Yr. 2, Week 31: They Accepted

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope everything is going well for everybody! Things are going absolutely fantastic here in Chile, in Puente Alto and in Gabriela. My companion and I are loving it here and we are having lots of fun and working really hard. Right now E’ Laurentino is sick… Yesterday he woke up with a bad sore throat and stuffy nose…pretty much the stuff I had. So I did what you said mom and I told him to gargle with OnGuard and Lemon (I’m not sure if I should have or should not have put the Lemon in there but I did anyway). He did that all Sunday and then I gave him a blessing and we went to sleep. This morning he woke up and he didn’t even have a sore throat. He still has some congestion and he feels a bit light headed but he’s on his way to recovery. That was a cool miracle :D We celebrated Elder Nelson’s birthday today; you can see some of the photos below. It was pretty fun. As we were eating cake he and I were just dying of laughter as we talked about comedy routines and stuff. He’s a real fun guy and I love him a lot! I’m so glad we are rooming together and I wish we could finish the mission in the same pension but he’ll almost for sure be leaving in a change or two.

So a little bit about our investigators:

C. and Y.:

     This is the family that was about to receive a baby but she was in the hospital, that one. So, two weeks ago in ward council, I told H' S. (president of the relief society) and H' N. (president of the primary) about Y. in the hospital and they visited her. Our next door neighbor P. (1^st counsellor in the stake presidency and H’ S's husband) went with us to visit C. last Sunday like I told you guys. This week Y had her baby at 6 1/2 months. The baby was in the intensive care unit and had a 50/50 chance to live. They were hysterical but they kept praying and doing all they can. Right now the baby doesn’t need any oxygen support, it’s gaining weight, etc; ALL GOOD SIGNS. At this point the baby is almost sure to live and be healthy. The S. family is helping us out a ton with them, even going with us yesterday for a visit. We had a sick lesson! C. is 100% believing in God and has actually been helping his family read the BofM and pray. Y. is doing AMAZING and wants to start participating in the church a ton. C. (and their daughter B.) are gonna get baptized in a few months, just wait and see :D

M. and O.:

     These are two investigators that Elder Thomas and Elder Hill found. They are great friends of P. and R. and everything, they just don’t have much time. But this week, Elder Laurentino and I felt like we should focus on them. We had a really cool lesson with a member and we invited them to start reading the BofM and praying. We invited them to be baptized and to start preparing for the 23^rd of November. They accepted :) We are working hard with them. M., the daughter, is changing like crazy, it's awesome! She went to church yesterday with P’s family and is going to be participating in the stake youth activity this week. Anyways, we are so stoked for them. L., the dad, and B., the little son, are tough. B. is always playing soccer on Sundays so that’s tough and L. says he doesn’t believe in God. But, step by step =)

G. Family:

     We visited the family this week with a member and it was super good! C. has such a desire to be baptized and learn. She kept asking questions during the lesson on the Plan of Salvation. For example, she asked: “So if we didn’t have a body before coming to earth, does that mean when we die that we will go back to Heavenly Father as spirits?” Sick question :) C., the mom, is understanding a ton and becoming much more receptive. We just need a REALLY good family to friendship them. The dad, P., and C., the daughter, went to church yesterday. They loved it, they had a really good time and lots of the members were talking to P. and he participated and everything! Super awesome!  They also said they are going to come next week. Now we just gotta get the wife and son to come to church. But we are working on that!  

P. and R. G:

     Yesterday we had a really good lesson with a member in which we taught about the scriptures helping us learn and follow the gospel. We invited R. to pray and read the BofM and to start preparing for her baptism. She accepted the invitation and accepted the invitation to prepare for her baptism on the 28 of December, the day after her wedding. We are stoked that finally she has a date and can start preparing for it :D

Well, that's pretty much it for this week! Take care guys, love you!

Elder Bushman

Yr. 2, Week 30: I'm Being Converted

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow, what a week we had. It was a great week! We had lots of highlight lessons and experiences! I love my companion, guys :) Haha, he's such a great guy and we work really well together. Anyways, on to the highlights:

We are visiting an incomplete family. C., the dad, isn't a member and neither are his kids but Y. is a member. She has been inactive for a very long time but we started visiting her a few months back. Not much happened because C. wasn't very interested and neither were their kids and Y. was just having a difficult time trying to do things herself with no support. So update, Y. is currently in the hospital until her baby comes, C. is MR. MOM and is having a tough time, their daughter B. is having a tough time without her mom, and their youngest son M. is missing Y. SO, the father has really started to get involved. He's praying, meeting with us, reading the scriptures in lessons, and he said that this week he's going to try and round up everyone to go to church :) We had a great lesson with him last night with President S., first counselor in the stake presidency. We talked about what's best for our families, especially in times of crisis, and how we must have faith and repent in order to receive joy and eternal life :) SWEET LESSON :) C. is opening up every single time we visit him. When I first met him, he didn't even want to see us and even tried to fight with us a little about the existence of God (he "didn't believe" in God before). Big turn around. Also, the presidents of the relief society and the primary went to visit Y. in the hospital! This family is sweet!!

Next, we had a really cool experience in church this week. We are visiting a mom and her daughter (O., the mom, and M., the daughter). The Mom has been to church a few times with P. and R. and everybody but the daughter never really wanted to participate. She's 16 and never really was into the whole "church/religion" thing. But then, P. and J. started getting on her saying she should go to church and hang out with some of the YW there. She finally decided to go and so two weeks ago we had F. (the girl who can't get baptized because her parents wouldn't let her) go with her to the classes. Then this week, J. went and picked up M. for church. It was sweet because right after sacrament meeting, F. looked over right before going to class and went right over to say hi to M. and to take her to class. They are good friends!!! F. is practically a member :) Right after church we looked out into the hall and there was M., F. and other YW all laughing and having fun! It was really, really cool :D We are going to invite her and her mom to be baptized for a specific date :)

We also visited with a family, the G. family. They received missionaries like two years ago but we decided to revisit them and see what's up. We had a lesson in which we talked about the Plan of Salvation. It was a little rough at the start because they were like, "We are believers, we are Catholic. We don't feel like it's necessary to go to church or to do anything like that. Plus we were baptized already, why would we be baptized again?" Anyways, it was pretty rough and I was starting to feel like this family wouldn't progress. Then, we started just asking them questions and it started changing the whole spirit and direction of the lesson. We finally ended by expressing that if we don't fulfill one commandment, we are in trouble and unless we are cleansed we are sunk. The wife, whom has ALWAYS turned down the invitation to go to church, said, "Well, I'm going to go to church next week." The dad and the daughter also committed. It was interesting how everything changed. Questions are powerful and they help with the conversion. Hopefully this family will really progress now :D

Well, that's all folks! I love you all, I'm working hard, I'm being obedient, I'm being converted, and I'm torn about leaving Chile in a few months. I'm excited, but I'm also sad. I suppose that goes with the territory of change!

Love,

Elder Adam Bushman

My comp - Elder Laurentino

Meeting Elder Frost

We had the wonderful opportunity to meet Adam's trainer, Zach Frost, who came home from his mission on Tuesday. What a blessing to have such am amazing Elder to teach our son how to be a missionary. I'll admit, it made me a bit homesick for my son, but getting a hug from this guy made me feel a little closer to our missionary.

Here's Elder Bushman's reaction when I sent him this photo today:

"OH MY GOSH :) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hahahaha, awesome!!! He's awesome isn't he, good night, what a great guy! :D Hahah!"

Friends Forever...These Two! Blessings of a Mission!

Yr. 2, Week 29: My Companion Came!

Dear Friends and Family,

I'm very, very grateful for having been giving trials and challenges and difficulties in the mission. It is making me grow and it is making me stretch and learn. I'm becoming a better person thanks to these experiences! 

This week I have felt a little stressed...my eye has been twitching, strangely enough! Anyways, I've been sick with a cold and a sore throat, I've technically been a lone ZL since E' Pirir isn't my companion, I have a sector to manage, a zone to help, new investigators to find, responsibilities to fulfill, and I need to help the people we are visiting right now to progress and to be converted and to be baptized! ... Anyways, I've felt a little stressed and worried but I think that made me grow and thanks to Christ, I held the fort down until Elder Laurentino could come! :D 

So, anyways, my companion came! Elder Eri Laurentino...21 years old, from Fortaleza, Brazil (the Northeast end of the country). He speaks Portuguese, Spanish, and speaks English very well...but he wants to get better. I speak English, Spanish (although I need to improve), and he said he would teach my Portuguese! :D Hopefully I can speak decently come Christmas and I meet his family over Skype :) Anyways, he is a great guy, he's been out in the mission one year and is ready to work. I really feel like he can help me out A TON with all the responsibilities. There are some people who leave you with a heavy load but I really believe that he can help me out a ton.

I'm a lot better feeling. I don't have a sore throat, I still have a bit of a stuffy nose, but I feel 100%! I am also very glad that it wasn't too bad during the week and I was still able to work 100% and I didn't have to sleep any more or stay in the house, just kept trucking... Just like one of my favorite country songs says, "Soaking in the rain, baking in the sun...Don't quit 'til the job GETS DONE!" 

We've found a few new investigators this week! S. and L., a few friends of some members and F., a contact! Hopefully they will really work out and they'll be good investigators for us! :D

Anyways, I'm going to start recording some experiences with my voice recorder again...Sorry I've been so lazy about that! :)

Take care everybody, I love you all!

Elder Bushman

 

Reunited with Elder Muzante

FHE with the G. Family

Elder Pirir - my companion for one week

 “Divine aid can be ours every hour of every day, no matter where we are in the path of obedience.” - Elder Christofferson

Yr. 2, Week 28: Here's the Catch...He's Not With me Right Now

Dear Friends and Family,

Well, Elder Thomas is getting into his grave and Elder Frost is adjusting the top on his coffin. I cannot believe that it's over for them. I'm happy that they finished the mission 100% and that they are starting another stage. But I'm going to miss them! :S

So I know you all are probably DYING to know about my new companion...well, that's actually quite a story. Now get comfortable, this is gonna take half your evening ;) Haha! So my new companion is named Elder Laurentino... He is from Fortaleza, Brazil! :) He was in the same zone as me in La Florida and was also in my district for one change! We did divisions and he is great. I love that guy! HOWEVER, here's the catch...He's not with me right now. Two days ago, Elder Laurentino contracted the Chicken Pox and is now just dying (because he's super sick, not really dying). The problem is Elder Nelson, one of our pension roommates, has never had the chicken pox. So, in order to avoid getting Elder Nelson also sick, they are leaving Elder Laurentino is his sector for two weeks until he is fully recovered and I am going to be with the missionary that is replacing Elder Laurentino for two weeks. So, a little about the replacement elder and in two weeks I'll tell ya'll more about Elder Laurentino: Elder Pirir. From Eagle Mountain, Utah. He has a few more months in the mission than me but he is a good guy, a little quiet, but funny and very pleasant. These two weeks are going to go by real quick with him!!! :D Anyways, I'm happy about this change. Elder Laurentino is probably going to be my last companion in the mission...I'm happy about that! :D Haha!

Responses to Dad's questions:

     The leadership positions in the mission are senior companion, trainer, district leader, zone leader, and assistant to the president. I have been a senior companion for most of the mission, I was a trainer for two changes when Elder Kern was my companion, I was a district leader for seven changes, and I am going on my third change as a zone leader. 

     I did get to watch conference, LIVE and IN ENGLISH! It was sweet, I really liked it. Like you dad, one of my favorite talks was "Which Way do you Face?" because it talked a lot about things that people say EVERY DAY here in Chile and he also came down here and we had a conference with Elder Robbins. I also LOVED Elder Holland's talk. It showed me that I can ALWAYS be doing something to lift the spirits of the poor and lighten their burden. I need to put them in Christ's shoes because Christ spent the majority of his life...homeless. There's a song I like called homeless and one of the verses says, "He came down to earth to lead us, I know He'll never leave us, Homeless, Homeless, For in His love there is a home."

Responses to Mom's questions:

     1. How many miles do I walk per day? ... Hmmm, in Gabriela, we probably walk 3-4 miles but in La Florida 3 we walked probably close to 6-7.

     2. I think my Spanish is doing pretty good. I'm almost finished with the practices in the book you sent me and there is another grammar book that I found burried in the pension and I decided to do the practices in that one as well. I speak well, I write well, I read well, but I don't translate very well. My goal is to be able to speak good, write good, read good, and translate good in Spanish. I have six months (kinda) to do it. I'm going to have a latin companion for the rest of the time so I'm going to try and get the most out of it as possible. I want to be able to get maybe a minor in Spanish at BYU and pair that up with whatever I'm going to be studying. I'm also going to try and get a headstart on Portugese with Elder Laurentino! 

     3. F. is still going strong in her testimony but N. is kinda having a tough time. F. says that her mom is getting better and in the near future will probably let her get baptized. Also, Elder Thomas and his parents are going to have dinner with their family Wednesday night so that also might help some things out :)

     4. It is starting to get warmer down here. Today was very hot but it's good. The winter wasn't too mild but I already knew what was coming so I guess that's why I didn't make a big deal about it :) Haha! This summer is going to be SUPER HOT though, I'm probably going to get home with a missionary tan :S

     5. I'm not sure if the vitamins made a difference... I couldn't really tell so for that reason I would say not to send another box. Maybe my body is beyond repair, maybe you need more than 30 days to see a difference, IDK... I feel bad that you sent me those and I didn't even notice the difference... Sorry :S

     6. I was thinking about Christmas and I think I would like it if you didn't send me anything. Use the money that you would've used on the package and the supplies you would've sent down and give it to someone less fortunate. Maybe you could put the money in the fast offerings, or ask the bishop about a struggling family, or buy things with it to give to people, IDK. However, I want to answer to someone's pleas just as Christ answers mine (Elder Holland). Then, give me a report for Christmas of what you guys did :) And, if you all send me sweet letters I would be stoked :D

Well, there's not much to report about. Things are going good, investigators are progressing SLOWLY, the converts are great, and I loved conference! Next one will be at home :S

LOVE YOU ALL!

Elder Bushman

Elder Frost Heading Home

Big V at Changes

Reunited with Elder McGary

This is Elder Frost's posterity: Elder Frost...Elder Bushman...Elder Kern...Elder Prens...Elder Brown                                                                                                             ...Elder Hulet

This is the four people that were in Consistorial/Violeta Cousiño and the Farias family from that sector :D