Yr. 2, Week 50: I'm Going to Read it Every Day

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow, what a week. It was a really, really great week. Looking back on it I can see the ups and downs of the week, the frustration and joy we felt, the tough and easy things, the fun and dumb moments, but I just remember the good. Seriously looking back I only focus on and can remember the good about the week. I really like that. :)

So a quick summary of some of the investigators:

B. Family: this week it was really hard to visit with them, however, this weekend we were able to teach them some really cool, awesome things and they are just progressing awesomely. Sometimes they cancel on us and sometimes they aren't there but when they are and when we coordinate well, it's incredible the spirit we feel with them. Yesterday we taught them and it was awesome. They asked us some questions about the BofM and everything and they really have been reading. D. has read up until 2 Nephi 15. It's incredible and she has really marked some things and has been able to tell us why she did so. Anyways, really awesome! We invited them to be baptized and to a date and they agreed. Anyways, they won't be baptized until after I leave but I don't care, I'm really stoked for them. THEY ARE AWESOME! :D Hahaha!

J and P: we also visited with them yesterday and it was sick. We taught the restoration and P. was just knocked off her feet. We gave her the BofM and she was like, "I'm going to read it, I'm going to read it every day in the subway on my way to work!" It was awesome. J and P want to baby bless their baby and we told them about it and they want to come to church and everything! Anyways, they are doing great! 

L: this was an old investigator that we were visiting but we left him because he didn't progress. However, we taught him again and he's decided to be baptized. We invited him and his wife to set some goals as to what they thought they needed to do in order to prepare for baptism. We came back and they said they were going to pray every day in the morning and night, read the BofM together, go to church when L. isn't working, and he wants to be baptized the first week of April! :) Anyways, we visited with him with J., our convert and it was awesome. I think it strengthened J. and helped L. know that there is someone at church who has made changes and who is happy! 

A little bit about my studies this week. While on divisions I had a great study about Virtue. PMG led me to read D&C 48:33. I was meditating on it a bit because I was trying to understand a bit more about why the Lord would be telling the saints to be sanctified and virtuous. I read the section heading and it all made sense. The lord was helping them to know who he wanted the meetings of the church to be directed. So as I kept studying, it made more and more sense why the Lord wants us to be virtuous as we perform sacred covenants. In D&C 133:4-5 it talked about being clean those that bear the vessels of the Lord. So I thought for a long time about what vessels meant and 2 Timothy 2:21 helped me to understand. I loved this study because it helped me to understand what it is that I want to be as I represent the Lord in administering Christ's grace and blessings through those covenants. 

So that's a bit about the week that I've had and I've really had a great time. It's been so fun and so great to be with Elder Deal. We have lots of fun together. He comes home a change after me and is going to BYU too and we we are planning lots of fun stuff to do! Haha, we're good friends! :D 

Love you guys, take care!

Elder Bushman

Yr. 2, Week 47: Some Really Amazing Studies This Week

Dear Family and Friends,

Everything is going really well. I would say this week was a bit of an up and down week in regards to investigator progress, however, it was a week of increased personal spiritual growth in addition to increased faith. Let me tell you about some of the experiences I had this week had increased my faith and also helped me to improve and grow as well.

First off I had some really amazing studies this week. The first one spawned from a scripture our bishop shared in Isaiah 43:2. I later read verses 1-3 and began to study the different names that appear there in regards to Jehovah. It was interesting as I began to study the phrases and words, “Thou art mine” “Holy One of Israel” “Thy Saviour”. That led me to study many different scriptures in the Bible, Book of Mormon, and D&C and Pearl of Great Price. I looked up scriptures in John 1:1-14, Hebrews 1:1-2, John 12:35-36, 46, John 14:6, 2 Nephi 9:10-11, 19, Mosiah 3:7, D&C 110:1-5, etc. I began to see a lot about how Christ really was all that Isaiah said He was in his writings and that He truly was the God of the Old Testament. But more importantly, I began to understand better Christ’s role in my life and His love for me. Anyways, I shared it all with Elder Deal. It was amazing, I loved it. Another amazing study from this week was a study in Alma 43:18-21. I linked these scriptures up with some in Ephesians 6:13-17 about the armour of God.  I linked in the different things about the armour and I saw that the “thick clothing” was something not mentioned by Paul in the New Testament. I thought of the temple and the physical protection we receive there. Therefore, I, throughout this study, was able to see how the armour of God really surprises the devil and how much it protects us compared to those who do not wear it. Pretty cool :D

We had a great experience while trying to exercise more faith to baptize. We taught L. 2 and the Sacrament to A. and her son J. It was a really good lesson and we were able to focus on how the atonement and the doctrine of the sacrament and baptism help us progress and therefore fulfill our purpose on earth. We then invited her and her sons to go to church and she accepted while adding, "I want to get baptized." We were stoked!!!! Haha, now she and her two sons went to church yesterday and we have an FHE set up for this Thursday with them and a family in the ward. One of the kids in the primary personally gave A. a Book of Mormon and she loved it. I think it touched her and I saw her looking up the scriptures related to the hymns that we were singing. She has a baptismal date for the second week of April and we are going to be extending the same date to her son who's 14. :D It was a sweet experience. I think they are going to progress real well.

We visited lots of other people but there wasn't a whole lot of progress with the W. family nor C.B's family. We visited D. and it was great but they didn't go to church or anything. Anyways, some people have paused in their progression, etc. However, with A. we are seeing some good things with others. This week we are going to go full force with D's family and C's and J. and P. etc.

Anyways, take care guys! Love you!

Elder Bushman 

Adios, Elder Nelson!

 APPLEBEES!!!!!

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

Yr 2 - Week 16: I got Changed

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, for starters, this has been a really, really crazy week. Full  of changes and new things and great experiences :) So first things first...I got changed. I'm no longer in La Florida 3 but in a new stake called Gabriela. I'm really excited and my new companion is great, Elder Thomas. He is from West Jordan, Utah. He's got about 20 months in the mission and he's great. I'm excited to be with him and to learn from him, especially since he's got more time than me in the mission. Anyways, more to come about my new sector shortly. 

J. (even though I'm not there) is doing VERY well. He went to church this last Sunday as well and brought along his less-active friend, I. We had a FHE with him and the L family this last week and it was great. We showed the Restoration and used the whole family to help us teach. We also have visited with him several other times this week with other members who have helped us help him to understand better the Book of Mormon,. He's been reading faithfully and believes that it is true. He also accepted a baptismal date for the 3rd of August. Elder Muzante and his new companion will be having a FHE with him and the C. family tonight. The other families that we were teaching weren't progressing very well because we couldn't visit with them. They weren't home or they had to cancel. But it's all good because J. is doing great and there is another guy named H. who should be starting to progress nicely. :D We focused a lot on the Book of Mormon with him. 

This week Elder Muzante and I were focusing a lot on eternal families and God's love and things. I read a scripture in Romans 8, the last few verses that talked about how nothing can hide us from God's love. I thought about that as my companion and I had big discussions about the spirit world. I've just been reflecting a lot on how we can literally seal (we have to think about the word literally and compare it to other things) our families together. Anyways, I've been edified thinking that we can be eternal families by following the gospel of Jesus Christ, making covenants by priesthood power. Also, in Malachai 4 I think, verse 7 it talks about how Christ will come back to us as we come back to him BY MAKING (RENEWING) COVENANTS... Interesting! :D

I saw a miracle while Elder Lloyd and I were on divisions. We were visiting some people but they weren't home and our backup plans failed as well. We were trying to figure out where to go and, I wouldn't have said at the time that I was guided, but now I can say that we were guided to talk with a certain woman. Later on we knocked on a less-active's door, wasn't home but we were guided to knock the next door neighbors house. Both are future investigators and I'm not sure if they are going to end up getting baptized, but it was a little miracle :) 

Love you all, that's all for this week!!!

Elder Bushman

My new comp - Elder Thomas

"I wish to invite members of the Church to consider anew the great mandate given by the Lord to all who desire to be known as his disciples. It is a mandate we cannot dodge, and one from which we cannot shrink. That mandate is to teach the gospel to the nations and peoples of the earth." - Gordon B. Hinckley

Yr 2 - Week 14: Joseph in Egypt...He's a Beast!

Life in Chile is going well. It's really cold here and my feet especially have been very cold of late. Everybody is sad because Chile has been knocked out of the World Cup. They almost beat Brazil like 4 times but stroke after stroke of bad luck did them in. At least America is still going :D We've had a lot of good lunches this week and I feel hungry all the time. I love sopaipillas...I love pastel de choclo...I love mayo and ketchup. I love eating!

This week I've been studying about Joseph in Egypt. He's a beast! I love him. He and Nephi are literally my scripture heroes. :D I've been studying his story, marking personal applications and connections to the life of Jesus Christ. :D These last few months I think I have gotten a lot more tuned into the gospel. I've been having great studies and I'm more converted to the scriptures. I find a lot of strength in the stories that they contain. Also, I'm learning more about Christ's life which is helping me grow spiritually. I've become more like Christ in many aspects. Sometimes I feel inmature (in the sense that I act really silly) but I suppose in many other senses I'm A LOT more mature. Elder Frost is doing great! He's still a ZL up in the rich sector and yes he's going to head home in November. Elder Kern is making me proud! He's leading our old sector like a beast and is just doing a great job. I would love to be in his same zone in a few changes :D I still like Basketball more than Soccer but it's literally just barely. It'll never change but I really like Soccer!

Yesterday we met with the family we found last week. We had a great lesson with them last night about the Restoration. They've commited to reading and praying as a family. We have a return appointment for this Thursday. They are really cool people and are really interested about the temple! We need to go by with members and encourage them to go to church. I really hope they get baptized! Seriously, they are a perfect family for the church! 

J.G. (the oldest boy) got ordained a teacher yesterday. He is going to go to church early every sunday to help out with the sacrament and everything. 

Here are some photos of the service project we did the other day for some recent converts. It brought back a ton of memories of mowing lawns :) Also, mom, this pen I took a photo of is a scripture marking pencil they sell at DESERET BOOK. The brand is PENTEL. The markers you sent me are great but a few of them have broken in half as I use them. Anyways, if you could send me one it would be awesome!!! :D

Well that's everything! Bye!

Week 49: We are Really Seeing Grand Changes in him

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow, what a week! It has just been a week FULL of crazy surprises but also just amazing experiences :) My testimony has been strengthened this week a lot but also my resolve to be a better missionary and servant of the Lord. Congrats to Guillermo Luis Bustamante Simósa!!! He gave his farewell talk yesterday and heads into the field in a week! Love you Bro!!! So here are some sick experiences from my week:

Last Monday we had a really great FHE with F. at the V's house. We talked about Lehi's dream and more about being committed to the Lord. It was fantastic and we all left that FHE so spiritually nourished!!! F. went on and on about how great that family is and how bad he wants to get baptized. We haven't set a date yet because we need to resolve some things but he has the desire and up until now he has had the works to prove it. We are really seeing grand changes in him. Anyways, the Primary President in our ward, Hermana Á. called us on Monday night and asked if she could stop by our pension for a second and talk. We said sure but were were thinking, "Why the heck does she want to talk?" Anyways, we met the Á. family at the pension and the dad and mom said, "Well since you guys can't go to our house for lunch we decided to bring you guys a few things for your pension."They gave us cereal, milk, eggs, meat, pringles, hot dogs, cheese, etc, etc, etc.!! :) It was so amazing and I was just in shock! We said thank you a ton but we felt so grateful that today we made them cookies and we are going to deliver it to them tonight as a token of gratitude! It just reminded me how amazing the members of the church are and what kind of things I want to do later in my life! :D

So on Friday we had our Zone Conference and a few days before the old assistant to the president, Elder Schade, called me up and asked me to help him out. He was put in charge of the musical number and so he solicited my help and the help of the old office secretary, Elder Wilson, for the song. We sang the song, "Bendito Salvador" (Blessed Savior) but to the tune of "I Need Thee Every Hour." It was so awesome and it was really fun! They are both going to BYU so it'll be cool to see them both after the mish! :D

Also in Zone Conference, President Wright talked a lot about how we need to be more converted to our studies and to the scriptures. He showed us all his scriptures and shared with us a few of the ways he has studied the scriptures and other suggestions from modern day prophets! He took 3 years to go through the entire Book of Mormon, studying for about an hour every day. What he did is he studied and meditated on EVERY SINGLE VERSE of the BofM and refused to continue on until he had finished his study of the current verse. He also shared two secrets: SLOW DOWN and OPEN UP YOUR MIND. I've been improving my studies over the last few days and it has been incredible to see what I have learned by following these two secrets!!! Take the first chapter of the BofM for instance, 1 Nephi 1...Slow down and open up your mind...you'll find a lot of good secrets for receiving revelation in there! :D

So F. gave us quite a scare this week. He called us on the phone and was crying and I couldn't understand him and then we didn't see him for a few days but we finally got to have a lesson with him in which he told us that he got into a fight with his partner, then he was passing through some economic troubles, etc, etc. He was quite repentant and realizes how much he needs to be involved in prayer and scripture study every day. We focused our message on Jesus Christ and His Atonement and how it gives us healing power, liberating power, and abilitating power. We sang "I Stand All Amazed" to finish up. He went to Church on sunday and we dropped by his house on sunday without him knowing. His son invited us and we found him reading through the priesthood manual for this year (teachings of Joseph Fielding Smith)...that was pretty awesome!!! :D Anyways, we are pushing to have a temple tour this week and also have a FHE with the V. family again and try to set some baptismal dates with the whole family :) We'll see how it goes!

Last night we had a fireside in our stake with our mission president. It was for investigators, recent converts, and less active members of the church. In the fireside, President Wright addressed many of the common rumors about mormons and also answered many of the questions that this group had. We couldn't find any recent converts or investigators who were going to be able to attend. We finally found a less active guy, M. B. to come with us. He drove us in his car and everything. We've been visiting him for a long time but we haven't found out his need yet nor why he won't come back to church. They talked a lot about the BofM in the fireside and afterwards Elder Kern asked him, "So when are you going to go to church with us?" He said, "Next week." YEAH BUDDY! I also asked him, "What was the thing that most impressed you?" He said the comments on the Book of Mormon. I asked him if he has ever prayed to know if it is true. He says his had done it and has been praying lately but doesn't feel like he has received an answer!!! I asked him what he would do if he found out. He said, "I would return to the church and prepare to go to the temple again." SWEET!!! He also is only 23 yrs. old so there is still time for a mission!!! :D

Anyways, my testimony has grown this week despite a few lame experiences. There were many other experiences that I am not able to include right now but thanks so much for everything! I love you all, chao!!

Elder Bushman

"I would rather hear an Elder speak only five words accompanied by the power of God, and they would do more good than to hear long sermons without the Spirit." - Brigham Young

Week 44: PERSONAL SPIRITUAL GROWTH

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was a good week. I would say it has been a week full of PERSONAL SPIRITUAL GROWTH instead of spiritual growth for our investigators. But, haha, why should I complain. I've had lots of experiences this week in which the Lord has opened my eyes and my understanding has expanded so much. The scriptures and connections I made this week strengthened my testimony of the scriptures and the true power there is when we study, meditate, and apply! :)

So first with an insight of mine connected with an experience: we are teaching F. and he is living with his partner and his 10 year old son. The other day he got in an argument with his partner and he was having problems so he didn't go to church with us. I was a little fed up with everybody's excuses for not reading, praying, or going to church. Even if they were valid excuses, I was a bit fed up. Anyways, I was reading the scriptures and I found a scripture that taught me a lot about why many bad things happen to good people. The scripture is in Romans 8:17...It talks about how we need to suffer with Christ in order to be co-inheritors of the Kingdom of God with Christ. That taught me a lot about how I need to look at my struggles and also about how to teach people to not throw the blame at our Heavenly Father, rather thank Him for our hard times and pray for strength to keep going. Anyways, we talked to him yesterday and he had read the BofM and prayed that day and a lot of the situation had settled :) It was a neat miracle!!!

The next scripture that opened my eyes is a scripture in James 2:19-20... In this chapter, James teaches that faith without works is dead. In these two scriptures, James seals his teaching by saying devils and demons also believe in Christ, but they don't act or follow Him. Will we do likewise? In verse 20, he asks: "Do you need anymore proof that your faith means nothing if you don't act?" I love that! We see so many times here that people say, "Oh I believe in Christ. Yeah I don't go to church and I smoke and I don't agree with what my church teaches, but I believe in Christ." It's so sad because in the end, their so called "faith," isn't faith. It's what the Lord referred to when saying, "Not all who cry out, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of my Father. Rather those who do the will of my Father." I applied that to myself...If I really believe, why don't I show it by striving to do the things that are hard for me :)

So two weeks ago we received a referral from a priest in our ward, B. So we went by to visit and we had a great lesson with her mom this week. We taught the first part of the Restoration and really focused in on the Prophet, the Holy Ghost, the blessings of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Book of Mormon. Her husband returned from Peru yesterday so we are excited to see if he will be on board and if we will be able to progress rapidly with this family :) We are praying for them. There are three kids, a newborn baby, and little 4 year old girl, and the 12 year old. Hopefully everything turns out and we can get this family prepared and ready to be baptized soon!!!!

Anyways, that's about it for this week! =) Love you all, take care!

Elder Adam Bushman

“Missionary work isn’t the only thing we need to do in this big, wide, wonderful Church. But almost everything else we need to do depends on people first hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ and coming into the faith. … With all that there is to do along the path to eternal life, we need a lot more missionaries opening that gate and helping people through it.”

—Jeffrey R. Holland

“We Are All Enlisted,” Ensign, Nov. 2011, 46–47

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