Year 2, Week 37: Do you Come With the Card?

Wow! This week has really flown by! We had lots to do which was really exciting. We started out by just working and trying to find new people to teach. We had some success meeting new people but nothing so far. I went on exchanges with Elder Cheney, one of the English Missionaries, and we had some really cool experiences. There is man in the English Ward named Brother M.. He was baptized 20 years ago when he was about 50. His son, M. isn't a member of the church and his son, M. just passed away 3 weeks ago. To keep confusion down, I will call them. M1, being the member of the church, M2, being the son who isn't a member, and M3, if I ever refer to the sons who passed away. M1 has tried sharing the Gospel with M2 for years but M2 never accepted the message. M2 has had some drinking habits and things that have kept him from really having a desire to progress in the Gospel. Because M3 has passed away, that really softened the heart of M2 because he is looking for peace and comfort during this hard time. M2's wife, B., is also struggling with losing her first son, M3. M1 had shared with them the talk from President M. Russell Ballard where he talks about losing his wife and how he has kept his faith. M2 and Brenda said after reading that talk, they experienced peace for the first time since their son, M3, had passed away. M2 and B have a big interest in the Gospel because of this experience. On exchanges, Elder Cheney and I, met with them for the first time. Before even meeting the missionaries or coming to church, M1 had given them each, Books of Mormon, Gospel Principles, Ensigns, a Bible, Come Follow Me, and other church material. They al have been reading in the Book of Mormon and recounted what they have learned to us. They have a ton of questions that they started asking and it started moving our lesson in a crazy direction, bouncing back and forth between topics, so we just used our first lesson to talk about how they can't learn our whole message right away. It will take time and many meetings. We discussed how the only way for them to find out the truth is through prayer and scripture study and they need to be Diligent in it. We set the expectations of what we will do and what they need to do. They commented, "we know that this is the true church because it makes sense. All the other religions don't make sense."M2 then said he used to drink 15-30 beers a day and that he felt like he should give it up so he has been sober for 4 weeks now. Just stopped cold turkey. B. said she used to smoke but has given that up as well. Haha! Wow! Let me tell you, they are the most prepared people I have ever met in my life! I talked with the other missionaries and they came to church and had a second lesson with them!

Elder Shkapich and I met a guy named D. and his wife K. about 2 weeks ago. We taught them 12 days ago but haven't had much contact with them because of his brother who got sick and her work schedule. For work, K. leaves for 5 days to live in the house of a woman she takes care of and then she returns the next week. D. hasn't answered our phone calls either so we thought we were just going to have to stop teaching them. But, we called him on Saturday to invite him to church and he said he would be there. Church started and he didn't show up. 15 minutes in, he walks in with a member and sits down with her. We just thought that the member had been nice and showed him where to go but at the end of meeting, he gets up and hugs our branch president and then talks with another 3 or 4 members for a while. Turns out, he has worked with several members for years before they got new jobs, etc. So hopefully him knowing members will really help him along. We had a lesson with him that night and he had told his wife how awesome church was and that she needs to repent for not coming! Lol, she was working but said she would come next week. We talked a lot about how we need to read and pray to get an answer and committed them to do it! So we are really excited about them. 

We went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders on Saturday and were both down in the New Haven area. I went on my third exchange with Elder Jowers and really enjoyed it. We had some lessons and met some great people to start working with. Elder Jowers and I met this one lady named M. When we gave her a card she looked at us and said, "dang!! Y'all are handsome!! Do you come with the card?!?" As we left Elder Jowers looked at me and said, "Elder Bushman... I'll be honest.. I'm a little scared to come back!" 😂😂 it really takes serving a mission to fully understand how many interesting people are in the world! They all just need the message of the Gospel. 

This week we went over to visit F, T, M. and the rest of their family. We talked about how if we do the right things, God is going to bless us. T. had her court date on the 11th to see if she is going to get sent back to Ecuador or if she can stay here in the United States. After they talked it got rescheduled to the 19th so we are still praying that works out. 

We met a cool family on Sunday night. We knocked on their door and they just let us inside to share a message. J, V, F and A were all there to listen to our message. They are a very catholic family and first made sure we weren't missionaries for the Jehovah Witnesses. After we said that we were missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they said, "oh.. Ok. You can share your message!" 😂😂👍yeah👍

We talked with them about the Restoration and how we have the Gospel on earth again. They said at the end that they feel God's presence in our message and said we could come back on Friday! 

So that was our week! This upcoming week we have an exchange, Zone Conference, District Council, and Transfer Texts!! President said that Elder Shkapich and I won't be together but we aren't sure who is leaving Waterbury. 

In response to my mom's question of, "what is your favorite 'The Living Christ'" I love this section: 

"We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son."

I love this section because it helps us realize the incredible gift that Jesus Christ was and is to all of us. 

I bear testimony, as one of His ordained missionaries that Jesus is the Christ. I know he lives. He died on the cross and gave himself to take away the sting of death. He is the light, the life, and the hope of this world. He is the only way that can lead to true peace of mind and peace of conscience.

Elder Bushman

 

 

Year 1, Week 45: One of the Happiest Days of the Mission

Hey Fam,

This week has been pretty uneventful. We did however meet with one of our investigators . He has had a drinking problem in the past but has cut back from one bottle to 2 shots a day. Since he started meeting with us, he has gone off completely and so far has been 9 days sober as of Thursday. He is a super great guy! We talked with the mission doctor and he said that when a craving for alcohol starts, it usually lasts for three minutes so if he reads the Book of Mormon for 3 minutes every time he has a craving then he will be able to overcome those cravings. With that, strength from Jesus Christ, and support from the ward, he should be able to get off alcohol and stay off. On Thursday we met with him and explained that and shared a scripture with him about how Christ will help him. It was great! One of the happiest days of the mission. Being able to see someone be a alcoholic to dropping it completely because of the Gospel is super cool! 

Today we went into Boston and checked out the city. We went to a building called the Prudential Building. Inside, it has a huge mall and then at the very top of the sky scraper there is a restaurant. Cheapest item is around $20 so we didn't go, but one day! We played basketball, did laundry, and the norm. It was a fun day. 

We finished up teaching English Classes. It really helped my Spanish having to understand Spanish Concepts in order to explain them in Spanish how they work in the English. For example, in Spanish, we say Tenemos comida. Which is we have food. Conjugating tener in the nosotros form makes it we have. In English we always add we, you, he, she with the word. Super simple example but gets the point across. It was fun to hang out with the Hispanics.

In missionary work, I started my mission being very hesitant to talk to Hispanics. I couldn't communicate so I hated teaching and contacting in Spanish. But now, it's frustrating contacting anyone who speaks English. When we knock doors and an English person answers, it's the WORST!!  (No offense - just love teaching in Spanish now!)

I wasn't smart with timing so I'm running out of it. Sorry! 

Love you all! 

Conversation about Below Truck:

Mom: Whose Truck?

Elder B: Ours:)

Mom: Whatever!

Elder B: Seriously! That's what we drive

Mom: What?? Really?

Elder B: Yup!

Mom: Are you the driver?

Elder B: No

Mom: What kind of truck?

Elder B: 2017 Chevy Silverado 1500:)

Mom: Are you in heaven?

Elder B: It's pretty freaking awesome!!!

Mom: Why do you drive that?

Elder B: We are the moving Elders so whoever needs help moving to or from apartments we get called. Also, they need a truck to pull trailers and we are close to Boston but far enough away it's super easy to find parking.

We were in Boston this morning in downtown.

Mom: That’s so cool!

Mom: You help members move or missionaries?

Elder B: Both

Year 1, Week 8: Repentance

Wow.. This week has really flown by. It is incredible how fast time can go. 

Monday: After I wrote home, a ton of Elders got together to play ball. We played basketball for 3 1/2 hours. Super super fun!! Not much else happened. Elder Curzon and I went out and knocked doors; we placed a couple Book of Mormons and that was it.

Tuesday: This was a crazy day full of crazy people. Elder Curzon and I knocked a door and it turned out to be this lady who loves to talk. We stood on her porch for 30 minutes and talked 5 out of the 30. She is a crazy lady but since she is English, we passed her off to the sisters in our district. There are a lot of spanish speaking people but because they are super religious, they aren't willing to listen to our message. The spanish people who do listen accept it well, but when we set a return appointment they are never home. We once knocked on a guys door 6-7 times and he never answered.

Wednesday: Elder Curzon and I decided to go East on a street called Park Street. It is kinda like main street in Hartford. Super busy and tons of people. While walking down this street we met a guy who talked with us for about 15 minutes and asked us if we keep the commandments of God. When we replied with a yes we do, he said," If you keep the commandments then buy me some food. Its a commandment to feed the hungry." So, Elder Curzon and I went into a McDonalds and I bought him a Double Cheeseburger and a small Shake. When we walked out of the building and handed it to him he said, "Thank you guys. After I eat this meal, I am going to jump of a bridge." Elder Curzon says, " No... Don't do that." The guy replies with, "Yeah... You're right. I won't. Do you have any money for the bus?" We said no and then quickly left. But we taught the restoration and left him with a Book of Mormon. We walked so much today it was crazy. We mapped out where we went and we had walked over 8 miles this day.

Thursday: Because of our crazy walking on Wednesday, Elder Curzon got major major blisters on his feet. He called the Medical Missionary and she told him to stay off of his feet for a few days. So Thursday was full of reading, studying, and napping. Pretty nice to have a day off but I was ready for work come Friday.

Friday: Elder Curzon's feet got worse and so again, we stayed in. I have been reading in Mosiah and have learned tons about the Savior. I also studied Jesus the Christ for a while and am gaining a deeper understanding of the Life of Christ. 

Saturday: Today was a pretty fun day. Elder Curzon and I got a call from Elder Pierce, the Senior Missionary in charge of housing, and he told us that he was going to be moving us out into another apartment. He gave us some addresses to check in on and most of them are super sketchy and weird. Elder Curzon and I really like Elder Tebbs and Elder Eaton so if we do move, it will be a pretty sad day. While walking we met a guy named Frankie. He said that he had a Book of Mormon but didn't want it anymore. He said he knew it was the word of God and he wasn't willing to throw it away. I said, "Frankie, if you know it's the word of God... Why don't you want to read it and learn?" He went silent and then quickly changed the topic onto something else. I said, "I will make you a deal. Read the first chapter before we meet, we will share a message with you, and if you still don't want it, then we will take the Book from you." He agreed so we have a meeting with him on Tuesday.

Sunday: Sunday was church at 9, lunch at 1, and out knocking doors. We went to check up on several people to try and teach return appointments but nobody was there. It was really sad. During personal study I came to the realization that every single prophet teaches one thing, repentance. Lehi taught repentance to Jerusalem. Nephi taught repentance to his brothers and people. Jacob taught that the Lord delights in the Chastity of Women and the need to repent, Enos repented and then taught repentance. Omni called people to repentance. King Benjamin gave a massive sermon on the need to repent. Abinidi taught repentance to Kind Noah. Alma Teaches repentance and Baptizes. What have I been called to do on my Mission? Teach Repentance and Baptize Converts. If I am not calling people to repentance every time I teach, than I am not fulfilling my purpose as a missionary. Pretty interesting to think about.

Boom. Just like that I am back to PDAY. I love you all and will keep you in my prayers.

Elder Bushman

 

Random Photos: Looks like he got his Charmin! He's become a great cook! And things he finds humorous...

 

 

"Each accountable child of Heavenly Father needs repentance. Consider what sins we need to repent of. What is holding us back? In what ways do we need to improve? I know, as President Packer experienced and testified, that when we sincerely repent of our sins, they are truly gone—without a trace!"

—Linda S. Reeves, "The Great Plan of Redemption"