"Clever Caption"

Tuesday 

Today had kind of a rough start, as it was announced that missionaries weren't allowed to go to the chapel anymore for P-days (preparation day), which was unfortunate because thats the one thing Elder Bodily and I could still do on our P days. In addition, it was also announced that we can't go to baptisms anymore. This was especially frustrating for the Haitian Creole Elders, as they had two scheduled for Saturday. But it's time like this we have to learn to trust in the Lord, and learning obedience now can only help us in the future. After that, we had a normal day, including English classes. They were a lot of fun, but at the very end they said, "Bye Jeffrey." It was kind of weird hearing my first name instead of Elder Bassett, haha. That's the result of everyone who we meet online seeing our Facebook profiles first! 

Wednesday 

We had a technology devotional where we went over some of the things we can do online. It was pretty fun. I definitely want to have a stronger online presence in the future because of it. From there, we had an exchange with the Elders in charge of technology for the mission and went over our methods and success. From there it was back to basics; lessons and cookies. 

Thursday

Thursday started off with weekly planning, which is always a good time to refocus our efforts. We decided we are going to try to do more work with the members. I'm really excited to work with them, as well as meet new people. I was talking to a lady on Facebook who had expressed interest in talking to us named Hilda; out of nowhere, she called us and asked us to give a lesson. We sat on the couch and got to know her and shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with her. She was so sweet; she can't go to church anymore, because she's on oxygen, but she loves talking about the scriptures. Around dinner time, I made some pork chops, got all set up to eat them and then spilled coke all over. I was a little upset, but hey, they still tasted great. We had an English lesson with a guy named Mateus who's a ton of fun. We were just talking to him in English, getting to know him, and I asked what his favorite movie was. He responded Lord of the Rings, and I immediately got excited until he said, "Wait, no. It's the other one. The Hobbit." I grabbed Elder Bodily's leg to keep from growling, and Elder Bodily fought to hide his laughter. The night before I had been ranting about how much of a let down The Hobbit was next to the Lord of the Rings. It's ok, Mateus, we still love you, haha! After that, Pedro M randomly called us, and we had another unplanned lesson. This went well also. Pedro is such a fun guy and loves talking with us. I don't need people to be absolutely converted to our faith as long as I can bring them a little bit closer to Christ in our conversations. 

Friday

As always, we had district counsel, and, as always, it was great. People were a little sad about the new restrictions, but we'll get through it. We need to keep people safe! We had an exchange planned with the Salem Portuguese Elders, buuuut there were some complications. We thought I was going into their area with Elder Torrez with Elder Bodily staying here with Elder Aguilera, and they thought the opposite. So instead I ended up teaching in our area. We had a lesson immediately, and I hadn't really prepped for it because I wasn't planning on being there. But wait, there's more! Elder Bodily's phone had the sim card to call them, so we had to go switch phones. Then Elder Torrez did the same thing! In the end, it turned out ok. I was actually happy; the two lessons I would have missed were with Junior and William, which are two of my favorite people to talk to. 

Saturday

So, today Elder Bodily and I decided to do some service at a food kitchen. He had found one that was open, and so we went for it. We drove there and couldn't find it. Elder Bodily checked the website to see when they were open. He read out loud, "Open Monday through Friday 8-6," and said, "Ya they're open, but I don't know where they are?" I looked at him a couple seconds and pointed out that it was Saturday. Oh ya. We chuckled got back in the car and went home. "Mission failed, we'll get em next time." From there we had a Facebook live with a guy named Dennis Schleicer, an openly gay member of our church who writes about his experience and does motivational talks. I was PUMPED! We sat down for the live, and he started talking aaaaaand no sound. It was a Facebook Live not a zoom meeting so we couldn't say anything. He went on for 15 minutes before they realized! They spent several minutes trying to fix it, and he started again only for it to be muted. At 7:30 we got it to work; only a little late haha. But it was worth the wait. He's such a cool guy, and so smart, I wish he was in our area so we could get to know him. His book is called "Is He Nuts? Why Would a Gay Man Join the Mormon Church?" I'm planning on giving it a read. It's so cool to see how someone who was organizing protests against the church can find comfort in it only a few months later. It truly is amazing to see how expressing love can change people's lives. 

Sunday

We had a lesson with a member named Artur; he's a powerhouse over here and is so active in the ward. You can bet we are gonna work with him in the future. From there, we had another exchange with the Haitian Creole Elders. I was with Elder Morris in his area, and we got to know each other a lot better because their lesson fell through. So it was essentially a 4 hour phone call, but we are tight now, so it's all ok. Elder Bodily had more to do in our area with 4 lessons planned during the exchange. One of which was with a member we've been trying to schedule with. I was sad to miss it, because I want to get to know the members so bad. Every time we schedule with a member, it's always been when I'm away on an exchange, haha. Oh well, patience and faith!

A pasta recipe from my Aunt Jen!

A random two dollars we got in the mail?