Year 2, Week 13: Super STUPID Idea

Hello Family! How is everyone??

This week has been pretty good here on my end! The RedSox won the world series so everyone is excited here!

This week has been full of exchanges. Elder Fragoso and I didn't realize how quickly the transfer had gone so we hadn't planned any exchanges until last week so we went on 3 exchanges back to back to back and have another one tomorrow:)

Soo. Tuesday was an exchange with Elder Church! He came over to Worcester and we worked here in the Spanish program. Elder church has been on his mission for 23 1/2 months and is going home on the 9th of November! He talked a lot about his experiences throughout his mission and what he has enjoyed.

We had ZERO things planned in the day so we made lots of phone calls with people and tried to set up times and places for us to come by. We met a family from Ecuador who was taught by missionaries in the past. They weren't progressing so missionaries stopped teaching them. They said we could come over on Friday so we'll see if anything good turns out for them.

Elder Church is also the District Leader so we talked a lot about his District, what they are struggling with, and how he can help them. It was a good exchange. 

The next day I was on an exchange with an Elder named Elder Shkapich. He is from AZ and has been out for about 2 transfers now. He is a Spanish Elder so it was fun working with him. Framingham, MA has a huge Portuguese population so we talked to tons of Brazilians in Spanish and they replied in Portuguese. We communicate pretty well that way which was cool! Elder Shkapich woke up sick so he slept a little while longer so we didn't have tons of time to do stuff but we made good use of our time! It was cool:) he is a great missionary.

Next exchange was with the Assistants! They came over to our area for the exchange. Because it was a Thursday, which is weekly planning day, we had them sit in and watch us plan, give us tips, etc. It was good! We then went to work!! Elder Fragoso and I started an English Class with the church's self reliance program. On exchanges, we met a family from Columbia! We knocked on their window and told them who we were! They said we could stop by and asked if we had an English Class! Just so happened that we did! They didn't come to it because of a conflict but they said they wanted to come to church and be in the class! We are excited to work with them.

And boom! That's the end of exchanges! It's been a long week but, the week isn't over ;) 

So.. Elder Fragoso and I had a super STUPID idea. Saturday morning, we thought to ourselves that we wanted some doughnuts!! So... We each bought a dozen doughnuts! Haha:) then... Being the boys we are, decided to also buy every item off the Taco Bell Dollar menu! Haha:) so, on Saturday, I ate 10 doughnuts and 10 items from Taco Bell. Literally never have felt so sick in my life! Super disgusting. That night, took some Body Cleanse and Apple Cider Vinegar! Sunday morning was rough for us!

O, S & R got called into work so they weren't able to come to church again. It was pretty sad. They can still be baptized on the 10th of November but.. It still was sad. 

We met two guys randomly on the street who just so happen to work in Polar Beverages with our members! So we will be teaching them soon! 

Overall! Great week:) 

Love you all

Elder Bushman 

With the Assistants

Year 2, Week 12: They Want the Blessing of Eternal Life

Hello Family! This week has gone by super fast! Lots of stuff happened but I don't even remember half of it. Let's see...

Monday night we spent trying to look for a less active family with unbaptized children. Their phone number didn't work so we were passing by their house. We knocked and a kid named A. answered. The family that we were looking for wasn't there but we went in and started sharing our message with some others. A., his mom, S, her boyfriend, J., their cousin J and L were all there. J. invited us in to share a message with S., they then asked the entire household to join in. They pulled J out of his room to listen. 

They listened intently and wanted to learn more about the church. They asked about where and when our church met and if there was transportation to get there or if someone could pick them up. They believe in God, and the Son as their Savior.

A. offered the closing prayer; it was really good. He gave lots of thanks... thanks for the trials in his life that make him strong. His mom said as we left that that was the first time she'd ever heard him pray out loud! It was a super sincere and cool prayer. 

Elder Fragoso and I forgot to order more supplies so we had zero Book of Mormons, so we didn't teach the Book of Mormon. We need to teach them that next time! When we came back later in the week we had more stuff. We were able to teach the Book of Mormon and share what it was. We invited them to pray and ask to know if it was true.

Last week I talked about J, J, S, M & M. We had a lesson with them this week and they told us that they are looking for God and don't believe he is in churches. They shared how they wouldn't go to church for 3 hours and that they know everything there is to know. It was pretty sad. Instead of being angry or annoyed, all we felt was love for them and knew that they just needed sometime. We committed them to read and pray and left.

We started teaching O, R & S about the Commandments. Since they started working on Sundays we first taught Sabbath day. They shared that commandments are just rules so we helped them understand it was also to show God we love him and to get blessings. They understood. They want the blessing of eternal life! 

Hno. Jimenez, one of our members, bore strong testimony. He works on Saturday nights from 8 to 5 in the morning and comes to church at 11. He has a super strong testimony that church attendance is key. They enjoyed that. 

When we brought up baptism, O & S smiled and said they were still excited to prepare for baptism. They knew what it meant and the blessings it would bring! 

The spirit was very strong, after 1 Nephi 3:7 and that O. agreed to talk to his new boss and get Sundays off.

C., the sister, shared she felt good and that she felt like what we were saying was true. S.  said that was joy she was feeling because they were gathered as a family. C. mentioned it was the Holy Ghost.

We stopped by a man who had been taught in the past this week! It was super cool. His name is A! He shared with us that he has been looking for a church but hasn't been able to find one. He has felt the Spirit but feels that he loses the Spirit and goes back to his old ways. He wants to get married so his daughter can grow up in a family. He has cancer and so it's hard for him to come to church! 

D., his wife, and R., his niece, joined in after. D was open to receive the message but A. is still hesitant even though he has read from the Book of Mormon, but feels the need to continue reading and searching.

R&D, didn't say much but they seem open to our testimonies and the blessings we promised. A. was open to our testimonies but not so much to logic. A. has some misconceptions about the time-line of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. He is a little confused from misunderstanding past missionaries. But we are trying to help him!!

We fasted this week with R, A and Hermana L so that she could have custody of the kids! They said that it was hard for them to do it but they resisted all the food and treats that were placed in front of them. R and A said that they didn't like doing it but did!

When we talked about following the Prophet, they told us some of the responsibilities of prophets and that they were willing to follow him. 

During our discussion of following the law, A. said that she didn't think that obeying the law was a commandment but once we said it was she quickly said that she changed and believes that is a commandment.

During the Word of Wisdom, R and A quoted back to us the 5 things we aren't supposed to put into our bodies. They said that the reason we shouldn't take those things is because we aren't smart and we can be addicted. The are such smart kids! Hermana L. said that R shouldn't be drinking Coke because it's against the Word Of Wisdom! Hahaha! We cleared that up! 

They accepted all commitments and said they would live everything!

We had some other appointments and such this week! It was a good one.

O, S and R's car broke so they didn't come to church:( they won't be able to be baptized this month.. :/

All is well here! 

Love you all! 

Elder Bushman 

 

 

Year 2, Week 11: Ahh! It's the Greatest!

Hello Family! This week has been pretty good. Let's see... What has even happened?? We had a cool experience that will be further detailed below. Happy Birthday to Eden! I know I'm super late but I'm trying:) I can't believe it's already half way through October! It's super nuts!

So O, R and S! The lesson went well! S. remembered a lot from Conference and understood the 2 hour church change. O&R fell asleep during it and missed most of it. They liked what they saw but couldn't tell us what happened. 

During the lesson, S. explained to us what faith was, O. explained what Repentance was, and R. explained to us what Baptism was. They all understand those three things so it was pretty easy to teach the Doctrine of Christ!! 

S. said that they would continue reading with R. We downloaded the Book of Mormon app on their Phone so they could listen to it.

O. got a new job at a Mexican Restaurant. He works as a chef. They didn't come to church because they worked this Sunday. They may not be getting baptized this month if they can't quickly change the schedule and get back to church with a commitment to come every week.

They are doing well however! They are fun to teach because they grasp everything very quickly!! 

R and A! We taught them the Plan of Salvation and started teaching them about the Commandments. They are 11 and 12 so they shouldn't have any major problems but it's still possible. R. wasn't understanding the importance of Church, Pray, and Read so we applied to Fortnite! R. said in Fortnite, you need weapons, materials, and medicine to survive. We said that church is where we get our medicine from the Sacrament, materials is what we read in the scriptures, and our weapon is prayer. It helped it click for him. Thir mom's divorce didn't go through so she doesn't have custody on Sundays so they can't come to church.

We had an awesome lesson with a family this week! M, J, J, S, M

We knocked on their door, they let us in! 

We taught them the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! It was great! We haven't taught a lesson like that in a while! We usually schedule appointments for the future so we can have members and such! 

First it was just three of them.  As we taught about the church of Jesus Christ S asked where it was based and where it is now. She resonated with the idea of the Church today! 

M had a beer at the beginning and said she couldn't stop drinking because it would go bad, but, after the opening prayer she felt the spirit and asked her husband to take it away! Haha! 

Half way through M. walked in with J. M. asked them to join; they both did which was pretty surprising! Usually people come and go and don't care to stay. J. believes in Christ as his Savior. 

S. gave a wonderful closing prayer with some help in the beginning and end, all we did was ask her what she would tell her Heavenly Father, she gave lots of thanks. 

J. M and S. all acknowledged they felt the spirit. We told them they would keep feeling it as they read and prayed

We had another lesson with a man named V. and A. from the Dominican Republic! 

A. believes strongly in God. He is a God-fearing man...he knows the purpose of the commandments and has a desire to follow them, he has been separated from a church for a while and we told him now would be a perfect time to come back! He had some confusion about which Church Christ left behind through Peter. He didn't understand that Peter led the Church of Christ and not some other church. 

A. knew that Israel used to be God's chosen people, he now knows that those blessings are freely given to all through baptism in the restored Church!! He accepted our baptismal invitation and so did V! 

V whipped out a dusty old BoM at the end of the lesson from when missionaries taught him years ago! 

When invited to pray and read for an answer, A. said he wouldn't ask... Until he fasted to receive the answer, he said that through fasting we receive answers from God!! They are incredible! 

Alex gave a wonderful prayer at the end, in proper order, just needs help to say the ending 100% properly! 

It's incredible to see what people already know that is restored truth! When we teach further truth, it's so easy for prepared people to accept it! I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. He lived and died for me! I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God and that the Book of Mormon is an inspired writing. I know that our Prophet, Russel M. Nelson is a Prophet! I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can change people's life because of His Atonement and Ransom for our souls! 

I love being on a mission! Being a missionary is a great experience that I wouldn't trade for the World!! My favorite part of missionary life is teaching! Days without lessons are the worst!!! When I first came out, I never wanted to teach because I thought it would be boring and scary. Ahh! It's the greatest! 

Not much else to report! I love you all!! 

Elder Bushman 

 

 

Year 2, Week 10: We had 7 People Watch Conference

Hello Family!

This week has been pretty good! Lots of stuff going on and happening. Biggest news is that General Conference happened. We had 7 people watch conference. Some came to the church and others watched from their houses. It was a great day! I will be honest. I thought a lot more stuff was going to happen so when President Nelson got up for the last time, I was expecting a BOMB to drop. 12 new temples is awesome but I was expecting a little more.

Other than that, not a lot happened this week. We spent most of our time in some meetings and really trying to get people to come and watch conference. A, R, O, and S all watched it so they are still looking good to be baptized on the 27th of October.

We had several meetings this week as well. We met with President Mavromatis, Sister Mavromatis, the Stake President, the High Councilman over the Ward Mission Leaders. We talked all about what the plans for the Stake are and how we can help accomplish those goals! It went great. 

We had a Mission Leadership Council as well. We were there for hours and I skipped the lunch they had! We talked a lot about what things are happening in our mission that is causing lower results. Over the past 4 years, our mission has averaged 34 baptisms a month. The highest in the East! This last couple of months, it is has declined to 15 baptisms in the month of September. We talked about why this is happening and set in plans to achieve better results through higher obedience and more consecrated actions. Our goal is to have 26 baptisms in our mission this month. Our Zone is looking like we will be able to help 13 people get baptized! We are really trying to stretch ourselves and read that goal! Other than that, not much has happened!

Sorry for the short letter! Love you all!!

Elder Bushman

Year 2, Week 9: They Love the Book of Mormon

This week has been great! Lots of awesome things are happening!

First off, A and R! This is a super cool story from last week but I wasn't sure how awesome it was going to turn out but it turned out great! 

One day, Elder Fragoso and I were calling all the less active men in our records. We called the number of an 18-30 year old male named T. When we called, it went through to his mother and we talked with her. T is actually a child of record but was never baptized at 8. So we were wanting to teach him. We found out that she has 2 more kids over the age of 11. When we got there, they were home and we taught the 2 kids, not T, about the Restoration. Hermana L, the mother, said that the reason her 2 kids haven't been baptized is because her husband and her are going through a divorce and he has custody on Sundays and never wanted them to be baptized. On Friday, they have a court date to finalize the divorce and to change custody schedules so her kids can come to church. Sooo... We happened to call a week and a half before this and set up times. If everything goes the right way, they should be coming to church for the next three Sundays and will be getting baptized on the 27th of October. 

O, S and R are some other guys we are teaching. They were telling us before we started about reading in the Book of Mormon about Nephi killing Laban. They love the Book of Mormon. We had a great lesson about the Plan of Salvation. We talked about why it's important for them to know everything that they know. Super Awesome lesson! Then, yesterday, they all came to church. During Gospel Principles we asked S and O how they know that there is a God. O said that the missionaries called just at the right time. They hadn't heard from missionaries in over 5 years and then all the sudden, one day, we call! He said he found God when he was in prison for 15 days and knew that we weren't a coincidence. Super awesome story!! Then, after we taught O, S arrives from the Dominican Republic to be with his brother. So it all worked out because God is amazing and blesses people. We have a lesson with them tonight! Its going to be super good.

We had a special Zone Conference this week with the Area President, President Bennett. He is super awesome and helped us identify some of the things that is holding back our success. Some of that list includes, a lack of focus on Preach my Gospel, not effective time usage, not having enough faith, etc. So that was awesome! He was super loving and awesome! He told us that an Apostle said that in our area, tens of thousands of people woke up that morning willing and ready to except the Gospel. All we have to do is be obedient, work hard, rely on the Lord, and keep trying. It was super awesome!! 

Because of this meeting with President Bennett, we are having a mission leadership council this Thursday! We are super excited!!

Anyway, not much else happened! It was a great week. Love you all!!!

Elder Bushman