Year 1, Week 4: The Prophets in the Book of Mormon are AWESOME

Dear Family,
 

First, shout out to MaKayla. Happy Birthday in 4 days!! Love ya:) 

Today is PDAY!! The Elders in our district woke up at 4:15 to bust out some laundry and get it out of the way for naps later in the day. I actually really enjoy waking up so early. Its ridiculous how much time is in a day when you wake up at 6:30 every day. I didn't believe good ol' paps, but, its easy to wake up at 6:30. Just get up:) Haha, love you all.

This week has been great. The time is starting to really run together and I'm not exactly sure what has happened. Let's start with Sunday.

Sunday was good. It's been hard to stay awake during sacrament meeting. During the Sacrament, I really try to focus on what the Savior has done for me, sometimes though, I fall asleep by accident. So, Branch President Rogers called me out for sleeping and told me I need to stay awake. President Rogers is one of the best men I have ever met in my life. He is Bold, but not overbearing. He will call you out if you aren't obeying rules, but then will tell you of his love for you. He is a great man and I look up to him greatly. During the Sunday night devotional, Kenneth Cope came and performed a musical fireside. It was fantastic. He is a little awkward though:) One of the things he said is very true, but a little weird. He says, "We are children of God. We have the same Papa. I believe God is very affectionate and loves to kiss. You are His boys. You are His girls." Once again, very true, but a little awkward wording... Anyway, we have been joking about that recently. 

Monday was good. We got some service done, exercise is great, and then back to class. I have really started to like the MTC but I am ready to get out into the field. 

Tuesday was great. Same stuff, class, lunch, exercise, but then Devotional. Weatherford T. Clayton and his wife came and spoke. He taught that We, as the Lord's missionaries, partner with the Father and the Son in bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. I really have thought of this deeply. We are not assisting the Father and the Son. We are PARTNERING with the Father and the Son. Its a deeper meaning than assist. He also taught that repentance is glorious. So many times in life, we get caught up with the feelings of repentance is hard and painful, which it can be. But, It is glorious. If our investigators can understand this, they will be changed forever. After the Devotional on Tuesday, we meet with our district and a member of the branch presidency to discuss it. One Elder brought up a quote he saw before the mission. "When we are drowning Spiritually, Physically, Mentally, or Emotionally, Remember, our LifeGuard walks on Water."

Wednesday was great. Meeting new missionaries is always fun and great! Nothing else has really happened. Just working on getting deeper into the righteous routines that Zak wisely suggested. 

Thursday was a pretty good day. On Thursdays, we have class from 8:30-11:30, then from 1:30-4:30. Its kinda intense but then, we have the rest of the night to exercise and study and hang out. 

Fridays are kinda the same. Nothing really happened.

I have really grown to love study the scriptures. I never was into it very much, but the prophets in the Book of Mormon are AWESOME! When I got to the MTC, I started the Book of Mormon over again just like the family. Right now, I am in 2nd Nephi 3. One of the things I really have studied is when Nephi is tied to the mast of the ship. 1st Nephi 18:16 say, "Nevertheless, I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all the day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions." 

When Nephi was in one of his lowest points he says, " I did not murmur and I did praise him all the day long." Wow, what a Man...

Anyway, sorry for the shorter letter. I'll send pics later. Love ya.

Elder Bushman

 

Extra Nuggets:

Spanish, I am learning a lot of Spanish but it is hard. There are 12 different tenses in the spanish language and crazy ways of conjugating them. But Ill get it.

 

Haha!! Spencer and his Heartland. Funny STORY READY!? Its Sunday night DEVOTIONAL TIME, and I'm chillin with my comp. and Elder Broschart and his Comp. Elder Broschart looks at me and says, "Hey Elder Bushman, have you ever heard of HEARTLAND?" I respond, "HECK YEAH!!" Elder Broschart says, "Holy cow, Heartland is the only TV show I've ever watched all the way through. I even got my mom to watch it!!" HAHA, Elder Broschart and I are so similar its so funny.

Grandpas letters are awesome!!! Thank you for those:)

 

 

 

"To know Heavenly Father and to understand our relationship to Him as our Father and our God is to find meaning in this life and hope in the life to come."

—M. Russell Ballard, "Like a Flame Unquenchable"

Haha! - Love this Photo

Some of the Guys in our District

Year 1, Week 3: I Have Been Called to Boston for a Reason

Time has really disappeared. Stuff happens that I thought was that morning, but was actually 2-3 days prior. I have enjoyed seeing many missionaries I know. Elder Brantley Johnson, Sister Brooklyn Holmes, Elder Harrison Wade, Elder David Cowley, Elder Ethan Peterson, Elder Alex Hill, and Elder James Hillyer. It has been nice to see familiar faces and know that so many people are choosing to obey the commandments. I'm looking forward to be able to see Sister Sarah Curzon in the MTC on August 30th. 

This week... So many things have happened. 

Sunday: Sunday's are always great because 1. Its a day of rest. 2. We don't have Spanish class, hence the day of rest. and 3. SUNDAY NIGHT DEVOTIONAL!!!OH YEAH! Because I have been sick and can't sing well, I haven't been attending the MTC Choir. Except, that will change this Sunday. The Speaker for the devotional on Sunday was M. Russell Ballard. So far, we have listened to Elder Bednar, Jenny Oaks Baker, Elder and Sister Sitati, and now, Elder Ballard. Elder Ballard taught that the Lord has His way of Placing people when and where He wants them. I have realized that I have been called to Boston for a REASON. What that reason is. I still, do not know. He taught that missionaries have a spiritual message of great importance and conversion always begins with what people feel. Elder Ballard was fantastic and was a real answer to my prayers.

Monday: Monday started with service. I was assigned to sweep the stairs, mop the stairs, and then clean toilets in the Men's Bathrooms... Let's say, I would prefer to clean toilets at home;) After service was exercise and class. Mom, when you all came to the MTC for the tour I was in class. As you were walking by all of the flags into the last new building. I was on the 5th floor, east side, studying Spanish. I would have loved to see all of you but it wasn't meant to be. Not much happened on Monday other that receiving a package from Mom that was much appreciated. I'm grateful for everything you all have done for me.

Tuesday: Tuesday was a pretty exciting day. Here at the MTC there is a thing called TRC. It stands for Training Resource Center. At the TRC you receive an investigator to teach. Many of the investigators are members, but some are non-members or less active members. Many of these investigators have been baptized because of missionaries in the MTC. Mine and Elder Gibby's investigator is a lady by the name of Ana Galvis. She is from Columbia. Her Grandfather is an Evangelic Priest, or father is also Evangelic, and her mother is Catholic. She is investigating the church because she feels something is missing from those churches. One of the best things to ask all investigators is..."What do you expect from us as Missionaries?" This encourages the investigator to tell us why they listened to us. We can then, base our first lessons off of what they need to hear, for Example. Ana wanted to know what was different about our church then others. Elder Gibby and I taught in the first lesson that 1. God loves her. He knows her. He cares about her. And He wants her to be happy. 2. That because God loves us He sent His son to die for us and that is what sets us apart from other churches. 3. We taught that because God loves us her, He called a man named Joseph Smith to restore the Gospel of Jesus Christ on earth. We also explained how that was done and read her the first vision. 4. We invited her to pray that night about the things we had taught her. In the lesson the spirit was strong and we knew she would keep her commitment to pray. Later that day was Tuesday night Devotional!!! OH YEAH!!! Elder Neil A. Anderson of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles Spoke. EVERY DEVOTIONAL HAS HAD A GENERAL AUTHORITY SPEAK!! Elder Anderson taught that the mission field would be hard and tough, but to "Never let anyone or anything extinguish my flame of faith." Elder Anderson also talked about how setting Goals makes us 10 times the missionary than if we don't set any goals. I have really come to love devotionals. 

Wednesday: Wednesday was great because we got to teach Ana again. When we walked into the room I knew that it was going to be a good lesson. We asked her how her day was and all the boring chit chat at the beginning but finally got down into the meat of the lesson. We asked her if she kept her commitment to pray about Joseph Smith and Heavenly Father. She said she DID!!  We then taught her about the importance of the Book of Mormon and how it can really bless her life. Elder Gibby and I both testified of the power of the Book. We gave her a copy of the BOM and committed her to reading it. We also extended the invitation for her to follow the Savior's example to be baptized. She said, "There is still more I want to know about your church, but if I feel the Spirit tell me to be baptized, I will." There is still a lot that has to happen before she could be baptized but at least she committed.

Thursday: Not much happened on Thursday other than class and study.

Friday: Friday we got to teach Ana again!!! WHAT?!?! It went great. We only have a certain period of time to teach her so, its hard to get everything we want to in. We talked for a bit when we walked into the lesson but than asked if she had read the Book of Mormon. She said, "Yes, I have read the Book of Mormon since you gave it to me on Wednesday." Great she read it!!! Then she says,"I have read all of the Book of Mormon since you gave it to me on Wednesday." WHAT??? I couldn't believe what I just heard. She may be a member of the church or she may be an investigator for real, but she said, "I read the Book of Mormon in 2 days." Anyway, she asked a bunch of questions and we answered some of them. She basically said I want to be baptized but needs more faith. When we go to our next lesson we are going to tell her that getting baptized is an act of faith and she needs to act on faith and put in work to receive a witness. Ana has been a great investigator even if she is a member of the church. Nothing else really happened Friday except class. 

Anyway, there is my short recap of the week. Love you all and will continue to pray for you.

Love,

Elder Bushman

The Traditional Map Photo

The Temple Calls

Elder Bushman with Elder Broschart

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!

The Desk and THE TAG

Elder Bushman with Elder Gibby (Companions)

Elder Bushman and Elder Johnson (Friend from AHS)

"One of my best friends at the MTC is Elder Broschart. We like so
many of the same things and are really comfortable around each other.
Because of this I told him that he looks like Elder Calhoun. He gave
me a picture to prove he is not Calhoun."

Beautiful!

Other Tidbits:

I do almost everything with the Elders in our district. We go to the temple, play sports, study, sit together at lunch.. etc. Every once in awhile we'll play kick ball or some other sport with the Hermanas. My Comp. leaves on September 13th. I leave one day before him. We got here on the same day. I did get a blessing because I was feeling sick. It seemed to really help. Also, today is the first time I have woken up not feeling sick since last Wednesday. I think I am now completely over my sickness.

"The Lord has answered that prayer in our day with the greatest number of full-time missionaries in the history of the world. With this new wave of faithful laborers, the Lord has given us another opportunity to assist Him in that great harvest of souls."

—M. Russell Ballard, "Following Up"

Tidbits, Sightings, Randomness

Over the last two weeks that Ben has been in the MTC, we've received some fun photos of friends who have seen Ben while attending the MTC openhouse, photos from other missionaries at the MTC, our own photo visiting the MTC (No, we did not see Ben while we were there) and also interesting tidbits from Ben that have not been in his regular letters. 

Playing Bball in the Gym - Photo by the Abel Family

Elder Hillyer and Elder Bushman (AF24th Warders)

"It's super awkward to take pictures with sisters. As you can tell" - With Sister Holmes

Elder Bushman with the Huhem Family (AHS-ers)

 

Visiting the Provo MTC for the Openhouse - No Sign of Elder Bushman

From Ben:

"All the Elders are jealous of my toilet paper!" (We sent him Charmin - he can't live without it)

"Love you so much mom. I don't know how to get that message across."

"PDAY..... hmmm... NAP!! and I'll study, clean my room, study, and then normal proselyting starts and 6 so I'll head to class." 

"That is Elder Broschart. He is probably one of my best friends. He loves Country Music, Trucks, Hates the Cities, Loves the Outdoors, and is just a great guy." 

"Overall, I am great!! Couldn't be better! Except I'm sick ;)"

"The food is working out great and yes, I got the fridge!! I haven't met any missionaries going to my mission except one but he is speaking the language of Haiti."

"Exercise is the best things of LIFE!!! It is so great to take some time off and just chill. It's great"   

"We become converted and spiritually self-reliant as we prayerfully live our covenants—through worthily partaking of the sacrament, being worthy of a temple recommend, and sacrificing to serve others."

—Robert D. Hales, ""Coming to Ourselves: The Sacrament, the Temple, and Sacrifice in Service "" 

Year 1, Week 2: I am Sick so I can Grow

This week has been hard here at the MTC. I have been sick with a cough, cold, runny nose, and sore throat. I took the OnGuard Pills right when I started feeling sick and it seemed to work for a while, but despite every thing I tried, I still ended up getting sick. It may have been a lot worse without those Doterra capsules. My testimony has really been attacked by Satan while being here. Why would God let me get sick while I'm trying to do His work? This question has popped into my head on multiple occasions but I know the answer. I am sick so I can grow. It may not make a lot of sense, but in my hardest time, if I am able to rely on the Lord, my testimony of Him will grow and get stronger. 

On Sunday of last week, my companion and I were in meetings from 8:30 in the morning until 10:10 at night with about 1 hour of breaks, including dinner, to space all of that out. Because the first Sunday here and it was Fast Sunday, we had extra meetings and things to go to. For our Sunday night Devotional we had the chance to hear the story of Jenny Oaks Baker and her family miracles and blessings. She told a story of how her mother passed away, but was able to be comforted in her greatest time of need. I know with the help of the Lord, I can also be comforted in my greatest time of need. After she spoke, she played numerous songs on her Violin with each of her children playing the guitar, cello, piano, or violin. It was a pretty awesome devotional and I learned a lot. After she ended, we were blessed with the chance to watch Characters of Christ by David A. Bednar, a Devotional he gave years ago to the MTC on Christmas morning. One of my favorite parts of that was his explanation on how to be a successful missionary. He says, "to be a successful missionary we cannot turn in to ourselves and become self absorbed. When we do this, we turn inwards and only look at us. When we repent we 're-turn' outwards and turn to the Lord. We must have charity and the pure love of Christ for our investigators to be successful." It's hard to love someone with a Christ like love when you only know them for a short time, especially when the investigator isn't keeping commitments or progressing. After David A. Bednar's talk ended, we were all surprised by him and his wife showing up and answering questions. I really love Elder Bednar and his Christ like love for everyone. 

Monday wasn't bad. We served in the morning and continued with normal classes. 

Tuesday night was another devotional. Elder Sitati of the Quorum of the Seventy came and spoke with his wife. He said a missionary's job is two things. 1. to invite. and 2. to help. In the purpose of a missionary it states: Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. All a missionary has to do is Invite and Help. The Spirit of the Lord does everything else. Elder Sitati then goes on to state how its not as easy as it sounds. We have to live in accordance to His plan and keep his commandments to have the Spirit with us. It was a great experience. 

Wednesday and Thursday was nothing exciting or special other than receiving packages from Aunt Kath and Mrs. Updike.I really appreciate the kindness and love shown to me.

Friday was great. Me and my companion helped with the tours in the morning. I saw, the Gaines Family, The Hilton Family, and Mrs. Wade. I worked the morning shift from 8:30-12:30. It's incredible how fast the time goes by. 

I am grateful for the package you sent me last week mom. The KETO food has been great and I feel Awesome! I appreciate all the letters in the package as well. Once again, love you all and can't wait to get to the field.

Love,

Elder Bushman

Elder Bushman's District (in part)

Elder Bushman with his companion, Elder Gibby

Elder Bushman's district (in full)

View of the new part of the MTC

Elder Byington and Elder Broschart

"The gospel teaches us to be happy, to have faith rather than fear, to find hope and overcome despair, to leave darkness and turn toward the light of the everlasting gospel."

—Boyd K. Packer, "The Key to Spiritual Protection"