Yr. 2, Week 35: God Loves Us

Dear Family and Friends,

Haha, what a week...there is honestly NOTHING to report... Honestly here's the gist:

This week has kinda been a tough one. My companion, Elder Laurentino, was sick this week so we honestly didn't do much... On Tuesday he came down with a massive fever and had it going strong until like Thursday evening. At one point he had a fever of 103.9. It was NUTS. Good thing we had my thermometer because that could've gotten messy! Anyways, during the weekend he had bad stomach issues and stuff so it was a super bumer week for him and me. I was really bored and just sick of staying inside. Sometimes it's cool to have a break but this was just TOO MUCH. :S Anyways, he's feeling a lot better now so we are stoked to make this week SICK :D

It was a pretty mellow week...full of lots of personal study. I'm not sure if you have been able to read the Ensign for the month of December but read it!! It is amazing. I loved the article about the Sacred Grove. I loved the principles this Seventy was able to learn from the nature that exists in the Sacred Grove!! Also, I read and studied Jacob 5 this week. I reflected on and I felt a strong impression that God loves us and that He desires to help us reach our potential just like the Lord of the vineyard wanted to help these trees reach their potential :) I love this chapter! 

Anyways, I'll send some photos! Here's some recordings too!!! Everything is great :) I'm having lots of fun with my companion and we are putting in lots of work! Take care everybody, love ya!

Elder Bushman

Future Elder G.

Any Guesses?? Boiling his Socks

Week 50: I Wouldn't have Traded this for ANYTHING!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow, this week has been a long one but a very good week as well. We are having a lot of difficulties with some of our BIG TIME investigators so to speak. We weren't able to meet with F. all week and he didn't go to church, so we don't even know what's up with him. We found out today that the sister and niece of a recent convert in the ward next to ours doesn't want to talk to us anymore ... that kinda sucks. Also, we weren't able to visit P. and T., and T. didn't go to church. C. and her family were "really busy" this week so we didn't even visit them at all. We also visited a part member family and we were going to start teaching the 15 year old boy and reactivate the mom...but then they weren't there and we'll have to try and visit next Saturday. We visited with the A. family and had a good lesson but they said they would "do everything possible" to go to church...they didn't. Anyways, I'm not mad or discouraged because we really worked hard this week and we are being obedient and everything. I'm actually very pleased with this last week because we saw quite a few miracles :) So, now that we got all of the negative stuff out of the way, now I can focus on the dope stuff!!!

On Monday we made cookies, Elder Kern and I, and we took them to the Á. family in our ward, the family that gave us all of that food. We wanted to visit with the whole family but it turns out that the dad and daughter were there. They were SOOOO happy and though it was a tiny act of service in return, they were SOOO grateful that we walked for forever to get the cookies to them and that we had made them :) Anyways, their daughter, C., is going to BYU this fall so she asked me questions when she and her dad dropped us off in their car at our lesson! :) Really awesome family!!!

Well this week we found some sweet new investigators!!! The other day we were going through a list of old members and we went to a house we'd never seen before. We talked to a lady who told us the people we are looking for didn't live there...DANG we thought but then we started sharing our message with this family! She invited us in (there wasn't a man at home so we just sat in her patio) and we talked with her and her daughter (the mom is V. and the daughter is V.). They were both SOOO interested and they were so excited for us to come back! She also said that her mom (who wasn't home at that moment) was going to just love talking with us. It's really cool because just 5 doors down lives J. and C., the less-actives we just reactivated! C. and V. are the same age and they both have very similar family situations! :) Anyways, we are going to go back tomorrow to visit them so we are really excited :) That day I was really feeling down but I decided to be happy and positive and our loving Heavenly Father placed these wonderful people in our path! :)

So about a month ago a drunk stopped us and started talking to us about a bunch of weird stuff and then he said come by my house. So we said "Yeah sure" and we wrote down his address. We never went by and we saw him several other days just absolutely drunk and crazy so we were a little wary about passing by. Then the other day we talked with him and gave him a pamphlet and we promised we would go by. His name is J. and we went by the other day. He was sober and we had a good conversation about what he wants, what we want to help him accomplish, and what he'll need to do. We also taught him this morning and he promised to keep all of the Word of Wisdom laws until we go by his house on Wednesday. He also said he would go to church with us. I'm not sure what will come of this future investigator but he is quite sincere and if he stops drinking we could see some decent progress.

I'm going to be sending a recording soon so in that recording it will talk a little bit about what happened last night :)

I'm so very glad to be a missionary, I love my ward, I love my sector, and I am really enjoying everything! :) I've experienced the best and worst of times out here and I'm sure there are many in the coming months but I wouldn't have traded this for ANYTHING!!! :D I love you all, take care!

Elder Bushman 

 

We carried a couch from a member's home...we carried it like a MILE! UGH!

Well...I mastered the Rubiks Cube....CHECK!!!

 

Here is our church...

Here is our favorite completo shop!

“When we heed a silent prompting and act upon it without delay, out Heavenly Father will guide our footsteps and bless our lives and the lives of others.”
. . . . . . . . . . ~ Thomas S. Monson

Week 47: I Felt on Fire Because I Knew that we Taught by the Spirit!!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

First off, I wanted to say congrats to John and Karla and Family on the new baby!! Whoohoo!! :) Another Cousin!! Haha, man, October will be here in NO time!! What are we at right now? How many cousins are we??? (29) Anyways, things have been going decently well. This last week was tough again, but we are still grateful and excited for the wonderful experiences we had.

So today for P-day, we had the craziest party. We had a big barbeque as a zone and some of the elders from the office and the assistants came! Also, Elder Frost and his companion came! :) Yeah boy!!! In addition to the barbeque, we also played soccer and basketball! It was so fun! :D It was also really fun to catch up with Elder Frost! He is just awesome! It'll be such fun hanging out with him after the mission :D

So a cool experience real quick! This week I went on divisions with Elder Schwartz (a great guy, friend of Todd Baer). We had about five appointments that day and I worked especially hard the night before to get members to come with us to these appointments. Four of them fell through... I felt bad that Elder Schwartz and I were seriously just walking around trying to visit with someone for literally 5 1/2 hours. Finally, at the end of the day we had a lesson with a couple, L. and L. The wife is about to leave on a trip to the Netherlands so when we got there she was really busy trying to get her hair all done. I thought, "No, not again. The cherry on top of the evening." We talked to L. (the husband) for a little bit and explained that we have a small message to share. Suddenly L. (the wife) burst into the room (still with a whole mess of hair stuff trailing her) and said, "I am so sorry that I look so horrible, but I wanted to hear your message!" L., L., and the hair stylist (N.) sat down and listened to our message. We centered it around families and the spirit was so strong. We were asking questions like crazy and teaching so well (I credit it all to the spirit). The member we brought shared his testimony about his parents being sealed in the temple and we ended by sharing the hymn "Familes can be Together Forever." L. wants to watch the video "Together Forever" and his daughter comes home soon so we are going to show them both. Also, N. was so interested that she gave us her information and was willing to learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ that has been restored :) Amazing lesson! I felt on fire because I knew that we taught by the spirit!!!!

Here are some answers to the questions from this week:

(Is it starting to cool down yet?) So right now it is still hot but we can tell that the weather is changing because there has been an unusual number of overcast cool days of late, with means we are heading into fall...WHOOHOO!!! :) Finally!!! 

(Have you had any problems with fleas or other bugs?) About two weeks ago I woke up with about 20 bug bites on my body that just jerked me sideways in a bad way. I was itching the whole day so I put some terrashield on my bed and took a good shower. Since then I haven't had any problems. Elder Kern woke up one day and felt itchy as well. That night, we came home and he had big splotches of red with white centers ALL OVER his body. He had two really rough nights but we went to the doctor and all things seem well now. :) Fortunately!!! 

(How is your health? You haven't mentioned anything for a long time...) Health wise I am doing great! 

(How are all your clothes holding up?) My clothes are doing well! The shirts I have been using are starting to be really yellow and fall apart, those are mostly just the short sleeve ones. I still have three, unused shirts in my suitcase so next summer I will start using those with the good shirts I still have. When fall is really here, I'm tossing the bad shirts. The shoes Dad and I bought when I was like 15 or 16 are starting to really fall apart! They still look presentable but the insides are trashed. I am making them last to my year-mark though :D (What do you look forward to the most?) I usually look forward to my studies during the day! I really like to study and learn new things. I've really been expanding my knowledge of the Bible while connecting scriptures to my Book of Mormon. It's cool because when Elder Frost left, I've only been using my Spanish scriptures and it has really helped me know my proselyting scriptures better. In regards to the temple, I think I am going to try and go around my birthday, maybe I'll try and go with Elder Frost again, who knows! :) Haha! (Once someone becomes a Zone Leader, is he always a Zone Leader?) Usually the Zone Leaders will stay in that spot until the end of the mission but sometimes they are made Assistants or receive other assignments throughout the mission. It really just varies but generally Zone Leaders are Zone Leaders for the rest of the mission.  

(What has each of your companions taught you? If you could choose one thing that you have really learned from them, what would it be?) Elder Frost really taught me to work hard and to be obedient. He taught me to do my best and then be satisfied with the results. Elder Kern has taught me to love the people and to look more for their needs. He has also taught me patience and positivity!

Well, that's basically the week! Take care everyone; love you all :)

Elder Adam Bushman

"Here's a project that I worked on this week. It's a map about the Book of Mormon and the Bible! We've used this in our lessons and it has been awesome! (Written and Designed by Elder Adam Bushman)"

He was the boss BBQ'er at home - now he is in Chile. Love the photo-bombing Elders!

“Missionary work is an identifying feature of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Always has it been; ever shall it be. As the Prophet Joseph Smith declared, 'After all that has been said, the greatest and most important duty is to preach the Gospel.' ”  ~Thomas S. Monson

Week 35: I Was Being Taught by the Spirit

Dear Friends and Family,

I hope everything has gone well for you all out there! Things are going well out here all though I am tuckered out from last week :) Ugh, I'm so tired. Anyways, this last week wasn't a very good week in terms of teaching or finding or making progress. It was kind of a frustrating week. During my whole time with Elder Kern we've been just doing GREAT...but this week we stumbled a little bit so that was pretty lame. But, we've set some goals and we're going to be doing things a lot better this week. So, I'm excited :) 

So, first off...a quick shoutout to my buddy Grayson Ercanbrack who will soon be joining me in Chile! :) Whoohoo, congrats boy!!!! Anyways, we are going to be doing a Christmas card, both Elder Kern and I, and we will be taking the photo, a card, and a candy cane over to all the people in the ward council and some other people in our sector. :) We are excited!!! 

So, a few other answers to some other questions: so that Peruvian family we found is being quite lazy and we've set up SEVERAL appointments but they are never there. I don't understand why people just keep playing this sort of game. Just tell us you don't want anything!!!  :) But oh well! So we've done a little bit of decorating but not much. I sent some photos of our tree, the tree Elder Kern got but that's about it :) It looks sweet!!! There are little tiny stores or businesses that people have all throughout my sector so you can walk down three or four houses and find basic cooking needs and ingredients and stuff. Also, there is a store called UniMarc that is just basically Kohlers but 1/4 of the size and there is a WalMart within a 10 minute walk of my pension. So my favorite food here is lentils with a big piece of sausage in the middle with a big link of homemade blood sausage with salad :) OH! It is amazing!!! You can buy American food but it's WAY expensive. Most of our investigators come from part member families and street contacting ... we don't get many member references. We hardly get any Mormon.org references. The ward council is pulling most of the weight and they are really working on the recent converts we have and doing activities to help out with our investigators. We write the mission president every week and it is included in our time of 90 minutes. He writes back if we ask him stuff. I'm not sure on the skype call. I know of several people who could hem and adjust my pants...I would just have to make some time to coordinate with the people. So about obedience! I am in charge of handing most things with the people in my district. If there is something I cannot do or if the things I'm doing are working or the situation is getting worse, I report to the Zone Leaders and directly to the president. Basically you just help them realize the blessings they can get for obedience, set goals, follow up, set new goals, follow up, and so forth. :) 

So not too much happened this week but when I went on divisions I had a great experience. We went to a family's house that is the mother, father, and their two daughters. The mother and father are not married so neither are members of the church. The two daughters are however. Anyways, we went there and I just loved it! The problem is the father needs to get a divorce from his old wife who is trying to hold out for lots of money he doesn't have. Anyways, it's a sad situation but the couple's outlook on the situation is just fantastic. Although they cannot get married and therefore cannot be baptized, they still go to church every week. They study the scriptures faithfully and they are so very strong. We had a very in depth gospel conversation at their home and it was amazing. I felt the spirit really strong as he bore his testimony of the Book of Mormon, Holy Ghost, Joseph Smith, Plan of Salvation, and his favorite topic, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He kept saying, "When we are able to be baptized..."  They are great people and they are so very strong where they are! :) They were a great testimony of being strong in the gospel, NO MATTER what your circumstance. There are lots of people who make excuses but it was nice to see that they remain doing the things they know are right when they have every excuse not to. :D I was very impressed with that appointment and lesson! 

(Elder Bushman has been recording some great insights on his digital recorder after lessons or while waiting for a bus, etc, etc. He emails the WMA files to us. It has been AWESOME! Here are a few this week that I really loved:)

Recording #1:
"We just got out of a really cool lesson with our investigator, J. She is having some problems with the university and she is just sick of it and about to leave - and she's asking herself why bad things happen to good people. So, we took the Prophet of the Restoration video and Ether 12:6, and tried to answer that question based on both those two things. When Elder Kern and I were bearing our testimonies at the end and teaching a little bit about the doctrine and the necessity of tests in our lives, it was so powerful...and we felt the spirit so strong. I honestly felt like I was being taught by the Spirit a whole lot during the lesson, while I was bearing my testimony - everything was making so much sense about the whole plan of salvation, why we're here on earth, why there's opposition in all things, why we have tests, how the great promise of if we are faithful to the end, all we have lost will be restored unto us and the promise that if we follow the doctrine of Christ and if we follow Jesus Christ and do all he has done and do the covenants necessary, we will become as our Father in Heaven and will receive all that he has. And so all those things, these different doctrinal principles, are making so much sense to me. It was really, really awesome and I felt the spirit so strong - and just watching the video from that perspective was just fantastic. Thinking about how Joseph Smith understood it all - and that's why he was willing to go through anything...and when he was in Liberty Jail and was about to give up, the promise that was given to him that if he endured it for just a small moment, he would be exalted on high. It really is just a small moment. It was so powerful...what I learned and how I was being taught by the spirit. J's mom was listening the whole time and I really think she needed to hear those two promises and the video we saw and comparing it to his life."

Recording #2:
"I'm doing divisions with Elder M right now...But me and Elder Kern had a good lesson with an investigator - J. and we had a lesson with him about the Book of Mormon and the Gospel of Jesus Christ and why it's important to enter into the path that leads to the Celestial Kingdom and why going through the door of baptism is so essential and how we can do that through knowing the Book of Mormon is true. I think that helped him realize that it's really important that he understands and knows that the Book of Mormon is true. Hopefully he'll be able to read and pray and things...I never realized how hard of a task it would be for people to remember to ask in their prayers if the Book of Mormon is true. I notice that lots of people are just like, "Bless me to know that it's true" or "I really want to know", instead of saying "Is the Book of Mormon true?". Because for us to gain a specific answer we  need to ask a specific question. So that's one of the things I've noticed out here - I'm trying to stress the fact that we need to ask specifically so we can receive a specific answer. And especially for people who are inexperienced with feeling the spirit, it's hard for them to realize complicated answers. And so to make it as simple as possible we need to ask a question to get a simple answer - a confirmation of if it's true or if it's not. Instead of asking "well I really want to know so help me know". So hopefully he can ask a specific question and work on that."

 

So that's all folks! Love you!

Elder Bushman

This is our little Thanksgiving feast from the Stake President: turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and corn! OH! So good! :)

This is our little tree all lit up!

This is our tree in real life

Week 25: All I Could Have Asked For

Dear Family and Friends,

WOW, what a week. Seriously, it's been nuts but a very good week all things considered. First off, I'm going to talk about my kid and my experience getting him:

So Tuesday morning, I and Elder Pineda (an Elder that I was doing splits with) headed for the mission office to go pick up our kids. We were pretty silent on the way over...we were both pretty thoughtful as to whom we would be training. Anyways, we were the first missionaries there so we waited for the rest of the trainers to come until finally the mission president told us all the trainees had arrived and we were needed to help take all the bags into the church. As we did, I was looking at all the faces trying to determine who would be my kid...didn't work, ha! Fortunately, President Wright assigned us our companions right away so we weren't waiting in anticipation too much. My companion is a gringo named Elder Kern. He is from Provo, Utah, is 18 years old and reminds me a bit of myself when I came into the mission field (I'll explain why a little later). I felt an instant love and connection to him right after our names were read and I am so excited to be able to teach him how to be a missionary, teach him Spanish, and have some success. Anyways, we were trained on a lot of good things and it was neat to see the things that my old companion and I didn't do as well last change that we are going to be better about now. Anyways, we started out for our sector and I noticed some things that reminded me of myself: Elder Kern wants to be very obedient and has been hoping and praying for an obedient companion. As we were riding the bus to the metro, he was flying all over the place with his suitcases! We dropped off his suitcases at home which we left to be unpacked later that day. We went to lunch at the Quezada family's house. E' Frost and I ate there on my first day too and just like me, Elder Kern didn't understand anything that Hermano or Hermana Quezada were saying! It was a little comical because I remember being there 4 months ago and as he told me his struggles and his despairing belief that he would never learn Spanish, I was reminded of myself and how I thought the exact same things!!! :) Haha, his legs hurt from walking all day and he was dead from the whole day's work. Anyways, I love Elder Kern, he's a good missionary, he's working hard, and we're being obedient which is all I could have asked for :)

We're working really hard with an investigator named F. We've taught him the first three lessons and he has agreed to be baptized if God helps him quit smoking. Anyways, we started focusing on that! :) He has a big smoking problem...like a BIG smoking problem! He usually smokes about 30-40 cigarettes a day and he says he can remember smoking like 60 cigarettes in a day before... It is NUTS! So, we created a plan for him to drop cigarettes each day! He agreed to the plan and we told him that the only way he can drop the habit is by reading the BofM each day, praying each day, and going to church every week. We're also calling him every day at 1:00 p.m. to check up on him. So far, Friday he smoked 6 cigarettes, Saturday he smoked 5, and we're still waiting to find out about yesterday. So far he is doing pretty good :) Haha, we're going to ask him about his wife and son and about teaching them. I was a bit nervous about it at the start but then it donned on me that this is the BEST way! Hope it goes well :D

Yesterday for Sunday School, the missionaries and the ward mission leader out here taught the ward about how to share the gospel. We taught using the talk: http://www.lds.org/ensign/2005/02/seven-lessons-on-sharing-the-gospel?lang=eng I taught the part about service. Conversion is all about feeling the spirit and recognizing it. Non-members usually don't feel the influence of the spirit because they are around a lot of non-members generally. Service is a way to bring the spirit and when there are a lot of people with the Gift of the Holy Ghost around non-members in an environment that brings the spirit, they're going to feel different...they are going to feel something good, something they want to feel again and they are going to ask members about it and right there is how we can start sharing the gospel. I would encourage you all to take the talk and read it in your families and start planning activities with your non-member friends and begin to share the gospel with them. Then call up the missionaries with a referral and help the missionaries get to know the people and help them through the process. 

Anyways, that's the basic run-down for the week! My companion and I are going to try and rock it like crazy this week! Hope it all goes well! :)

Love you all!

Elder Adam Bushman

Zone Conference: I Spy Elder Bushman....4th row (2nd from the Right)

"The missionary work of the Latter-day Saints is the greatest of all the great works in all the world."
 - Heber J. Grant