Week 56--Holladay, UT

Transfers came in and I am leaving. I got called to be a zone leader.  And...Elder Baldry is training. Elder Baldry is good and has things straightened out. He loves his mission. I will miss Valley View. I have had some wonderful experiences and have met some amazing people. It will be a bitter sweet departure. This week, we found two new promising investigators. One of them is a really nice lady that was caught in some bad stuff. Her and her fiance are very ambitious. It was great to see Elder Baldry teach that time which may be our last. He was so nervous when we were first together. He is now a confident teacher. Last night we talked a lot about all of the experiences that we had together and the different lessons that we learned. It was cool to see him say all the awesome experiences that he has had. He loves his mission and he is very excited to train. I will sorely miss many of the families here. I will visit them often when I am at college. I left at the perfect time; our area lost the car for good! Haha!

This week we found out that one of the investigators we have is on meth. That is no fun. She went to extreme lengths to keep getting more. She robbed her sister-in-law's house. She was involved in other armed robberies and is hanging out with gangs. It is terrible to see destroyed homes and lives through drugs. We also talked with a LA recovered drug addict. We learned some crazy things from that guy. He is slowly coming back to church. Drugs are terrible and destroy lives. Now that family I talked about in the beginning is getting divorced.They have two little boys. One is five years old and the other one is eight months old. The mother's lost so much weight. The dad isn't sure what to do. The advice of the less active member gave us was that there is pretty much nothing that we can do to help her until she decides to stop and get help.

I'm excited for my new area. I am excited for the new people that I will meet. I'm excited for what the future holds. I am so excited to take you back and the family and visit all the amazing people that I've met. I love the mission that I've been given. It is truly the mission that I desire.

I was so confused why I had stayed another transfer in the beginning, but now it is very clear. Elder Baldry taught me some critical lessons. I may not have been able to learn them any other way. Also, I think I stayed for Mark. Mark Henderson is getting baptized next week!! I am excited I get to come back for it. I have worked with him the entire 7 1/2 months that I've been here. He went through alcohol rehab since I've been here, and we taught him before and after. For a long time, he struggled to feel he was worthy of God's love due to mistakes he has made in his life. He has come a long way, and it's exciting to see him embracing the gospel.

I love God. I love my mission. I have had such wonderful and priceless experiences. I love you all! Thanks for all that you do!

-Elder Bass

These are a few pictures. The first ones are the district. The one where we
are in a circle is in district meeting. Also 118 degrees!

Later notes:
One of the most impactful experiences that i had in this area was teaching Carson. After that lesson we had with him by the fire place, I knew that if i just had listened to the spirit that one day that things just might have been different and even if they hadn't i still would have been at peace knowing that i did God's will. In that lesson where i presented Carson with the calendar, the spirit told me to forget the calendar and invite Carson to be baptized. I didnt and instead trusted my logic. It didnt end up working like i planned so i just wish that i had listened to the spirit. From that moment on, i learned that if I followed God no matter what he asked me to do, even if it blatantly and directly defied my logic, it would somehow always turn out better in the grand scheme of things for everyone.