Week 21: I got Some Inspiration

Dear Family and Friends,

Whoot! We're halfway through my third change. Remember, a change is a 6 week period of time. So not counting the MTC, I'm almost done with my third change in the mission field. Usually missionaries only have 17 changes in their mission, including the MTC...so I am 13 changes away from going home...WOW!!!! :) Time is flying!

This week was a much, much better week from the last week. We have found some new investigators, some futures, and are really working hard out here. We didn't have any investigators at the chapel today but if our two most serious investigators come next week, both will be good as gold for their baptisms. Which, brings me to the highlight of my week!

We met with our investigator J. the other day. She is the investigator who has been having trouble getting over her addiction of drinking coffee. We had a good lesson with her 3 weeks ago in which she said she would obey the Word of Wisdom. She hasn't drinken (Spanish getting to you, Elder??)  a drop since :) We're stoked about that! Also, the other day we talked to her about baptism. She is scared to fix a date because she is worried that she hasn't received an answer to her prayers yet. Anyways, we talked to her about how the Spirit works and we asked her to pray right then and there and ask if September 8th was when God wanted her to be baptized. She accepted and prayed. We told her to stay put and quiet until she received her answer from God and was ready to tell us. We were kneeling for a long, long time after the prayer. Close to 10 minutes, no joke. Finally, after my legs almost gave out, she said, "Yeah, I'll be baptized then." We were stoked. Obviously I don't want to count my chickens before they are hatched but I also want to have faith that everything will work out. I'll let you all know how it goes :)

We also found a guy named F. We contacted him in the street and he said we could come by his house. We came by three times but he wasn't there a single time. We went by once more about a week later and he was there. We found out that he LOVES English and enjoys learning it. We said we would help him if he liked! He readily accepted. We went by and helped him for a whole hour and he was soooooo grateful. He asked if we would come back to teach him more and also share our message. We did both and it is so cool. He said he doesn't believe in God anymore because of some things in his past but he said he would listen to us, understand, and do the things we invite him to do because he wants to believe in God again. He trusts us A LOT. He is a great investigator and it is really awesome to see the doors that open up when people trust you :)

We were also teaching our 10 year old investigator O. about baptism. He said he didn't want to be baptized until he was 11, because he wouldn't be as busy (please!) and he would be a lot older. We kept on trying to convince him that we shouldn't wait to be baptized but have faith in God before but he got a little frustrated. Then, I got some inspiration. I pulled out a photo of Bethany and talked about when she was preparing for baptism and how she was so excited. I testified, Elder Frost testified, and Cristian Tani (the brother of David) testified as well. His Dad was very forward but loving as well and in the end, he said he changed his mind and wanted to be baptized. He has a date for the 15th of September :) We're really excited!!! BTW, his parents both said that Bethany was SUPER cute and they loved her smile and eyes (props Bet!)!!

So those were the great experiences we've had this week! It's really awesome to see people progress. The key I've realized is to have the patience at the beginning in order to see the progress later. :)

Today we had to go and pick up my Carnet (Chilean Identification Card). Anwyay, we went to a place called the Registro Civil in downtown Santiago but we then found out that they were on strike too. So we got up at 5:00 a.m. for nothing... At like 11:00 a.m. one of the people working in the office called to tell us not to go today... About 7 hours too late... Oh well :) I'm tired but we're going to go back home and nap a little! 

 

Anyways, so that's my week! Take care, LOVE YOU ALL!

Elder Adam Bushman

Downtown Santiago - From a Bridge

And more Downtown Santiago

And a weirdo Elder on a bridge in Downtown Santiago

"You are called to represent the Savior. Your voice to testify becomes the same as His voice, your hands to lift the same as His hands." - Henry B. Eyring