Departure Trip

No email this week for Family and Friends. This is what I got:

She loves us and looks HAPPY!

and a couple of lines because it is two weeks to D day.  May 14th Sis Bascom returns to Temple Square.  In the DC mission they traditionally take a group of missionaries that are in the last part of their missions on a trip to Arlington National Cemetery. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Default.aspx  Here are a few pictures from their day stay tuned for MORE.

New Beginnings

Sister Edmonds and Sister Bascom

Another week has flown by and so much has happened. I am with my new companion (singular), in our new apartment in the ASL program. Best news of the week? We now have permission to go where we need to to teach, meaning NO BOUNDARY LINES!!!! Ya yesterday we went and found a former investigator in Virginia that went really well, but we got home really late.... We will work on that. My new companion Sister Edmunds is a sweet Utah girl, she is dead but grew up with a cochlear implant so she can hear fine and talks great. We are still getting use to each other, nicest thing though is that we don't have to share a bathroom :D ya whole apartment to ourselves. It's nice but I've never lived with just one ore person before... And a deaf one at that, it's so quite....

Anyways being back in ASL program is pretty good, keeping busy is the hardest part right now, especially for me coming from temple square where all you have to plan is which building you want to walk around in and who
to call. I'm sure as soon as I get it down I will leave, that's usually how it happens. I'm trying to make the most of every moment here as I have less then a month now! How did that happen!? Oh and  in three days I hit my one year mary.WHAT!?

Easter has been so great for me though, I mean it has been really hard not being with the family but I have thought a lot more on the atonement this year and less on the chocolate and bunny rabbits. That's the great thing about the mission. I just keep seeing the atonement everywhere! Literally! Every mistake I make, every bad experience, every person I talk to everything I see, I think that is there... that can be fix... I can do better.... With the atonement :) isn't that awesome!? No matter how many times I mess up. I can turn to Christ and he will make up for it. We talked about the in RS yesterday, as women we alway want to be perfect we always want to be better and never feel like we are (all the time!). But because of the atonement everything we can't do Christ will be there to help us up :) this brings me great comfort. I just love this time of year, with all it's new beginnings, it's like New Years! It's a new start. Use the atonement and be changed, you aren't stuck with the past you can move on to the future. I promise! I hope you will all realize that and use the gift that has been given to you :)

Have a great week everyone
Remember you are Braver than you Believe,  Stronger than you Seem and Smarter than you Think.
Sister Bascom

Bearing: Twins and Burdens; That are not Burdens

Dear family and friends

I am enjoying the last few days I have in the best companionship in the history of life!  I wish my time with Sister Johnson and Sister Black didn't have to end but I know I am needed else where. Tomm evening I pick up my ASL Twin Greenies. Sister Scow and Sister Edmunds whom will have just arrived from the MTC. Tomorrow I also will have one month left in DC and then I will be back on Temple Square... Wow time is just flying by!

This week has been awesome! So many spiritual experiences, so many prepared people here in Poolesville. We have 2 investigators on date, namely D the drama mom in all her glory at the end of May. And T our new investigator will be baptized around the same time we hope. We had a scary/exciting experience with T when we went to visit her Saturday night. We hadn't planned to visit that night as we were visiting less actives. No one was home of course and we had the choice of going and visiting one more and going to T's and seeing how she was. She hadn't been able to get to keep our last appointment and we wanted to set another time to meet with her. When we came by she was upset and discouraged. We tried to cheer her with some scriptures and a bible video, but after a prayer she still wasn't feeling it. None of us were, it was like something was blocking the spirit there. Tina became more upset and to make a long night short. We just held her, comforted her and prayed with her. 

The whole time I was thinking of my baptismal covenants and comforting those that stand in need of comfort. Through out my mission I have been learning more and more about what covenants I made at baptism. The biggest one being, standing as a witness of Christ at all times and in all things and in all places. What does that mean? Well I will let you do your own research. It often takes a lot more then we are doing, but I really have enjoyed thinking about what Alma says in Mosiah Chapter 8:

8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life--

10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

(Mosiah 18:8-10)

I invite all of you who have been baptized to study these few short verses and apply them to your lives and help others prepare to apply them to theirs' as they enter the fold as well. 

I hope you all have a great week! 

Remember you are Braver than you Believe, Stronger than you Seem and Smarter than you Think!

Sister Bascom

Sorry Mister, I'm a SISTER

Heidi Chapman the moderator of the Missionary Mommas Facebook group put together this montage of sister missionaries serving through out the world.

Oct 2012 President Monson our prophet stood and announced that they were lowering the age that young woman could apply for missionary service. Traditionally is had been 21 and now it is 19. 

Before this announcement 13% of the of missionaries were young woman and that percentage had approximately doubled. The thing to note is that the number of young men has dramatically increased in a year and half too. So this indicates that our beautiful, talented, articulate.... I could go on and on about how wonderful or LDS woman are have risen to the call. 

Have a look for your self. Our Sister Bascom is represented by four images in this slide show. The first photo of her is in the first song and shows her sitting on the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial in DC. The Second is of her holding a sign that has written on it Deaf Mission. There is a tradition in the DC mission that all the ASL missionaries sign the back of this sign and it has been around for MANY years. The third is a group shot of the DC sisters after a 2 KM run during Cherry festival in the capital. The last one is of the Temple Square sisters with the language signs that they display when they offer tours in one of 50 languages they present tours in on the square.

ENJOY! I dropped a tear or two as I watched this.

http://missionarymommas.blogspot.ca/2014/04/sorry-mister-im-sister.html?spref=fb

Popcorn trees and an Uncomfortable God

Dear Family and Friends,

Well I am back in my old area with my favorite companion Sister Johnson and Sister Black. Sister Black arrived in DC last transfer.  Sister Black is great! She is so funny and easy to talk to. She really pays attention to what you say and has a sincere desire to know more about you. I love being able to serve with these two sisters. While I am with them I will have visitor center hours. So I have been able to look through my contacts and be online to take calls and chats again. I called P my recent convert because I saw he let me a message in Feb wanting to talk to me. He has a new job...  Another contact B works Sundays and hasn't been to church much. I hope to talk to him again before I go back to the ASL program next Wed.  as he didn't have much time to talk.  I hope to encourage him to go and receive the blessings that come from going to church.

One of our investigators here D is great she really just needs to be baptized. She is waiting for her second "son" to come and visit because she wants him and no one else to baptize her. Now she calls him fatty mcfat butt now because he just got back from serving a mission in Texas, "They grow them big in Texas." she says :P

Thursday night we scared her so bad though as we have been doing to everyone. By me surprising them by my presence and then telling them that Sister Black has gone home. First we got Katie though, was so funny took her a minute to realize it was me, then dee arrived. Her eyes got so big when I turned around, wish I had video taped that, and then when she heard that Sister Black had gone home she started talking about how she knew something was wrong and maybe it was for the best.... Well she told us all that we all sucked :P aj was the best though, I have met him several times before but he thought I was a new missionary, we were all laughing at him so hard... Poor guy.

Well I hope you all enjoyed conference and were spiritually fed. I know I was and I can't wait to start studying all of those wonderful talks. I hear priesthood was the boom, really want to hear Elder Oakes talk.https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/the-keys-and-authority-of-the-priesthood?lang=eng From the memes on FB sounds like he really took a stand. Elder Holland's talk of course was amazing about the kind of God we worship, not a comfortable God that's for sure. Like I always say, no comfort in the growing zone, no growing in the comfort zone :) God loves to push us out of our comfort zone. https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/the-cost-and-blessings-of-discipleship?lang=eng Elder Andersen said some great things as well, sorry if I can't quote him as I don't have my note book and need to watch/read it again.https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/spiritual-whirlwinds?lang=eng But a general theme that I loved was obedience to Gods commandments. We live in hard times where to world grows increasingly further from God and they try to drag us with them, we really do need to stand firm in what we believe no matter what the world says to us. 

Well that is my resolve in life. Things aren't going to get any easier, this is just the beginning. I hope you all have a great week and stand strong in the faith. I LOVE you all.  I testify that I know this church is true,  that we have just heard from our living day prophet Thomas Monson.  The Book of Mormon is truly Gods word as is the bible. I invite you to study them both so at you may know what you should do (2 Nephi 32:3).

From Sister Black's blog:

Sister Cooke organized a run for the sisters which was about
a 2 mile run. It was really fun, except it was pouring rain. At first
I didn't mind and it was just fun, but once we ended at the Jefferson
memorial and had to stand around for 30 minutes waiting for Sister
Cooke and her daughter to drive back with our bags we left with her,
the cold and the water set in. We were freezing. We all huddled
together and took turns running our hands under the hand dryer in the
bathroom. When she eventually came back with the bags, we walked
another mile to buy sweatshirts and food. And now I'm finally headed
home. We were going to go to some museums but, like last time, we were
too tired and cold. I just really want a nap. The cherry blossoms were
so gorgeous. Not all of them have bloomed and the cherry blossom
festival doesn't start until tomorrow, but it was so pretty. I bet
it's breath taking when they're all in full bloom. Maybe next year. I
loved what I saw though.

Have a great week everyone
Sister Bascom