Week 42: This is our Change, This is our Change!!

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow, what a week!!! It was full of a lot of running around and getting stuff done. Elder Kern and I did two divisions this week and boy did it tucker us out. Divisions are fun in that we do different things and it mixes things up, but I love being with my companion, not necessarily just Elder Kern, just being with my companion in general. :) Anyways, we just had changes and...... I'm staying again!!! :D Haha, Elder Kern and I are going on another change together! This will mark our 4th change together. We are both really excited! We've got a lot of plans and a lot of goals we want to fulfill. We keep telling each other, "This is our change, this is our change!!" We didn't have a baptism this last change but we know what we need to do better in order to get one. We are teaching about 5 families right now and we have about 3 more that are future investigators. :) We really want to help baptize a family this change and we know what we need to do in order to get it done!

I want to share two experiences from this week. First, this last week I was trying to figure out what I should teach about. I was looking at the results of our district from the last week and I wasn't seeing anything that I needed to address, our district was doing really well. I sat there thinking and pondering and then it occurred to me...maybe as a district we don't need to improve anything really pertinent, but maybe there are things that the individual missionaries need to improve on. And from there, I remembered my personal study on "Humility" and "Charity, Love" from a few days ago. I started basing my class on that and the class was basically centered on the fact that we have personal weaknesses that we cannot overcome on our own. We need to humble ourselves and seek the Lord's will and help in overcoming our challenges. We also need to show our love for God in doing hard things, not because we want to, but because He wants us to. Anyways, we read a lot of scriptures and studied PMG. I thought it was a really good class but I didn't think too much of it. The other night when getting the goals for the next week from the sister missionaries in our district, one of the sisters said that the class I prepared changed her life as a missionary . . . wow. I had no idea, and I was so unsure of how to respond, so I just said I was glad and thank you. Anyways, it was super cool to me that by following the spirit, I was able to help this sister missionary be the best missionary she can. Anyways, it was super cool :)

The second experience is when we were talking to a couple in our ward. They talked about how they came to the knowledge of the gospel. They said they had a lot of problems, family, economic, etc., and these problems were taking their toll. The dad would drink and the mom was fed up. Then one day the dad was walking home and the missionaries stopped him. They asked if they could share a message so he said to come the next day. So they did! When the elders showed up, the mom told her husband two missionaries wanted to see him. He said, "Show them in." The mom was so shocked that her husband was going to talk with them. The next morning she was even more shocked when her husband got up early, showered, and got dressed. She asked him, "Where are you going." He said, "I'm going to church." She was dumbfounded. Two months later he was baptized and a few months after so was she. :) Now they are sealed in the temple and are super active, super great members. It was just a testimony to me that people change and need the gospel :D

We've been following the spirit a lot this week and inviting him more and more into our lessons. We had FANTASTIC lessons with F.,  A. and A.,  G. and her family, C. and her family; and more. It's been really cool to see. We don't really have any baptismal dates and no one went to church yesterday and lots of people are leaving for vacation. Ugh, it's kinda annoying... But, we have a lot of people to visit and we are looking for more so we are SOO excited :)

That's it for this week! Take care ya'll!!!

Elder Bushman

 

This is how we do missionary work in SANTIAGO CHILE!!!

Elder Lee's last day - he's going to train!

 

"No power on earth or in hell can stop this work or thwart the purposes of the Lord to have His soul-satisfying gospel message go to His children. It may take disasters in many forms to bring it about. But the purposes of God will be achieved. His children will hear the gospel of salvation in His own due time." - Ezra Taft Benson

Week 41: This has been a FANTASTIC Week

Dear Family and Friends,

First off, CONGRATS to my good buddy, Trustin Chun, on his mission call! He's going to the Mexico Veracruz Mission! I'm soo excited for him and especially excited to talk to him in spanish a little bit when we both get back. Haha, anyways, this has been a FANTASTIC week. We saw a lot of miracles, we worked hard, and we were especially rewarded. Basically, in terms of numbers, I had the best week I have ever had in my whole mission. :D Here's a cool story!

We went by an old less active member's home and when we got there, a kid named C. came out and  said he wasn't home. He then asked if we would teach him English. We said if it was okay with his parents. So, we went back the next day, taught him English, and shared a little bit about what we do. He said he wanted to go to church and that he would bring his cousin. His parents were completely fine with it and said they would have him all ready. On Sunday they both came to church and after sacrament meeting, I ran down from the piano and asked two boys from the ward if they would take C. and his cousin (L.) to their classes. They took them and at the end they loved it and want to come back. L. was assigned the prayer in primary next week so we taught them to pray yesterday and when it was time to end with a prayer, L. and C. were fighting over who would say it. We settled on rock, paper, scissors. They both said a prayer and did it amazingly, just talking from their hearts. :D This week we are going to try and incorporate their families in our little mini lessons :) They are special little boys!

So here are some answers to the questions I was given this week: I would say my high point of the week was on Saturday. We were so blessed and guided that day to have six lessons (two lessons with a member present, two other lessons, and two lessons with less active members). We completed all the goals we had for that day! :) It rained that day and Elder Kern and I got soaked, but we were so very happy and content with how the day went!!! We are teaching a family that consists of three boys (all investigators), the mom (investigator) and the dad (less active). It's been really interesting. The mom is super prepared (C.) and the dad is really receptive. The boys are all really nice and fun. We are also teaching a mom (A.) and her daughter (A.). We found the daughter in that big group of kids in the street about a month ago! They are awesome and really receptive! One guy we taught was kinda drunk but he was teaching us A LOT about the love of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. If you guys met him you would have thought he was a drunk hippie but he really did open my eyes to the meaning of love and what we do when we love. :D Super awesome! I am not wearing sunscreen. It is SUPER expensive here and I don't burn if I wear my proselyting clothes...only if I wear a t-shirt will I burn...so I don't! :D I definitely prefer Chilean winters...ugh, cannot wait for winter! Elder Frost is not in my zone, he is in a zone at the top of our mission. I'm two zones down from him! 

 

This week I studied about the love of God and Christ's atonement. It has really opened my eyes what it means to "Follow Christ" and "lay down your life for Him." :D My favorite story is when Christ called his apostles and they had to "drop their nets and follow Him." In Spanish it says, "al instante"...which means they instantly dropped their nets and followed Him :) There is a good mix of friendly people and mean people. Some people we try to stop will just keep walking and say, "Nope, I don't have time." Others are very nice and will talk to us, even if at the end they say, "I'm not very interested." The church services here are quite similar I would say. One difference is that the people giving a talk sit in the audience and when it is their turn to speak, they walk up the aisle, give their talk, and then return to the audience. Also, everybody sings WAY faster than what the director is leading and what the pianist  is playing. That's really annoying. We usually have about 130-140 people at Church and we have enough young men so we don't have to pass the sacrament. Everybody socializes before the meeting just like they do in the states. One miracle I saw this week was on Saturday, when some of our lessons fell through, God put people in our path so we could still keep all our goals. We went to people we didn't plan for and we still got all the lessons we planned for!!! :) My Spanish study is going well. I'm learning lots of new words and it has been quite rewarding. I just hope that I'll be solid for the rest of my mission. 

Today we went back to the U.S.A. :D ...Well, as close as you can get, I suppose. We went to Jonny Rockets: The Original Burger. We walked in and it looked like a 40's dinner, complete with white tile, flourescent lights, and red booths. They were playing the Beatles; Elvis Presley; Earth, Wind, and Fire; etc., and everybody was dressed in dinner attire. I ordered a Coke, double cheeseburger, onion rings, and a peanut butter chocolate shake. IT WAS DIVINE! :) I sent photos! It was just like America! The only thing is that hey didn't have rootbeer from the fountain, otherwise I would've gotten that in a HEARTBEAT! I legit felt like I was back home, haha! In a good way, not a trunky way!It was really expensive in comparison to what it would cost in the states but it was normal for Chile. Food is really expensive here!!! BUT, it was soooooo worth it! It was at a mall up in Elder Frost's zone called Las Condes. We're talking like $28.00 in U.S. money for the meal...BUT, before you flip out, all the food is twice the price or more than it is in the states. A dollar burger at McDonalds is like $2.50 here.

Anyways, that's it for this week ya'll! Keep working hard, say your prayers with faith, STUDY the scriptures daily, go to church because you want to magnify your calling! :)

Love,

Elder Bushman

MY COKE

Elder Kern and Elder Lee enjoying an AMERICAN lunch :)

Elder Bushman and Elder Cottrell

My onion rings and BURGER!

"Your Heavenly Father has known you for a very long time. You, as His son or daughter, were chosen by Him to come to earth at this precise time, to be a leader in His great work on earth." ~ Russell M. Nelson, October 2013 General Conference

Week 40: We Asked the Boys to be Baptized and they Said YES

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow, what a week. This week has been fast and we had a lot of good things happen. We found a lot of good people, worked with a lot of current investigators, and completed a lot of our goals. Anyways, J. didn't get baptized....again. I'm at a loss with her and the only thing we are going to do is have regular appointments and center them around Christ and hope that she will finally come to us and say that she is ready. Anyways, what can you do?

But, the missionary work went good this week! We found some new people, we have lots of appointments and plans for this week so we are really excited about that!!! I did hear about Guillermo! I didn't know it was Spanish speaking, that's awesome!!!! :D I'm really really excited for him! Haha!!! Well today was a bit of a bummer because I spilled stuff on one of my favorite ties three different times! UGH! it was soooooooo lame!!! Anyways! :) So we asked the boys to be baptized and they said yes. We haven't set a date but we are working on it. We are going to have a lesson with B.C. tomorrow and then a FHE with the C. family this week or the next!! :D Yes, I am rotating my shoes. My old ones are getting really beat up. I'm trying to make them last until my year mark at least :D I'm used to all the walking so I don't get sore hardly ever! We probably walk 2-4 miles every day depending on if we have lessons or not. So our sector is probably a mile wide and a mile and a half long! But the length is pretty much just a big hill.

So I'm kinda at a loss about what else to say. The sister missionaries in our district just had a baptism and the other sister missionaries will be having two this coming Sunday. Elder Kern and I are the only companionship that hasn't had a baptism this change yet. Hopefully we'll be able to catch up to everybody. 

Anyways, more next week I suppose! I love you all :) take care!

Elder Bushman

 

Elder Asay, Elder Lee, Elder Cottrell, Elder Kern, and Elder Bushman at a PIZZA BUFFET

PIZZA BUFFET

This is a dog with a haircut like a LION!

 

"We as a people have one supreme thing to do, and that is to call upon the world to repent of sin, to come to God. And it is our duty above all others to go forth and proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the restoration again to the earth of the plan of life and salvation. We have in very deed the pearl of great price. We have that which is of more value than all the wealth and the scientific information which the world possesses. We have the plan of life and salvation. The best way in the world to show our love for our neighbor is to go forth and proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, of which he has given us an absolute knowledge concerning its divinity." - Heber J. Grant

Week 39: It was like Nothing I've ever Seen

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope everybody had a WONDERFUL New Years Eve and that you are all enjoying the first part of 2014!!!!! Whoohooo!!!! So I've heard a little bit about all of your guy's festivities for the new year but let me tell a little bit of ours. From my perspective, New Years Eve down here in Chile seemed like a bigger deal than Christmas....WOW huh. Seriously though, people completely bought out the stores, bought out the liquor stores, bought TONS of fireworks, and had so many pool parties, so many barbeques, so much music, and played so much soccer. Anyways, it was like nothing I've ever seen BUT, those were the worldly festivities so here's what we did: basically the whole day we were working and we were able to get a few lessons so that was awesome. Our district class was also on the 31st so we had some fun and everything. We were able to contact a lot of future investigators and so we are really, really excited about that; lots of prepared families, couples, and individuals. At night everyone was just partying so there was no work so we went home at about 9:15 instead of about 9:45 like normal. We got some good planning in and had some fun with Elder Lee and Elder Cottrell. We watched all of the fireworks outside of our window and took some New Years photos ... :) All in all, a pretty sweet celebration :D

So we didn't have the baptism for J. because she had to work in the morning on Sunday but everything is set for this Sunday; all the plans are ready, she is excited, we are stoked, and we are working with the V. family and the bishop this week to help her prepare. :) So the family with the three sons, the A. family is pretty good. The mom said she doesn't know if the dad is going to keep listening but ALL of the boys run up to us in the street and talk and stuff so it's really cool. We have a lesson with them on Tuesday and we are going to try and bring some members and invite the three boys to be baptized :) It should be REALLY cool =D We usually try and get about 15-18 lessons a week. Last week we got 16 lessons but lots of the appointments we had set up fell through so we think we can get up to 20 this week :) As for the things I wish I had known before I came on my mission: I wish I had known more about the most effective ways to do missionary work in our mission, how the people talked, and their customs. I wish I had taken with me Spanish scriptures marked up BEFORE the mission :) OH, and a freaking HUGE fan!! :D In my Valentine's Day package I would love a few things (1. a dog buzzer, ya know, like that little hand held thing that sends out a high pitched frequency that only dogs can hear. Yeah, I need one of those. Elder Kern and I were walking and almost got bit bad by a dog...luckily we had Elder Cottrells buzzer that he loaned us; otherwise, we would have been toast! 2. *Mini SD cards with music on them ... our phone can take them and if you put music on the cards, I could just use the phone as a player and use the speakers I have! Well there isn't a ton of sightseeing here but yeah, we are going to try and go to a few places :) One of my favorite scriptures to share with people is Moroni 7:12-13... I like using this when talking about the spirit and staying on the strait and narrow path. I still am way nervous to just talk to people and start up conversations. 

So one of the coolest things that happened this week was yesterday. We were heading to an appointment with this one woman and her daughter (we found her daughter when we had that lesson with that huge group of kids) and we were bringing David. Anyways, we get there....NOBODY. UGH, that is the worst, but we tried visiting some other people with no real success. Anyways, I suddenly got a thought to visit a guy named H. who promised to come to church but when we went to get him, he wasn't there when we went by. Anyways, we went by and found out he went to church by himself but we didn't see him. I think he accidentally went to the other ward and just for sacrament meeting. He said he really liked it and he would definitely go again BUT, that wasn't the cool part. We started to talk about the nature of God and the mission of Jesus Christ and the atonement and our eternal potential and then he started telling us a lot of his problems, mainly about the guilt he has had from past mistakes and the lack of direction he has in his life. We told him that his sins could be washed away through Christ and baptism and that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can fill the holes we have in our life. He accepted to be baptized and so when we go back and talk about the Restoration, we are going to set a date. After the lesson, I got a call from the woman with whom we had the first appointment. She said we could come back on Wednesday and that she was excited for us to come. It showed me that the hand of the Lord was in that appointment falling through and in the Spirit guiding us to H's house so we could help one of His sons. :) I really thought that was neat.

Well, that's about it for this week! I will send recordings, and photos next week because right now the USB isn't working on this computer. Anyways, take care, LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Elder Bushman

"It is not necessary for you to be called to go into the mission field in order to proclaim the truth. Begin on the man who lives next door by inspiring confidence in him, by inspiring love in him for you because of your righteousness, and your missionary work has already begun." - George Albert Smith

Week 38: Feliz Navidad y Año Nuevo!!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

Feliz Navidad y Año Nuevo!!!! :) I hope everybody had an amazing Christmas and received the Christmas spirit as we did down here. Everything was so amazing, so I'll just dive into our Christmas and our week and everything sweet! HAHAHA :)

So on Christmas Eve, Elder Kern and I went out to teach some lessons and we met with the family A. The mom is a less active member and the dad and their three sons are non-members. Anyways, the mom said hi to us in the street the other day and said "Hola Elder." We stopped and asked her if she was a member and she told us her story. Anyways, we met with the whole family on Christmas Eve and talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how families can be together forever. It was a fantastic lesson and their three sons love us. We always see them in the street and they'll come running up to us just to say hi. It's really, really awesome!!! :D We then had some other lessons and went to the stake president's home for Christmas dinner. They made turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, salad, pie, and had sparkling cider :) IT was SOOOOO good. Their daughter is about to go to BYU and is going to live right by Wyview. Haha, anyways, it was fun to talk about BYU with her and Elder Cottrell. :) They gave us ties as a gift and we headed home.

On Christmas we woke up, opened presents, and then got ready for our district class. The class was half way just the districts and the other half was as a whole zone. As a whole zone we all had a Christmas program and it was so very neat. We all went and had a ton of treats and a little pot luck Christmas dessert bar :) Haha, super fun! Next, we went over to the V. family's home and Skyped our families. It was so fun. I felt really weird as I was talking, especially while talking in Spanish, but it was fun to see and talk to everyone! :D After that we headed to the C. family's house for a big barbeque. Anyways, after that we just hung out for a bit and then took around Christmas cards and candy canes to lots of the members and investigators in our area. It was suppppper fun and we had an enjoyable time :D WHOOT for CHRISTMAS!

Bad news: J's baptism didn't go through because of some work conflicts that came up. We are shooting for this Sunday coming up but we're not sure about that either. Basically her work is causing some problems... She is ready and some of her schooling problems are being taken care of so that is an answer to prayers :) Hopefully we can get everything sorted out :) She's READY!!!!

Here are some answers to questions:

I usually write the mission president about the district we are in, my companion, and then about me. I try and tell him about what's up in our sector and some of my personal spiritual experiences. It all depends on the zone how many districts are in a zone but in ours there are three districts. There is only one district leader, so Elder Kern isn't a co-district leader with me but there are two zone leaders and they do share the load of that calling. The white Christmas didn't turn out as well as we wanted. J. wasn't able to get baptized and neither were some other people. But, there were quite a few baptisms in the zone and we are looking at a lot for January. :) I believe that we will start being Facebook missionaries at the start of the new year....I think! Some of my goals are to study Spanish EVERY DAY so that when I get home I can test out of the Spanish classes at BYU and get all 16 credits in one test. Also, I want to read the Book of Mormon all the way through in Spanish, study preach my gospel all the way through, and to read Jesus the Christ and read all of the scriptures that he notes. Those are basically my goals :D I will for sure be in my sector up until the end of January and Elder Cottrell thinks that I will stay here one more change with Elder Kern before getting changed. That would put me at almost 10 months in my sector and almost a year into the mission. :S  Elder Kern and I are continually becoming better and better friends ... LOVE IT :D

Anyways, that's my peace for this week!

Love you all and take care!

Elder Bushman

 

Epic photo of my thumb and new tie!!!!

"This is a great labor; one of incalculable worth and benefit in Zion. In order to succeed, you must be on the Lord's side; you must have the co-operation of the Spirit of God. You must feel the importance of your mission, and that mission is to vitalize those who are charged with the responsibility and care of the young men of Israel. Your duty to teach them how to do their work effectively, and how best to accomplish the salvation of the young. Therefore, you must possess the spirit of the mission in your hearts; and, in order to do that, you must be prayerful and humble. Be genial and kind so that you may cope with all difficulties. Be not discouraged, but press on until all obstacles yield to your efforts." - Joseph F. Smith

Merry Christmas from Elder Bushman

He sent us a package of Chilean treats!!

Our personally designed Christmas Card from Elder Bushman. He also sent us one of his name tags!

There he is! Our video connection wasn't the best - not as clear as I had hoped, but we could hear just fine and had a great conversation! It was wonderful!!

Week 37: TWO DAYS! WHOOT!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

"It's beginning to look a lot like...SUMMER!!" Haha, I wish I could say it looked a lot like Christmas but everything that is around me tells me we are in like the end of June about to start July. Haha, anyways, I'm excited for Christmas and I am excited for you all and your traditional Christmases. :) Enjoy the holiday times!!! 

So this week has been a crazy one, fun, but crazy. I kept slipping in and out of having a slow and a fast week. Anyways, it was a good one and we are all really excited for everything to happen this week. Here's a cool experience from last week:

There is a young man, 18 years old, in our ward who has been inactive for a LONG time but all of the sudden, he came to church one day and he asked if he could start coming on visits with us. He has been to church for 3 days in a row and it has been fantastic. We also took him around two times last week to go visit some people. He says he wants to start preparing for a mission so we are working with the bishop on that. Anyways, he is a good kid, his name is I. He has a funny, slightly odd personality, but me and Elder Kern love having him come with us! :) We've been having a lot more success with member lessons and we are looking to get even better this week and the following. 

So, about our Christmas celebrations. So we have been invited by the Stake President's family to go and have dinner at their house on Christmas Eve but we're going to have to ask permission from President Wright to do it. He wants all four of the Elders to come and I'm a little nervous to ask President because it seems like he might say "No." Anyways, we'll see. (He did end up going to to the Stake Pres. house) On Christmas, our plans are to wake up early to open presents while listening to the Michael Bublé Christmas album, then going to our combined District/Zone class, then going to Skype, then going to have a barbeque, and then we are going to try and get some visits ... but I'm not sure how receptive they will be to having us come over and share something with them, and I don't feel very productive just hanging out. But, we'll see. :) Anyways, we are all really, really stoked for Christmas and it'll be really fun to celebrate it with four gringos :D Hahaha! 

Anyways, tomorrow I will be making Egg Nog, in CHILE! :) I'm going to be taking it to our whole district, which contains 5 latins that have never ever heard of Egg Nog .... well, they are about to find out!!! :D It's too bad Nutmeg doesn't exist here :( UGH!!!! Oh well, I got the eggs, whole milk, vanilla, sweet and condensed milk, and cream!!! Haha, now we just gotta whip her up! :D Will take pics!

So update on peeps: 

J: she is set to get baptized for this Sunday coming up. Hopefully everything works out. I wish she was more prepared but it will work out and she wants to be baptized, and she is willing to make the commitment and she can pass the interview so we can't really stop her :) But I think this is ready as does the V. family we've been working with! 

D: He left last week to go on a month long trip with his aunt from Spain to show her all of Chile and stuff...anyways, we hope everything is stable with him while he is gone. He was sure about himself going to church while on his trip and reading and praying so hopefully he does it all!!!

O: we had a sweet lesson with her but we haven't met in like a week and a half due to her extended vacation back home during the holidays. Anyways, we hope she is reading!

Anyways, that's about it for this week!

Love you all, talk to my good ol fam in TWO DAYS! WHOOT!!!

Elder Adam Bushman

 

Here is our zone with all of our jerseys on

My old district! From left to right:

Hermana Camacho, Hermana Lastra, Hermana Braun, Hermana Agle, Elder Mamani, Elder Bushman, Elder Kern, and Elder Asay :)

Check out my breakfast!!!!

This is a guy doing a graffiti in our sector. He works for the drama program at the University of Chile but did this graffiti to tell the story of the old indigenous people of Chile, the Mapuche, that were never conquered by the Spanish, just a broken people by the modernism of Chile.