Year 1, Week 43: I was Able to Meet Danny Ainge

Hello Family, 

The last few days in Waterbury were pretty uneventful. We stopped by several members and had dinner with them. I have sent some pictures for mom and if the rest of you want to see then that's cool. 

Wednesday, Elder Smith and I were driving up to the Weston chapel. I met Elder Perkes and we left to go drop my stuff off at the apartment. We got right to work visiting some members, investigators, and potential investigators. 

Waltham is a super cool area. I really love MA and I would actually consider living here. I would only live here though if work or school brought me out. 

On Sunday I was able to meet Danny Ainge! I didn't want to take a picture with him because we were at church but, hopefully some time I'll snap a photo;)

Not a whole ton happened this week. Just knocking, finding, and trying to work hard. 

Elder Perkes is a cool guy. He is from Logan, UT. He loves LaCrosse and playing sports. It's been fun so far. 

This morning around 9 we were able to do an endowment session. It was cool being able to go to the temple. We usually won't be able to go but because it's the Boston Stake temple day, we were allowed to go. 

Love ya

Sorry this is lame and short.

Elder Bushman 

 

 

Year 1, Week 42: Finally Going to Massachusetts

Hello Family! This week has gone by ridiculously quickly!!

First off, transfer news. I am being transferred out of Waterbury and I'm finally going to go to Massachusetts. I'm serving in Waltham which is about an hour from Boston. My new companion is named Elder Perkes. I'm bummed to be leaving Elder Porritt but I'm excited for some change. It was fun serving in Waterbury with Elders Tirado, Neeley, and Porritt.  I've wanted to serve in Waltham my entire mission because that's the closest I can get to Boston until Spanish Elders are put back in. I'm still going to be the District Leader in Waltham but it is a District with me, my companion, Zone Leaders, and Sister Training Leaders. Elder Perkes came out with me but he went to the Mexico MTC. 

This week has been full of laughs with Elder Porritt and I. First off, Tuesday morning Elder Porritt walks over to me and says, "hey, just so you know, I stole some of your body cleanse powder and drank it." With a nervous look in my eye I asked, "how much did you take?" haha, he only took a scoop but it wrecked him pretty good! We were out knocking around 3:30 and he said he needed to go to the bathroom. We head to the church and then go back out to knock. When we get to the street we are planning on knocking, he says... "OK, we need to go home. You can do record inputs while I am in the bathroom." It reminded me of the good ole days of 1 scoop fiber, 1 scoop cleanse! 

We also made a crockpot roast! I made bróccoli while Elder Porritt had the potatoes and carrots that we cooked in the roast. It was mighty fine!! SOOO good! Best roast I've ever had!

We haven't had a whole lot of stuff happen this week. It's been a bummer. All our lessons have been getting canceled and people aren't there. 

We had Zone Conference which was awesome! President Miller gave a super cool talk on what we can do to be life long disciples. It was pretty great! I took a lot away from it!

Interviews were also super cool! President Miller is awesome! It'll be a bummer when he goes home. He is one of the wisest men I've ever met.

On exchanges with Elder Phillipsen on Saturday we had some cool things happen. We were trying to decide what we should do for dinner. All the sudden, I had this super random thought. BDUBS!!! So we went to Buffalo Wild Wings. While there, the waitress took our order and started asking all about us. We told her who we were and what we did as missionaries. She said she wanted to learn more about the church so we got her phone number. Idk if anything will come out of it, but it was still a cool experience. 

We also went to a lesson with an investigator named O. She was too busy to talk with us so we talked to her Brother. He asked us a ton of questions because he knew some about our church. He asked about polygamy, how to gain Salvation, hell and where God lives, the difference between the Bible and the Book of Mormon. We talked a lot about the Book of Mormon and how if he will read it, ponder it, pray about it, and come to church, we will feel happiness and peace. He committed to reading 3 Nephi 12 and compare it with Matthew 5. Elder Phillipsen doesn't speak any Spanish so I was talking the entire time. Because of that lesson, I feel a lot more confident with my Spanish.

D. got baptized yesterday. She was the one that Elder Porritt and I found and then passed to the English Elders. It was a great baptismal service. I had the opportunity to interview her for her baptism. She was SOOO ready. She was practically living everything before we found her except for drinking coffee. She stopped when they asked her to and hasn't had any for the last 3-4 weeks! Super cool and I'm so happy for the English Elders.

Elder Smith is being transferred to Newport, CT. 

Anyway, I can't think of anything else to write. Love you all!! 

Elder Bushman

Year 1, Week 41: We Have Proper Authority

Hello Fam,

Nothing much has changed since I talked to you yesterday. This week has been pretty good. I'm starting to get a little sick of being in Waterbury. I've been here for 4 transfers now and it's getting a little tiring. But, if I stay for a 5th transfer than it'll be fine. I'll work hard and get it done.

Nothing overly exciting has happened this week. We picked up an investigator named O. and she is cool. She is from Guatemala and seemed to have some real potential. We called her half way during the week to confirm that she will be coming to church like she said. She said she would be so we were looking forward to it. She didn't come though. It's a bummer but nothing new. Its been a little tough to have such flaky people all the time. But, we're working through it. Hopefully we will be able to meet with her again tonight but we haven't been able to get in contact with her. Hopefully something will come from it.

We met with a less active woman this passed week. When we first got in contact with her she said that the reason she wasn't coming to church was because her mom was super sick and she took care of her. When we went over for dinner we talked a bit more and she said the real reason she wasn't coming to church was because the members are 2 faced. During church all the members are so nice but during the week members ignore her... Super dumb but we are trying to help her get over that and come to church for the right reasons. She made us Salmon and Salad so that was sweet!

This week was a little slow. This next week will be pretty busy. On Wednesday we have Zone Conference, Thursday we have interviews, Friday we have T-Texts, Saturday we have exchanges, Sunday is Sunday, Monday is PDAY, Tuesday is Normal, and Wednesday is transfers. We have 3 normal days this week... Crazy! 

We did meet with an investigator named V. He says he has a testimony of Joseph Smith and The Book of Mormon. He just doesn't understand the apostasy. We've been going slowly and helping him understand the apostasy more and more. He needs to understand that we have proper authority. So he's cool. 

Lots of appointments got canceled but we have follow ups for next week. That's about it! 

Love you all. Mom, Happy Mothers day!

Elder Bushman

Year 1, Week 40: Down 'n Derby

Hello Fam! This week has been crazy!

First off. Our AC broke. We called the building manager on Thursday to have someone come and fix it. John, the building maintenance dude, came and looked at it and said he would be back and left. He never came back. Friday morning we called the building manager again and asked about it. 12 o'clock. He said an HVAC guy was coming and that it would be fixed by mid afternoon. 2 o'clock. HVAC guy came and said that he needed a part to fix it and would be back later that afternoon. 5 o'clock. No guy... 6 o'clock. No guy. We called the building manager again and he said that it wouldn't be fixed until Monday afternoon. It is still 86° Degrees in our apartment. It hasn't been below 80 in our place for 6 days! Friday night we called Elder Pierce, the apartment coordinator, and asked what our options were. He said we could buy fans or go stay at the English Elder's Apartment. Since it was already 8:30 and we are supposed to be inside at 9, we just went to the other Elder's apartment and stayed the night. Saturday we bought a fan, which doesn't do much when it's 86, and were planning on staying the night in our apartment but it was too hot. So we stayed at the Elders Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. Ive slept on hardwood floor now for 3 days straight. But, it's supposed to be fixed today so life is still good!

On Wednesday Elder Porritt and I went to the Library and we were going to post an ad on Facebook for free Bibles. In doing so, Elder Porritt got a notification from Facebook that someone had stolen his password, posted it on the web, and so he needed to change it. While trying to change it, Facebook completely locked him out. He had two options to get back in, either sign in from a recently used machine, the computer that just locked him out, or send in a picture of his ID. Sending in ID seems rather sketchy so we tried to find some way around it. But, Facebook has no customer service or tech line. We couldn't call anyone or chat anyone. I looked it up and found out that it is actually a legit Facebook thing to send in ID. So he did, marked out personal info, and Facebook unlocked it. So it wasn't too bad but annoying and crazy nonetheless.

So that's the crazy stuff. This week has gone by super quickly but also very slow. We haven't had much success with the people we are working with and haven't found anyone who is super solid.

We did, however, pick up a new investigator named A. She just moved her from the Dominican Republic and doesn't speak any English. She didn't come to church but we are trying to change that;) . Nothing too exciting happened with investigators this week.

The English Elders did have a baptism yesterday. His name is C. and he is probably 45ish. He's super cool, used to be Pentacostal. It took him several months to finally understand why our church is different. The word Authority to him means that someone has the Legal right to do something. When he was baptized in a Pentacostal church he felt that they had the Authority or legal right to do it. The Word Power means in our language Authority. The Pentacostal church doesn't have the Power to baptize because they don't have Authority. It's rather confusing but I'm just glad they helped him understand!

Down in Derby, (haha remember that pinewood derby movie?), CT there is a senior couple whose mission is to teach people about family History. He is a high council man for the Stake. His name is Elder Lopez and his wife is Sister Lopez. They are from Mexico and have been assigned to the Waterbury group to help build it into a ward. There is a ward in Bridgeport, CT that he helped make a branch and then a ward. He is super cool! Anyway, they invited us over for dinner!! I haven't had real Mexican food for over 9 months and I stuck to Keto! Yeah! Salsa Verde, Carne Asada, broccoli salad, so good!

Talking about Keto, I've been on Keto now for a full month! Oh yeah;) anyway! I'm doing very well. Transfers are coming so fast! 2 weeks from Wednesday. 

Anyway, not much else happened. Love you all! 

Elder Bushman 

 

 

Year 1, Week 39: Spanish Branch?

This week has been great so far! One of the coolest things that happened was this Sunday. First, some background. Elder Neeley and I were thinking that if we keep the Waterbury Spanish group the way it is going, it will never grow into a branch. We started thinking of what could be an immediate change to that. Our idea was to combine the Southington(next town over) and the Waterbury Group in two and make it a branch. We then heard that President Miller has been meeting with our Stake President, President Martin. We called up President Miller and asked him what happened in there meeting and he just said they were talking about Missionaries in another part of the Zone. Anyway, Elder Neeley left and Elder Porritt came but I've still been thinking about this idea.

Yesterday, Sunday, we had Ward Conference with the Leaders of the Stake present. At the end, the Stake Presidency wanted to have a Spanish meeting. In the meeting they said that their plans are to make us a Spanish Branch in the year of 2018. We will be combining with the Southington Group when that happens. I won't be here for it, but I'm hoping to come back to Waterbury in 2019 and serve here in a branch. Also, kinda cool that my plans fell right in with the Stakes plans! Haha! The members were told that they need to bring the Less Active members back or we won't have enough people to do it. Elder Porritt and I have several people we are working with who have potential to come back.

While tracting, we met a young family named J. and M. (most generic Hispanic names ever). We talked to them a bunch about the Restoration but M. believes that Angels wrote the Bible and we weren't sure how to tell her that men wrote it under the direction from God and then it was changed. We had already been in there for about 45 minutes and didn't have the time to work over all of that. We are hopefully going back this Thursday. They were super nice and could have real potential!

The English Elders have 5 baptismal dates for the month of May. 4 of them used to be our investigators who we then passed of to them. It's pretty cool that even though our numbers are crazy, we still play a major role in the progress of others. I used to feel that if my numbers for the week or month didn't increase I was "failing in missionary work". Not true!

Another day, we were knocking doors and a girl named K. answered. She didn't have time at the moment but gave us her Facebook and said we could contact her and come back. Even though we've had the Technology for about a month, this was the first time I've ever actually used Facebook while proselyting. It was pretty cool. We'll see if she turns out to be anything. 

There is a lady named S. who is a less active. When I was serving with Elder Tirado she would always call and insult us half the time for not making time to talk with her. I talked to President Miller about her. He said to send her home teachers. Yesterday, she left a message for us that she had a friend who is interested in the Gospel and she needs us to teach her. So after 3 months of not answering we finally called her. She was actually super nice and kind. So maybe the 3 months made her do some thinking;) haha!

Not much else happened this week! I will be sending audio as well! Love ya

Elder Bushman

Year 1, Week 38: Hard Work and Tons of Laughs

Hello all! This week has been a good one. It went by CRAZY fast. Elder Porritt and I get along very well so it's been filled with hard work and tons of laughs.

With passing most of our investigators to the English Elders, we have been doing tons of finding things. Finding means tracing door after door and street after street. We got tons done.

While tracting on a street, we saw a man, his wife, and their baby on a second floor deck. We crossed the street and started talking with them. We explained how we are missionaries and share messages about the family and Christ. We then asked if we could come up to the deck to teach them a message about these things. They said yes so we went and taught the restoration of the Gospel. They were super cool but didn't say much other than, wow, oh, interesante... Stuff like that. They said we could come back a different day and share more of our message. We invited them to read the Book of Mormon and come to church. They didn't come to church yesterday which was a bummer but hopefully we can meet again and share a larger, more in depth lesson.

Since we have smartphones we have been inputting our teaching records into the church's app. While doing this, we found two former investigators who had been taught many lessons but didn't have any drop reason. We went over to one of them and he received us and we had a short conversation. We think that his wife is against us. We believe that he is very interested but won't go against the will of his wife. Which is good but kinda sad. Hopefully we can meet again with them and have her feel the Spirit.

The other guy wasn't home when we knocked so we stuck a card in the door with a note saying to call us and then we put our number. Later that night, we actually got a call from him. It was super cool, we then met with him a couple days later and taught the Restoration. By the end of the lesson. He said, "so the church on the earth that is the same church as Jesus Christ's in the Catholic Church right?" Elder Porritt shut him down. He just kinda sat there. During the silence he seemed to get it! It was super cool. Again, he didn't come to church but hopefully next week. 

A couple weeks ago, Elder Neeley and I reactivated a less active named B. Her daughter introduced us to D. She had received lessons from the missionaries years ago but she did not ever do anything about it. She approached us and asked us to come over and teach her about the Gospel. When we were teaching the Restoration, I was reciting the First Vision in the own words of Joseph Smith. During this, I felt the Spirit so strongly. It was incredible! I definitely cherish that moment. The lesson was very successful. She didn't make it to church because of work but she said she will get it off next week for sure.

We were tracting at 8:30 one night in one of the most ghetto parts of Waterbury (SO MUCH FUN) and we knocked this guys house. After he finished swearing and calling us names, he said, "don't you guys mess around. You in the hood now." and slams the door. We walked down the street and a house caught my attention. As I looked at it Elder Porritt says, we should knock there. It's cool when both companions feel the same prompting. We knocked the door and a woman answered. She said to come back Friday night. We gave her some cards, left, and sent her record over to the English Elders. At church, this woman walked in with the Elders. Later, I found out that they had a super spiritual lesson with her where she cried, accepted baptism, and said that these things were true and she has been looking for them. It was cool to know that the spirit used us to find her and the English Elders to teach the lesson.

We have had a great week! Love you all! 

Elder Bushman

Year 1, Week 37: I Just Go to My Nerd Side

So the first week with my new companion was great!! He is different than Elder Neeley, but we still get along great. Elder Neeley loved talking sports, music, etc. So that was a lot of my conversations with him. My new companion loves Magic, Star Wars, StarCraft, Magic, Magic, Raquetball, Snowboarding, Poker,etc. I just go to my nerd side and we have tons to talk about! I actually am pretty nerdy so it works out great! We get lots done. Also, I took my Brown Shoes into a shoe repair shop and it'll cost 15 dollars to fix!!! Elder Porritt is from Alaska. His family moves pretty frequently so they are now in Kansas which is cool! He spent most of his life in Alaska so that's where he says he is from. 

DL isn't much responsibility. It definitely is more but isn't hard. I plan exchanges, conduct and plan District Meetings, do weekly call in and get their numbers. Nothing too fancy or hard. There isn't really anything different about my schedule or service. So, it's all good. Nothing too hard. It's fun though. I feel like I contribute more to the growth of other missionaries. Except all the missionaries but one is "older" in mission age than me. 

District Leader is pretty easy so I didn't really need "training" but I do think Elder David taught me a lot. More in just how to teach better, be more obedient, etc. 

We went over to Hermana Peraltas house, who is my recent convert. Her daughter was there and referred her friend to us and her friend actually asked us to come over. She is also the cousin of a less active which basically means she is going to be super solid. 

I try to serve my companions a lot. Elder Porritt's last companion never talked/played Magic with him so I am playing with him. One, I think it's fun, but two, he is super excited to teach someone so I guess that's how I served. 

Most people on the streets/neighborhoods just don't want to talk. Some are super friendly, some are hostile. Most are right in between. However, I probably know 20 people's name who I see randomly on the street frequently. I knew more in Hartford because we walked. 

Most people here in Waterbury work in a factory, restaurant, or warehouse. 

Yes we log miles. We can drive up to 1250 miles a month. Including trips to Boston, etc 

Yes, I still drive all the time. Elder Porritt doesn't like driving. Yes, he stands and backs me:) 

Hope that answers all your questions!

 

Love you,

Elder Bushman