Yr. 2, Week 28: Here's the Catch...He's Not With me Right Now

Dear Friends and Family,

Well, Elder Thomas is getting into his grave and Elder Frost is adjusting the top on his coffin. I cannot believe that it's over for them. I'm happy that they finished the mission 100% and that they are starting another stage. But I'm going to miss them! :S

So I know you all are probably DYING to know about my new companion...well, that's actually quite a story. Now get comfortable, this is gonna take half your evening ;) Haha! So my new companion is named Elder Laurentino... He is from Fortaleza, Brazil! :) He was in the same zone as me in La Florida and was also in my district for one change! We did divisions and he is great. I love that guy! HOWEVER, here's the catch...He's not with me right now. Two days ago, Elder Laurentino contracted the Chicken Pox and is now just dying (because he's super sick, not really dying). The problem is Elder Nelson, one of our pension roommates, has never had the chicken pox. So, in order to avoid getting Elder Nelson also sick, they are leaving Elder Laurentino is his sector for two weeks until he is fully recovered and I am going to be with the missionary that is replacing Elder Laurentino for two weeks. So, a little about the replacement elder and in two weeks I'll tell ya'll more about Elder Laurentino: Elder Pirir. From Eagle Mountain, Utah. He has a few more months in the mission than me but he is a good guy, a little quiet, but funny and very pleasant. These two weeks are going to go by real quick with him!!! :D Anyways, I'm happy about this change. Elder Laurentino is probably going to be my last companion in the mission...I'm happy about that! :D Haha!

Responses to Dad's questions:

     The leadership positions in the mission are senior companion, trainer, district leader, zone leader, and assistant to the president. I have been a senior companion for most of the mission, I was a trainer for two changes when Elder Kern was my companion, I was a district leader for seven changes, and I am going on my third change as a zone leader. 

     I did get to watch conference, LIVE and IN ENGLISH! It was sweet, I really liked it. Like you dad, one of my favorite talks was "Which Way do you Face?" because it talked a lot about things that people say EVERY DAY here in Chile and he also came down here and we had a conference with Elder Robbins. I also LOVED Elder Holland's talk. It showed me that I can ALWAYS be doing something to lift the spirits of the poor and lighten their burden. I need to put them in Christ's shoes because Christ spent the majority of his life...homeless. There's a song I like called homeless and one of the verses says, "He came down to earth to lead us, I know He'll never leave us, Homeless, Homeless, For in His love there is a home."

Responses to Mom's questions:

     1. How many miles do I walk per day? ... Hmmm, in Gabriela, we probably walk 3-4 miles but in La Florida 3 we walked probably close to 6-7.

     2. I think my Spanish is doing pretty good. I'm almost finished with the practices in the book you sent me and there is another grammar book that I found burried in the pension and I decided to do the practices in that one as well. I speak well, I write well, I read well, but I don't translate very well. My goal is to be able to speak good, write good, read good, and translate good in Spanish. I have six months (kinda) to do it. I'm going to have a latin companion for the rest of the time so I'm going to try and get the most out of it as possible. I want to be able to get maybe a minor in Spanish at BYU and pair that up with whatever I'm going to be studying. I'm also going to try and get a headstart on Portugese with Elder Laurentino! 

     3. F. is still going strong in her testimony but N. is kinda having a tough time. F. says that her mom is getting better and in the near future will probably let her get baptized. Also, Elder Thomas and his parents are going to have dinner with their family Wednesday night so that also might help some things out :)

     4. It is starting to get warmer down here. Today was very hot but it's good. The winter wasn't too mild but I already knew what was coming so I guess that's why I didn't make a big deal about it :) Haha! This summer is going to be SUPER HOT though, I'm probably going to get home with a missionary tan :S

     5. I'm not sure if the vitamins made a difference... I couldn't really tell so for that reason I would say not to send another box. Maybe my body is beyond repair, maybe you need more than 30 days to see a difference, IDK... I feel bad that you sent me those and I didn't even notice the difference... Sorry :S

     6. I was thinking about Christmas and I think I would like it if you didn't send me anything. Use the money that you would've used on the package and the supplies you would've sent down and give it to someone less fortunate. Maybe you could put the money in the fast offerings, or ask the bishop about a struggling family, or buy things with it to give to people, IDK. However, I want to answer to someone's pleas just as Christ answers mine (Elder Holland). Then, give me a report for Christmas of what you guys did :) And, if you all send me sweet letters I would be stoked :D

Well, there's not much to report about. Things are going good, investigators are progressing SLOWLY, the converts are great, and I loved conference! Next one will be at home :S

LOVE YOU ALL!

Elder Bushman

Elder Frost Heading Home

Big V at Changes

Reunited with Elder McGary

This is Elder Frost's posterity: Elder Frost...Elder Bushman...Elder Kern...Elder Prens...Elder Brown                                                                                                             ...Elder Hulet

This is the four people that were in Consistorial/Violeta Cousiño and the Farias family from that sector :D

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 26: It Made me Really Happy

Dear Family and Friends,

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

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

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

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

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

Elder Bushman

 

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

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

Dear Family and Friends,

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

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

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

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

I love you all, take care!

Elder Bushman

 

Photos from the Stake's Independence Day Celebration:

 

 Anticucho barbeque

 Mote con Huesillo

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

 The Celebration:

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

 Scenery from the Quebrada de Macul:

Our Hike:

 Chilean Sunset:

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

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

Dear Family and Friends,

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

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

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

Anyways, thanks for everything everyone! Til next week!

Elder Bushman

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

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

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

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

Dear Family and Friends,

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

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

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

Here's an update on our future converts :D

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

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

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

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

Love you all!

Elder Bushman

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

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

Yr. 2, Week 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