bottom of pool.  I always enjoy this because it's hard work and it's fun to get to know a bunch of the guy cousins in a different way. Bishop Wynn was in his genuine hat and Harrison was there bark out orders "dou do dover dere do dweep dat dement." It was classic.  (Okay so he doesn't really talk like that anymore, but I wish he did).  I am seriously so sore today from doing that!  I had the job of picking up buckets full of muddy water and carrying them from the bottom of the pool up the slope to the short end.  Hard work!  

As far as news goes for this week.  I am starting a second job to help provide for mom and dad because they are out of work...just kidding, it's not provide for them, we just joke because I am working two jobs and neither of them are working.  It is a super part-time job where I will be working with youth who are in state custody because of problems at home.  I meet with them in their foster homes weekly and work with the family to reunite.  I am really excited about the job, I got it mostly because I want experience in this area, plus, I really want to keep my money bags status.  This will help :)  The funniest part about this job is that the people who own the agency are Polynesian.  When I went in for my interview, I walked in and there were like 8 Polynesian ladies (being loud and laughing as usual) just sitting there making flower leis. Of course, when I saw that, I thought I might be in the wrong place.  But luckily one of them saw me and yelled back to Carrie (who is the person who interviewed me) to tell her that I was there.  Apparently these people run a mental health agency combined with a lei shop.  How funny huh?  It reminds me of that game we play with Blaine and Kristi where you take two random business' and come up with a creative name, but this was real life.  Anyway, I am excited to start thiIs job.  

Tonight I am going on a "date" with Michelle Best's nephew.  He is from Cedar City and I guess Michelle had an "inspiration" that him and I are perfect for each other.  I highly doubt it, seeing as he didn't even have the guts to arrange the date (Michelle was texting Andrea, Andrea was texting me).  I am totally fine with going and everything, I just think it is kind of funny.  We are playing games with Andrea and Ryan as well as Michelle and her husband.  Should be interesting, but fun.  I'll let you know how it goes. 

I am still LOVING my new bike.  I try to go 2-3 times a week and will generally ride for like 20 or so miles.  The other day I didn't my longest ride yet, 40 miles!  It was so so fun.  I really hope that you strike the big money when you get home and buy a bike, it is officially my new favorite method of exercise, besides sports I suppose.  

Last night I had a soccer game, it was a ton of fun and I couldn't help but think of you smack talking me like you are suddenly Mr. Pro Soccer player because you've played on a few p-days (teasing!)  I really hope we can play soccer together when you get home, the more I play in this league the more I realize what a cool sport it is.  I love it.  

Well, enough about random parts of my life.  I will tell you how much I enjoy your letters.  Seriously Max.  Never have I before just anxiously awaited a missionaries letters.  You are a great writer and make me smile in every letter.  I am so happy you are doing so well.  Our attitude makes all the difference.  

My spiritual thought this week is very basic. I was thinking a couple days ago about how it really is the small things that make the difference, and in fact, they aren't really small at all.  We are constantly told to read our scriptures, have family night, say daily prayers, etc. because they are what we need to do to remain close to the spirit during the week.  And yet, despite them being so simple, we struggle to do them.  But I know that doing them is how we can keep the spirit and stay close to our Heavenly Father.  

Random memory for the week: Remember Easton Poulson's younger twin sisters who would wander around and call each other "sister."  Jane and I were talking about how funny they were the other day, and Jane told the story of the time that they knocked on our door asking for Easton and when they found out he wasn't at our place but probably at the Yorg's said, "sister, we got the wrong one!" Oh boy, they were funny.  I wonder what they're up to now! 

Well Max, I sure love you.  I think about you and what you are doing so often.  I hope you can feel our love back home.  I admire and look up to you so much.  I'm so grateful for such a wonderful example.  Keep up the good work, this church is true! 

Love, Rosey 

Week 10 - To Max - Dad

Week 10 - Dad

Sunday, May 26, 2013

9:02 AM

Querido Elder Bassett,

Everytime we kneel to pray, we pray for you.  But as we pray for you, we are really praying for everything that surrounds you...We pray for your health, your happiness, your testimony, your language, the people you are teaching, for your companion, for Easton, and for your President.  We pray for the people the Lord is preparing for you to meet that day, and this week.  We pray that your faith will fail not.  We pray that the Lord will give you physical, spiritual, emotional, intellectual and social strength for the day.  We pray for your brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews.  We pray for your parents.  And as we do, we feel peace.  Thanks for working hard and helping to be an answer to our prayers.

Things to Tell Max,

• This week we are going to have a special commemoration for Merril Hutchinson.  He is dying of cancer.  Well, this week he is in Cancun with his family...so he will hopefully be able to find some peace and joy with them.  But if you have any thoughts you could share about Merrill, any stories you could share...it would be appreciated.

• The weather this week couldn't have been more wonderful.  It was perfect.  It felt like being on a beach in the carribean with a cool light breeze blowing.  Enough sun to feel warm, but never hot.  Now why would weather make the top list of things that happened?  Because we were outside a lot.  I cut the lawn, then trimmed the lawn, we (mom) helped clean the pool area on Monday, and then Saturday was clean the pool day. 

• We went to the SL temple on Saturday to be with Tori when she went through for the first time.  They get married in 2 days...wow!  The temple was more crowded than I have ever ever ever seen it...in any temple.  It was alive.  And so crowded.  The celestial room was so packed you could hardly make your way through it.  EVERY seat in the endowment room was full...that is saying something.  We talked to a lady who worked at the temple who said she had never seen every seat taken.  And the neat thing was since everyone was dressed in white, and everyone was kind and patient and lovely, it was a neat experience.  Not like being at a concert where everyone is screaming and on drugs (remember my exp with Stevie Wonder) and loud.  It was a joyful state of peace. 
• The job hunt had a couple of interesting jabs this week.  I found a job with HP in Dallas which I applied for.  It looks like I could live in Utah and commute.   The thing that made it interesting was that my old boss at Intel (Scott Spradley) is now the CIO and VP at HP.  Amazing!  So I wrote him and asked for a note of recommendation that I could pass on.  We'll see if he responds, but it was a neat discovery.
• Tomorrow is Memorial day, and so today (Sunday) we went to Wasatch Lawn to sit on lawn chairs with Bruce, Jeannie, Beatrice and her new boyfriend (Scott).  We talked about Grandpa Bassett, we sang songs…. Really we sang 4 songs.  And ate chocolate chip cookies.  It was so nice.  We all had our ties and dresses on and so it was all very reverent.

Things to Share with Max

• I was so interested  to hear that you got to work with the Mission President last week.  I couldn't help but wonder if I had "church-broken" you well enough… I know Mom had "House-broken" you well enough that you were not putting your feet up on investigators furniture, that you weren't leaning back in your chairs, that you said 'please' and 'thank-you', and that you wouldn't burp at mealtimes.  I was glad that you took time to go back and clean up your apartment (even though the President never made it up to  see it) because cleaning your room and making your bed are all part of being house-broken.  It's the stuff of  "Missionary Manners".   It's doing domestic things you may not NATURALLY want to do, but which you do because it fits a cultural expectation… an unwritten rule of being in a civil society.
• Being Church-broken, is similar to being housebroken, except it's church related.  It's doing things the way that we have been taught to do them in church.  It may not feel natural and it may feel a little bit like you're going against the natural man tendencies  you would normally have… but as you discipline yourself to live these unwritten rules, you feel better somehow.  You know you are doing things the way the Lord wants you to do things, and not necessarily your way.  It's like how at church you whisper instead of talk in your street voice.  It's like how you wear a white shirt and tie (if not a whole suit) to church or when you're going to exercise your priesthood.  Think about your MTC experience.  That's the bootcamp for becoming church-broken.  It's where you learn that your own will (the desire to sleep in, to talk rough, to be cool, to hang loose and do what YOU want to do) is subdued and you learn to listen to your leader to do what they want you to do (get up early, go to bed early, study, support others - not compete , quote scriptures,  think about things the way your leaders think about things, share thoughts about conference, etc).  I've got pages and pages of unwritten rules (and written rules) which I have been taught through the years which I know are true and which help me know I'm living closer to the spirit. 
• Call leadership by their title as a show of respect.  It's not Prez, or Prez-baby, or Dude… it's President Deere.  It's also not Perez or Hughes or Homer.  It's Elder Perez, Elder Hughes, and Elder Homer. 
• When a presiding authority comes into meeting you are conducting, pause and ask them if they have something they want to say to the group...if so you adjust your comments to give him the time he needs.  You listen to and obey the direction of the presiding authority in any meeting.
• It's not a page number, it's a hymn number.
• It's not the audience, it's the congregation.
• You call people by name as much as you know them.
• You've heard me say, 'If you're 5 minutes early you're 10 minutes late…'  but this is only true for normal meetings with the Bishop or Stake President...if a General Authority is involved, it's more like, if you're 15 minutes early, you're 15 minutes late.

• And on and on and on. Because there are 100's of rules and they are for the most part unwritten...they are learned either by being corrected by a leader who knows the rules and just wants you to learn them, or you learn them by being sensitive and watching those who have been around for a long time.

• Learning to become church-broken requires humility and patience, and desire to learn to do things the Lord's way.  I hope you'll watch the leaders of the mission closely so you can see how they do everything, from how they conduct meetings, to how they do door approaches, to how they do P-days, to how they keep their apartments clean.  Some of the more rowdy and rebellious missionaries may think you're being a suck-up… but au contrare.  You are trying to learn how to do things the way the Lord wants done…

I hope this makes sense.  If not, just be good.  Learn to be submissive and humble and teachable, and you'll be right.

One last set of conference excerpts which you can share with other missionaries…This is from Pres Uchtdorfs' Priesthood Session talk in April 2012...

We need to be constantly reminded of the eternal reasons behind the things we are commanded to do. The basic gospel principles need to be part of our life’s fabric, even if it means learning them over and over again. That doesn’t mean that this process should be rote or boring. Rather, when we teach the foundational principles in our homes or in church, let the flame of enthusiasm for the gospel and the fire of testimony bring light, warmth, and joy to the hearts of those we teach….

From the newest ordained deacon to the most senior high priest, we all have lists of what we could and should do in our priesthood responsibilities. The what is important in our work, and we need to attend to it. But it is in the why of priesthood service that we discover the fire, passion, and power of the priesthood….

The what of priesthood service teaches us what to do. The why inspires our souls….

The what informs, but the why transforms….

If our hearts are pure—if we seek not our own glory but the glory of Almighty God, if we seek to do His will, if we desire to bless the lives of our family and fellowman—we will not be left to walk alone. As President Monson has often reminded us, “When we are on the Lord’s errand, we are entitled to the Lord’s help.”2...

Your Heavenly Father “will go before your face. [He] will be on your right hand and on your left, and [His] Spirit shall be in your hearts, and [His] angels round about you, to bear you up.”3

There are times when we have to step into the darkness in faith, confident that God will place solid ground beneath our feet once we do. And so I accepted gladly, knowing that God would provide….

We learned an important lesson: the fact that something is good is not always reason enough to require our time and resources. Our activities, initiatives, and plans should be inspired by and grounded upon the why of our priesthood service and not by any flashy trend or interest of the moment. Otherwise, they can distract our efforts, dilute our energy, and get us caught up in our own hobbies, spiritual or temporal, that are not at the center of discipleship….

Brethren, we all know that it takes self-discipline to remain focused on the matters that have the greatest power to increase our love for God and fellowman, invigorate marriages, strengthen families, and build the kingdom of God on earth. Like a fruit tree with an abundance of branches and leaves, our lives need regular pruning to ensure that we use our energy and time to accomplish our real purpose—to “bring forth good fruit”!1...

May the Lord continue to bless you.  "Draw near unto me, and I will draw near unto you…" That's a promise from the Creator of the heavens and the earth!

Love Dad

Week 10 - to Max - Mom

Dear Max,

Happy Memorial Day.  I know the Spaniards do not celebrate this holiday but do they have anything similar?

It's Sunday night.  I have been to 6 hours of church today, and 2 cemeteries! It's been a great day.  Nick and Stef and family arrived last night and are staying at Morris's for the first few days.  They decided to come to our ward (since her dad is a YSA bishop) so I decided to not only go to the YSA 1-4 block, but also to our 9-12 block.  Wow.  That's a lot of church.  But it was good.  Jenna Nelson spoke in our ward before she leaves on her mission to Georgia.   She gave an excellent talk on the plan of salvation.  Brother Allred and Throckmorton also spoke and it was just a great sac meeting. (Have you had to speak yet?). Plus, I got to hold sweet baby Ned  so that's a bonus.  I also took the boys to Primary where the new presidency asked me to stay and they gave me a gigantic thank you card that all the kids had signed.

I had a different experience at the YSA ward.  I was determined to just be brave and sit by someone in sacrament meeting.  So I chose a girl I had seen sitting alone last week.  As I sat down she became very nervous and stood up and started to look for another seat.  Then she sat down again and mumbled to herself that she didn't like to have anyone sit by her.  It was really different (and awkward I might add).  So I quickly moved several chairs away (this chapel is at the institute building and has chairs rather than benches) and she settled down.  Dad saw the whole thing from the stand and learned from the bishop that the girl has some anxiety issues.  I felt bad for her and was glad it was nothing personal (I mean I had showered!).  I did do better in Relief Society and found someone who would actually visit with me!

This afternoon we went up to Wasatch Lawn to great g/g Bassetts grave.  Bruce and Jeannie came, along with Beatrice and her very good friend Scott.  Curt never made it.  Jeannie brought Bassett song books and we sat around in our lawn chairs and sang songs and visited.  Also Bruce had made chocolate chip cookies and it was delightful.  Then dad and I went over to Valley View with Yorgs and got grandma and visited over there.  And then we went to Joe's grave and put flowers there.  Our bright pink peonies (in front) are beautiful and in full bloom and I made arrangements for everyone's grave.

Other events of the week. I did separate sleepovers with Ivy and Ben.  Ivy came Tuesday and it was great to have her by herself.  She got to watch a movie with dad while I was at RS.  The next day we played house and she got to be the mom and I was the teenager and she had twin babies and we got the play kitchen out with all the dishes and she just bossed me around.  Very entertaining.   Then she helped me in the garden and then we went on a "downtown field trip" to Temple Square and then City Creek for lunch.  Lots of fun.  Then late in the afternoon I switched her for Ben and we repeated the same thing, except Ben doesn't play house!  We did go downtown but Temple Square was closed during sister Monson's funeral so Ben and I went over to the church museum.  Fun times.

Dad and I went to the Salt Lake Temple yesterday with Tori who was receiving her endowments.  Aunt Sands (your preschool teacher) was there and is as funny as ever.  Her daughter-in-law is
Tori's aunt.  It was a crowded session but I love being in the Salt Lake Temple.  Oh I also saw Julie Fellows (from Madrigals) who was going thru before her mission to Canada.

Remember Dillon Haslam from your soph basketball days?  He received the Ned Winder award that Nancy and Brent still do at the GHS senior awards banquet.

I think that's about it for trivia from my week.  We have planned to FaceTime with Easton tomorrow so that will be fun.  We also planned a YorgaBass BBQ in the afternoon.

I wish I had profound thoughts like everyone else.  Pretty much I will just tell you that I know the Gospel is true.  It's the greatest thing we have on this earth.  What a privilege that you get to share it with others.  We pray for you constantly and hope your language is coming along and that you feel our love and prayers.  We pray for your mission president, too.  That was so cool that you got to teach with him.  Have a great week.

Lots of Love,
Mom

Week 10 - To Max - Blaine

First a shout out to Rosey, whose letter I loved. I am laughing out loud about your joke for why you accepted a second job. For a split second you had me going and the whole idea of you doing your part to support Mom and Dad just tickles me for some reason. Good for you to be hitting the pavement, making money, and, most importantly, giving of yourself to help others less fortunate. You are an inspiration to me. Good luck on your date—I will stay tuned to hear how that goes. Also, I love hearing about your bike. If I was going to be here longer, I would think about getting one to ride into work. I really need to get more exercise. I run everyday I can (when it's not raining) but I also eat out once or twice a day most days so I need a lot more exercise than normal. Anyway, thanks for your fun letter Rose!

Now to Max. What's up, buddy? Great to hear your letters as always, and I hope things are going good. The first thing I'm excited to tell you as that I am planning a little missionary work of my own. You probably know that I'm living in a house for a month in Texas with a bunch of strangers while I wait for the kids to finish school and the whole family to come down here and join me. I really like all the people I live with, and I have had a few conversations with them that have led into the church and meandered through various topics. One person in particular seems kind of curious. I think he is just really open-minded and interested to learn about how other people live (thus his desire to open up his home to strangers as a way of meeting lots of interesting people). He has said he is not really religious—I don't think he's too excited about religion in general—but I also think that he likes me a lot and respects what I say. Anyway, I don't know if he is "ripe" per se, but I haven't been able to get it out of my mind that I should try to do something more to be a missionary to him. Anyway, so yesterday, I drove up to Cedar Park to help the Websters move (more on that in a minute). They invited me to dinner because they were going to have the missionaries over (in case anyone is wondering how they got stuck with that assignment on the same day they moved, it is because they signed up back when they were planning to move last week, which of course didn't happen…). They obviously were not set up to really feed the missionaries a nice home cooked meal but they said they would just go get sandwiches and I was invited to come. I was going to say no because it is about a 45 minute drive each way so it seemed silly to drive all the way up and back and then drive up and back a few hours later on the same day. However, before I gave my final answer, it hit me that this may be the only way that I could see the missionaries and get my hands on a blank Book of Mormon to leave my friend. So I accepted, drove all the way back up, enjoyed a tasty dinner at a place I had never been to before, and got a Book of Mormon. Now I am just trying to figure out what to write in it and how I'm going to present it and what to say. It's funny how much scarier it is when it is someone you know. It probably seems like much ado about nothing to you to give away one BOM (I'm sure you give several each day) but it's just harder the better you know someone for some reason. On the plus side, it probably has a tendency to stick better the more you know them too. Anyway, I'll let you know how it goes, but I just wanted you to know that as I'm praying for you, I'm also praying for missionary opportunities and these prayers are being answered! :) 

Anyway, a little more about my day yesterday. It was so fun to help the Websters move. They had tons of people there helping and would have been if I hadn't bothered to come, but they were seemed so grateful and made a big deal about me showing up that it made me really glad I did. Their new house is awesome. It reminds me a lot of a house Kristi and I walked through in Cedar Park in 2007 when we were getting ready to move to Austin. We loved the house but couldn't afford it and obviously ended up somewhere else. Anyway, I think the floor plan is similar with this one and I'm really excited for the Websters to make the move. I'm sure they'll love it once they get settled in. The one contribution I felt like I did make (and it's funny because Easton was gone for this so she probably doesn't even know about it) was Noah and I stayed behind to move a few things around after everyone from the ward had left. Nicole just had a few couches and stuff that she wanted in different rooms. Anyway, there was this one couch that she wanted in the master bedroom (yeah, it is a HUGE bedroom) but it wouldn't fit through the door. Noah and I tried to figure out a way for awhile but even if we took the door off its hinges, it seemed to be impossible. Finally, we were just going to put some chairs in there instead when I figured out a way that we could do it. It is really complicated to explain, but it was not obvious and I thought it was rather clever. It involved taking off the door, lifting up the couch higher than our heads, and swinging it out over the stairs. I was only about 40% sure it would actually work. Anyway, I talked them into giving me a chance and it was awesome—worked like a charm! So the green couch made it into the master bedroom because of me! :) 

Dinner that night was really fun too. It is so funny just riding around with the four of them. They are a great family, as you know. I was telling Kristi how surprisingly comfortable I have become with them. I think I already know them much better than any of my other in-law's families and I feel about as comfortable in their home as I do with a lot of my extended family. I guess part of it is that while I am not super close in age to anyone, I'm also not super far apart in age either. I can relate really directly to the stage of life that both Easton is going through and that her parents are going through because I am fairly close to both of them. This also makes for some funny moments. Like after dinner, me and Easton and Nicole all went shopping at Kohl's for a little bit while Noah got ready for his basketball game (which I didn't end up going to). As we were walking out of the store, the three of us, it suddenly struck me so funny and I asked them what they thought people would guess, if that had to guess, about what our relationship was. It was obvious I was too old to be Nicole's son or Easton's husband. And likewise, I was too young to be Nicole's husband or Easton's dad. I maybe could have been a brother to one of them, but that wouldn't explain how the other one was related to us. Even if we were just friends or cousins or some other relation, it was just weird to see us hanging out with our respective ages. I don't know, maybe you had to be there, but it just kind of struck me funny to realize what an odd set we were but how much we all enjoyed each other. I guess the point is, I know hardly anyone born in the mid 90s or the mid 60s and I have spent little time with anyone from those generations, so it was funny to suddenly be thrust into that for the whole weekend. :)

Other than that, it has just been a busy work week for me and I am so excited that in one more week my family will get to join me here. This week I felt like I really hit my stride at work. I finally started getting some projects done that I had been working on and I have gotten some really positive feedback on my work so far, which makes me all the more enthusiastic to work hard. (It would be hard for me to deal with negative feedback or yelling like I got at the first job last summer.) I love the people I work with so much. We do so many fun activities to get to know each other (besides work) and the more I get to know them, the more fun I have everyday at work. For example, I have gotten to go out to lunch and/or dinner several times a week with various people in the group to several of the best restaurants in town. I got to go to this really cool golfing place that you would hit balls out onto a range with targets that would score how well you did and then automatically return your golfballs so that it was like a mix between a driving range and a bowling alley. I got to go to a V8 Supercars race at the world famous Circuit of the Americas track that got built in Austin just a few months ago (it is the only track in the whole country that is setup to host Formula 1 races and it is one of three on the American continents and a small handful worldwide). I got to go see Star Trek in IMAX 3D with one of my friends who is an associate. I got to go to one of the fanciest and most exclusive dinner/wine tasting in the city. And there are a bunch more fun things that Kristi will get to join me at when she gets here. I wish I had time to go into detail about all of the cool things that I am getting to do but it will have to suffice to say that it is just so fun and I'm trying to enjoy every minute, even though I do feel lonely sometimes without my family. (Oh, and, in case you were wondering, I did not drink any wine at the wine tasting party, though it was a VERY interesting experience and the food, whether it was matched with the perfect wine or not, was unbelievable! I just felt bad for the wine expert guy that told us all about what each wine would do to our senses to perfectly accentuate what the food was doing and then he came and found me with a sugary sweet virgin pina colada. Haha, I don't think the pina colada had the same effect on my pallet that the wine might have, but I was happy. :)

Anyway, I want to wrap up so that I can go on my weekly Sunday walk by myself where I call around and see if anyone is available to talk. Wish I could call you and say hello :). It is nice to get outside though, and I definitely need all the exercise I can get with all this food. 

Anyway, I'll leave you with a cool thought that I came across this week. I don't know if it is a spiritual thought per se but it rang really true with me and really inspired me. It was from a Quora question "What are the top ten that we should be informed about in life?" I might send you the full version later if you want it (all ten were really good), but I'll just give you the first three now because they go together: 

1. Realize that nobody cares, and if they do, you shouldn't care that they care. Got a new car? Nobody cares. You'll get some gawkers for a couple of weeks—they don't care. They're curious. Three weeks in it'll be just another shiny blob among all the thousands of others crawling down the freeway and sitting in garages and driveways up and down your street. People will care about your car just as much as you care about all of those. Got a new gewgaw? New wardrobe? Went to a swanky restaurant? Exotic vacation? Nobody cares. Don't base your happiness on people caring, because they won't. And if they do, they either want your stuff or hate you for it.
2. Some rulebreakers will break rule number one. Occasionally, people in your life will defy the odds and actually care about you. Still not your stuff, sorry. But if they value you, they'll value that you value it, and they'll listen. When you talk about all of those things that nobody else cares about, they will look into your eyes and consume your words, and in that moment you will know that every part of them is there with you.
3. Spend your life with rulebreakers. Marry them. Befriend them. Work with them. Spend weekends with them. No matter how much power you become possessed of, you'll never be able to make someone care—so gather close the caring.

It makes me cry every time I read it because this really is what family and friends are all about. You have so much going on in your life, but, really, it is only going on in YOUR life. Not in anyone else's—they have their own life going. So why should anyone else care? Most people don't. But I love this idea that there are rule breakers out there that really shouldn't care about you but they do anyway. Staying close to those people (and, I would add, being that for others) is the secret to a happy life. Right now you are far away from family. I know how it is because I was a missionary once and I'm actually far away from family myself right now too. But isn't it wonderful to have people in our lives that we know will hang on our every word because what we are saying is important to us and they love us. There's no reason that anyone should care about the stranger that you baptized or didn't baptize or the fancy dinners and events that I went to. But how lucky we are that people do care because they are rule breakers and they love us. 

Anyway, I want you to know that I love you and look forward to your letters every week because I do care. I like to imagine you enjoying my letters for the same reason, even if they get long and burdensome sometimes. ;) Above all, I know that Heavenly Father is the biggest "Rulebreaker" in this regard. We can't even comprehend how much he cares about the minutia of our lives because we don't have even the capacity to love as he loves us. So take your problems and triumphs to Him. Write about them in your letters. It's a tough and a wonderful two years and all of us rule breakers want to share it with you. We love you. We are rooting for you. We care. 

Carry on, my brother. Love,

Blaine

Week 9 - From Max

Week 9 - Max

Monday, May 20, 2013

8:57 AM

Hola familia!!!!!!!!!!:)

How is everyone?! Ive been able to read a couple of your letters and it sounds like life over there is going pretty great! Janeys letter about killed me. The winder pool cleanup....AAHHHHH I used to hate going to that, but seriously...nothing sounds better right now than just being with the whole winder fam, chilling by the empty pool. That pool better be around when I get back! haha Its good to hear my-- I mean the families--keyboard is getting good use ;) haha I sure miss that little guy, but I actually get a good amount of playing piano here, in the capilla. Elder Peroni and I are writing a song! He doesnt really know how to play, but Im teaching him. :) haha He actually has really good rhythm and beat so itll be fun. But Janey, I was just on the edge of my seat the whole time reading your letter, just waiting to read the words "and were making room in the house for a new baby!" hahaha But nope...just a TV...judt kidding thats cool! I love love love everyones letters though. I am excited to read more soon!

So this week has been CRAZY! Good...but crazy!

On Tuesday, Elder Peroni had a last minute district leader meeting at the house of the president. So he was gone, and I stayed here and joined up with the ZLs! If thats not intimidating, I dont know what is! haha And whats more...on Tuesday night, I was responsible for our area with them. I was in charge of finding where our investigators lived (which is extremely difficult in the city) and in charge of starting the lessons.

 Elder Mambo and Elder Peters (the ZLs) were very kind and sort of took over once we sat down. They know what its like to struggle, so they helped out a ton. I love those two very much! They are great leaders. Anyways, we then slept at my piso, and they just made themselves at home. haha They ate about all of Elder Peronis food and just chilled. haha It was funny! They were great help though! We got three fechas set: Adonay, Auhora, and Daniella! They are all set for this Saturday, except Daniellas is the next saturday. Elder Peroni was blown away when he got home! Haha

Then on Thursday, President Deere called us in the afternoon and asked what our plans were for that night. We told him we had two citas planned. He then asked if he could come teaching with us!!!!!!! We of course said yes...and then FREAKED OUT! haha The president of the mission coming teaching with us. First thing first, we went home and cleaned our Piso! haha And then we prepped and planned what we were teaching. And then we met him outside. He didnt even come in the Piso, which is fine because we didnt even finish cleaning....haha 

Anyways, we taught Adonay and David, and President kind of took over. He asked Adonay all about his life and what he thought about the gospel. The questions then turned into families and how we can go through the temples with our families. Our plans were pointless, BUT...the spirit was there SUPER strong! We all bore our testimonies of temples and the importance of families. I talked about you all and how much a love  you and how happy I am that I can spend forever with you! I felt the spirit so strong and knew that Adonay and David could feel the spirit as well.

Afterwards, we went over and taught Elena and Alberta. Elena was baptized before I got into the field and her daughter Alberta was planning on being baptized last saturday. I say WAS because she flaked out right at the last minute. She was going to be my first baptism where I got to do the baptism but on Saturday morning when we went over with the Zls for the interview, she said she needed more time. It was hard because her mom, who is baptized, was not supportive of her baptism. She said that Alberta didnt know enough about the Gospel to be baptized. The girl is only ten and her mom expects her to know the whole plan of salvation to perfection. It was rough to see a parent discourage a baptism. Thats the same problem we have with David! His mom wont let him get baptized and its soooooo hard because he really really wants to be baptized! 

Thats why I am so so so so so glad I have such a supportive family. Who wants me to be here. I cant imagine making it without all the support that I have. The thing is, we ALWAYS have support...no matter what, and that is our father in Heaven. When we do what He wants, he is ALWAYS ALWAYS supporting us and our decisions. With his support, everything is possible. 

Well I have to get going. Thank you all for everything. I love hearing from you on emails and letters :)

I love you!

Love, 

Elder Bassett

Mom and Dad

Put Alma 5:49, I think thats the one that talks about preaching the gospel to all the world. I love that one! I cant really say what my FAVORITE scripture is, but one that I am liking a lot right now is 3rd Nephi 27:21 I think it is about how THIS is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Its been a spiritual booster out here on the days that I struggle. I just remind myself that I am out here  to teach the most important thing there is: His Gospel. This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, not of Joseph Smith or Nephi or Moroni. Jesus Christ. If I can teach His gospel, that means He will be with me, and if He is with me, I can do anything out here. I love being a missionary!

Dad...havent seen any advertisments for Star Trek, but there are Oblivion posters EVERYWHERE. The one with Tom Cruise! Its crazy because I see those EVERYWHERE, but Ive only seen 1 poster for Iron man! haha and Iron man, im guessing was a way bigger hit in the States. Just a guess. ;)

Anyways, Love you all! Love your letters! Please keep us missionaries in your prayers! :) We need it!

Week 9 - To Max - Easton

My letter to Max from this week!


My dear Maxwell!!!

How are you doing?? I look forward to Sunday nights all week because that's when I write you, and I know when I wake up in the morning I'll have an email from you waiting for me in my inbox! Love it :) Okay memory time! Do you remember that one time during Fall Semester that you brought pizza with you to campus, and we met up in the Talmage and found a microwave and heated it up and ate it outside together? And do you remember the other time when we got pizza from the Wilk and then we sat outside kind of in between the Wilk and the CB and ate together? Those days were so fun! Pizza literally for every meal :) I remember stuff like that randomly all the time! I love all of the fun memories that we have together, even random days like those.

Happenings this week! Well we were supposed to move this weekend… but the people that are buying our house apparently aren't done with all their paperwork. We were supposed to close on Wednesday, but that never happened. We still haven't closed, but the good news is we're closing tomorrow! It's so annoying though because we had all of our utilities scheduled to turn off tomorrow, we were going to rent a truck on Saturday, there were tons of people from the Church coming out to help us, and my mom's parents came down from Dallas to help us on Saturday! Even though we're closing tomorrow, my dad has to work this whole week so my mom and I are just going to pick away at boxes during the day, and then we'll move all the big stuff on Saturday when we have more manpower and a truck. So while it's annoying it's not really that big of a deal, just a minor setback! The next email I send you will be from my new house :)

So my grandma flew in from Dallas on Sunday, and then my grandpa drove down on Wednesday, and Thursday we celebrated my birthday with them! Mimi knows how much I looooove Cafe Rio, so she made me a whole Cafe Rio style meal! We had the sweet pork, yummy tortillas, rice, and the ranch dressing! It was so good! Then we opened presents, and they got me this BEAUTIFUL scripture-like version of Jesus the Christ. It's seriously gorgeous Max. It looks like a set of scriptures because it's bound in black on the outside, and has the gold leaf pages. They also got me this really cute journal to record my thoughts in, and I was super excited because I'm not good at writing in my journal, so this was a renewed opportunity. I'm happy to report that I've been reading my scriptures, Jesus the Christ, and writing in my journal every night since then! It was so cute because Mimi said, "I know that missionaries have a very small list of books that they can bring on their missions, and Jesus the Christ is one of them, so I thought that it would be really cool if you and Max could read it at the same time!" She was cute :) So I thought that it would be cool if we read it somewhat at the same time and report our thoughts to each other! I don't know if you're already reading it or already done or whatever, so just let me know what you think :)

Otherwise this week we've just been kind of chillin! I hung out a lot with my mom and grandma, which was really fun. I've told you about my grandma before… she's pretty judgmental and sometimes she just annoys the crap out of me. So I prayed a lot this week that I wouldn't be bugged by her and that I'd be able to just have fun with her, and that's exactly what happened! It was so cool to see that answer to my prayer. Throughout the week we went out to eat, played glow in the dark mini golf, and saw Oblivion with Tom Cruise in it! It's the one where everyone is gone off the earth except for him… it was super good! Ummmmm and then on Friday night the grossest thing in the world happened to me… okay so I had gone out to the car to get my book that I'm reading (Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, so good!) and when I was walking back in I saw this giant spider. It kind of freaked me out but it wasn't a big deal, and Noah's friend Davis was standing right there so I asked him to squish it for me. He grabbed a shoe and squished the spider, and then it happened… hundreds of little baby spiders came off it's back and started running everywhere!!! It was the most disgusting thing ever! Davis started squishing them with the shoe and I ran and got some roach killer and just annihilated the rest of them. It was horrible. I'm seriously scarred for life. EWWWW

Yesterday was one of the most fun days I've had since I've been home! I was hanging out with just my parents, and it was so awesome to hang out with them by myself for a day! We went downtown and ate at homeslice (YUM) and then we went and played at the Peter Pan themed mini golf course that we went to for my birthday! I beat my dad by 4 STROKES. I got 46 and he got 50! He was bitter but I could tell he was proud :) Then we went to this place called Sandy's and got yummy ice cream cones, and then we came back home. My mom and I went and got pedicures, and then this lady in my ward called me last minute to see if I could babysit. I babysat her kids and her friends' kids, so there were six total, and I made $70 in 5 1/2 hours! I was super pumped :)

RANDOM THINGS!
There's lots this week :)
- I had an interview with the people at Soccer Shots on Tuesday. It went really well and they loved me! I'm pretty sure I got the job, and I should find out this week if I got it :)
- I was watching TV the other day and there was a commercial on that said, "Inside all of us, there's a compass" and I immediately thought of "Max is a compass! Max is a compass!" hahahaha and I thought of little Clay doing that hilarious thing where he would chant the song and breathe in the middle of the word! haha sooo classic
- Hannah got her mission call!!! She's going to Spokane, Washington, English speaking, and she leaves August 28! I'm so excited for her!
- So Noah's friend Davis was DJ'ing in my car, and he goes "Have you heard this song? It's called Heist by Ben Folds" and I immediately freaked out! I was like "Max LOVES Ben Folds!" hahahahaha it was so awesome :) and Davis also thinks you look like my dad… bye
- I learned a fact this week. It's that the rock on sign in America (think Texas Longhorns) means something waaaay different in Spain. Apparently it means your wife is unfaithful! hahahahaha
- I wrote on Chris Cahoon's Facebook wall for his birthday, and I told him you said Happy Birthday too! He commented back and thanked me and then told me that you told him I love to say, "IT'S MINI!" Haha I thought that was so funny of him to bring up. He's a good guy! I like him!

Well my spiritual thought this week comes from Jesus the Christ. The first night that I read it, I just read the introduction, and it was so amazing how strong I felt the Spirit. Just from the introduction! It was so cool! I know that that book is inspired of God and that it is full of amazing truths and revelations that are just waiting there for me to read! I can't wait to read it all :) Something that has been a recurring theme in my reading of both Jesus the Christ and the scriptures is that everything has been the same from the very beginning. Christ was chosen from the beginning to be our Savior, Hell was created at the beginning, the Plan has always been the same… and there's even more than that. I love this principle because there is so much consistency in our Church that we can lean on! Like I learned in American Heritage, chaos is something that people do whatever they can to get away from; in a world that is pretty chaotic, we can find peace and refuge through the consistency and order that is present in our Gospel. Not only has Heavenly Father always had His plan of Salvation for us, but He has had our individual plans for us, and if we are righteous and make good choices then He will be right there with those wonderful plans of peace and blessings. I love the Church so much because it is a refuge amidst a world riddled with chaos and disorder, something that is always the same and always consistent no matter where you go! So amazing. I love it so much :)

Well I know this email is super long, I didn't think you would mind though :) Keep up the hard work, and the Lord will keep blessing you, I know it :)

You're my best best friend! I won't forget that if you don't :)

A vencer!

Love, Easton

Week 9 - To Max - Kristi

Hey Max!

Well, what a week it has been. Blaine already told you a lot about our trip, but I will just share a few highlights. 

* Scuba Diving in Akumal Bay with the sea turtles! I was pretty sure I was going to die, especially since there was a serious language barrier between me and the dive master, but as often happens not only did I not die, I loved every second of it! Seeing Sea Turtles while diving was a bucket list item that I can now happily cross off of my list, but hopefully that doesn't mean I will never do it again!

* Being brave and taking public transportation (including busses and Collectivos). I always look back at my life and wish I had been more adventurous. It was hard for me to push myself and get out of my comfort zone and flag down little vans from the side of the freeway, but now (from the safety and comfort of my office) I can say it was all part of a great experience and I am really happy we did it. 

*Feeling like I owned Isla Mujeres. Such a beautiful small island, loved it. 

Anyway, it was a trip I won't soon forget. And it is great that it went so well because when I came home to begin my sojourn in single parenthood I was greeted with . . . 

* water oozing out from under our bathroom sink, and all of our stuff under the bathroom sink smelling moldy and gross

* An e-mail from our renters stating that they were having plumbing problems

* Ivy getting a crazy high fever 

* The motor on our van door going out. Not to sound like a baby, I can work a door with sheer muscle, but something about that door having had a motor makes it almost impossible to open and shut when the motor is not working. Awesome. 

The next week brought another set of excitement 

* Continued plumbing problems with our Texas rental

* An e-mail letting me know that the condo we had booked to stay in for June in August was CANCELLED 

* Bentley getting really sick (including throw-up in the car, awesome)

* Seeing two snakes on our morning walk

* Running out of gas in our lawn mower when I was 1/3 the way done mowing, loading up two sick kids to get more gas and then breaking the canister at the station. So yeah, our lawn is only 1/3 the way mowed. Awesome.

 It's been a trying couple of weeks. I can't really complain, nothing life shattering has happened, but just a bunch of little things and feeling quite hopeless about it has just made things rough. 

I am so grateful that my single parenthood is only a temporary one. It's not even like Blaine was home all that much in the semester, I still would have had to deal with all of these things if he were here, but I guess it just makes a big difference if at the end of the day you can pop a bag of popcorn and watch an episode of The Office with your spouse. Well, let's be honest, the bigger difference is made when he comes home and takes the kids off of your hands for an hour and puts them in bed :)  Hey speaking of, the last episode of The Office just aired this week and I cried like a baby on multiple occasions! 

Well I had a deep spiritual thought today as I was taking the eighth seat (second row, middle) out of our van. I had watched Blaine do it many times, there was always a lot of time and frustration involved and I always asked him why he didn't just read the instructions. So today when I was trying to take the middle seat out (in preparation for our upcoming trip) I pulled out the car instruction manual, carefully found the right page, and followed the instructions step by step. There were just like four steps and it looked super easy, and I knew I had done it before, but it was NOT working. I was getting seriously mad. The first problem was that I was supposed to lift up on the red lever and there wasn't even a red lever anywhere. Then I was supposed to pull this and yank that at the same time. And anyway, it was a nightmare. No amount of brute force could have helped me, it was all about some mysterious sequence of tugging and yanking and pulling and flipping switches. And I was thinking about how the instruction manual is like the scriptures. The answers are there. The plan is there, but..we have to tweak it and figure out how to interpret it into our own lives. Like when I couldn't find the red lever. My manual was apparently written in an umbrella type fashion that included cars with the red lever, but in my car it was a black lever. And that's okay. I am glad they didn't make the manual huge to cover every single discrepancy. Just like the scriptures. That scriptural manual was written a long time ago and needed to include instructions for a lot of variations of problems. So we might have to read, slowly and carefully and deliberately, and we might have to come back and read the same part over and over in order to get out of it what we need to, but eventually the dang seat will come out. Hopefully at least :) So, there we go. That was profound wasn't it ;) ha ha. 

Anyway, hang in there man. Some weeks are just lame sauce. I was gonna try to fake it but I don't think any amount of "hahas" or "!!!" could mask the fact that my week was lame ;) Ha ha. Tomorrow is a new day though and here's hoping this week will be better! 

Hope you are doing well, thanks so much for the personal letter, that was so fun! 

Oh a quick little thing about each of the kids ---

Gwen - She learned how to hula hoop today! It's crazy, she can go forever now :) And she will sit and make Bentley count how long she hula hoops :) I also got her a little book of logic puzzles to work through on the car ride to Austin. Hopefully she will follow in Blaine's footsteps and be a lawyer  ;)

Bentley- Poor guy is so sad to be sick. Yesterday he just looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "this isn't the fun summer I had imagined". Here's hoping he gets better soon. But man...the kid can read! We haven't spent much time working with him but he was reading a Dr. Suess book so well with me today, it was kind of mind boggling. He could read big words and tricky words and he was reading pretty darn fast! I am so proud of him, what a smart guy!

Ivy - Oh Ivy. She's just her silly, crazy little self. She's been playing princess a lot with the girl across the street and our bathroom is usually coated in water from her giving her barbies bubble baths :). She is pretty jealous that Bentley can read and she will try to read me books, which is really cute to see what she comes up with. Anyway, love her and glad she is on the mend. 

Good luck Max, we think of you and pray for you every day!

Love, 

Kris