Yr. 2, Week 34: We are Stoked for Their Baptism

Dear Family and Friends,

Boy oh boy am I tired. All week long E' Laurentino and I have been looking forward to playing soccer and getting with the zone. So, when Monday finally came, we got to the church as quickly as possible and we started to play...and I think we may have overdone it... Hahaha! I'm really sore, a little sunburned, and just flat out tired... Haha! But it was a fun activity. I love getting with the zone and having fun!

So a few "not so pleasant things" about the week. [Some of our investigators have been struggling with various things]....Satan just puts his foot in the way of our progress. What a little...! 

However, there were a few cool/good things that happened this week! M. went to church and had a great time! She and her mom also went over to the Bishop's house with the Guzmán family for the FHE and they can't wait for the next one, in the Guzmán house! We are stoked for their baptism. We changed it to the 6th of December so we have a bit more time to fulfill some of the things they are missing... But they are making GREAT progress! :D R. and P. are just AWESOME. They are getting all ready for their wedding day. R. saved like $600 on her wedding dress by buying it online...from the U.S.A (I'm so proud to be an American, even if this example only shows that you can find cheap wedding dresses...STILL!!). We had a great lesson with them last night about the Plan of Salvation. P. just bore a sweet testimony about how coming back to church has blessed his life and how R. is going to get baptized and then they are going to get sealed. He said he loves his family and wants to be with them forever. R. said that she feels much more prepared and she said that after her wedding she is going to get baptized! :D Anyways, THEY ARE AWESOME!!! :D

Anyways, enjoy the photos! Take care guys, love you all!

Elder Bushman

 

 

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

Yr. 2, Week 26: It Made me Really Happy

Dear Family and Friends,

This week wasn't too full of sweet experiences or anything wild. I will just start listing a few of the events most pertinent:

I. and M. went on a big vacation throughout the weekend and we weren't able to contact them at all. I was a little worried they were going to have an excuse not to go to church but there they were, walking into church at 9:00 AM :) It made me really happy and excited for them. This week we are going to get I. her temple recommend and go with her and M. (her son) to the temple to do baptisms for the dead! Hopefully all goes well!

I went on divisions this week with Elder Mendez. We had a sweet experience while teaching a less-active woman and her husband. We taught about eternal families when he mentioned his desire to get remarried because he and his wife had a bad experience. We began to teach them about the sealing power and how it was restored by Joseph Smith and how temples had the special purpose of helping us make covenants through the priesthood. Anyways, we invited him to prepare for baptism and he accepted. Hopefully they can prepare and he can get baptized in a few months!

Haha, now that I think of it, not much happened. We cooked a lot this week, lots of really random stuff. I'll send some photos next week!! 

Anyways, it there's any questions, I'll respond to them next week!

Elder Bushman

 

"Prepare now to go on a mission. It will not be a burden. It will not be a waste of time. It will be a great opportunity and a great challenge. It will do something for you that nothing else will do for you. It will sharpen your skills. It will train you in leadership. It will bring testimony and conviction into your heart. You will bless the lives of others as you bless your own. It will bring you nearer to God and to His Divine Son as you bear witness and testimony of Him. Your knowledge of the gospel will strengthen and deepen. Your love for your fellowman will increase. Your fears will fade as you stand boldly in testimony of the truth." - Gordon B. Hinckley

Yr. 2, Week 25: It Looks like a Legit Miracle

Dear Family and Friends,

Man this was a crazy week, a very good one though! All of the converts are doing very well. I. and M. have been talking about the church to lots of people. M. even defended herself and the church from one of her cousins over Facebook who was dissing on her decision to be baptized. Haha, I. showed us the messages...SO FUNNY :) Haha, we got them a really good start to their family history! I. already has found a few names and she'll be going to the Registro Civil this week to find even more! She'll be way prepared to go to the temple here in a week or so to do baptisms and confirmations. They went to the Chilean Independence Day celebration in the stake and had lots of fun! They were confirmed members of the church on Sunday and brought a few non-member friends and family. :)

C. and J. are also doing well! We had a good FHE with them this last week. On Monday we went and showed them the video...Moutain of the Lord...in order to prepare them for family history work and doing ordinances in the temple. They really, really liked it and it made me want to go to the temple SOOO bad! :) haha, I think Elder Thomas and I are going to go after this week ends. Anyways, they also participated in the celebration. C. won the sack hopping contest, so that was pretty sweet! :D They were also confirmed members of the church on Sunday and the elder's quorum president and the high priest assigned to the ward are helping J. start to prepare to receive the Melchezideck priesthood in a few months (both he and C. were ordained to the Aaronic priesthood on Sunday as well)!!! :) Anyways, things are looking great with them, so that's way happy!

Another cool experience from this last week had to do with an investigator that we had dropped a little over a month ago... J.A. For a long time we have been trying to get back in contact with him but nothing happened. Finally we set an appointment with him for yesterday but when we went by his daughter said he wasn`t home... Later that night at 9:00 we had NOTHING TO DO and it was raining and hardly anyone was in the street. I thought, let's try going by J.A. one more time so we did...and he was there. We went inside and he explained how much work he has been having and everything and the big changes in his life. He also shared with us that he wants to be baptized still, he wants to keep going to church, and dedicating more time to the Lord. Anyways, we gave him some assignments and we felt as though we should set another date, so we invited him for the 5 of October and he accepted. He went to church yesteday and in elders quorum he said that he hopes to one day receive the priesthood (because he had seen J. and C.'s ordinations :) Anyways, it looks like a legit miracle :) 

Well, not much happened this week. We are trying to find new investigators, Elder Thomas is on his last 3 weeks of the mission, I just got the paper asking me to confirm the information for my plane ride home (in 6 months...:S), not much to tell! :) Haha!

I love you all, take care!

Elder Bushman

 

Photos from the Stake's Independence Day Celebration:

 

 Anticucho barbeque

 Mote con Huesillo

 M and me (he's I's son, the one who baptized her and M)

 The Celebration:

P-Day Photos - National Park (Quebrada de Macul):

 Scenery from the Quebrada de Macul:

Our Hike:

 Chilean Sunset:

Our group at the Quebrada de Macul (today's pday)

Yr. 2, Week 24: THEY ALL GOT BAPTIZED!!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

We are so happy for how the baptism turned out. :) THEY ALL GOT BAPTIZED!!!! It was really a miracle and we were able to see many others all week long as we were preparing them. I. bore her testimony in sacrament meeting. She talked about her change of heart, her desire to endure to the end, and how happy she was to be a new person and receive blessings for her and her family. A. (the older man who was baptized) had a rough life in the past but has made a 180° turn and was really touched by her testimony. He feels the exact same way and desires even more changes in his life. M. and P. have been wanting to be baptized for a long time and they were really happy to finally be baptized and start a life in the church. All in all, great baptisms! We had a lot of participation from the ward and the presence of some stake leaders in the baptism :) President and Hermana Wright went too. It was a very emotional Sunday!

Another thing that happened this week had to do with two other investigators of ours, F. (17) and N. (14). They have been wanting to be baptized for a LONG TIME but their parents won't let them. This week during a meeting, I felt the impression to have a fast for them. I talked to Elder Thomas about it after and we decided to ask them. We asked F. and N. and they agreed. We four started a fast for the hearts of their parents to be softened so they could get baptized on Sunday! They asked...and their parents said that they couldn't ... YET. In a way it was an answer to our fast. Their hearts seem to be softening and I believe that God wants to continue to test the faith of F. and N. as well as ours! :D Anyways, I know they will be baptized soon!!!

We went out to teach lessons with President Wright this week. At first I was nervous but it was really cool. If somebody asked me, I think this is my favorite thing about being a ZL...being close to president! We had a lot of fun! He's really funny, a good sense of humor. He told us a lot of stories and it was nice because we learned a lot about him and his life!!! We went and taught I. about the temple and family history work. It was really neat because her aunt was also there and she is Evangelical, just like I. She had lots of questions and was really interested. Having president there was perfect because when someone more mature teaches and testifies with experiences, it makes it so much more powerful! :D

Anyways, thanks for everything everyone! Til next week!

Elder Bushman

This is our line of white on Sunday...I feel slightly awkward sitting there in normal clothes next to these next to celestial beings!

This is Elder Nelson finally trying Mate...he HATED it, hahahahaha!!!!

"Gather the Saints, but do not flatter; invite, but do not urge, and by no means compel any one." - Brigham Young

Yr. 2, Week 23: WOW, they are killing it :)

Dear Family and Friends,

Man, this has been a crazy week! We've had a lot to do but it's been really fun to get to know new people and stuff!

One of the coolest experiences of this week was the FHE we had with the bishop's family and P, R, J, and C. We taught the Plan of Salvation but had a game in which we played Jeopardy with questions about the plan. It was so fun because the teams were really even and everybody was laughing at the answers everybody game and everything! Elder Thomas and I had a ton of fun and we are a lot more confident with how they understand than before :D 

We have been visiting a really cool family, J and M. They are inactive but are really awesome. They've had some tough experiences and trials in their marriage but they have a lot of potential to be great. We had a good FHE with them this week and they committed to going to church...and they went! :D To make it even better, they stayed after sacrament meeting and had interviews with the bishop. Hopefully the ward can help strengthen them and that they can return to activity in the church...they've also started their prayers as a family again so that is way sweet! :D

Here's an update on our future converts :D

I and M: WOW, they are killing it :)  They are getting so prepared. They are reading the BofM and they are completely leaving their addictions to coffee and tea. They went up to the in-laws for the weekend  (they drink lots of tea) but I said they didn't drink at all and they told them they were getting baptized and the in-laws were really excited for them! :D We have to teach them a lot of stuff but they are doing awesome! }

C and J: WOW, they are also getting really prepared. C's little brother M. was having his birthday on Sunday and Elder Thomas and I were a little worried they wouldn't show up at church...HOWEVER, we were wrong...thankfully! :D C., his dad, J., and C's cousin and friend (who aren't members) showed up to church and stayed all three hours like normal :D We were really content and it was really cool to know that C. is inviting his family and friends to learn more about the church and to participate. He also gave his aunt a BofM and committed her to read it! We're really excited for them. Their family also has a really good relationship with the bishop and his family. Today is going to be our third straight FHE with them :) Yesterday the bishop invited the family over to his house and they are giving the lesson and everything.... IT'S AWESOME!!!!!!

We visited J. and C. this week as well! They are awesome. C. always says that he doesn't believe in God and that he is the devil's son but I personally think he's just a little hard hearted against religion. This last visit he sat in on and participated in our lesson about the Book of Mormon. He also used to say that he would never go to church but last week he said he would come to church this Sunday...so he is really starting to soften up to us. Also, we ate completos with him after the lesson and after making his, C. held it up to his face and said, "¿Y voh, que hací 'fuera? ¡Pa'entro!" Elder Thomas and I thought it was so funny and we quote it all the time (basically he was talking to the completo in his CHILEAN and asking it why it wasn't in his mouth and then he commanded it to get into his mouth). :D They are one of the most funny, rowdy families ever :D Hahaha!

Anyways, that's about it for this week! I love you all, I'll let you guys know how the baptisms go next Monday! :D

Love you all!

Elder Bushman

P.S. Believe it or not, but I still have half the box of CAP'N CRUNCH left ;)

"I am hopeful that a great effort will go forward throughout the Church, throughout the world, to retain every convert who comes into the Church. There is no point in doing missionary work unless we hold on to the fruits of that effort." - Gordon B. Hinckley

Yr 2, Week 18: Man, I Like it Here

Dear Family and Friends,

Man, I like it here. I'm getting a lot more comfortable, I love our pension, my companion is awesome, we have lots of investigators, we're getting some good exercise in, everything is great :) Obviously there are some challenges with investigators and sometimes we cannot find new people to teach but we are having a lot of success regardless. 

So we are teaching this guy named A. He is great! He's an older guy who is buck skinny and has a bit of a swearing problem :) Haha, he's a really funny guy and  he's really starting to get spiritual. A few months ago he had an accident and he fell into a coma for like 2 1/2 months. They all thought he was going to die but every week Elder Thomas and his old companion went to give him a blessing at the hospital. Finally he woke up and recovered and since then he's been getting a lot closer to Christ. We had a really good lesson in the chapel with him this week in which we showed him a video of baptism, talked about repentance and the Holy Ghost and then we showed him the font. We committed him to baptism for the 24th of August. We invited him to read the Restoration pamphlet and he read it and we had a great followup lesson with him on it. He's good at understanding and he's patient. When we had the lesson in the chapel he promised to get better about swearing and as we were walking out of the chapel he started telling us about his sore ankle and he started swearing and Elder Thomas and I couldn't stop laughing :) 

This week we went out with a priest in our ward named B. He's great! I called him and asked him if he could go out with us and he said let me check my schedule... He then said yeah I can, I'll go with you guys for the day. So he was with us from 5 until 10 :) Haha, it was so fun. He's really nice and really awesome. He's pretty good at English and so it's really fun talking with him and all! We had some good lessons with him. We visited one lady and had a really good lesson with her about the Holy Ghost and everything. She committed to going to church...but she didn't go. Oh well, maybe next time :) We also visited a less-active and taught her about family history work and vicarious work. It really helped her understand why we are helping her out with FAMILY SEARCH and why she needs to get a temple recommend soon :D

We are visiting a part member family. P (less active), R. (investigator), C. (investigator), and M. (5 yrs.) have been going to church and getting back in the swing of stuff. They went to the city hall today to ask for a wedding date so that they can get married and baptized. I think their date is going to be in October so hopefully everything works out well. They are a great family, the ward needs them, and they need the church :)

This week Elder Thomas and I have been getting a little more serious with our exercise. We bought a ton of eggs and have been going a lot more hard core on our exercises. I sent photos of one night were we drank three raw eggs each...they actually weren't that bad! I'd do it again in a heartbeat ;)

Well folks, that's all for the week! Take care, love you, congrats to Nicole and Eden :D I'm super proud of you guys!

Elder Bushman

 

Last Time at White Box:

 

 

 

Saying Goodbye to my old Pension, District and Companion:

 

 

 

Photos of the new Pension:

 

 

 Raw Eggs:

"We grow by sharing the gospel. Let a man remember that there are others that are in darkness and that have not advanced so far in knowledge, wisdom, and intelligence, and let him impart that knowledge, intelligence, and power unto his friends and brethren, inasmuch as he is farther advanced than they are, and by so doing he will soon discover that his mind will expand, and that light and knowledge which he had gained would increase and multiply more rapidly." - Lorenzo Snow