How
is it going mom? Once again, the Elders in our district woke up and
4:15 in the morning to do laundry. It's hard right at first but then
feels great to be up and productive this early.
This
week I have seen tons of new people. I have seen Sarah Curzon, Ben
Mcmillian (However that is spelled), Shawn Young (Friend from TAMS), and
Callie Rogers (I actually haven't talked to her, but I've seen her.) I
continue to see and talk with Brooklyn Holmes, David Cowley, Ethan
Peterson, Isaac Yamada, Harrison James, Taylor Anderson, and Brantley
Johnson.
I
haven't met any missionaries going to my mission, but I did receive my
travel plans and I am the Travel Leader. Basically, I hold the hands of
the other missionaries and make sure they aren't dumb. Entonces, there
are several missionaries in my group that are traveling. There is one
Elder named Jonah Peterson that I met on Instagram who is going to
Boston English Speaking. I'm excited to meet him for the first time. I
will send pictures of my travel plans so you know everything that I
know.
As
stated up above, I have seen Sister Curzon. I haven't had a real
opportunity to talk with her, but we did take pictures and chat for a
couple minutes. I'm looking forward to a time when we have dinner at
the same time and can really talk.
Yes,
I did get the package. Will you please send me all the family member
emails? Uncle John, Aunt Karla, Stephen, etc.. I would love to write
them a thank you note for their kind words.
Ethan Peterson is going on his mission to Houston South speaking English. He was supposed to fly out on Monday
but has been delayed and still doesn't know when he'll go. The Elders
and Sisters in my district who are going to Houston North haven't heard
anything about being delayed. Especially because we got travel plans
with flights. It is possible they could still get delayed, but from my
knowledge they're good to go. I have heard and seen some pictures of the
devastation in Houston. I heard about the temple flooding and water
hitting roof tops. Not much else. If you so desire, I would love to get a
news update because I can't check KSL like I used to;)
That
is super exciting for Josh Newman. I'll keep him in my prayers. I'm
sorry you aren't feeling well. Haha, when you said that Spencer is
eating corn dogs I had a vision. Spencer is in his blue basketball
shorts, with a white undershirt, having one foot up on the barstool or
the kitchen table bench dipping his corndog in BBQ sauce:)
Sunday:
First,
Elder Bird was released from DL and Elder Broschart was called as new
DL. During Sacrament meeting I was awake the whole time. The rest of
church was good. Elder Gibby and I taught a lesson on the Book of
Mormon. We basically just thought of questions to ask the group of
missionaries and led a discussion on why the Book of Mormon is
important.
Funny and kinda taco story.... I walked into the Cafeteria for dinner and a guy at the cash register looks at me and says:
Guy: "you have a very soft face."
Me: "um... thanks..."
Guy: "I really like it."
Me: "um... thanks..."
Guy: "where did you get it?
Me: "um... my parents..."
Guy: "do you know anything about traits and genetics?"
Me: "um... no..."
Guy: "yeah, most people don't really know where they got there traits from, so I was wondering if you did."
Me: "ha...ha....um... no... I don't..."
Me: *run away*
After that awkward experience, we had Sunday
night devotional. The Managing Director of the Missionary Department
came and talked to us about our missions. To bring others to Christ.
After the devotional we went to see Tad Callister's talk. He talked about
becoming a consecrated missionary. It was a great experience and I
really learned a lot.
Monday:
Monday
was an exciting day!! During exercise time a few of us Elders were
playing basketball. Elder Bird, old DL, got the ball in the post, and
jumped in the air to make his lay up. On his way into the air, Elder
Birds elbow hit Elder Gibbys jaw and Elder Gibby bit completely through
his lip. When we took him to the BYU health clinic across from the MTC ,
the doctor had him wash out his mouth, and water dropped out of the
hole in his face. Kinda crazy. The only nice thing about this experience
was... I got to ride in a car for the first time in 28 days!!!:) pretty
exciting.
Tuesday:
Tuesday
was great. Nothing crazy exciting. When we taught our investigator
Constanza, who I personally think is a real investigator, the lesson was
pretty good. We tried to teach the Plan of Salvation, but she just
asked more questions on the Book of Mormon and then started asking
questions about where our prophets come from... it was tough.
Tuesday Night Devotional was great. Here are some of my notes.
- We are called to gather the elect. That is our purpose.
- It is important to have a testimony of our Savior. The testimonies of others can only take us so far.
- If I don't have a strong light and conversion about Jesus Christ. Get one.
- Teach Repentance and Baptize Converts.
Devotionals are the best. Before the mission though, I HATED Devotionals. Now, Devotionals are fantastic.
Wednesday:
Wednesday
was Awesome!!! When we taught our investigator Constanza, we walked in
and asked if she has read the Book of Mormon and prayed since last time
we met. She started crying and said that she knows the Book of Mormon is
true and she sees how it applies to her life. We then went on to teach
the Plan of Salvation and how because Christ suffered for her, He knows
her problems and she can rely on Him. One of the greatest things Christ
did for us is being baptized. We then extended the baptism invitation to
her and asked if she would be baptized on a specific date. She said she
wants to know more. We explained that getting baptized is an act of
faith and she will be blessed for following the example of Christ. We
asked her again and she said she will pray about it. We will know more
on Friday. That is our next discussion with her.
Thursday:
Thursday
started out CRAZY!!! I was talking with Elder Bird and I learned that he
grew up in Camarillo, California. I told him that is where dad grew up
and asked if he knew Burl and Char Bushman. He said no, so I left it
alone. Later in the day he was telling me about one of his best friends
who is coming to the MTC. JP Arbon. When I heard the name, i paused for a
second and then it hit me. I know the Arbon family. I asked if he had a
sister named Beth. I don't know how I remember that but... i did.
Anyway, Elder Bird knows all the Arbons, he knows some Beifuss's and he
knows John Troxell. Crazy right? Elder Birds mom is super good friends
with Paul Arbon. Elder Birds moms name is Michelle Barlow. Supposedly,
there are tons of Barlows all over Camarillo and they are all the family
of Elder Bird. Anyway, super small world.
After
that whole thing happened, we headed to exercise where Elder Gibby,
hurt himself once again. We were playing basketball and Elder Gibby ran
into some bleachers and bruised his arm super bad. He popped a blood
vessel in his arm. I'll send a pic.
In
our halls of our residence, the Elders hang flags of there mission.
Elder Broschart hung a Texas Flag. The whole MTC was notified that it is
a fire hazard and all flags had to be taken down. When Elder Broschart
brought it back in, Elder Byington said, "oh dang... there is a hole in
the flag"
I started singing immediately the following:
"There's a hole in my bucket dear Liza, dear Liza, there's a hole in my bucket dear Liza a hole.
Then fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, then fix it dear Henry, dear Henry fix it.
with what shall I fix it dear Liza, dear Liza, with what shall I fix it dear Liza with what?
with a stick dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, with a stick dear Henry, dear Henry a stick.
but the stick is too long dear Liza, dear Liza, but the stick is too long, dear Liza too long.
Then cut it dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, then cut it dear Henry, dear Henry cut it.
With what shall I cut it dear Liza, dear Liza, with what shall I cut It, dear Liza with what?
With an ax dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, with an ax dear Henry, dear Henry an ax.
But the ax is to dull, dear Liza, dear Liza, but the ax is to dull, dear Liza to dull.
Then sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, then sharpen it dear Henry, dear Henry sharpen it.
With what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza, dear Liza, with what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza with what?
With a rock, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, with a rock dear Henry, dear Henry a rock.
But the rock is to dry, dear Liza, dear Liza, but the rock is to dry, dear Liza to dry.
Then wet it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, then wet it dear Henry, dear Henry wet it.
With what shall I wet it, dear Liza, dear Liza, with what shall I wet it, dear Liza with what?
With water dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, with water dear Henry, dear Henry, WATER.
But I don't have any water, dear Liza, dear Liza, I don't have any water, dear liza, water...
Then fetch it dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, then fetch it dear Henry, dear Henry fetch it.
With what shall I fetch it, dear Liza, dear Liza, with what shall I fetch it, dear Liza with what?
With a bucket dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, with a bucket dear Henry, dear Henry, a bucket.
But there is a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza, there is a hole in my bucket, dear Liza a hole."
I thought mom would appreciate it:)
Friday:
Friday was a good day. When we taught Constanza, we again invited her to be baptized. She accepted our invitation to be baptized on September 30th.
She also committed to go to church and work on repenting. I really
believe that she is a real investigator. She has been great, but Friday was the last day we taught her. Also, on Friday we got our travel plans!!! Pictures of them will follow so you can have all the info.
Spanish
is going well. The reason Spanish is hard is because there isn't a word
for every English word. In English, if I was to say, "will you pray?"
It would translate in Spanish to, "Orará." That's it. One word for three
English words. Anyway, it's pretty fun to speak but hard.
During exercise time, Elder Gibby sat
out because of his injuries but that didn't stop people from getting
hurt. Elder Broschart was biking and then started running laps, he ran
hard enough that he threw up, Elder Painter was playing four square and
popped his arm out of its socket, Hermana Anderson was playing
basketball and passed out because she is hyperglycemic. Elder Bybee has
been sick since we got here, Elder Byington hurt his knee and ankle last
week, Elder Bird has TBD(Ty Bird Disease). It basically is stomach pain
that no doctor has been able to figure out. Anyway, our district is
pretty beat up:)
Anyway, There is a small recap of the week. Hopefully not too long:)
Love, Elder Bushman
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| Meme, courtesy of Elder Painter |
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| Fun Reunion with Sister Curzon!! |
"I testify to you that our promised blessings are beyond
measure. Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour
down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly
Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to
our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be
nothing in this world that can defeat us."
—Thomas S. Monson, "Be of Good Cheer"
