Elders G and B hard at work - carving those pumpkins!

Happy Halloween.....

Dear Family and Friends,  Hello there! Well today was a great week and I'm excited to talk all about it. So that is great that it was the deer hunt this week and that you all actually got something, I didn't think that was possible haha Thanks for the stories and the experiences dad, it was hilarious as I pictured Hunter getting all mad and then both Jake and Hunter just going to town on that deer hahaha Oh man, I wish I could have seen it, I don't think I could have even shot because I think I would have been laughing too hard! Good thing I'm not there either, I'm glad I don't have to eat any of it. Now Hunter has to eat the ducks and the deer haha And Mom I hope you had a wonderful Birthday, it sounds like it was a good one with all the family there. So I think this happens to all of us as soon as we go on missions, the family all of a sudden starts doing fun things together haha  But anyway I'll tell you all how my week went.

Well it actually started off really slow, but Elder G and I worked out tails off, that's why I think our week felt so good, it wasn't necessarily the best week in productivity but it felt really good. On Monday I got to throw a baseball for the first time in 8 months, it was amazing! It doesn't feel like I've missed a beat, I could still throw it, I felt like, as hard as I could before I left, the only difference now is that my arm was sore the next day. We also had a home run derby with tennis balls on the field. The fence was only 200 ft so it was really fun. C E (a kid from the ward) and I were having a challenge and he almost beat me but then he tried to throw one fast on me and I cranked that thing out of the park, it was great! Then that night we went and carved pumpkins at a member’s house and I have some sweet pictures I will forward to you all. 

On Tuesday we went out and worked hard and talked to a lot of people, we didn't ever teach a lesson but we got quite a few potential investigators to see. One of them being a man named J. We were walking down the street and he was just getting out of his car so we went over and started talking to him and he didn't belong to any certain religion and he said he had a lot of questions. Well we asked him what his questions were and we were able to answer a few of them with the message of the restoration. We ended up giving him a Book of Mormon and setting up a return appointment for this Friday, so we are really excited to go see him. Oh by the way we are at Brother and Sister C's right now and Brother C told me to tell you hi.

Anyway so on Wednesday we had district meeting and I was able to train on being more effective teachers through, listening, asking inspired questions, and teaching simply - which is what I need to do better at, so it was a good topic for me. Then I went on a trade off with Elder C and it went pretty well, but again we weren't able to see to many people and didn't have a ton of success but I did get to interview on of the St. Johns Elder's baptismal candidates and that was really good. I love interviewing people and see the light in their eyes and the testimonies that they have gained as they have studied the Gospel and prayed, it’s such a miraculous thing. 

I can't remember much of Thursday for some reason at the moment so I'll just go to Friday. Well on Friday we had a lesson without investigator named L. He's an old guy that really likes to talk and in this lesson he basically confessed to us all of his sins and they were pretty bad haha…. I looked at Elder G as he was telling us all of this stuff and the look on his face was priceless.  I started busting up laughing inside myself; I think Elder G's innocence was shattered that day. After that crazy lesson we had we went and saw some potential investigators and were able to teach on of them.  Her name is K, she is a 16 year old girl that is agnostic and she had a lot of questions. Her dad is the first one that we contacted but his daughter seems to be the one that is more interested. We answered her questions for about an hour and basically taught the Plan of Salvation to her. She really liked it and even asked Elder G for the little diagram that he drew of the plan of salvation.  She then asked us if we were going to come back and we said of course and so we set up a return appointment for this upcoming Friday. 

Then on Saturday we had the Fall Festival for the ward and it was so much fun! They had a chili cook off and hayrides, trunk or treat, turkey shoot, and other fun games. The turkey shoot was hilarious; a bunch of the priests dressed up as turkeys and ran around as the younger kids shot paint ball guns at them. We were also able to talk to a ton of people in the ward so that was really good. I absolutely love this ward, if anything I've gained from being here is a love for the people here. They are so wonderful and do so much.  I actually kind of want to stay; but I guess we will see.

On Sunday we had the wonderful Primary Program. I couldn't believe how strong the spirit was as those little primary children got up and bore their testimonies and sang the songs, it was amazing! There were a lot of non-members there as well; however none of them were our investigators.  That's something we are still struggling with. That was basically our week.  We taught one other guy named S on Sunday who became a new investigator. He's basically one of those guys that feels like he is as happy as he can get and that being happy will get him into heaven, but he said he would read the Book of Mormon and pray about it.

Well this could be my last week in JC, I'll find out on Saturday but if it is, it has been a wonderful 4 and a half months. I have learned so much and have been extremely humbled.  I've learned that the success we have as missionaries isn't so much in the numbers we have but the growth that we have within ourselves and how we have helped others come unto Christ. Obviously numbers is still important, I mean that is our ultimate purpose is to baptize, but we can only do so much and the rest we have to leave up to the Lord. I love this gospel, I am proud to be a member of this church and I know it is true. I hope you all have a wonderful week and God Bless.  Love,  Elder Bushman

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood.....

Dear Family,

Hello!  haha remember when President Monson did that? Anyway how are ya'll doing? It's great to hear about all the stuff that is going on. And mom I did end up getting your letter on Monday afternoon so don't worry. So Jake pulled his back duck hunting huh? hahaha oh man Jake is becoming and old man, shoot I'll have to carry him when we go to the wind rivers, or maybe we really will have to get the horses. It sounds like Lane and Heber are absolutely hilarious, that made me laugh so hard about what he said when hunter was scratching his back, I about died! As for Christmas, I don't have any idea right now what I want because it is too far away. Well I actually do have a few Ideas but I'll let you know when the time gets closer. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!! I hope you are having a wonderful day besides the hurt arm, and sorry you haven't received a card or anything yet because I'm not going to be able to send it until today but I do plan on sending something, but I guess this is just a pre-birthday card happy birthday wish.

Well anyway this week was an ok week, it was actually a little rough compared to next week, but I am so excited for this week I feel that it is going to be a lot better. The week started off really good, we had a couple of lessons and on Tuesday President B came out on the trade-off with us and it was amazing. He didn't make it until 8 PM so it was a short trade off, but an excellent one. We went and saw M again and we had a really good discussion with him, we talked about the need for prophets and the guidance that they give to us and our families. M is just so humble and so willing to learn, it’s wonderful and we finally committed him to read the Book of Mormon! Then President B gave the prayer and it was just so powerful, M felt the spirit really strong, you could just tell.

On Wednesday we had district meeting and we talked about finding people to teach and what it is going to take to find them. It went well and afterwards Elder G found a parking lot where we were doing our studies and this guy drove up and asked us if we owned the property and we said no, then he just said ok and drove away. Then he came back and asked us if we were studying scriptures and we said yes! He was really excited and we told him who we were and what we were studying, well by the end of the conversation we were able to give him a Book of Mormon which he said he would read, so how cool was that?! Then after our studies we went to see this lady who we had given a Book of Mormon to last week and ended up talking to her 17 year old son instead. He said that he had actually read a little bit of the Book of Mormon because he was friends with a member of the church from school. He said that he was actually very interested in the church and wanted to come. We talked to him for a little while and shared with him a lot of stuff. By the way he is Catholic and by the end of our conversation he said, "You know with everything the Catholics teach I can dispute but with everything you all have said I can't, it’s all valid!" it was amazing and such a sweet miracle. So we gave him his own Book of Mormon and he said that he wanted to learn and come to church he just didn't know when we could meet with him.

Well after Wednesday things started to go down hill a little bit. We had a lesson with one of our investigators named J and we taught him the plan of Salvation, and hid didn't quite seem to understand the importance of all of it. We tried to explain but he just kept wanting to dispute. He is a very intelligent man, but we invited him to baptism and he said he would when he came to know the Book of Mormon was true, which means he actually has to study it. I don't know the lesson just felt really weird though and from then after I didn't feel very good. I had a headache that wouldn't go away for the whole week and when I would wake up in the morning I felt extremely tired. In fact my headache just barely went away this morning, but anyway so after that it just made it really hard to focus. We struggled for the rest of the week trying to find people and get lessons with our investigators. We never got to meet with B this week because he told C that he wanted to test out the difference in how he feels at our church and the Catholic church. Which I think is really good actually, so I hope he actually got to go and feel the difference. Hopefully we can meet with him this week.

Then on Saturday we went to see M and as we were talking to him his wife pulled into the driveway and we waved at her, but as she got out she just glared at us and started yelling at M for some dumb reason and then rushed inside. We started talking to him and telling him we will come back later, and in the middle of that she came out the front door and started yelling again but this time at us. She said "We're Catholic! We're Catholic! Don't you get it, why are you here talking to him, this is causing problems!" I said “Mam we are just talking about God.” Well she never heard me because she rushed inside again. We apologized to mike and then left. It was really sad to see because M is such a humble nice man and he just took it. He told us the only reason he is still with her is because of the kids. I wish so bad we could teach the whole family, the Gospel would help them out so much. Well we came back a little later and I wrote a note to Mrs. M saying, "Dear Mrs. M, We sincerely apologize for any problems that you feel we have caused, we hope you will forgive us. Sincerely, your humble servants of Jesus Christ." So hopefully that will soften her heart.

So then on Sunday we didn't have anyone at church again, however some of the youth brought a few of their friends so we are going to talk to them about it this week, which is really exciting. But anyway that’s about how our week went, started out good and ended up really weird, but I have a much better feeling about his week and I already feel a lot better. Today has already started out to be a great day, I got up and exercised and I jump roped for about 20 minutes. I got 766 of them in a row, my goal is to get 1000 so I’ll get it soon. Then I had an amazing study reading out of Jesus the Christ about the realm of disembodied spirits, so that was really cool. There are so many places in the Bible where it predicts Christ's visit to the spirit world and preaching there as well. Then I studied more of the Book of Mormon and I am in Heleman again, I'll probably finish it again before next transfer. And now I am here emailing you all, so it’s been a good day. After this I am going to go play some baseball with some kids in the Ward and the other Elders! I am so excited! It's going to be the first time I've thrown a baseball and swung a bat in a long time! So today is going to be a beautiful day, plus the weather is wonderful, its about 70 degrees everyday on average. Well I better get going, but you all have a wonderful week!  Love, Elder Bushman

A Fire is Burning....

Dear Family,  Oh man what a wonderful week! We finally had an investigator come to church!!!!!!!!!! I am so happy I can't even tell you, wow the Lord is truly blessing us.

Well anyway I hear that it is getting cold back in Utah again and I'm not going to lie that is one thing I'm going to miss, is the snow. Out here it is cooling down wonderfully, it is about 80 degrees everyday but without humidity so it feels really good. 

Ok so on with the week. Well on Monday we didn't really do much, in fact I can't really remember much about Monday at all. But on Tuesday we did a lot of good stuff, Tuesday was a really good day actually. We were able to pick up two new investigators and they were both member referrals. The first one is a girl named J. who Brother C. referred us too. She lives with them because her boyfriend is brother C’s great grandson or something. But anyway it was so funny because Brother C said to us, "if people are going to live in my house they are going to take the discussions!" so he looked at J and said, "J, it's your time." Ha ha ha it was so funny and she accepted, so we taught her the first lesson right then and there and now we have an appointment tonight at 6.  I don't know how receptive she is our how much she really wants to know, but if she reads the Book of Mormon then she will definitely get an answer. Then later that night we had a lesson with B who is a 16 year old kid.  He is the best friend of Conner E. who is a priest in the ward and we just watched the Restoration with him and invited him to read the Book of Mormon, so that was excellent, and he is the one that came to church!

 On Wednesday we had district meeting down in St. Augustine and I did my training all on the Book of Mormon. I absolutely love the Book of Mormon! I have been digging into the October Ensign - which if you haven’t read is all about the Book of Mormon. It brings such good insight and such a powerful witness about the importance of the Book of Mormon. My favorite talk in there is by President Ezra Taft Benson on the Book of Mormon being the keystone of our religion, it was magnificent! So I basically based my district meeting off of that talk and then committed everyone at the end to at least hand out one Book of Mormon per day. Well it set off a fire, at least in Elder G and I, because we handed out I think 9 or 10 Book of Mormons this week! We have been working so hard and finding a lot of potential investigators, so it’s been really good. After district meeting I went on a trade off with Elder M in my district and found out that we actually had the same teacher at the MTC, how weird is that? He just came out 4 and a half months ahead of me. We had a really good trade off and he is a really good missionary, so it felt good to let the load off my shoulders for a little bit. 

Then on Thursday we traded back and I honestly can't remember much about Thursday either, except that I didn't feel really good. I got pretty sick to my stomach because I ate some expired ham at lunch probably. But yeah I had to run to a members house at one point and that was pretty embarrassing but oh well what can you do, crap happens haha

Friday I went on a trade off with Elder T who is one of the Zone leaders and we had a way good trade off. Again it was so nice to work with someone that really knew what they were doing and I wasn't having to do all the thinking and the work, it was equal share. We got a lot of good work done and had a great time. I'm not saying that I don't like being with Elder G, it’s just I need to do a better job at giving him a little more of the load because I'm pretty much doing 95 percent of it right now, so that's one of my goals is to help him do more and to let him do more. Oh it was funny too because at the end of the night with Elder T we were tracting in this neighborhood and we knocked on this door at 8:50 at night and we saw this guy run into the other room. We sat there for a little bit and nobody was coming but as we started to walk away this guy came to the door and he told us that we needed to leave now. He told us that we shouldn't be doing this at that time at night because bad things could happen. He then turned around and I thought he was going to moon us but there in his pants was a gun, I guess he got pretty scared or something but anyway I'm sure glad he didn't pull the trigger while that was down his pants because that would have been no bueno for him haha

So then on Saturday Elder G and I were back together and we had a pretty good day, we had a couple of lessons with some of our investigators and saw a lot of people and got fed once, so yeah it was a good day. Then on Sunday B came to church and it was just a most joyous day, it felt so good to finally have someone come! He really liked it too.  He told us that the three hours just seemed to go right on by so that was good. We should be seeing him again sometime this week, so we are excited for that. Well anyway that was our week and I can't believe that we are already half way through this transfer, its crazy how fast time flies. Tomorrow is going to be a great day as well because we are going to be going on a trade off with President B! He's coming to our area to go out and work with us for a couple of hours, which is going to be absolutely wonderful, I love that man!

Well anyway I don’t think I have anything else to say, but I do want to let you know that I about died laughing as I pictured Jake running through the water to a duck like a dog runs to a treat, he probably had his tongue out and everything hahaha its still making me laugh. Hopefully all that running through the water will get him ready for the Wind Rivers. Thank you for all that you do and I love you all, and have a wonderful week!

P.S. Dad I did get your email about T and I about forgot to say something just as I did last week, but I was so happy when I saw that, I've been worrying about that kid for a while, I am just so excited! Well Cya.

Fruit Snacks are Heaven!

Dear Family,

First off thank you so much for the package and for everything that was inside, especially the fruit snacks! Oh my goodness, I have been munching on those for the last week, I have missed fruit snacks. I don't ever by anything unless I need it because I am super cheap so I never by fruit snacks haha And thank you for the recorder I was going to send you some recordings but I forgot to bring the cord to plug it in, so next week!  However, unfortunately the video that was supposed to be on the card for my camera did not work. It said there was nothing on the card. So I never got to hear or see what was on it. And Grandpa thank you for the letter with the talk, that was really insightful. And thank you Grandma for the card and yes I'm allowed to receive money but don't worry about sending any its fine, but thank you so much for the card!

Alright well to start off this week it was really slow! On Monday Elder G and I went to M's house to drop him and it was pretty sad. We asked him why he didn't come to General Conference and he got really defensive with it and told me how hard it is to be a single parent which was just a lot of excuses, but I didn't tell him that. But we left there on good terms so that is what is good. Then on Tuesday I think Elder G and I probably tracted for about 3 hours all together and didn't find anyone which was pretty hard but it was good. It was so funny because we had this one guy that Elder G talked to, which I actually recorded this door approach, but he answered and Elder G introduced himself and put his hand out to shake it and the guy said, "This isn't a social event." I was like "A social event? Well of course not, were here to share a message about Jesus Christ." then he said "Do your history buddy." and closed the door. It was absolutely hilarious, I don't know why, but it was, probably because what he said made absolutely no sense haha 

Well anyway then on Wednesday we went to see L in the morning and she came outside before we could even go into the house and she told us she didn't want to learn anymore.  She said that she had done what we asked by praying and reading and didn't feel like she received any answer. So she told us that she decided to not learn anymore and that this is what she felt like the answer was, and that it was the answer she wanted in the first place. She didn't even have an open heart at all, she never wanted to accept it. This was something I was not expecting and was kind of a blow to the stomach, I was shocked!  But all we were able to do was to bear our testimonies to her and let her know of the truth. I think it finally took all the way till Thursday before we taught our first lesson of the week.

Thursday was a really good day. We had zone meeting and Elder R and Elder T did a wonderful job!  Elder R did this really cool analogy of baseball to missionary work and how it works with our goals so I could relate really well. Elder G and I had decided to tract this street the night before and as we were knocking on doors one of the ladies said "latter day saints?" and we said yes have you talked with missionaries before and she said yes. She told us that she would listen to our message if we would come in and be part of her daughters lemonade tasting science fair project hahaha Well a little unusual way of getting into a house but oh well we'll do whatever it takes. So we went in and participated in her daughter’s science fair project and test tasted lemonade with different types of sugar in it. Then we were able to sit down and tell her about Joseph Smith and the restoration. She had a lot of questions actually, she is Catholic, so of course she believes that there never was an apostasy, but she said she was really interested in the Book of Mormon and said she would read it.  She wouldn't set up a time that we could come back because she didn't think her husband would be ok with it, but we will go back in a couple of weeks and see how the reading has been going.

Then on Friday we had a super long weekly planning session as we prepared ideas for how the Ward could help out with the missionary work. We also made a bunch of cards that tell people if they want to learn more about Mormons that they will come over to the church every Wednesday night at 7 p.m.  Obviously we didn't write it just like that but we thought it would be a good way to find people. Then later in the day Elder G and I went tracting for another hour and a half and in that period of time found 4 potential investigators. One of them was really solid. He was a 21 year old guy named J. As he came out the door we told him who we were and he said he was ready to listen. He said that in a world with so much bad things and confusion, it's been hard for him to find a faith in God and Jesus Christ.  Well we basically taught the first lesson on his door step and invited him to read the Book of Mormon. He said that he would and that we could come back and teach some more, it was a sweet miracle. Then later as we were waiting to go on a trade off, we saw this guy across the street smoking a cigarette. I thought to myself that we should go talk to him but I said to myself that we didn't need to. Again I felt that we should go talk to him and again I decided against it. Finally a third time I was nudged to go talk to him and decided to go do it. We went and talked to him and he was very receptive. He was from C. and didn't like it here in Florida at all because he didn't have any friends. We talked to him for a while and invited him to church and he said he would come.  It was really cool. We went back and talked to him the next day and he was pretty drunk.  But we invited him to repent and come unto Christ and he started to cry and he told us that he didn't have any desire to do any more wrong. However he wanted some cigarettes but I told him he didn't need them. We had a prayer with him and we prayed that he wouldn't go get cigarettes, he told us afterwards that he couldn't go and that we had some weird power. It was pretty incredible. Unfortunately he didn't end up coming to church which was pretty frustrating, but we really made a big impact on his life.

We had some really busy days on Saturday and Sunday. In the Morning on Saturday we went and saw this kid named A who we had been trying to see for a long time. His grandparents are against the church so it’s been hard for him to talk to us, but they were out of town so it was a good opening. He wanted to know our beliefs and we gave him a 13 articles of faith card. He was cool with all of them and said he would read the Book of Mormon and come to church, but he needed to get his license first.  So that was a cool thing that happened in the morning. Then later we went and saw L and the first thing he said to us was; "Now you know that I'm not going to convert right?" We asked him if the spirit told him it was true if he would, and he said that it hasn't yet and we said we'll see.  He had a lot of good questions about the Book of Mormon which we answered but he isn't the brightest, so I think with a lot of the things we went over his head a bit so we will have to simplify for him later. On Sunday we went and saw a lot of members and it was a really good day except for people not showing up to church. But yeah there is my week for ya.

I don't really have anything else to say, but I hope you all have a great week!  Love, Elder Garrett Bushman

Another wonderful week to be alive!

Dear Family, Well what another wonderful week to be alive! I love being a missionary, it’s absolutely wonderful! Oh I don’t even know where to start, I guess I'll start off by saying thank you to all that have wished me a happy birthday or who will. I think there are some letters that have been sent that are still at the mission office and I haven't gotten them yet, so sorry if I have not replied back yet. And mom no I have not yet gotten the package but I assume that it will come sometime soon, but thank you so much for sending it, I'm excited to see what it is! The letters were great as well, it was fun to hear yours and dad's perspectives on my life over the past twenty years, wow that sounds weird haha But I loved looking back into all of that. We did some fun things as a family and some of the things that I got in trouble for it was fun just to look back and laugh at it. I think I particularly laughed out loud when dad commented about me getting grounded for instant messaging girls (we had a rule in our house – that he was suppose to get his homework done before he instant messaged this “friends” and after numerous times of breaking that rule- he would get grounded) haha wow I was immature, still am, but better. As I look back on the last twenty years of life the best word I can think of to describe it is "gratitude." As I have contemplated the last few months and the struggles we've had, I have come to the realization of something. It all struck me in conference this weekend as one of the speakers talked about how we are sent to a mission, a mission president, an area, investigators, and members for a reason. We are sent to these people to help us grow and make us better. So I have come to understand why I have been sent to such a difficult area, because ever since I have been here my testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel and its importance have exploded with great light in my soul. You are probably wondering what this has to do with being grateful for my last twenty years, well it is because if I didn't have worthy parents who were strong in the gospel and understood its importance I might never be at where I am today. I don't know where I would be, so for you mom and dad, Jake, Austin, and Hunter...Thank you for your righteous example to me, I am eternally grateful! And thanks to all who have been good examples to me throughout my life, I wish I could name you all but that would just take to long. This Gospel goes far beyond this life, far beyond anything we could ever comprehend, but God has given us enough understanding and made it simple enough so that we can know they WAY back to him. All we have to do is trust in him and have hope. Through all of you and your examples and through the trials that I have faced, that hope has become a reality to me, a true knowledge, and with that knowledge I know that God lives, he loves us, loves us so much in fact that he sent his only begotten son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ to suffer for each and everyone one of us so we don't have to. I know that through Joseph Smith his Gospel, the Gospel of everlasting life has been restored in its fullness and that all the nations of the Earth can be blessed by it. This is tangible to me, I can feel it so deeply that I can't quite express it but I just want to let you all know that even with the shaky mind of a 20 year old, that I Testify in the name of Jesus Christ that what I have said is true and I love it!

Alright well I guess now I'll tell you about my week haha Well I hate to say it but again it was another pretty hard week. We've had to drop about 4 of our 6 investigators because of their lack of progress and commitment and none of them showed up to General Conference. I don't really even want to talk about M, L, or any of them because they really frustrate me in their desire to follow Christ. But I know I need to learn more patience and I'm sure I will continue to learn it. We are actually going to drop M today because he hasn't been to church in a month and he committed this week to come to conference and failed to do so. I wish I could some how describe to these people how much potential they have and what the Gospel can mean in their lives and I do, but it is so sad when they choose to reject it. Stupid agency haha Brother C and I always talk about how we wish we could just take away peoples agency sometimes so they will have to accept the gospel but we know we can't do that. Oh by the way have you all received the October Ensign yet? Oh my goodness it’s amazing! A whole Ensign dedicated to the greatest book ever to grace this planet, what a blessing! I absolutely love the Book of Mormon, I started reading it again just because it's so much fun to study! In fact I made a goal that I would no longer tract with a Bible in my hands but just a Book of Mormon and I would only go into lessons with a Book of Mormon. This is not because I dislike the Bible but it is because I have realized that I'm not going to convert people by reading the Bible and arguing about it with them, but it is going to be through the Book of Mormon. Anyway so we did fine one new investigator this week. It's an old guy named L, he is a very nice man and he sat and told us how he struggles with his language and how he sometimes looks at the women, it was absolutely hilarious! I won't go into detail of what he talked about, not that its bad or anything, but it was just so funny. The weather has been excellent these last few days as well, in the mornings it’s about 55 degrees and then right now actually it is 65 degrees outside. It's absolute heaven! 

Well I don’t really know what else there is to say....Thank you for the pictures mom, they are really cool. Lane looks so much older and Heber kind of has his dad's hairline haha Oh and tell M good luck in Spain that is really neat that she decided to go. Oh wait she gets these huh...Oh well good luck M haha  Oh and Hunter...quite lying to mom and dad… we all know you get homesick haha Well I better get going, but thank you again for all that you guys do and have a wonderful week!  Love,  Elder Bushman