Year 2, Week 47: Excited to Work With Them

Hello! This week has been really good! We had some exciting things happen and some really slow days too!

We had a lesson with R. and O! We focused on if she had read the Book of Mormon which she did. She said she has read a lot but understood little. So we re read it and explained as much as we could. We transition into her praying about it to know if it's true. She said, "yes! I have prayed and I feel like God is still waiting to answer me, but... When I left church last week I felt really at peace. I felt like this was the right place for me and my family. I believe that is part of the answer from God. It was really good! We testified that peace is what will bring the answers and how they just need to keep acting. We invited them to church and they said that they would be there. We'll they came to church and lots of the members are excited for them. Once members start seeing people at church 2-3 times then they get excited about the people. We had lots of members ask if they could help and the Branch Presidency is willing to drive 40+ minutes to come to lessons with us! It was really great! We will be having another lesson with them this week and are going to work on helping them know the importance of the Gospel for them. We are really excited!

We started teaching a member's boyfriend this week! Lol he is 19 and his name in A. He says he isn't very interested in religion but will listen to us if his girlfriend wants him to. So we are planning on trying to help him see why the gospel is important and why he needs it. I feel like that is a lack that so many people have! Nobody understands the Gospel is for them and they think it's just a nice thing if there is time. So we are excited to work with him. We have a church tour set up for Thursday to help him feel comfortable and then hopefully he will come to church. 

We had a lesson a couple weeks ago with the wife of a member. She has helped her husband, kids, cousins, aunts, and friends joking the church but won't join herself. Because of her probably 10-15 people have been baptized but she thinks she doesn't have faith enough to be baptized. We have an appointment this Friday and are hoping to help her see that she can progress and improve. 

The rest of this week was visiting less actives, finding and meeting new people, going to coordination meetings with our Branch, going on exchanges, etc. 

I got a little sick Wednesday and Thursday but am fine now! We have interviews this next week which will be good! But that's about the week!

Love you! 

Elder Bushman

Year 2, Week 41: Key Indicators for Conversion

Wow! The weeks keep on passing faster and faster! It's kinda crazy :)

We had a lesson again with I. and E. They kept their commitments and read from the Book of Mormon in the assigned chapters! They are really progressing. We taught them the Doctrine of Jesus Christ and focused on the principle of Baptism and their need for it. We didn't extend a baptismal date because we also want to get their daughter involved in the lessons so they can progress as a family! We are really excited to see them progress. They weren't able to come to church yesterday but we are working with them on it. Hopefully we can find out their concern and help them come next week.

We had interviews with President Mavromatis as well this week. He is such a great guy! He talked to me about making sure we set effective and efficient goals and focus on the key indicators for conversion.

We had a lesson with a lady named P! She was a lady who used to be taught in the past and we called and set up an appointment with her. Her husband wasn't home so we brought a member of the church with us. When we walked in, she looked at the member and said, "Hermano Paredes!" we were so confused at how she knew him. He had accompanied the sisters to lots of the lessons and so he knows a lot of people they used to teach. This lesson was probably the most interesting lesson I've ever had. They are both from Guatemala and so they talked about their country for about 25 minutes. Then she had to go pick up her kids from school but because she knew the member, she just left us in her house while she left. We finally got around to trying to share part of our message but Hermano Paredes and P. got back on random topics. Needless to say, it was an interesting lesson. Lol! 

We went to a members house for lunch but she didn't have a man in the house and it was short notice to ask someone to accompany us so we asked her if she could bring a male friend so we could go. She had a guy from across the hall who she has known for years come over and we started teaching him. His name is C. and is from Nicaragua but prefers speaking English. He is fluent in Spanish but likes to read in English more. We had a good lesson with him and then member was able to share lots of experiences and blessings she has received from the Gospel. 

The sisters were also teaching a woman named E.R. We were able to visit her this week and she said that she knows the church is true. The Book of Mormon is scripture and that she wants to be baptized. She said she wants to wait a little while for baptism and we didn't push to hard to know the real reason why. We are excited for her though!

That's the week however! It's been a good one! Love you :) 

Elder Bushman 

 

 

Year 2, Week 24: He Got Baptized!

Hello Family! 

This week has been fabulous! 

To start off with the best news, S got baptized! It was a wonderful experience! Everything went super well and according to plan. Hermano Jimenez, the member who accompanied us to all his lessons, baptized him into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! S. was super happy and it was amazing to see the light he has! The members were very welcoming to him. After his baptism, he asked Elder Fragoso and I where he could get one of the Elder plaques. We explained that he couldn't until he goes on a mission with his wife if he wants to. We mentioned how he could go out with the Missionaries in the Dominican Republic just like Hermano Jimenez did and he got super excited! He was given the Holy Ghost by our Branch Mission Leader the following Sunday and was interviewed for the Aaronic Priesthood after. He will be receiving the Priesthood next Sunday so he can go to the temple and bless the Sacrament before he goes back to the DR. I will miss him when he leaves but it's all good! We have Facebook! Several of the members got his number so they can call him when they go back to visit the Dominican Republic. It was awesome!! Fabulous experience! 

The English Elders in Worcester cover 2 wards and also had a baptism in each ward on Saturday. Elder Fragoso and I were able to do the Baptismal interviews because Elder Aure is the District Leader. Those were fun! They are both 9 year old boys who know so much about the church! It was awesome. 

I don't know if you remember J. from way back in September. We stopped by her house this week and followed up with her to see if she would be interested in learning again and coming to church. We came back the next day and had a lesson with them. It went well! We talked a lot about the blessings she saw in her life when she was coming to church and how she feels now. She said that she saw a lot of blessings and those blessing aren't there anymore. She didn't come to church this week so we will see where that ends up going. 

That's pretty much it that happened this week. Some other lessons with people but nothing too out of the ordinary. 

We have some awesome things coming up! Exchanges with the English Elders, exchanges with the Assistants, Zone Conference next week, and then transfer texts next week too. There is only 2 more weeks in the transfer! That's crazy haha! Time is going by quicker and quicker. 

I love you! 

Elder Bushman 

 

 

Year 2, Week 17: Super Good Food

This week has been very good! I really am loving the mission! We had some good things happen and some not so good things happen!

First, Thanksgiving was great! Our Mission President said we shouldn't tract so we just decided to visit some members! We had our Thanksgiving Dinner with the Rodriguez family and their kids. It was great having some super good food! We went to O, S & R as well to share a scripture with them. They gave us some super good ham and Broccoli. We then hurried to visit another member but she didn't have a man in the house. So we just picked up the food that she wanted to give us and left. Thanksgiving was a great day!

We had a District Leadership Council with all the District Leaders in our Zone. Most missionaries have been really struggling with the work lately and so our purpose was to identify some things that we aren't doing or need to do better. After 2 hours we walked away with a plan to follow the counsel of President Mavromatis more effectively, be better about studying and applying principles from Preach my Gospel, and to develop a stronger love for the people we teach through working to develop Christlike attributes and praying for Charity. It was a super great meeting that was very good and effective. 

We were able to get in contact with J. this week. He has picked up some old habits that aren't good and has started working on Sundays again. We talked with him for a bit and asked if we would be able to come over to share a message with him. We set up a time to go visit him on Friday but when we went and passed by, he wasn't there. His car was out front and lights were on but he didn't pick up the phone or answer the door. It was a little disappointing that he blew us off and wasn't there but we are still trying to help him back. Hopefully he has those same desires! 

We had our Branch Thanksgiving party on Saturday and met some cool people that are friends with members that we will be trying to work with! We have exchanges, MLC, and Zone Conference this week so it will be busy!!

Love you all

Elder Bushman

Year 2, Week 15: Awesome Conversion Story

This week was good. Lots of missed appointments which is sad but it still was a good week.

We tried something new this week. We were trying to help the members of our Branch recognize the blessings of the Restoration. We had 2 member appointments this week. The first one was super good! The member is named Ana Maria. She was baptized by Elder Porritt, one of my companions in Waterbury, but moved to Worcester from Lynn, MA. She has an awesome conversion story. She wasn't sure if she wanted to be baptized and had lots of doubts but then had a dream where she knew the church was true and 4 days later, was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She got so excited about it that we invited her to share the blessings of the Gospel with others. She has a friend at work who is struggling and she said that she would share her testimony with her. We role played her sharing her testimony to help her feel comfortable!

The second appointment didn't go so hot. We were visiting a family where the wife Is completely active, but the husband only comes to Sacrament Meeting.

They shared the stories of them finding the church. He shared about his mission experience and how he found the church at the age of 18. Hermana shared about the church she used to attend and how through a family she was living with, found the Church of Jesus Christ .

We invited them to think of a name that they could share the Gospel with. She told us about a friend she has at work who she has already tried to share the Gospel with but didn't accept her invitation. She said that she couldn't think of another person to share the gospel. We asked if we could role play with her to help her feel comfortable. Hermano did not like that.

He shared how members of the church stay within their inner circle of friends and don't branch out. He shared how the responsibility of missionary work is on the missionaries. He expressed how activities can help but missionaries should do it.

He shared how he hasn't read from the Book of Mormon since his mission and that he is considered active as long as he comes to Sacrament Meeting. He shared how he loves to pray and does it everyday. He shared how every missionary comes through and does the same routine of asking for referrals. We concluded with an invitation for him the read the Book of Mormon and he said he would not commit to doing it.

Hermana  shared how she reads, prays, attends the temple, holds a calling, watches conference, and does what she needs to do to gain Salvation. 

We offered service but he wouldn't accept because of past experiences with missionaries missing the service event. So we hurry and concluded with a prayer and left! So that was a sad experience. We'll keep trying though!

We had an appointment with a guy named A but when we went over he wasn't home. His brother, M, was however! We asked if A had a phone and aid, "who is A?? I have a brother named M? Guys, he was probably drunk when he told you his name!" haha well, M wasn't there!! We had a good lesson with M though! 

The Sisters had a baptism of a guy named F this week! They called him months ago and he said," call me on October 10th." so they did and he got baptized on Saturday! So exciting news for them!

We met a guy named Y and he told us to come by his house. We knocked on his door, but a guy named A answered the door and asked us to come in because it was super cold outside. S, his wife, was there and we asked them about their beliefs. They believe in Christ and God but have attend so many churches and are tired of criticism coming from them.

We explained how Joseph Smith also had this question. Which church is true? They asked questions about the name of the Church, who Mormon was, if we believe in Christ or God, if we can marry outside of the church etc.

They accepted Invitations to read and pray. They've seen many missionaries in Puerto Rico and asked if the Church was an American Church because all the missionaries there are Americans! Haha:) they don't work Sundays and have a car so we are looking forward to meeting again with them. At they end, we asked if they knew Y and they have never heard of him! Haha:) fun times!

Nobody came to church again so we will have to consider stopping the teaching of some people.

Not much else happened this week! 

Love you all 

Elder Bushman 

 

 

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 5: Coolest Guy Ever

Hello Family,

This week has been pretty good. Again, nothing spectacular happened. We were able to go to the Temple today which was super cool. A member named Hermano De Aza from the DR took us. He is literally the coolest guy ever. We had a lesson with a man named D. who is the father of a Recent Convert. We were teaching the Restoration and he said that he is a Catholic. He declined the invitation to read the Book of Mormon because his parents are catholic, his cousins are catholic. It's tradition to be Catholic and he wasn't going to change. Hermano De Aza told him that Saul, in the Bible, thought that everything he was doing was right and just. Jesus Christ visited him and told him that what he was doing was wrong and he needed to change. We then re invited him to come to church and read the Book of Mormon and he agreed. It was awesome! Hermano De Aza comes to lessons, gives rides to church, and drove us to the temple and did an Endowment Session with us. 

On Saturday we had confirmed for 6 people to come to church. When church came, not one person showed up at church. It was labor day weekend and church did get rescheduled to 9 am because half of our branch was going to some camp and needed to combine with the English ward. We woke up at 5 in the morning and got ready so we could get to the church by 8 to have all the translation equipment set up. Not even members of our branch who weren't going to the camp came. Anyway... its all good. Trying again for next week.

We had to drop J&E. They haven't answered our phone calls and when we've stopped by they told us that they were busy at the moment and didn't know when we could return. So we dropped them and will try in the next couple of months. Maybe when he gets closer to getting off parol. 

J&D are still doing well. They didn't come to church but we have a lesson with them tonight that will hopefully be good. I'll let you know the status on them next week.

We went on exchanges with the Assistants but half of the day we just sat around because they had to figure out an emergency transfer. Anyway. Not much else happened!

Love you all!

Elder Bushman

 

 

Year 1, Week 28: I Love Teaching the Restoration

The week started with some media referrals and some New Investigators! We met a woman from Jamaica who wanted a free Bible. When we met her she said she has been meeting with all kinds of missionaries and pastors. She has met with the JWS, Protestants, Mormons, Catholics, and Baptists to see which Church she wants to join. We gave her a Book of Mormon and the Bible and shared how they work together. She is super interested in finding out more, but we haven't had the chance to go back.

On Friday we had our all Spanish Missionary meeting. President basically roasted all of us saying we aren't good enough and how we need to do better. He obviously did this in a kind, loving, positive way, but that's pretty much a sentence summary. We talked a lot about how and where the Spanish program is going and what we need to do to become better missionaries. He shared the statistic that in the last 4 months, there has only been 8 baptisms in the Spanish group. That is very sad.. But it has given a lot of direction that will be very good! I am super excited for where we are heading!

Saturday was exchanges with the ZL. I went on an Exchange with Elder Warner who has been out for 18 months. We did a lot of knocking and taught some awesome Restorations. I love teaching the Restoration! I feel like it has the most power with the story of Joseph Smith.
One of the biggest things I learned from him is how to be super Bold. I am always a little nervous to be bold. If someone rejects me or my message I usually just say, alright, have a nice day. Elder Warner says, "What we are telling you is that Christs church is literally on the Earth today and you need to become a part of it." I also realized that if they reject us, they have now completely put not joining on there heads and not on ours. I have really enjoyed going out with older, experienced missionaries!!

On Thursday its service day!! We volunteer at a soup kitchen in Waterbury. We make bags that consist of soup, canned beans or corn, rice, pasta, meat, etc. to hand out to people who get on a list. We usually spend about 2 hours at service and have had some awesome conversations with people. We have met people who took lessons back in Puerto Rico and are interested in lessons again. We have conversations about the Gospel with the people who volunteer with us. 

Mom, you asked about what we do for church services.  Elder Tirado and I lead the music and do the piano. We have a piano that plays by itself. Last week we passed the Sacrament, Blessed the Sacrament, Gave the Talks, led the music and played the piano!

 

This week I have been reading Preach my Gospel and marking all the principles and promises! Most of the promises I have noticed are about gaining eternal life. Do these things and you can either help yourself or others reach eternal life! Very interesting. Preach my Gospel is not just a guide for full time missionaries but for EVERYONE!!! Its awesome. Definitely recommended reading

We went over to a members house on Tuesday for dinner. Because the members here are SOO nice they usually make something Keto for me. I was made, Tuna Salad!

This tuna salad was, tuna, raw onion, and green bell peppers!! Literally SOOO GOOD. I love onions and I am also a BIG fan of peppers now! I know dad is going to literally be so excited!! There is now only 1 thing I cannot handle.

Tomato.

Tomatoes literally make me sick. I HATE tomato.. Anyway,

Love you all!!

Elder Bushman

Year 1, Week 27: 1/4 of the Way

This week again was the same as last!

Love you much,

Elder Bushman

(Very Funny, Elder. He sent another email later as below...)

Hey Fam!!

How is everything going! I hope all is well. This week was good and super fast! I honestly can't really believe I am 1/4 of the way through my mission. I always thought that I would never leave on my mission. I left. I thought I would never leave the MTC. I left. I thought I would never get to the field. I did. I thought I would never get out of training. I did. I thought I would never make it to the 6 month mark. I have. I feel like I will never learn Spanish! I won't... That is basically where I am right now!!

This week was great. We finally got back in touch with Waddy. His mom just works a ton because her husband is still in the DR. He is coming to American though in March so they want to wait until he is here for him to be baptized. We are planning on continually going to teach him and then re-extend a baptism date at the end of February. We have an appointment to teach him on Tuesday, tomorrow, so we are excited about that! We are hoping that his dad will want to be baptized when he gets here as well.

The Vogel dinners are going to be different from now on. A new rule stating that there cannot be 4 Elders at dinner appointments have now come into play. Since we are a group and the English ward provides over our group, we can eat with both Hispanic members and English members. Just not all at the same time. We now have to have 1 companionship go at 6 and the other companionship go at 7:30. Its not too bad, just weird.

On Wednesday we had a big day of nothing!! Whoo.. So we called tons of people and finally got some appointments set up. We also received a media referral. When we went over her husband answered the door and said that he didn't want the Bible because it was a Mormon Bible. We explained that it was the King James version, just its a "Mormon" Bible because it is the one we use. He was chill after that. We also contacted a lady named Hazel. She was playing one of my favorite Hispanic songs, "Tu Estas Aqui" by Jesus Adrian Romero. We knocked on her door, taught the Restoration, and picked her up as a new investigator!! I basically have that whole song memorized so it was cool to hear coming from her house.

Later in the week we went back to Hazel's house to get back in contact with her but she wasn't home. The floor below was playing super loud Hispanic music so of course, we knocked the house. A girl named Cindy opened the door and we also picked her up as an investigator. We are working on getting back in touch with all of them.

One interesting thing about mission life is this: Elders only have female investigators. Sisters only have Men investigators. I don't know why this is but it is... In Waterbury, our investigators are, Ashley, Tania (got Baptized), Mary, Cindy, Hazel, Isabel, Marcel, Deborah, Sierra, Niyannah, and Waddy. Waddy is male but he is also 11 so we still have to get a male member to go over with us. This is THE most frustrating aspect of missionary work. Anyway...

The English Elders were door knocking and found a Hispanic woman who doesn't speak any English, so they called us and had us set up an appointment over the phone. I talked with this woman and set up the appointment, got her info, and had a conversation completely by myself. Was I proud?? Yes!! Her name is Rosa and she is super interested. Again, Female. We haven't been able to get a guy to come with us yet.

We had Interviews with President Miller this week. Again, super short interview but we had a training given by the AP's prior to the interviews. The training was involving Smartphones. Supposedly, we are supposed to get smartphones soon. Whether or not this actually happens, I have no idea. But it is looking more and more like it. I personally do not want any technology in the field. It is too much crap to worry about. I would rather just go about Missionary work like we have for centuries!

Love you all,

Elder Bushman

Year 1, Week 23: Red Dotted

Hiya Fam!

Well... I am alive! Temperatures hit in the -10 F over the last couple of days. On those days we were told to stay inside unless we had a set appointment that we could drive to the meeting. On Wednesday night we started exchanges. I went to the Waterbury English apartment with Elder Goodman. I got to their apartment at 8 that night so we pretty much just got ready for bed, wrote in our journals, and went to bed. When we woke up the next morning, Thursday, it was snowing and we were Red Dotted, which means we could not drive cars. Their apartment is in a location where most of the investigators or people who we would contact are on the opposite side of Waterbury so we literally spent ALL of Thursday inside. We called investigators, set up appointments, planned, studied, cooked, cleaned, shoveled, etc. It was a painfully long day of feeling completely lazy even though we were doing productive things most of the day. When the Red Dot continued I realized that I would have to spend a second night at the English apartment with no clean socks, garments, shirts, or pajamas. I had used my pajamas, T-shirt and Basketball shorts, to exercise in because I thought I would be back at my apartment that night. We made the most of the day and went to bed. Friday morning we weren't Dotted so we could drive and exchange. So basically, the exchange was fully inside doing random things to try and be productive.

We met with Tania on Thursday and went over the baptismal interview questions. She passed but still needs to be interviewed by our District Leader. That is happening tomorrow, Tuesday. On Sunday, Yesterday, Tania's husband Alberto was interviewed and ordained to the office of a Priest. He will now be baptizing his wife this Thursday!! We are excited for her! We are also hoping that Emmy, Tania's daughter, will want to get baptized after seeing her mom get baptized.

 

Waddy was supposed to get baptized on Saturday but we haven't been able to teach him since Dec. 13th.

Transfer texts are this Friday! I cannot believe this transfer is already almost over. I feel like I just got to Waterbury and met Elder Tirado, not 5 weeks into the transfer. I am expecting to stay in Waterbury. Elder Tirado says he can see himself staying or he thinks he could leave as well. Doesn't really know! I don't really care what happens. I don't really want to leave the 'Bury though!

Funny story though! On exchanges Elder Goodman and I get a call from Elder Davis and Elder Tirado. When we answered, Elder Davis was dying laughing and was trying to tell a story which we could not understand. Elder Tirado LOVES sleeping in Proselyting clothes. I don't really know why, but he does. Anyway, when Elder Tirado and Davis were doing exercise that morning, Elder Tirado tore about an 8 inch rip down his pants!! It was a hilarious story... Anyway!

Our investigator who is most progressing is named Ashley. On Tuesday night we taught her the Plan of Salvation in the Vogel's home! She has had tons of member support and people giving rides and helping her get to church. On Sunday she came to church again and said she is going to invite her mom. We went to her house with Miguel Castro and taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We will probably have one more lesson re-going over the Gospel of Jesus Christ before we start on the commandments. We are super excited to see where this goes!

Anyway... Not much else happened this week! The reason it took me so long to get on to email today is because we went to Buffalo Wild WINGS!!!!!! BDUBS!!!

HAHA

Love you all,

Elder Bushman

 

 

Year 1, Week 21: 10 N.I. in a Day!

Hey Fam...

First, thanks all for the Birthday wishes on the 21st! It was a great day. Taught a lesson on keeping the Sabbath day holy, obeying the law of the land, and then Chastity. Everybody makes it seem that Chastity lessons are so awkward but in reality.. They're not that awkward. Just say what needs to be said and that is that! We have started planning Tania's baptism. Her husband Alberto is planning on talking with the Bishop to see if he can become a priest so he can baptize his wife into the church. She should be all ready to go by the 11th of January.

Other than that, on my birthday we went to a soup kitchen to do some service, did studies, and then went to the Vogels. She made Salad and Alfredo with zucchini noodles. She had a big, thick, rib eye steak for me to grill. I grilled it to a beautiful medium rare and dipped it in Avocado Ranch!!! Pretty Legit! We spent the rest of the night there with the other 2 Elders.

The day before was our Christmas Zone Conference in Belmont, MA. That is where the temple is. We had breakfast and lunch and then went to the temple. I did an endowment session, sealings, and initiatories?? However that's spelled. Mom you can correct it! That morning I woke up at 3:30 and drove the 2 1/2 hours to Belmont, did the Conference and temple and got back at 10:42!! Long day!! Then woke up at 6:30 the next day!! Haha!

I was a little nervous that I was going to be homesick after talking on Christmas, but I wasn't. 40 min. is definitely not long enough.. But I understand that they don't want you spending to much time. Sister Vogel got to talk to her son in Cambodia for 2 hours.Christmas eve was full of Finding! We had a challenge and goal to find 21 N.I. as a district. When the 24th came around we had 10/21. With hard work and miracles from the Lord we picked up 10 N.I. in a day!! That is how we spent Christmas Eve! Last night we finished at the Crooks and went home. Nothing else happened. When I called you guys it was almost 6 so when the other elders finished it was about 8. So the drive home / cleaning up our gifts and such at the other Elders, that finished the night. Members we went to: breakfast with the Masons, lunch with the Haltermans (second counselor in the bishopric, and then to Crooks for dinner.) We opened gifts with the English Elders, Elder Davis and Elder Goodman. We took turns (photo below is all our gifts combined)

Spending Christmas in the mission was pretty great! It wasn't bad at all! Being a missionary... In Hartford I LOVED it! I had gotten used to the schedule, the members, and everything about it. Coming to Waterbury really shook it up especially with a new companion, new area, and not having the other 2 Spanish elders living with us. I am starting to get used to it again though so that's good

All of the Libraries will be closed next Monday so we will email on Tuesday!

Love ya,

Elder Bushman