Year 2, Week 50: God is good. God is merciful. God is just.

Today is the final preparation day of my mission. It's incredible how fast time actually goes. I always say that things will never arrive but in reality, time passes so quickly it's so hard to actually keep up with everything. The mission has come and gone in a blur.. There were hard times, sad times, happy times, amazing times, emotional times, and every other adjective that could be used to describe the time spent in the mission field. I'm now thinking about Thomas going out on his mission or Spencer getting ready to leave. It felt like those days were so far away but in a matter of a few eye blinks, the time has arrived or is soon to be arriving. Haha! If you can't tell, I trip at the concept of time. 

I've had the wonderful opportunity to serve in the Massachusetts Boston Mission. I will forever be grateful for the people I've met here. I honestly, without a doubt, can say that my life has been changed. That sounds so cliche and every missionary says that but it's true. You learn, grow, struggle, laugh, and become the person God wants you to be while serving. Spiritual things never appealed much to me before the mission. I now can say that I have a testimony of the reality of my Savior Jesus Christ. He died for me. He suffered for me. He bled for me. He rose again for me. I am grateful and am forever indebted to Him for that. I know what it's like to feel guilty for mistakes. I also know of the sweetness of repentance and change. God is good. God is merciful. God is just. I know that to be true. I honestly don't know if anybody but my mother reads these letters but I encourage everyone to serve a mission. Whether you are 18 or 76 the mission is the place to be! Dedicating time to God is an incredible experience!

This week has been really really good! We had a great lesson with R. and O. We had some members there with us that shared wonderful testimonies! Both of them served missions and they were wonderful at helping us teach. We started the lesson with them just talking. All missionaries understand that when members just talk and get to know the people we are teaching, missionary life is good! Lol! They talked about work and parenting and what they have planned for the future, etc. It was great! We taught them the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it went super well. R. told us that she had looked up baptism in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and she said that she really like how we don't baptized kids until they are 8 and can choose. When we invited her to be baptized she said yes and that she was in complete agreement with the necessity of baptism. O. was hesitant and didn't say anything. The member said if he wanted to actually know if it's true he needs to read, pray, and come to church. It was a great lesson and our members helped a ton!

We had another great lesson with R. and V. and their family. They were able to come for a chapel tour and we had a Chilean family with us. We showed them the church and they thought it was great and really want to come. The only problem is he works. We are trying to figure out a way to get the wife and kids there while the husband works to get Sundays off. For right now that hasn't happened but we are trying. 

We also started an English Class and will have out first class On Tuesday at 7:30 pm. R. says he really wants to come to it so we are excited for that! We got a random call from somebody and started asking us about it. He said he was going to bring his girlfriend because he wants to learn. Hopefully we can have a pretty good turnout of people and try to start finding/teaching people that way. 

We also were able to teach M. this week. She still has trouble reading in the Book of Mormon and doesn't understand much of it. She also isn't coming to church so we will have to figure out what to do with that. 

We had some great member visits this week and are trying to help them share the Gospel. Nothing much to report with that yet! 

Well this week has been great! I'm doing well! I'm happy and excited! I'm excited to see you all this week! 

Love, 

Elder Bushman 

 

 

Year 2, Week 48: We are Trying!

This week has been very good. We had lots going on. We started teaching a new guy named A! He is the boyfriend of a less active member named K. We are trying to help her come back to church and so her and her boyfriend can be active. The problem we are having is he is not super interested. But his girlfriend, wants him to come and be active and have God in his life. So that is what we are working towards! We set up a chapel tour to help him feel comfortable coming to church, but he decided last minute that he did not want to come. We invited them to church but he didn't want to come either.. So we are going to see if he is just not super interested or if he is just uncomfortable and when he becomes comfortable he will be more interested? Haha we don't know! But we are trying!

We had a lesson with a woman named M this week. She was being taught by the sisters until she went on vacation for a month in February to El Salvador. She wanted to be baptized but then left on her vacation. We had a lesson and taught her about the Restoration. She didn't seem to understand a whole lot. We aren't sure how much she understood from what we taught but we are excited to help her. 

We didn't have a lesson with O. and R. this week. Their son has been sick so they weren't able to come to church. 

We had a lesson with R. about the Plan of Salvation. We decided he needed to know about it before we worked on him getting work off to be able to come to church. He also really wants to go to an English class so we are working on setting that up. As we were teaching the Plan of Salvation, he realized how important obeying God's commandments is. He mentioned how he needs to more fully keep them so we are really excited to have a lesson with him.

Nobody was able to come to church this week. Elder Skordas and I gave talks. They went really well! I talked about the blessings we receive from the Gospel, the importance of sharing it with our friends and family, and some steps to doing so. Lots of members commented on it so it seemed to be good! 

That's the week! 

I love you! 

Elder Bushman 

 

 

Year 2, Week 45: Have You Found Brazilian Food?

This week has been a good one! Pretty tiring to be honest. Elder Oberman got here on Wednesday and it's been fun being in a trio with him. He is from Tri-Cities, Washington and has been out for about 5ish months. He actually started his mission in Hartford as well so it's been cool to share stories about our time there. It's an interesting dynamic being in a trio. Whenever one companion goes to the bathroom you always have someone else to talk with. Our transfer day was crazy though. President Mavromatis said he wanted missionaries to show up at 1:30 pm at the Weston Chapel and leave before 3:30 pm. Elder Skordas and I weren't going to go but President Mavromatis said he wanted to talk to me so we went. We were there until 4:30 when President could talk with me and when I walked up to him he said, "Elder Bushman, what can I do for you?" I said, "I don't know President... You wanted me to talk with you." he replies, "oh.. Are you doing good?" I say, "yes. I'm doing great!" he says, "OK good. Have you found Brazilian food in Cambridge?" and that was it! That's all he asked me.. Lol! We have no idea if he forgot or if he said it to the wrong person, but it was funny! As you can see from all the pictures I will send, it's been a tiring week. 

Elder Porritt, one of my old companions, went home this last week. He stayed with us on Wednesday night and we were in a 4 Elder. Elder Porritt and I went out that night to a lesson with A....it was a very interesting lesson. She told us a lot of dreams and things she has had and we just tried to explain that our message will help her more than anything else. She said she would be at church on Sunday but wasn't able to come. We aren't sure what is going to have to happen to help her come. We'll see though. Hopefully it was just something random and it won't be an actual problem for her to come.

We also had a really good lesson with R. When we got to his house he said that he had read 3 Nephi 11 and had written a summary of what he had learned. When he read us his summary and he hit all the right points. He understood that the voice spoke thrice and they didn't understand until the last time, that Jesus Christ came down and administered to them, that He called a prophet and gave him the  authority to baptize and lead the church. It was a really good lesson. R. works on Sundays and so he isn't able to come to church but that is what we are currently working on. We invited him to be baptized and he said that he would like that. We didn't plan a date because he still isn't able to come to church but he said that is his goal. It was a really great lesson. We are excited for him and his family. He said he would read 3 Nephi 18 when Christ institutes the Sacrament and write his next summary. 

We had a really good lesson with R. and A. as well. R. prayed right before she read the Book of Mormon and then flipped to a random page and read. She said she received an answer to a question that she had. We also talked about 3 Nephi 11 and she understood a lot. She speaks English as well as Spanish and so she reads well and is able to understand what things are saying. We invited her to be baptized as well and she accepted. We invited her to be baptized on June 29th and she said she would pray about it. She didn't want to accept a date and be a liar if she didn't make it. They also said they would come to church but something came up with A. and he wasn't able to go. R. really wanted to however so we just need to work with him.

We had a couple other lessons this week but nothing too exciting. We have began teaching several people but haven't had return appointments with them. Our biggest struggle is that nobody is coming to church. Maybe they aren't prepared? Maybe their excuses are valid and we need to give them more time? Maybe they need something else? Haha! These are the questions us missionaries have on the daily! I need to do some more praying to find out!!

Well I love you!! Have a great week!

Elder Bushman

Year 2, Week 44: We are going to be a Trio for 2 Weeks

Hello! This week has been a great one! Let me share a few events from the week :)

On Wednesday, we had lesson with a family that we had met several weeks prior. We met him and got his info but kinda forgot about him. Several days later while making calls we spoke with him and set up an appointment. Neither of us could remember who he was. When we got there, him and his wife both came in and sat down to listen. We began with a very comfortable conversation talking about there lives, when they got married, where he works, etc. He works Sundays which is a bummer but we have dealt with that before! Lol! 

We talked a little bit about why they are interested, what they already believe about God, if they are religious, attend church, and other things of that nature. They are from El Salvador and said that being here in the States is a huge blessing from God.

He seemed to understand prophets very well! When we talked about the Priesthood he said, "so if you don't have it then you can't lead God's church." We promised lots of blessings to their family and other things in their lives because of our message. He said he went to church as a child but hasn't gone a lot lately, he knows it's important however.

They accepted the invitations to read and pray with enthusiasm. He loves to read and promised he would read 3 Nephi 11 before our next visit. He also wants an English Class so we will probably be setting up one this week! His name is R. and she is V. He works so they weren't able to go to church. 

We had another lesson this week with a lady named R. Her friend is a recent convert here by the name of A. We are teaching A's mom and now is a friend! We met R. a couple weeks ago and finally got a meeting set up for this past week. We got to know them a bit. As we taught, she seemed to understand a lot. She is fluent in both Spanish and English. When people speak both they always understand better. We taught in Spanish but she really understood! 

While teaching and explaining the Apostasy we asked if she has had the question of, "why are there so many churches?" she said that she has had that question for a long time and didn't know why. She said she wants to know the truth! Super cool lady! 

She prayed before we came over that she could have wisdom and have an open heart to our message. When we read in the Bible she said she followed the counsel in James 1:5 without even knowing! 

She said she would be at church if A. went and A. said he would! Turns out, something came up for A. and he wasn't able to go but was very apologetic about it. So hopefully next week we will be able to get them to church. A. was also supposed to get his mom there so that was a little sad.

We were supposed to have lessons with several others this week but they got canceled. D. had to work, A's mom got sick and went to the hospital, others got called into work and some just weren't there at all!

We got transfer texts this week as well! Elder Skordas and I will be staying together! We are getting back a Zone into our mission June 21st and lots of missionaries needed to be placed in trios until then, so we are going to be in a trio for 2 weeks! Elder Oberman, who is an English missionary will be with us for the next 2 weeks starting on Wednesday! That'll be super fun! 

Well :) love you lots! 

Elder Bushman 

Year 2, Week 43: Be Like the Donkey!

The weeks just keep going faster and faster! Pretty unbelievable. Let's see?? What happened this week?

The English Elders found a lady named A. and referred her to us. We called her and she explained how she has been super depressed. She has 5 kids but they want nothing to do with her. She can't work due to some situation and she lives by herself. Super sad life. We went over to her house this week with a member named Hermano Paredes. We went with the intent to teach her the Restoration but we just talked with her about some of the things she is going through and how the Gospel can help. Elder Skordas told a story from conference about how if a donkey falls in a well, the owner pours in dirt, the donkey shakes off the dirt, and slowly climbs up and out. But if the donkey doesn't move, the dirt will bury him. She really related with that! She said she wants to get closer to God and be like the donkey! She called us a few days later because she had some questions about what she was reading in the Book of Mormon. We talked with her for a half hour on the phone and have another appointment tonight with her. She wasn't able to come to church because she went to the Bronx to visit her uncle, but she referred her uncle and wants missionaries to visit him.

We also met a man named D.. He originally called in to the mission office and asked for us to come visit. He has an aunt who lives in Lima, Perú and she told him to reach out to missionaries. We went over and he has so much desire to come to church and learn more. Unfortunately, he just started working 2 jobs that require him to work on Sundays. We taught him the Restoration and he really enjoyed it. When we pulled out the Book of Mormon, he asked if he could see it before we could explain anything! That was really cool. We have an appointment with him on Wednesday that we are excited about! 

We had a cool lesson with a less active family. They are love the church a lot but aren't able to come to church because of their work schedule. They have had kids that went on missions though. We met with them and were able to give a report back to some of the branch leaders who were asking about them. Hermano Lugo, is his name, is the campaign manager for a guy who is running to be the next president of the Dominican Republic! So when I told him that I want to visit someday, he said he would hook me up with places to sleep and recommendations of things to do! Haha! I feel like I have more contacts in the DR then I do in New England!

We had an appointment with E. I. wasn't there, she was working. E's cousin, A., was also present. A. belongs to the Seventh Day Adventist church and had problems with us going to church on Sundays. Elder Skordas said that when Jesus was resurrected it was on a Sunday and so in remembrance of that, we worship on Sundays. A. said, "what? You just don't understand the Bible." I explained how Christ fulfilled the law of Moses which instructs the Saturday Worship and he says, "there is no such thing as the law of Moses. It's God's law." haha! So that was interesting. E. doesn't seem as open to us anymore. We are a little bummed that that happened and his cousin wouldn't take a Book of Mormon because he has his Bible. So we aren't sure if anything will progress with them.

At the end of your mission you receive a program called My Plan that talks all about setting goals and such for your future life after the mission. There are 6 sections so I started the first one this week so that if I do 1 a week, I finish the program 1 week before I go home. The first activity you do is go through your patriarchal blessing and write down thoughts you have, you then circle words that describe you and underline phrases of things it tells you to do. After doing this, I came to the realization that all the instructions fit into 3 categories. 

1. Be a missionary for life. 

2. Be a husband and father like my own. 

3. Get an education. 

So my new priorities in life will be these three things. (how do you like them apples, Paps? Not the tard plan anymore, eh?) 

Well that's about the week! It's been a good one! Love you

Elder Bushman

 

 

Year 2, Week 40: This One Will Make it Valid

Wow! This week has been a good one! Cambridge is such a cool place! I love it here!

When Elder Skordas and I arrived here, not much was happening. The past missionaries had been teaching a lot of guys from a barbershop who weren't progressing at all. When the sisters would call them, the guys would set up appointments but when we call, they weren't interested. So this week has been continually working through the people already there so that we can get a hold on all the people we are working with. 

Before last Sunday, we had set up a lot of appointments with people. We had about 13 teaching visits scheduled for this past week! 8 of them canceled but the ones that happened were super great! 

E. and his wife, I., are doing the best! We taught E. for the first time last Sunday night so about a week ago. We began teaching his wife on Tuesday night and also had an appointment on Saturday. In our appointment on Tuesday, he kept his commitment to read in the Book of Mormon and she had listened to the audio that we sent him. That was cool that she had already listened to the Book of Mormon before we came. We read from 3rd Nephi 18 and talked about the importance of coming to church. A couple days before this, I had a realization about something that we believe as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Other churches attend their churches so that they can fellowship others. We talk with countless people every day who say, "I don't think you need a church to have a relationship with God. I know I should be going to church to fellowship others, but I'm just to busy but I have God with me. I don't need to go to church." I realized that they go for others! To talk with their friends, fellowship others, maybe serve some veggies at the luncheon afterwards, but as members of Christ's church, we attend for all those reasons plus for ourselves. We go to church for us. We go so we can become clean from our sins, repent of wrong doing, more fully take upon us the name of Christ, and always remember Him. So to get to the point of all this, we taught E. and I. about how church is for them. They can receive strength and a deeper desire for God. They can have blessings and happiness in this life. This clicked with them and they said they would be at church! Right at the end of this lesson they asked if we believe in Hell. We explained a little bit but said that our next message would be focused on the answer to that question! 

On Saturday, we taught about the Plan of Salvation with our branch mission leader there. They didn't read because they hadn't found time but were making time on Sunday so they could have it read before our next appointment on Tuesday. 

We talked about the premortal life and that made sense to them. We read 2 Nephi 2:22-25 and it clicked that the fall of Adam and Eve is God's plan, not their failings. This literally blew the mind of E. He sat on the couch just staring into space and saying, "wow.. I didn't know this. I always thought they were just bad." haha! It was funny how much we shocked him! 

We talked a lot about how THEY can progress in this life to prepare to meet God. They said they want to go to Church but can't this Sunday but will be there for the next week. E. walks dogs for work and all his clients dogs are at his house. He said he can't come to church because he can't leave the dogs at home. We talked about baptism and E. said that he would get baptized but I. didn't really answer. Haha E. couldn't really understand why he needed to be baptized again and then his wife said, "E., you didn't take your other baptism seriously and so that one was a joke. This one will make it valid." That totally helped him out and he understood! Lol! These 2 lessons were really good and the Spirit was strong! 

We didn't have any other appointments this week with nonmembers but we visited members and they shared everyone they could remember who had been at church. We now have a list of names from the past of friends who came to church. 

Sunday, after church, President and Sister Mavromatis came over for lunch. We talked about our area, the vision for people, what he can do to help us, etc. Etc. It was super cool! He was here fore about an hour and a half. 

Well! That's the week! Elder Skordas and I are going to go into the city and find something cool to do! It's been a great week! 

Elder Bushman 

 

 

Year 2, Week 39: The City of Cambridge

Well! This letter is gonna be short and sweet! Because we just got transferred here nothing much has happened. We got here on Wednesday and went out into the city of Cambridge. There isn't a lot of Hispanic areas within walking distance and so we talked to many English Speakers. It was cool to be out in the city though! 

 

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were calling everyone in our Area Book. The sisters before us never stopped teaching people with interest even if they showed no interest. So our area book said it had about 350 people who were interested. That was definitely not the case! We were able to set up a lot of appointments and clean out that a lot. We know have a bigger handle on who is actually interested in our message! 

 

We did have a good lesson on Sunday night with a guy named E. He was in the area book and we called and set up an appointment. He has some religious background but doesn't know what churches believe. He only has heard Bible stories. As we were teaching the Restoration, we asked him what he wants most in this life. He said he wants to stay on God's path and he wants to be happy with his family. 2 things the Gospel will bring us! We testified of how the messages we share can and will bring these desires to him if he acts. It was really good! We have another appointment with him this week! 

 

Sunday was also cool because we were able to meet a lot of the members of our Branch. The sisters said there was about 30 people active and our branch leader said 40ish but at church there was about 72! It was really awesome. We don't know who has come to church in the past because a lot of things got messed up for our area with the missionaries moving areas and such.

Sorry for the short email! Not a lot of time and not a lot of events that happened! 

 

Love you! 

Elder Bushman