Yr. 2 - Week 27: The Future of the Church is in the Youth

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was a really good one. I had a lot of fun! It went by pretty quick because we had so many divisions. I went with the assistants up to their sector in a part of Santiago called Lo Barnechea. I'll share an experience from there in a second. Then I went on divisions with Elder Jara (Elder Rice's companion). It was also pretty fun with him, I'll share some funny experiences as well!

So bad news... J.A. is NO MORE. Elder Thomas and one of the assistants went by his home and they found out that he wanted to take a break from our visits for like a month because he and his wife were having some problems. Elder Thomas just asked him, "Are we the problem here or what?" He said we were... Really lame but one day missionaries are gonna help him get baptized! 

On the bright side though, we've had some good experiences with some new investigators. Last night we visited with a young couple, G. and P. Just three months ago their little new born son died in the hospital. It's been a trial for them but we've been visiting them recently and last night we had a SWEET lesson. We went by with a new member to our ward, C. He helped us out so much in the lesson, even asking them to be baptized and inviting them to General Conference this weekend. They accepted both invitations and I think they are going to start progressing even more. C. and his wife are the new principles of the gospel teachers! I'm looking forward to that.

A LONG TIME AGO Elder Thomas and his last companion started teaching J. and C's neighbors but since they work so much, they can't really meet with us much. About two weeks ago I went with one of the missionaries in our zone, Elder Hokanson. We visited with O. (the wife) and we talked about the sacrifices we make in our lives in order to follow the gospel and therefore receive blessings! This week Elder Thomas and I visited with their family. O. told me that she read the chapter and she summarized the whole thing. She told me her favorite part and I thought that she can probably start progressing real well now. She and her daughter (M., 15) went to church. They loved it and hopefully they'll start making time for church every week! :D

Elder Aguirre (the assistant) and I had a cool experience teaching up in his sector. We taught a group of like 5 youth and one of their moms. It was so sweet because they all had such a desire to learn, especially this one kid and his cousin. They had great questions, they made comments, and it wasn't just teaching a lesson...we were teaching youth. It really taught me that, the future of the church is in the youth! These youth are going to take the church to unimaginable places! 

Elder Jara is from Uruguay...in Uruguay, they are obsessed with drinking Mate (that drink that is made from herbs, hot water, and is drunken from a metal straw). Literally, they walk everywhere with a thermos full of hot water and they drink all day. Haha, during our studies, we drank almost two liters of mate! It was SOOOOO good :D Haha! I had to use the bathroom all day though, but mate is really good for you, even helps you lose weight ;) 

This Sunday, I, J and C all received temple recommends so hopefully we'll be able to go to the temple pretty soon. Also, J. was able to bless the sacrament and C. prepared and passed it today! Super cool! :) Experiences like these and responsibilities like these are going to help these converts stay active for forever :D I'm way stoked for them!!!!!

Answers to my mom's questions:

Medical care in Santiago...from what I've heard, the hospitals and doctors here in Santiago are the best in South America. It's probably because Santiago is the most advanced economically, technologically, etc. Anyways, I've never had to go to the hospital but if I did need any medical assistance, I would first go to the mission doctor and he would send me to the hospital if it was necessary. 

Haha, there are some things I haven't told you mom...best if I tell you when I get back home ;)

Elder Frost and Elder Thomas... It's weird that they are leaving because they are the first companions that I've had in the mission that are going home. I talked to Elder Frost the other day and we just couldn't believe that it was over now and how it seemed like he had picked me up just the other day. It's going to be weird getting a new companion. I don't really want to get a new companion who is older than me in the mission...mostly because I don't like having to kill (or end the mission with) a companion. Elder Thomas' parents are coming down to Chile and are going to be visiting people and sight seeing for about a week. Elder Frost is going home right off! Yeah, I'm just going to stay here and get a new companion!

Anyways, so that's it for the weeek :D Haha, thanks for everything guys! I love you all, talk to ya'll next Monday!!! :D

Elder Bushman

Elder Jara from Uruguay..Fun Guy - This is us on divisions

These guys are so dead (meaning done with their missions)

"The Boys are BACK"

 Zone BBQ:

88,000 Missionaries Faithfully Serving the Lord. And One of them Belongs to ME!!!!!

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 22: I've Been Drooling Over the Cap'n Crunch all Week!

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow, what a week! It was filled with lots of stuff what with my birthday and everything and teaching investigators and fulfilling responsibilities. First, I want to thank my family for the wonderful package and presents that they sent me! Seriously I was very happy on my birthday!  I had a great birthday. It didn't even feel like I was turning 20 but I woke up on my birthday and was just thinking as I was getting myself some mate. Haha, my companion made me pancakes, we opened my presents! Elder Thomas and I are loving the mini basketball hoop...we've already done some 1 on 1 matches :) haha! I've been drooling over the cap'n crunch all week! I've eaten about half already and even the other gringo missionaries in the zone are jealous! :D Thanks so much for the photos, the other food and stuff, etc! :D I was very happy with it all thanks! We had district class that day so everybody celebrated a little bit! :) Elder Rice was so awesome and gave me a tie for my birthday! Haha, he's awesome, LOVE HIM! That day we didn't have lunch with anyone in the ward so Elder Thomas and I decided to go home and make the corn bread I had gotten. We cooked it and spread some melted butter on top and it was DIVINE. Seriously, we baked it to perfecction!!! Golden brown! We also ate the cookie dough...all raw! JUST HOW I LIKE IT ;) Hahah!  Later that night we taught some of our investigators (C and J) and my comp told them it was my birthday so we celebrated a little bit and had once :) It was really fun and I was really grateful!

So we decided to do zone jerseys. There were a lot of ideas but Elder Deal wanted to do a design like a shirt and tie. I was a little skeptical but to be a good sport I decided to support it and everything! THEY TURNED OUT AWESOME! We got the tag on the front, a tie, and the collar looks just like a dress shirt collar! :) Hahaha, they look awesome! 

Our investigators are doing well. We've been dropping some investigators who aren't progressing at all but those who are committed have really been stepping up. I and M are doing well. M has been wanting to be baptized for AGES! She believes the Book of Mormon is true, she loves going to church, and she loves learning. I has dropped tea and she is reading the Book of Mormon a lot! They didn't go to church on Sunday so that worries us a little bit. C and J went to church! C went in a shirt and tie so that was cool! Everything is going well well with them and I'm confident they are going to be baptized on the 7th as planned!!! :D 

Anyways, that's the update for this week! Take care everybody, love you!

Elder Bushman!!!! 

 

This was my desk that E' Thomas accidentally tiped over...haha!

These three photos are of our pension churrasco date! This is Elder Nelson with his Lomito!

Me with my Lomitos

My Birthday Cake courtesy of Hostess

Birthday Presents!

YAH!!!!!!!!

Corn Bread Models?

Our zone jerseys! :D

We played a little basketball last monday! Here's a photo of me!

Here's a photo that Elder Nelson took of me before district class on my birthday! Mom, you can use this as the photo in the front room! The tie is kinda like the colors you chose!

District class on my birthday! :D

"Who the Lord calls, the Lord will qualify. When you're on the Lord's errand, you're entitled to the Lord's blessings." - Thomas S. Monson

Yr 2 - Week 17: Sunday, a Day of Miracles

Dear Family and friends, 

What a week! It was a really sweet week and lots of cool stuff happened so I'm just gonna jump in right away!!!

So this week I went on divisions with Elder Deal, another elder in the zone. He was the missionary I replaced in La Florida 3. He trained Elder Muzante and I went to be Elder Muzante's companion right after Elder Deal. Anyways, so it was pretty fun and interesting being on divisions with Elder Deal. One of the coolest things from divisions was a sweet experience we had with a less-active youth in the ward. He is the only member in his family and it was pretty neat to talk to him. He asked us some questions about the WofW and we taught him a bit and then invited him to obey it. He accepted the invitation immediately and for some reason I thought to ask him if he had the priesthood. He asked us, "what's the priesthood." We explained it to him, provided a few examples, and then showed him a mormon message about priesthood blessings and being prepared and worthy to give them. At the end we asked him what he thought of the priesthood and he said that it is a really beautiful and sacred way to serve. We invited him to talk to the bishop the very next Sunday and to ask for an interview so that he could get the priesthood. He was really stoked and he said he would instantly. I thought to myself, this kid is 16. In two years he can be ready for missionary service. He needs the priesthood to begin to prepare. I wasn't sure why I asked that random question at the time but now I'm so glad I did because I guarantee it was guided by the spirit :)

So a few days before I came to this sector, Elder Thomas and his old companion Elder Hill contacted a guy on the street named J. He invited them to eat lunch in his house and to talk for a while. They couldn't find him again so when I got here we passed by a few times without finding him. We finally caught him at home once and we talked for about a half an hour. He is REALLY AWESOME. He loves the United States and loves speaking and learning English. He is really religious though doesn't belong to any specific religion. We explained our purpose, what we are expecting in our visits with him, and what he can do himself. He loved it and was absolutely ecstatic to have us in his house. We left him with the pamphlet on the Restoration and we set up a new visit. Elder Thomas and I are pretty sure he will be baptized fairly soon, he seems really prepared :)

Our pension is absolutely SWEET. I cannot believe the amount of luck I've had during the mission. I've had just awesome pensions!!! It's an actual house, it's two stories, and the second story was just built about 2 years ago. It was the house of a member who just moved out of the ward. Elder Thomas and I sleep and study in a big room upstairs with just a fabulous bathroom, really it's spectacular. There's a really big kitchen and living area downstairs. It's about 4 times as big as my last pension and maybe twice as big as my first. Easily the best pension of the three that I've had!!! :) I took lots of photos of the house :D We live with Elder Nelson and Elder Canedo! Elder Nelson is from Idaho and he was actually in the group I came down with to Chile. He was Elder McGary's companion in the MTC. Elder Canedo is Chilean from Osorno, in the south part. He is a convert of almost three years. He finishes the mission at the same time as Elder Thomas. They're sweet!!! :D Geographically, my sector now is maybe 1/3 of the size as my last one and about 2/3 the size as my first sector. We work in pure condos. There are about 5 big condo areas where we work and have a lot of investigators. As far as the ward, there's no ward secretary so Elder Thomas and I fill that role. There are a lot of good members, lots of good youth, and I was received with a very warm welcome. Also, there are many people to teach and we're going to have lots of success. Geographically, La Reina is the northmost zone of the three. If you go down south two comunas (communities) you reach La Florida. La Florida and Puente Alto touch, but both are really big comunas. Our ward is in Puente Alto but I would say that the distance between La Reina and La Florida is smaller than La Florida and Gabriela. 

Sunday was a day of a few miracles. The first miracle was a family we are teaching, JC and his wife I. and their three kids. We taught them about how the gospel blesses families and we invited them to church. They said they would go but at church, even a half an hour into sacrament meeting, they still weren't there. Finally, they walked in and we were soooooooo stoked. They went to the classes and though it was really hectic I think they liked it. We went to the elders quorum and we started talking about priesthood keys. Kinda a tough subject for an investigator in his first time in the chapel. However, with the help of some members and the missionaries we had an entire elders quorum class on ordinances, the organization of the church, and other things related to these subjects, ALL guided by what he was interested in and what questions he had. It was really a great class!!! The second miracle was L, the husband of a member who is not a member himself. Elder Thomas had been teaching him a lot but he seemed really disinterested and uncommitted. This Sunday at church and in our lesson with him yesterday, he showed some real humility and a lot of desire to change and be a new person. He might actually be ready for his baptism date on the third of August. 

That's everything for today, take care guys, love YA'LL!!! :D

 

"No man or woman can teach the gospel if he doesn't live it. The first act to qualify yourself to be a missionary is to live the principles which you teach." - Harold B. Lee

Yr. 2 - Week 10: They Invited 40 Friends and it was PACKED

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, the baptism and Sunday was the biggest thing that happened this week. The week was so calm and I wasn't stressed about the baptism at all. Our ward mission leader was awesome, he took care of the font, the program, etc. The ward had a lot of support, especially the primary who did a special FHE at the G. house on Monday about baptism. Anyways, Sunday was awesome. There was a great turn out at church and one of the members in the ward brought her friend and so we sat with them. It was fast and testimony meeting and the member bore her testimony which was awesome. Also, J.L. (C. and L's older brother) bore his testimony and lots of the primary and youth did the same. It was SOOO AWESOME, probably the best testimony meeting I've been in!!! The spirit was strong. 

For the baptism, the G's invited about 40 friends and it was PACKED. Most of them weren't members so it was even cooler. President and Hermana Wright came and just loved talking with the members and the G. family. They asked us all about our story and it was really neat. The actual ordinance was fantastic. Afterwards, L's friend said, "Man I wanna get baptized like that!!!" Then he asked me, "Is the water warm?" I said yes. "WOW," he said. We are going to start teaching him and his mom. Also, while waiting in the foyer. I saw a mom and her son walk in look around a big outside and then start to leave. I had never seen them before so I stopped to talk and she and her son M. were so interested that they said we could share a short message with them another day :) It was sweet, we'll see how that goes. L. and C. are so happy, it was great. We were talking to J. and he said to us, "Well Elders we did it... Now let's start to work!" :D YEAH BABY!!!! 

In the next few weeks we are going to be doing a play for missionary work as a ward. The youth are helping us do a play about the Plan of Salvation. It's pretty sweet so far but we'll see how it goes. We're applying a lot of cool ideas :) 

Elder Muzante and I are looking for more investigators. We are contacting, asking for references, and doing anything/everything possible to get some new investigators. Hopefully some of the G's friends and some other possibilities that we have will turn out so that we can get the ball rolling :D

So I got the package! THANKS SO MUCH! I love the calendar, I already hung it up! I'm learning to do the Rubiks Cube with one hand ;) We've been enjoying all the treats and thanks so much for the letters! I appreciate it so much family, for the sacrifice it is to send me stuff like this!!! You are the best, LOVE YOU ALL!

Anyways, that's pretty much our week! Things went well :) We're stoked for this upcoming change now that today is changes and we are staying...obviously! :D

Love you all, BYE!"!!

Elder Bushman

 

The Package Finally Made it!

Easter - Six Weeks Late

FYI - The yellow stuff is mayo (Ughhh)

Dinner is Served

Baptism Day!

The G. Family

My Pension

 "Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not an effort of once a week or once a day. It is an effort of Once And For All."
. . . . . . . .~ Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Yr. 2 - Week 4: New Sector and New Companion

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, the big news of the week is that I received a call from President Wright on Friday night saying I was heading to a new sector and receiving a new companion. I'm now in the ward La Florida 3, stake La Florida. :) I'm really excited! My companion is Elder Muzante, from Peru. He is 25 years old, he has 5 months in the mission, and I'm his second companion. This zone is really awesome, I'm in the same zone with Elder Rice and Elder Holsclaw (two of the guys from my MTC group! I'm also with Elder Wilson, Elder Gowdy, Elder Skousen, Elder Vorwaller, and others. Just REALLY great missionaries :) I feel as though it will be a powerhouse zone these next few changes! :D

This last week was a pretty good week. We had a lot of lessons with members, we really stepped it up with working with the bishop and our ward mission leader. Haha, it was really funny, in sacrament meeting, the second counselor said, "Well now we are going to give a little time to Elder Bushman to bare his testimony since he will be finishing his mission." I got up there and said, "I hope nobody goes to the temple because I'm not going to be there." I was trying to say in a funny way that I was not going home... But after the meeting, more than 10 people ran up to me and said, "Oh my gosh, I cannot believe you are leaving, how did you mission end so fast?" Etc.  etc.! Haha, I had to tell them that I was not going home but just to another sector! :) Hahaha! 

We used the "Because of Him" video a lot this week to teach about the Resurrection. We taught the M. family the Plan of Salvation using the video and the pamphlet. They understood it completely and it was awesome! We also shared it with a completo shop owner and he really loved it, saying he was going to check out mormon.org and stuff. 

Anyways, there isn't much else to report on account that I am in a new sector, without photos, and I haven't even hit the sector yet. But, things are great, I am excited, and we'll see you next week! Take care, love you all!

Elder Bushman

 

"Sharing the gospel brings eternal rewards. That is the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ, to labor without a salary, to labor without the comforts that we sometimes have at home, but to labor for the salvation of the human family, to bring our Father's other children to a knowledge of the truth." - George Albert Smith

Yr. 2, Week 3: We Need to Make the Lord our First Priority.

Dear Famiy and Friends,

Wow, this week was a little strange in the fact that we had a tough week as far as lessons taught goes but at the end of the week I felt really good about it and very pumped up :) Before I get to some of the things that happened during the week, here's some thoughts from my sweet mother's email:

So the big fire in Chile is NOT in Santiago, but Valparaíso...like 2 1/2 hours away! So we are safe from it here but it is really tragic :S We're really sad for these people and also the people from Iquique (seriously like 1,000 kilometers away, we didn't feel anything) where the big earthquake was... So about missionary work online, honestly, that is the mission president's least concern, he's not that big into it. I doubt we'll be doing it during my time in the mission. When we are in people's homes, we always make it a point to say hello to everyone at the meal, or the lesson, or when we drop by a house. We always try to talk to the youth and help them out and stuff.

We had a really cool experience this week. We had been visiting the A. family for quite some time and Elder Kern and I were feeling that things just weren't going to work out with them. They weren't keeping their commitments, they skipped out on appointments, and left members hanging on visits as well. So, we stopped going by. This week we got a call from Hermana A. asking us why we didn't go by. We told her that we didn't think they wanted us to continue to pass by. She told us to pass by her house. So we did and we shared the story of Martha and Mary and why we need to make the Lord our first priority. We were a little forward with them but we were honest in that we said that we nor the Lord could make a difference in their lives UNLESS He was their first priority! They committed to going to church and we were really praying they would show up. Church started and they weren't in the chapel. The sacrament started and they still hadn't showed up! But the sacrament ended, and guess what...their family walked it :) YEAH!!!! Several members went up and said hi to them. They said they liked it and we were feeling really good about them!! :) It was truly a miracle!

Yesterday, in addition to the normal meetings at church, we had the Chapel Openhouse for the other ward. We still participated and invited a lot of people to it! Our investigator family went to it and really enjoyed it. Elder Kern and I had previously invited them to be baptized but they avoided the invitation; but after our presentation on baptism, they said they had A LOT of doubts and questions cleared up about why we are baptized and what it is that baptism does :) Hopefully that will mean significant progress soon!! Also in the openhouse, we did a presentation to a woman who has been inactive for 20 years. For some reason, the presentation took the angle of the gift of the holy ghost instead of baptism. She said she still remembers how she felt when she received the Holy Ghost. She said she wants to feel it again. Then a sister from the ward mentioned baptisms for the dead so I asked if she had ever been to the temple... She said no. I asked her if here grandparents or great-grandparents were members... She said no. Elder Kern and I invited her to come back to church after 20 years next week and to talk with the bishop about receiving a temple recommend to go to the temple and do baptisms and confirmations for her ancestors. She agreed :) We were so ecstatic :)

So this week we had a great correlation meeting with our ward mission leader, Hermano A.! We talked a lot about our investigator families and we are really excited to involve the ward with these people so that they go to church and enjoy the blessings of the restored gospel :) We are also going to be receiving two assistants to the WML, a guy who will head on his mission in one year and a recently returned missionary from Brazil. :) We're really, really excited!!!!! :)

Anyways, this was just a small portion of all the MARVELOUS things that happened this week :)

Love you all, take care!!!

Elder Bushman

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

Yr. 2, Week 2: 17 Cookies and 2 Liters of Chocolate Milk

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, conference was downright amazing!!! :) I loved every, single talk and I was just so inspired, especially by the talks from the priesthood session and from saturday!! :) I had brought two questions to conference and both were answered during the five sessions. I loved Randall L. Ridd's talk from the priesthood session. He talked a lot about how we need to use the internet for good. There were many things that he said in the talk that I want to implement when I go home. Henry B. Eyring's talk from the priesthood session was outstanding. He talked about being an example of priesthood heroes. I was really impacted and I want to be someone's hero of priesthood service and worthiness :) Our plans for General Conference went great! We made about 70 cookies and divided them up between us four in the pension. I ate like 17 cookies and drank two liters of chocolate milk myself to finish off saturday. Sunday rolled around and the gringo family in our ward made us four 24 cinnamon rolls!!! It was pretty fetchin' awesome and we still have some left :D YES!!! Conference was amazing and I'm sad to think that I only have one left in the mission...I'll be home two in a half weeks before next year's April Conference.

So we saw L. this week. It has been quite up and down for him lately. He is reading the BofM a lot and praying every day. He also accepted our baptismal invitation but was sick so he didn't go to conference. Also, he said he might move back down to the south of Chile because things aren't going too well up here. We are going to be having a FHE tonight with the N. family, so hopefully everything goes well there and he will stay in Santiago and progress...if that's the Lord's will :)

So here in Chile, the men shake hands, give a hug, and then shake hands again. I'm so accustomed to it that it is COMPLETELY automatic. Also, the women give eachother kisses/hugs, and people of the opposite sex give eachother a kiss...it's REALLY awkward when a woman who doesn't know the mission rules comes in for a kiss and we just stick out our hand... :) HAHAHA!!!!!

Well, that's about it for the week! Chao!!! Love ya!!!

Elder Bushman

“You’ve prepared for this for millennia.
This is your moment to perform.
This is your four minutes!
The time is now!” . . . . . ~ Pr. Bishop Gary E. Stevenson

Yr. 2, Week 1: He is a Chosen Investigator

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow, what a week! It was a good week, all things considered :) I am very happy to say that I got the family package :) YEAH!!! I am loving the music, although my companion Elder Kern is already sick of it...haha, but he is very patient! I've pretty much already eaten all the candy you guys sent me, it was very good!! :D I'm so very grateful for the journals, I've been trying to catch up on a few things that I've been short on! The dog buzzer/taser is fantastic!! Elder Osbon tries to use it on me...? :) Haha!!! All in all, fantastic! So the weather is starting to change ... finally! It's been quite cold these last few mornings and the temperature during the day isn't too hot. 

We have the coolest plans for General Conference. We all bought TONS of chocolate milk and tons of materials to bake cookies!! We're baking homemade cookies to eat during the sessions and we are going to order Papa John's between sessions!!! :D We are going to watch General Conference in English as much as we can. We are trying to invite everyone we can to go but we want them to sit with the members instead of us. Hopefully it works out! We are teaching an inactive returned missionary (went to Australia) and he accepted our invitation to go to G.C. He's coming with us to the priesthood session and said he wants to watch it in English! :) WHOOT!

Update on some people: that lady, N. who was a reference we got turned out to live in the Hermana's sector. I'm okay with that because the Hermana missionaries there are AMAZINGLY good and they are also in my same district so they keep us updated. Apparently they went by and N. was expecting my companion and I so she was quite confused... The sisters explained that they heard that she listened to a message from a few elders. She said yes!! The sisters said, "From Elder Bushman." The sister missionaries said that she was like, "Yeah, Elder Bushman" and then she let them in on the spot and now they are teaching her. I was really happy when I heard it!! :D The lady in the Netherlands will be there until like the start of June so I won't see her for a while.

So an amazing experience we had was with a guy named L. The Sunday before last Elder Kern and I were heading to an appointment we had when all the sudden this guy yelled, "Hey, give me something to read." He was sitting down on the inside of his front patio and was drinking and smoking. We gave him a pamphlet and started talking to him. He said he has felt really alone and with no purpose at all. I asked him, "What do you think your purpose is here." He said straight up, "I don't know... I feel like all I do is work." We explained a little bit of the nature of God and who we are as His children. We said we would explain more later and passed by the next day. He was so much happier when we passed by and we explained lesson 1, the Restoration and helped him understand that he can have eternal happiness if he follows Christ. He accepted a BofM and prayed with us. We've tried to teach during the week but he was always busy until we stopped by on Saturday and had a good lesson with him. We talked a bit about the Book of Mormon and the Holy Ghost and how we can know that this message is true. He again prayed with us and accepted our invitation to go to church. He didn't go (I assume he had to work) but we also invited him to be baptized when he knows that this is true and he readily said, "Yes I will." :) We truly believe that he is a chosen investigator and a man that God has been preparing for a while!! We're excited to see his progress.

One of the biggest things I am learning right now is who I want to be when I get back and what I want to do. I have a vision of myself magnifying my calling, sharing the gospel with people at work,etc., studying the scriptures faithfully, using my time on Sunday wisely, etc. I really want to go home converted from my mission, I know it is essential that I do, and I want to make sure that I am converted to what the mission taught me. That is the biggest lesson so far I think. 

 

Here in Chile, everything is pretty much double the cost of things up there in the States. Food is EXTREMELY expensive. A one liter carton of milk is like $1.50... Personal care products such as shampoo, soap, detergent, etc., is just a lot of money. I'm able to cover everything with what I have but in general things are expensive here. Some differences between here and the states are the fact that there are security guards in every grocery store, we have to tip the baggers, there are TONS of drunks just wasted in the street. Also, in the states we have to go to some sort of grocery store to get certain items, but here, you can get most everything you need from small little stores called "almacenes" that people just open up from their house. There is usually one within a two minute walk from your house. The construction of the houses is poor because most people do things themselves. If you want the job done right, you gotta pay big bucks to get a real workman to come in. Anyways, those are some small differences :) Haha! 

 

I've pretty much decided that I'm going to study business when I get home, get a masters with it, and a minor in Spanish. We'll see how it goes, but I'm ready! :D

Anyways, that's the letter for the week! Keep living guys and I love you all!

Elder Bushman

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 48: I'm Staying Again

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, today was changes and ... ... ... I'm staying again :) WITH my same companion! I'm going to remain with Elder Kern until April 21! This is my 8th change in my first sector and this is the MAX amount of time to be in your first sector so next change I'll be moving to a different sector; I just won't know which one until next change. Anyways, this also marks 5 changes with Elder Kern! :) We are excited because we will be together for General Conference again and be able to help a few more people hopefully get through the repentance process and partake of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Anyways, things are really good here. I'm grateful for another change in my first sector and we are looking for great things this change! Last week was a great week and I pray that it is the preview for our change! :D

So before I get to my letter I just gotta say that, no mom, I have not gotten the package yet. I'm not sure if it is still in CorreosChile or if it is in the mission office. No, I don't know. Hopefully on Wednesday I will get it :)

So as I said, this was a good week! We were able to have about 3 times the amount of lessons we had in the previous week and we really saw a lot of progress from people! We have several investigators who are on the point of progressing and breaking out but this week we only had one. A few months ago we were teaching a guy named F. He started to get busy with work so we hardly passed by at all for a long time. This last week though, all of the sudden, he has started showing a lot of interest and we were able to meet with him a bit. In the first lesson we told him that our goal is to help him repent and we explained how we repent and how it blesses us. We asked him what his goals were and we talked about how repentance makes those goals come to a reality. We've had several great lessons since then but the biggest success has been on his own. This week he has read through the first 5-6 chapters of the Book of Mormon, praying every day, constantly thinking about his goals and how he can follow Christ, and yesterday he went to church for all three hours. When we stopped by his house he said that he had just the BEST experience in church, that the members were so friendly and so happy to hear about his progress! He said he felt like a regular member!!! Yesterday we taught about the plan of salvation but showed the Mormon Message "A Secure Anchor!" We talked about how Christ is our companion and if we don't have him, we WILL fall. We talked about Christ's mission and how He will save us if we do our part, but only AFTER we do all we can do. At the end of the lesson he said that he doesn't want us to call him our friend anymore, but rather our brother. :D He is truly going through a great repentance process and if he continues down this path, he could be baptized and confirmed this change. :D We are taking him to the V's house tonight for a lesson!! Hopefully everything goes well!!!

So here are some answers to the questions for this week: we haven't been able to work with D. at all because he moved back to Peru and he won't be coming back! Elder Kern and I are both sad but from all accounts it seems like he is doing well! :D We usually have lunch with several different members but when the members can't do it, we cook. And if there is no man in the house of the member, we go and pick up lunch. We haven't had any church tours except for last week when we had the Capilla Abierta, or the Open House for the Church. It went really well and we got a lot of references from it so hopefully those can work out! 

 

About two weeks ago we had interviews with President Wright. It was a good interview and he talked about how as a mission we can get even better at being obedient and he challenged me to be exactly obedient. We are working on it! We have zone conference this weekend and I am going to be participating in a musical number with two other elders. :) Hopefully it goes well! We are blessed to have access to the Liahona in English and Spanish! We usually just use them for studying but we also give them to investigators or less active members. We have been able to use the Bible Videos a lot and they are really powerful! We showed them to a less-active member and talked about the mission of Christ. He got so emotional and committed to going to church with us :D The average person in our sector for a man is a middle aged man in construction work clothes (type thing) but for a woman it is a middle aged woman or young girl pushing a stroller with a baby in it. Lots of people here in our sector work in construction or different types of factories. The employment rate is high but the jobs don't pay a whole lot. Chile has a large middle class but the difference between the middle class and the high class is HUGE!!!! 

 

Most people take public transportation in our sector but there are still a lot of people with cars! Yes I get enough to eat but I'm still losing some weight! I weighed myself today and I weighed 69 kilos, one kilo less than like 3 weeks ago... I'm like 152 pounds and I came on the mission at like 155 I think!... We just finished an English fast that lasted 40 days. During that whole time we planned and only talked in Spanish. Now, we are just going to be talking Spanish when we are out in the street! This week, the trial I experienced was probably teaching the zone class with Elder Schwartz. His companion is leaving and on the day of zone class he had to be in a meeting so E' Schwartz called me up and asked me to help him teach the class. I was quite stressed and we were running around a lot but I was able to overcome it through lots of prayer and accepting the Lord's will...

Last night we had a crazy experience. We went to the house of a future investigator. The wife wasn't home (we were going to meet with her) but her husband was there so he let us in to talk for a second. I went to the bathroom real quick when we went in, but I could hear this man asking all sorts of in your face questions to my companion. I left the bathroom and he was asking us questions, basically trying to find fault in the doctrine and in the church. We shared the message of the Restoration for about 15 minutes and invited him to read the BofM and pray. He said that he would have to talk to his pastor. I told him that was fine but before making any decision he should pray to God for an answer and a confirmation of the truth of what he would read. We continued asking questions but we kept just trying to turn everything to the Restoration and how we need to gain of testimony of it. Throughout the whole lesson I felt as though the Spirit was guiding our words and actions and everything. We were only able to answer the questions and "not be confounded before men" because we were following the spirit and teaching simply. I'm not sure what will happen with the family but I know we testified with the spirit and that he felt it. We'll see but I'm glad we chose to testify in the conversation instead of intensify the conversation.

There were many other great experiences but these are the ones that stand out! Anyways, take care, love you all! Talk to ya'll next week :)

Love,
Elder Bushman

P.S. Here is a photo of a SICK dessert we made as a pension! Ice cream, a huge brownie, and a huge sliver of a big nobake cookie!!! :D TO DIE FOR!!! 

"A missionary's spiritual preparation will be strengthened by better family home evenings, by improved teaching in the Aaronic Priesthood and auxiliary organizations, by attendance at seminary and institute, by going to the temple to be baptized in behalf of the dead, by encouragement to read the Book of Mormon." - Gordon B. Hinckley