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| This week, I got texted this picture with the caption: "Elder Bass working down at the soup kitchen. Brother Wells and he goofing around!!! He is a great missionary!!!" |
Thanks Papa and Mom for all that you do. Since I haven't gotten to see you I really feel that I have grown to love you both more. I am so appreciative of your letters and I really love hearing from you! I truly see the prophesy being fulfilled in my patriarchal blessing concerning my parents. I am so very appreciative of the way that you have reared me. Your love and care means the world and I can't express in words how grateful and blessed I know that I am. I am so grateful for your diligence when you were young; staying on the right path. My heart is full of appreciation for all the experiences and times that we've shared. I admire you both and will forever love you.
Last night, I felt a joy that I don't think I've ever felt before. We gave Vicki and Evan the first new member discussion and we talked for a while. We talked about some of Evan's crazy war stories and about their missionary experience. While we talked I could feel a powerful feeling come upon me. I felt so much love for Vicki and Evan. I knew that I am here for them and they are here for me. I felt a profound love for my companion and it seemed all my judging barriers were obliterated and I could see him for who he was and for how God sees him. I realized I would truly miss him. And like Dad said, it is a much more pure and deep feeling than could ever come from me. In the first lesson, the second principle is that the "gospel blesses families". I explained to them that I didn't know that until I came on my mission. When I saw families who didn't have that same privilege, I saw what happened when there is no foundation for the family. The consequences are drastic and heartbreaking. I was sheltered from the storm and destruction of the world. I truly didn't realize how very blessed I was to be a part of a gospel-centered family until I came on my mission. I am eternally grateful for you both and your sacrifices. Before we took off, (because either of us could be leaving) they gave us a gift. There was a loaf of bread, some bean and corn bread mix (soo good!), and one Vicki's favorite books we had given her to read. Inside there was a note that read: "Thank you for knocking on our door. You've changed our lives." I just about broke down in tears. That was the last lesson Elder Clark and I will teach together and I realized I'm really gonna miss him! I love my mission so much and I am forever grateful for the experiences He has given me
Anyway, this week we've done a significant amount of service. A few days ago our district leader invited us to participate in a day long wood cut in Manilla. Gosh! I was so sore the next day. It was a 12 hour work day and it was tough. Chopping trees, hauling logs, and breaking them into smaller pieces. I have gained a significant amount of respect for the lumberjack. Many people in Manilla heat their houses on firewood. Our group at the end of the day cut 25 cords which is equivalent to 3200 cubic feet. We also, earlier in the week, served in a soup kitchen. There were some horrible looking people that came in. I could tell they had been through a lot; some there wasn't much left. That again reminded me how blessed I have been. All in all it was a good experience.
Elder Clark will be getting transferred and I will be getting a new companion in Rock Springs. I am super excited but I will definitely miss Elder Clark. He has taught me things that I believe I couldn't have learned by any other way. I really love my mission. It means the world to me. I know that I was supposed to be called to this mission. I still have so much to learn and I am excited to do it. Serving a mission I believe is one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. I see so much potential for our area. They say a mission is a huge sacrifice. It really doesn't feel like a sacrifice. I love being here. I love serving God and preaching the gospel and honestly I wouldn't rather be doing anything else. People say that living the gospel is a big sacrifice. I feel like with the right attitude, it isn't a sacrifice at all. Elder Oaks gave an amazing quote: He said, "Many people say 'I can't afford to pay tithing'. I say 'I can't afford NOT to pay tithing'". As I realize all that God has done for me and come to a clearer understanding of the laws that govern everything, then I know that I can't afford to not serve a mission. I can't afford to disregard the commandments. I can't afford to not use the atonement that truly makes up for everything that was made wrong by the fall and life in general. I can't afford to distance myself from a loving and merciful creator. I love the gospel. I know that its true. I love our Father in Heaven. I know he loves us. I am so very grateful for the support and love you all. I hope one day I can return it.
-Elder Bass
Later Notes:
Id say some of the greatest lessons that i would take away from Elder Clark would be learning how to talk with people and build relationships and also learning and seeing the good from being obedient and the bad from being disobedient. I remember seeing a lot more good in him than i ever had before and feeling love for him the last lesson.
Elder Clark trained me when he was 4 1/2 out. He went home at about ten months for supposed medical problems. He then got married to his girlfriend.
He had her perfume, he had a huge stack of pictures and letters that he would look at often. He would often write letters to her during our studies. I remember one study in particular he set up a bunch of pictures tilted against the beds around him and he would look at them each at different times. He would check the mail everyday for letters. He loved his girlfriend a lot.
I had been praying to love Elder Clark. That night i really had felt sincere love for him. It definitely didnt come from me.
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