Week 29: It was a Miracle

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow, this week has just FLOWN by! I remember September 23rd when I got my companion and started to train. It feels like that was just yesterday but now we have one more week until the end of the change and to enter into November! It is just CRAZY! :D I'm having a blast out here and a lot has happened this week but before I get to that, here's some answers to some questions:

I got my package from my family and boy was it AMAZING. I loved all of the candy and the photos and the little presents from my family :) Haha! I was on splits with my Zone Leader, Elder Schwartz, when I got the package and boy was that fun! He asked me if he could have one of the Christmas cards you sent, mom, and I said, "Sure." But on opening the box, we found out that it contained the crayons that you sent, haha!! :) That was really really funny! I haven't gotten Aunt Susie's package yet so we are still waiting on that one.

Congrats to my friends Evan Peterson and Hannah Ashby on their mission farewells! They will both be going into the MTC soon so I wish them the best of luck from down here in Chile! :) "ÉXITO!"

So, my feet are hanging in there! They hurt from time to time but they are getting better I believe! :) I felt kinda sick last Monday when writing my family but I've been very healthy during the week! For Christmas, hmmm.... I would love some more music for my iPod, especially the soundtrack of 17 Miracles. Also, some music from like Vocal Point, Voice Male, some EFY stuff, anything really :) I think the best way to do it would be to throw it on a thumbdrive...ask dad if we could do that and if it would work to throw it on the iPod or not...

So some really awesome things happened this week! We boosted our investigator pool by like 4 people this week! :) We've gotten to teach lots of people and now have about 9 people we are teaching. We still need to find more but we're working on it. Our investigator F. hasn't been progressing as much as we would like him to due to his work. He's been having to look for a lot of work to pay off a debt he has. Anyways, we have been praying he'd find a job...well, he found one that will pay off all of his debt! He is so relieved and we asked him if he thought it was a miracle and he responded right away and said yes! :) We're so excited to work with him some more :) 

So we've met with B's girlfriend two times now and she is really excited to learn about the BofM and the church. We taught her some awesome things and she was very surprised that we don't believe that any other religion has all of the truths necessary for salvation. We told her she can know this through the BofM. I talked with her last night on the phone and we set up and appointment for Wednesday and she asked us if she could bring her cousin, who really wanted to listen! :) We're really excited for this lesson :)

So the funniest thing happened yesterday in Stake Conference. A guy from my old ward, Hermano B., was sitting behind me and as the choir began to sing some prelude, he began to sing too. He sang for about 10 seconds and we all started to look back at him and then he FINALLY realized that it was just the choir singing, his eyes got all wide and he quickly covered his mouth and said, "I thought we were supposed to sing." We all busted up laughing, me, and three other missionaries and his whole family! :) Haha, boy that was RICH! 

Well, that's about all for this week! Let me know if you want some more INFO :)

Love,

Elder Adam Bushman

 

"The Elders who are going abroad should deal out kindness to those they are sent to watch over, and your smiles will be far better than your cursings could be."  - Brigham Young

Week 28: Observations of Life in Chile

Dear Friends and Family,

Hey everybody, glad to hear from my family, my mom, dad, and sister. It's always so delightful to hear from them!  :)  So, this week has some interesting things in it. First, in two days it will mark one month with my companion, five months in this sector, and 17 months left in my mission. Anyways, it feels like in the moment things are just going slow as molasses but in reality, I look back and time has just FLOWN!

So I've been hearing a lot that people want to know more about what it is like down here in Chile...well, I'll tell ya. So first off, down here, there is no air conditioning nor central heating. They have it in other parts of Chile, but here in the capital, it's apparently TOO expensive. Anyways, so they have cement blocks with mortar as the walls...nothing else. So, it can either be really cold or really warm when you wake up. Neither is that great, haha! :) Also, everyone has to buy gas to cook, there aren't gas lines that are fed into the houses and into their appliances. So, everyone has to buy gas tanks and hook them up to their appliances (much like a BBQ). There are always gas trucks rolling around with a loud speaker saying "Gasco! Gasco, Gasco! Gasco en cinco, once, quince, cuarenta y cinco kilos." It's quite annoying. Some other things that are real typical down here, are people's homes. You see a house and you think, OH, that's quite large for being in Latino America...then, you figure out it's two, three, four, or sometimes even five different little houses that comprise just one big building. Anyways, it's quite interesting. People have lots of stuff here and cleaning isn't really a big issue or concern of people. As long as their clothes are clean, they are fine. Haha, people like nice TV's, cars, clothes, phones, headphones, etc. They just don't have nice houses...but FAR from it! So that's a little bit of what everyday life is here and some of my observations of life in Chile.

So as for the people we are teaching, the FHE with B's girlfriend fell through so we are doing it tonight. She came to church yesterday and was very receptive when we invited her to the FHE. I'm excited to do it, she could be a fantastic investigator I'm pretty sure! :) Also with F, things are stalling with him right now because he has a problem with tithing. Hopefully he can get over that and we can continue on. O's mom cannot really progress for various reasons. Anyways, glad to hear that everyone is well! :) Take care and know that I am praying for you all!

Love,

Elder Adam Bushman

"The Elders who are going abroad should deal out kindness to those they are sent to watch over, and your smiles will be far better than your cursings could be." - Brigham Young

Week 27: We are Going to Invite her to Take the Lessons

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was another crazy week, I'll just start right in:

First thing is first, I am no longer in the ward Consistorial...in fact, that ward doesn't even exist anymore and neither does the ward right next to it called Las Viñas. Yesterday, the Stake President announced that the ward limits of both wards would change; the bottom sections of both wards will become a ward and the top sections of each ward will become another one. It was a HUGE shocker! I couldn't believe it! I was expecting an announcement of different limits but not a change this big!... What's going to happen now is that Elder Kern and I, along with a pair of sister missionaries, Hermana Valencia and Hermana Volkert, are going to be in the bottom ward named Violeta Casiño... Elder Pagalo and Elder Lee, along with the remaining sister missionaries, will be in the top ward now called Alvaro Casanova. All the Elders will still live together and so will all of the Sisters; now we just are in different wards. The good thing is that now we have a bigger primary, bigger elders quorum, and more youth...which was SORELY needed! :) Hopefully now with a new bishopric, new relief society presidency, elders quorum presidency, etc., the missionary work will move even quicker and more effectively :D So that's the biggest news up until now...

One cool little experience: there's a family in my ward named the C. family. One of there sons, B. (18 years old) is preparing for a mission but is also dating this girl...a non-member. She began to comment to Hermana C. about her desire to wait for B. when he goes on his mission and then marry him when he gets back. After that, Hermana C told her that if she wanted to continue dating her son she would have to come to church with the family...so she accepted. Yesterday she was at church and she came with my companion and I into the Principles of the Gospel class. She commented, read scriptures, and participated pleasantly. If was fantastic! Turns out she lives a few houses down from the C´s so I asked Hermana C if this girl liked church and she said she liked it a lot and agreed to go next week. So Hermana C and I set up a FHE for this Thursday and we're going to invite this girl. At the FHE, we will show the Restoration video and have a small testimony meeting and at the end we are going to invite her to take the lessons. I'm really, really excited :) 

Right now we are trying to find more investigators so that is tough... But things are going great! We're excited to work in a new ward and she how it turns out! :) Love you all, take care!

Elder Adam Bushman

 

"It will be your privilege to serve two years as a missionary with an eye single to glorify God and build His kingdom. During that time, Christ will refine your spirit. He will mold your character and plant in your heart the principles that will permit you to live in righteousness and joy in this life and for eternity.

You might think that you will sacrifice much to leave your family, your education, and your comfortable life. Others might complain that missionary life is rigorous. The thousands who have served will testify to you that when you count your blessings, sacrifice does not exist." - Carlos H. Amado

Week 26: Elder Jeffrey R. Holland is Coming to Our Mission

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow, what...a...week! :) Haha, it has been absolutely crazy out here; this last week was probably one of the biggest and busiest weeks I've ever had out here in the mission. I got a lot to tell and a short amount of time so let's just get started!!! :)

On Wednesday we had our Zone Class where the whole Zone (my zone La Reina) gets together in one room and the Zone Leaders direct a 3 to 3 1/2 hour class on what the Mission President wants us to know! Anyways, it was fantastic! There were lots and lots and lots of things that I need to work on, which is good because that means there is a lot for me to do and get my focus on! Anyways, one of the biggest announcements is that Elder Jeffrey R. Holland is coming to our mission NEXT MONTH! AHHHHH!!!!! :) I'm so dang excited, haha, he is going to be such an inspiration to us and I'm so excited to hear what he has to say and what we as a mission and missionaries personally can do BETTER :D I'll keep you all updated!

Thursday was Elder Kern and I's first training meeting, where all of the trainers and trainees go to the stake center and meet with the president, his wife, and the assistants. Anyways, it was really awesome! Yet again I learned a lot of cool stuff, lots of really neat things that I can apply personally. One of the coolest things I learned is how important the Area Book we have is. Everything they said I had already heard before but this time I think it meant more because now I am a senior companion, I'm training, and the Spirit really told me that I need to improve in this category! I'm really really stoked to work on this with Elder Kern and get better :) We're going to see miracles! 

Friday we woke up at the crack of dawn to go and get my Carnet (or my Chilean ID card for my Visa). Technically without it you're kind of illegal...if a Carabinero (the Chilean police) stopped me and asked me for my card and I didn't have it, I'd probably be held for a while until the mission could prove that I had done all the paper work. Anyways, we woke up way early to go and get it. I had previously put the paper I needed in a book, in my bag the previous night to keep it safe and to make sure I wouldn't forget it the next morning. Well, the next morning I saw my bag and I thought, "I don't need all of this stuff, I'll take some out!" So, without remembering what I did the night before, I took the book out and set it on my desk, skipping off to the Civil Registry...without my precious paper. Well, as I was going into the Civil Registry I realized that I left it. Boy was I upset with myself. I went ALL the way there in vain and now I have to go this Thursday AGAIN to get my Carnet... Man, I need my dear, sweet mother to remind me about this stuff!!! :)

Saturday and Sunday were freaking AMAZING! We went to the church in La Reina, our stake center. It was awesome because in between sessions, we didn't go home because it would take about 45 minutes to get there and then 45 minutes to get back so it didn't make a bit of sense. Anyways, we got all caught up with the After Conference Report (lovve it!) and conference was just spectacular. A few thoughts related to the speakers I liked: Elder Bednar (tithing is essential and if we want the blessings, it is key to pay tithing. To gain a testimony of tithing is to live the law and THEN see the blessings. In Moroni 7, Moroni talks about miracles and how miracles aren't done until the children of men show forth their faith FIRST!), Elder Ballard (the missionary work is more essential from the perspective of the members than from the missionaries themselves. In order to expand the missionary work even further than what has been down by the youth in receiving calls, we as MEMBERS must raise the bar to a higher level)...those were my two favorite talks I believe :) Really neat! We invited a bunch of investigators, none of them came. :( 

The new companion is fantastic, he's just a fireball...a little shaky on the language side of the missionary work but he'll catch on quick as a cat :) He's awesome and he supports me a lot!!!

As for the investigators, I wrote in my journal that I feel a little stuck right now. I'm trying to do everything that I can to help investigators progress towards baptism but they just won't come to church. I finally figured out that what we need to do is just work on FINDING...finding, finding, finding! :) Hopefully it works out!

That's all for this week; love you all!

Elder Adam Bushman

Elder Bushman with his new comp, Elder Kern

Elder Kern

Elder Bushman showing his goofy side with Lois Waves

 “We should always embark in a good cause.”
. . . . . . . . ~ Elder Edward Dube