Finally - some pictures from the Elder....

 Score!

 The new companion - Elder G.

 Zone leader roommates

 Past comp - Elder A.

And last but not least..... Elder John Travolta!  Dance baby dance!

It's birthday week in Florida.....

Dear Family,

Well I guess the first thing I need to say is that I'm not getting transferred, I'm staying in J C. So this is kind of weird because this will be my first time for having a companion for more than one transfer haha Kind of weird but it will be fun. And thank you for the Birthday wishes I really appreciate it. I'm glad you enjoyed the videos and the pictures we've been having a good time, well except for the bed bugs, but other than that it’s been really good. And when you say that they inspired you, does that mean you all are going to be singing......oh I sure hope not hahaha just messin. Anyway I don’t have a super a lot of time this week to write because we are going down to St. Augustine for a district P-Day so it should be fun, but I'll tell you about our week.

So this week has actually been a pretty rough week but a good one at the same time. We were able to learn a lot of good lessons and realize that we needed to rely on the Lord more. The first part of the week started off really well, we were able to teach quite a few lessons in the first 2 days of the week, but then we didn't teach a single lesson after that for the rest of the week, except to members, all of our investigators abandoned us haha One of our Investigators, L, we took her on a church tour on Tuesday and invited her to come to church but she is still very  skeptical, she doesn't want to come to church until she reads the whole book of Mormon. She feels that if she comes she isn't going to be able to keep up because she doesn't know where any of the scriptures are. So we are still working with her but she went out of town this weekend so we couldn't see her again. M is still struggling, we weren't able to have a lesson with him at all this week, he kept post-poning and post-poning to the point we never even got to see him, so that was pretty frustrating. However, we did get a new investigator on Monday named H.  Last Sunday we went over to one of our investigators houses and we began to teach and his daughter H was there so we started to talk and she began to ask us a lot of questions. Well she said that she wanted to read the Book of Mormon and asked if we could give her one, so of course we said yes! And then as we were leaving we asked if we could do anything for them and she said "yeah come back again" haha it was amazing! So we went back on Tuesday and had a quick spiritual thought and prayer, because it was late, and set up a time to go back which is tonight! So we are really excited about her and hopefully we can get them all out to General Conference. Speaking of General conference, I hope you all are getting very excited, because I am! I absolutely love general conference, it’s the best thing ever! We are so lucky to have prophets and apostles that get to speak to us every six months, I never realized how important this was obviously until I came out here on a mission, but it is so important! President Uchtdort told a story of a man that was talking to a friend about having prophets and apostles and his friend said well if this is really true, what did they say last at the conference. Well needless to say the member went from being very excited to extremely embarrassed because he couldn't remember a single thing. His friend said "so you're telling me that you have prophets and apostles that talk to you and teach what the Lord wants you to know and you don't even listen?" So family, don't be that person haha I hope you all get the chance to watch and not only watch but "Listen" because it really is such an amazing experience and I am so mad that I took it for granted all of those years. Well anyway enough of me rambling on about that. 

So for the rest of the week.....Well we tracted a whole bunch this week, more than I have in the last 3 months and we didn't get one person that wanted to talk to us. I had to tell my companion the story of dad's fruitless six months which I think seemed to help us both out a lot. We had the opportunity to have dinner with our bishop on Sunday and we finally got to ask him what he thought we could do as missionaries to help the ward. Well, the sad thing is, is that he didn't know. He just told us that it was a tough area and it always has been. Every single baptism in this ward for the past 6 years has been through a member referral or a friend of a member, so that will be the best way for us to find solid people. I think we are gaining favor with the members though because we have been seeing them a lot and we have been taking their sons out on trade-offs with us so that has been the good things that are going on. 

Well I am sorry to cut it short but I really have to go, I love you all and have a wonderful week!

Oh and Grandma I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday is well! I love you so much and am so grateful for all that you have done through out my life, not just for me but also for my mom and my family. You raised a wonderful daughter and she has taught me so much and been such a guide for me in my life, so I am so grateful to you for doing so a fine job at raising my mom. It's fun having the same birthday as you, I've always been so proud of it haha But grandma thank you again for all you do, you are a great example to me and Have a wonderful Birthday!  Alright now I will be done for sure, Cya!  Love,  Elder Bushman

A few new pictures.....

So grateful for Sister Barry's mission blog.... it's nice to see pictures of the boy every once in a while....

 to  

Lunch  (always the best part of the day) - during leadership training.  

With visiting general authority Per G. Malm and his wife - Garrett loved this man - said it was such a spiritual meeting.

Life is good

Dear Family,

How has everything been going? Everything out here in the mission field has been going wonderful! I absolutely love being a missionary. We had a better week, we were able to find a couple of new investigators and teach a whole lot more of lessons, so that makes it really nice when you feel like you are accomplishing more. Oh and I would like to address something. Mom please don't worry about me getting discouraged, discouragement is the devils tool so get missionaries to give up, and so I will not get discouraged no matter what happens. I am serving the Lord and that's what brings true happiness. When we live the Gospel of Jesus Christ there is no room for discouragement.  You just trust in God and press forward relying on him. So that is what I am doing, I am pressing forward with a steadfastness in Christ and having a perfect brightness of hope…. well trying to have a perfect brightness of hope, but we all know I'm not perfect. haha Anyway so I am doing Great!

So the week went well, we were able to teach a lot of lessons like I said, which was a welcome change. On Thursday we were able to teach a new investigator named J that Elder D and I tracted into like 2 months ago.  It was really sweet, we contacted him a while ago and asked if we could come back and so we have been trying and trying but finally we were able to get in. We were able to sit down and teach the first lesson and it went really well.  He was listening intently and was asking a lot of good questions. So we are going back to see him today and hopefully we can set up another appointment because he never answers his phone. 

We were able to teach L twice this week, I don’t know if I have told you much about her, but she has been reading the Book of Mormon like crazy and almost has all of it done. We keep inviting her to church, but she doesn't want to come until she knows more, so we are taking her on a church tour this Tuesday so we can get her more familiar with the church.  She is really coming a long, she is the only one really keeping all of her commitments so we are really excited about her. 

M is still being a little lame. I'm trying to be less critical but he is just so darn stubborn.  He is caught up on this whole book that is going to be written by the gentiles for the gentiles. It talks about this book in the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 30 but it is actually talking about the Book of Mormon and we tried to explain that to him but he won’t listen. So we then watched Prophet of the Restoration with him and the spirit was so strong the whole time. We asked him how he felt and he said he felt warm the whole time and that he knew it was all true, but that he's still caught up on the whole book of the gentiles thing. Oh it was frustrating, he totally had a spiritual confirmation, and Elder Green and I bore powerful testimony and he still won’t accept it. But we have some good things prepared for him and hopefully he will just let down his pride walls and accept the fact that there is only one true church.

We were able to contact L yesterday again. She is still excited to meet with us and she wants us to give her a call on Thursday, so I just can’t wait for the time that we get to teach her, she is so ready for the Gospel.

We also got a referral for a man named A from a member in his neighborhood last week. We had the chance to talk to him that day and give him a Book of Mormon. Well we have been trying to go back all week to talk to him but he was never home. Well finally we talked to him yesterday and we were able to sit down and have a lesson. He had all sorts of questions and it was great because we were able to answer them all and he said that he would definitely read and pray. So it was just another last minute miracle and it goes to show how important member missionary work is. There are people all around us just searching for truth and don't know where to find it, and it is our responsibility as members to befriend them and show them where true happiness comes from.

Well that is how my week went this week, unfortunately nobody showed up to church but we are continually being hopeful and we are continuing to see little miracles here and there. Oh by the way the weather is starting to get wonderful here, it has been 75 degrees the last two days with cloud cover and a cool breeze, it’s been like heaven. I am so happy it’s not hot anymore!

Oh and Dad sorry if I am not responding to any parts of your letter yet, but I haven't gotten it yet so I can't really. But I did think of a few more things that I would like for my birthday, Wow I can't believe I am almost twenty, I remember last year when I turned 19 like it was yesterday. You all drove all the way out from Utah to take me to Texas Rode house and it was amazing! Then I got a bunch of stuff stolen from me that night haha good times. Well anyway, so I think I will need a new church shirt, and well I can't remember now but I have a list and I will send it next week haha 

Well thank you for all that you do and I am grateful for all of you. Have a wonderful week!  Love,  Elder Garrett Bushman

Yes I'm still alive....

Dear Family,

Yes I am alive haha Our preparation day was today because we had a zone conference yesterday and let me tell you it was amazing! Actually this whole weekend was just so good for me and I don’t think I've had so many powerful, spiritual experiences in one weekend. I guess I'll talk about those first so I don't forget, well actually I'll talk about my week first. Oh but I first want to say that I am super jealous about Hunter and Dad going to a Yankees game! I can't believe that you went without me. I’m just messing I don't really care but I hope you had fun, anyway. 

So it is good to hear that Elder Sears and Elder Payne are doing well, its amazing to see how much they have changed in just a short period of time. Well I guess I have too haha Anyway but it was another good week, we worked hard and did our best, but this upcoming week we have the opportunity to become better. That's what I love about the Gospel, there is always something to work on and we can always become better. I'm starting to change my attitude about things pertaining to the work, because to be honest I don't really care what happens, as long as I give my full effort to the Lord, everything will be okay. I can't do it on my own, I keep thinking I can, and I've just began to realize again that I can't haha It's funny how we have to continually be humbled. This is what I learned from Sister B yesterday in zone conference. Oh sorry I told you I would tell you about my week, well it went good. We have been continually teaching M. and he is very stubborn. He doesn't believe he needs to be part of a church to return to God. He says he knows the Book of Mormon is true but he doesn't believe that The Church of Jesus Christ is the only way, he thinks he could start his own church if he really wanted. It's kind of frustrating  but we are still working with him. We are teaching this lady named L. who we are seeing quite often like twice a week and it is so nice! She has actually read all of 1st Nephi and she did it in like two days! We invited her to be baptized the other day and she told us she would when she knew the Book of Mormon were true, so that was good to hear. We have a lesson with her tomorrow, so pray for us that it goes well. Other than that, not much else is going all, we are supposed to give our Miracle person a call on Thursday, so I am just praying and praying that, that turns out well. I really have a lot of faith that she is golden, I have never felt the spirit so strong about a person before, so I can't wait till we get to see her and her family. Then other than that we probably have 5 other solid potential investigators that could most certainly get baptized, so we are excited. 

Ok so now I will tell you a little bit about this weekend. Elder Per G. Malm from the 2nd quorum of the seventy came and spoke at our stake conference and then at our zone conference. He was absolutely amazing! I wish I could properly explain the kind of power that he had, it just seemed to radiate from his voice and countenance. I was able to write down some impressions I had this weekend as I listened to him, so I thought I would share some of it with you.

I just want to start off by saying how grateful I am for love, the Love I feel from my Father in Heaven, my Savior Jesus Christ, and from the people around me. These last couple of days I've just been filled with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and love that I don't quite know how to explain. I'll try to organize my thoughts but I might be all over the place.

This past week we have been doing a study about obedience and wow, I have a grand new perspective on rules and obedience to them. It finally hit home that it doesn't matter how ridiculous a rule might be, but we obey them because they are there to protect us, to keep us close to our master so we can feel his love. Why do we try to push the boundaries of sin and disobedience? Why do we try to see how close we can get to the edge before we fall? I can't believe I ever thought that way because its not that I'm gaining more freedom, by getting closer to the edge, but in reality I'm pushing away from my Saviors loving embrace of protection, and denying those blessing that come from feeling his love. But I love that I have the POWER to change. As a son of God and with the gift of the Holy Ghost I can redirect my course and turn back towards my Savior's sweet embrace. I pray for the day when I can have the faith and the obedience so that I can receive more commandments, because each new commandment we receive draws us closer to our Heavenly Father and we receive more Blessings. The covenants we make are so powerful, because God cannot lie and when He promises us something through a law, it is by obedience to that law that all blessings are predicated. Elder Bednar said that each new commandment is like a step to a ladder climbing higher and higher towards our Heavenly Father. This is how I feel about laws and commandments now. So Dad it is kind of ironic that you talked to me about that in your letter. It's amazing how the spirit guides.

Speaking of the spirit, I absolutely love the power it has to make us want to change. Throughout the time Elder Malm was talking to us, he would randomly ask people to come up and share what they have been feeling. I have never seen a man so in tuned with the spirit, and each time someone bore their testimony, it was extremely powerful, truly incredible. But I want to share with all of you what I have been feeling from my heart and I would like to say that I know...without a doubt that this gospel is a hundred percent true. I am so grateful for the spirit that teaches us and humbles us to make us want and desire to become better. I am eternally grateful for the Love Jesus Christ has shown for me. I love Him. I want to give Him everything I've got, not just now but forever. And I know that it comes by consecrating myself and obeying the laws and commandments which He has given me. This I must do because I know it is true. I am so grateful that I have this opportunity to serve as a Disciple of Jesus Christ and I will forever be just that. 

Thank you for all that influenced me in my life to become better, to work harder, and to do what is right. 

Well enough of me rambling on haha  I hope you all have a wonderful week and I'll talk to you later!  Love, Elder Garrett Bushman

Well that was fun!

Dear Family,

Well there are a few things I would like to address from your letters before I tell you about my week, so I don’t forget. First off the only people that actually had problems with the Bed Bugs were the other Elders so I don’t think they are in my clothes Hopefully! Secondly, Dad you referred to how I had said that I could prove the Gospel was true through the bible and in all reality that is impossible. Thank you for saying that it was a truly humbling experience, I think I had stated that because I was just frustrated at the blindness of the people and their ignorance. I was reading in 2 Nephi chapters 28-29 which talk about the apostasy and what will happen. It says in the last days how men will begin to rely on their own knowledge and the precepts of men rather than on the Holy Ghost. It said woe unto these people because they are pretty much denying the Holy Ghost. So it is pretty Ironic that I red that in your letter, and also I thought of those people I had been trying to prove it to be true, and the only way they will believe is if there is evidence in the Bible. They take the bible first then prayer later, so its kind of frustrating. But I then thought about how we can't prove Jesus Christ was real, the only evidence we have are the witnesses of the Apostles because if you think about it, his body was taken away, just like the Book of Mormon was, kind of Ironic. Thirdly I would just like to thank you dad for sharing your letter to Grandpa with me, It was extremely powerful, sincere, and heartfelt and it made me realize a lot of the Good things in you and the things I love about you as well as Grandpa.

I also would like to wish Grandpa a happy birthday, Happy Birthday Grandpa! I hope it was one of your best and I wish I could have been there with all of the family to witness it. And Grandpa I want to thank you for being such a wonderful example to my father and bringing him up in the ways of righteousness. I am truly grateful for the Bushman stubbornness that we all seem to have but I am glad that most of all we are stubborn in righteousness and may it always continue to be that way. I think some of my fondest memories are when you would come to Utah for Christmas and you and grandma would always buy us pajamas and we would open them before Christmas. I loved getting pajamas haha Then of course North Carolina was the best family reunion ever! Grandpa you have always loved us and been there for us and I am sincerely grateful for you, I love you Grandpa and happy Birthday.

Ok so now for my week. Well if you have read my blog you have heard of a few experiences that I have had this last week, so it’s been a good week but kind of a crappy one at the same time. It seems like the work just keeps building up and that at some point its going to explode, and I think that exploding point is going to start happening this next week. We are finally setting Solid return appointments with people and teaching lessons, It is so great and feels so good! So I guess to go on a little more about the miracle we had on Monday, we did set up an appointment with her for Friday, but she called us Friday morning and told us that she wouldn't be able to meet with us because her son had a football game. She apologized a lot and continued to thank us for coming over Monday evening and sharing with her our message and praying for her and her family. She said that she would read the Book of Mormon and give us a call the upcoming week.  So she is still awesome but the more days that go by the more people begin to forget that feeling they had, so we are going to give her a call today and set up an appointment with her.

On Thursday I had a district meeting, which I thought went well.  I didn't train on anything of huge inspiration or anything but just on simple fundamentals. Repetition in the gospel is everything. Afterwards I went on a trade off with Elder M., a new missionary in my District that came from S, and it went really well. We taught M. that night and invited him to be baptized again. He said he definitely wants to get baptized he just doesn't feel like he could be ready anytime soon. We assured him that he could be and invited him to pray about it. Then we went tracting for a little bit and ran into this lady who had come into contact with missionaries before and she let us right in. She was from Pennsylvania and had lived near the Peter Whitmer farm or something. Anyway she had been given a Book of Mormon before and had read it but didn't think much of it. We asked her if she remembered the importance of it, and she said no, so we taught her the restoration. We committed her to read and pray and then set a return appointment, it was awesome! Right after that we came out and talked to this guy named C. in his driveway and he seemed really interested.  He was asking us all sorts of questions and said we could come by anytime.

So it was actually Thursday night that we got the call and we were kicked out of our apartment. We have been staying with our bishop and his family ever since and I am so grateful for them, they are wonderful people. Oh and Dad bishop's son is getting his degree in wildlife management and conservation I think and is looking for someone to send a resume to, or just someone he can talk to so I was wondering if you could send me your contact information and then I can give it to him. Anyway so these last few days have been extremely stressful and crazy. But we should be going back to the apartment tonight so I am excited for that. Today is awesome though because we are going to have two barbeques to go to and then we are going bowling with bishop! I'm excited! But as for Sunday none of our investigators came to church which was kind of frustrating but I think kind of a blessing in disguise. It was fast and testimony meeting and the ward had just gone to the temple the day before, so all the testimonies were about the temple and genealogy work and people were just sobbing. I'm sure if one our investigators were there they would probably have been freaked out.  So yeah that is how my week went, but this next week I feel is going to be amazing so I can't wait! Well I love you all thank you for all you do, and have a wonderful week!

Love,  Elder Bushman

P.S. Jake I've seen some pictures and I am just letting you know that you have 17 months to get in shape for the Windrivers haha

And after the trial of your faith......

Oh my goodness I have a lot to talk about, I don’t know where to start! But yes dad I did get your letter and it was awesome, thank you. Mom that was so weird hearing Lane sing, I have never heard him talk before so it was really weird hearing his voice. And wow I can't believe Devin and Henry are already home, Devin looks so much different from what I remember, hopefully I can thin up a little like he did but right now I’m hanging right around 200. I don’t do a lot of cardio because we have weight machines in our apartment so I just lift every morning ha ha And I can't believe that it has already been a year since I went to Iowa, it felt like yesterday that we were driving up there and I met those coaches that first day. Well thank goodness its not that day and I’m in a lot better place!

So this week has been one of the hardest weeks of my mission but also a very rewarding one. At the beginning of the week it just seemed like everything was going wrong. On Tuesday we went to see M. and as we talked he told us that he had talked to his mom (who is Baptist) and she said that he shouldn't join the church unless he had an angelic visitation telling him too. Well we talked about that for a little bit and finally negotiated it down to if he felt the Holy ghost telling him to join he would, so that was a little bit of a disappointment but I have a good feeling about it. He said he would come to our Wednesday night class but he never ended up showing, however a couple of members showed up so I had to teach my lesson on the Holy Ghost, which I based solely on the Bible because I thought mike was going to be there.   He told us that he didn't want to read the Book of Mormon until he had finished the Bible.

So on Thursday I had district meeting and it went really well. President and Sister Barry were there and I was a little nervous but not as much as I thought I was going to be.  In fact, I think it was one of my best trainings so far.  I Love President and Sister B so much.   We had interviews right before and they were just perfect, they made me feel so much better.  I've just been stressing a little bit because I didn't feel like we were contributing to the mission goal like we should and I didn't know what to do and President B just made me feel so much better. I won’t go into detail but it was good. And finally we had our first lesson the whole week on Thursday but it wasn't much of a lesson because we just argued with our investigator the whole time about how God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost are 3 separate beings. Well I didn't really argue but I would just ask questions and then he would preach to us and then I'd show him a scripture and he would just get mad, so it was really frustrating. We also had a lesson with this Baptist kid named J.. He absolutely loves Jesus Christ and so every time we go over I just kind of weasel in Gospel truths that he doesn't know about and finally this time we watched the Restoration and invited him to read the Book of Mormon. He was a little reluctant but I think he will do it, his mom loves us haha.  So that was Thursday.

On Friday we had another long day and had another annoying lesson with another guy that had a lot of the same issues as the first. His name is C... and he basically told us that he doesn't think that we believe in the same Jesus. So as you can imagine it was a pretty interesting conversation after that. I basically proved to him that everything we were saying was true through the Bible, but he would just make up his own translations and say that revelation from prophets don't exist anymore and that all we need is the Bible.  But we left there committing him to read the Book of Mormon more thoroughly.

On Saturday we didn't get a whole lot done again because nobody was home. But we did go and see M. with a member named Sister B. It was really good because she was Baptist at one point as well and had converted.  She is so awesome!  She absolutely loves missionary work, she will pray for our investigators and I think she even fasted for them too. haha So we had a long conversation with Mike and hopefully he got some better insight on what our church is all about. However, he didn't come to church on Sunday.

Throughout the week we did see little miracles here and there which were really a blessing. I think on Wednesday we were really having a really hard day and Elder G. and I finally just pulled over and started to pray. When we got out of the car and began to walk a car drove by and then stopped, it backed up and an 18 year old girl rolled down her window and began to talk to us. She asked who we were and we told her that we were messengers of Jesus Christ. She asked if we had a pamphlet and said that she is trying to get back into religion, so we got her phone number and haven't been able to get a hold of her but it was still a miracle. We also got a referral from a Lady in my last ward for a lady named J.  We went and saw Jan on Thursday and she went straight to asking about the church and said she wanted to come. It was awesome, however she didn't come to church either so we will go see her this week.

Sunday was absolutely awesome though!  M. finally came to Church! After two months of trying to get him to come to church, he finally came!  Oh it was awesome and he liked it a lot. After church he said that he would be coming back next week, so we are going to have a lesson with him this week and invite him to baptism again, it’s going to be Awesome! So that’s how my week went.

As for Elder G. he is doing good. He tells me everyday that he wishes he could talk to people like I do, that it seems to be so easy for me. Hahahaha Can you believe that?!  Yeah he said that about me, of all people. I told him that he should have seen me back in high school. So apparently my talking skills are getting better so that’s good. Oh something else that’s funny....So we were driving in the car the other day and he starts to fall asleep, so I wait until his head is right down against his chest and I swerve the car and scream. I almost died laughing from his reaction haha he like jumped out of his seat, arms and legs going in every direction. It was a good moment.

Lets see.....I don’t know If I can think of much else.  Nope, nothing coming to mind. Well you all have a wonderful week and thank you for the pictures and the letters, its crazy seeing everything going on. I hope all is well and I love you all.

Love, Elder Garrett Bushman

 Transfer day reunion

 So long Elder W.

You will never believe what my new "Greenie's" name is......

 Dear Family,

Alright well it seems like you all are having a good time back home. I can't believe Jordan is already in the MTC, I Bet he is absolutely loving it. Could you get the talk from Sandy and have it sent to me, unless it’s just notes but if it isn't notes I would like to read it. I also have a few requests, if you could send me a scripture case for my scriptures that would be great, I accidently spilt water on them last night and they got a little bit of water damage so it would be great to have a case so I don’t have anymore experiences like that. You'll also have to tell me how Henry's and Devin's homecomings are, I can't believe they are already home, that is so crazy, It just seems like life goes by so fast. There was a lot more stuff I wanted to talk to ya'll about but I can't remember haha so I'll just tell you about my week.

So we had transfer meeting on Wednesday and it was really cool having the new part of our mission there. In fact Elder D. got called to the very southern tip of South Carolina haha he's going back to the sticks. Oh also Elder A. got called to be zone leader in the Savannah zone, it was so funny seeing his face when he walked into transfer meeting, it looked like he had just seen a ghost. It was such a long meeting though, I had to be there at 8 in the morning, which is 2 and a half hours before transfer meeting even starts, so I could meet my new companion and learn about training. My new companions name is Elder G, he is from Genola, Utah which is by Payson. He is a very hard worker so that makes it good and he wants to be exactly obedient, so it makes it easy on me. Oh, the reason I didn't really want to train is because I don't feel like I have enough patience sometimes, its probably one of the hardest things letting him take a turn in door approaches and leading lessons and stuff haha I have a lot of pride to overcome. I’m sure you all know, I'm one of those people that has to have it done a particular way, and so I really am trying hard to just sit back and let him take the role and help him progress, but its super hard. It's kind of funny seeing things in him that I once had. He's always comparing himself to me and I remember when I used to do that with Elder P. I would just think to myself, “If only I knew as much as he did.” It's so funny because Elder G. will just tell me flat out that same exact thing, so I have to constantly tell him that he just needs to be himself and be his own person. So that's how training is going so far, I really enjoy it because it is making me stretch and grow because I have to be the example.

I kind of felt bad though because he came in thinking we were going to be having baptisms left and right, like the very first week, and we only have like 4 people we are teaching all together haha so I had to kind of break it into him slowly, but thing is, I am so happy to have his brand new missionary fire and faith because I really do believe that we will find miracles with that and actually that’s exactly what happened. On Thursday we were driving down this road and I got a little feeling telling me to pull over and go tracting so we did. The first door we go to knock on there was this guy working in his garage, so we went up and started talking to him. As we began to talk everything just went smooth, he was a very humble man and just took in everything that we said. The whole time we talked he just kept saying wow and then he said he would like to come to church with us; it was such a sweet miracle. Then we went back on Saturday and talked with him some more and he had already read the first 3 chapters of 1 Nephi and knew it really well. He started asking more questions and we actually got into some pretty deep subjects but he just kept soaking it in, it was awesome! Then on Sunday he was our first investigator in four weeks to show up at church, it was such a sweet relief and a miracle. I had been praying so hard for the last week to find a miracle so that I could help this new missionary have a good experience his first transfer and we found one. We have an appointment with him on Wednesday, he wants to come to our Wednesday night class, so we are going to teach him the restoration and then invite him to be baptized. So we are both really excited about that, oh his name is Mike by the way.

The rest of our week went pretty good. On Thursday we had a really good lesson with M on the doctrine of coming to church and how it’s a commandment and what not. It went well and we committed him to come to church on Sunday, but Sunday rolled around and we sent him a text asking if he was going to come and he said he couldn't make it. That was so frustrating.  He has been promising us for like the last 4 weeks that he would come and he hasn't so we are going to go over this week and lay it out for him. Either he starts to make commitments and change or we are going to stop going over. I absolutely hate dropping people but sometimes it just needs to be done. 

As for the rest of our investigators it isn't going much better, we can't ever get a lesson with C because he is always doing something or going somewhere so he'll probably be dropped soon which stinks. However we did get one new really sweet referral this week from a lady in my old ward actually. We just barely got it today and she told us that she wanted to come to church! So little by little we are starting to see miracles and I am so grateful for that. Well that’s how my week went this week, thank you to everyone that is reading my blog I hope you enjoy it, I always try to put my best thoughts into it. Oh and no I haven’t gotten a GPS yet, I can't find anyone to take us up to Wal-Mart to get one, but hopefully I can get one this week. Well I love you all and hope you have a great week. 

Love,  Elder Garrett Bushman

A glance into missionary life.....

Missionary Pizza.....

Elder Bushman and D. walking through the jungle....

The District

Dear Family,

Thank you dad so much for the compliments and for the email, it helped out a lot, and yeah I know I need to do better on the grammatical aspect of my blog entries, but my problem is that I write them, and then I don't want to re-read them haha or I don't have enough time, but I will start making a conscious effort to fix that. Oh and mom if you have any ideas of how I can get more people to check out my blog, that would be awesome, because I know you're the blog guru. The reason being the more hits I get the more it will pop up on search engines.  As for the GPS, I don't really know my area extremely well, mainly just where people live, and since I'm going to be training I would like to be able to go from one spot to the next by quickly looking it up than rather wasting a lot of time looking it up on the map. I know its kind of selfish but it is so nice having a GPS because you can just save people in it and then type of their name and go there. So If you would like to send me your old one, you could, but I would probably need it by Thursday at the latest. Or I could just get my own, however you guys would like it just send me an email tomorrow or today and I'll check it out. 

So we actually had a pretty good week this week. The last few weeks I have just been stressing out quite a bit and kind of thinking negatively about the area and so finally this week I just decided to relax, go out and work hard, and let the Lord to the rest; I got to tell you, it feels a lot better. And as of right now we have some good things looking our way, so I am really excited, and I'm also pretty excited to train, I think before I was hoping I would never train but here I am haha. So on Wednesday I had district meeting down in St. Augustine and it went really well. I trained on how we can gain more desire to share the gospel and what we know with others when we understand our potential as priesthood holders. It's a lengthy topic so I won’t discuss too much more, but I would read Elder Uchtdorf's talk on priesthood potential and Elder Oaks talk on desire in the Conference Ensign, they are amazing! After that we went out to Woody's BBQ which was amazing, then we drove back to our area. We then went and picked up Elder R. and then went to our Wednesday night class. Unfortunately nobody showed up so we went on a trade off with the zone leaders, Elder R. and I went in our area and tracted and Elder W. and Elder D. went to their area and worked. It was really fun, but Elder R. and I tracted into this girl who talked with us for a while and seemed interested, but I think for the wrong reasons. haha Oh we also talked to this guy from India and you know how like in movies and stuff when they talk their heads bobble....Well its true!!! haha It was so funny! 

On Thursday Elder D. and I tracted into this older couple who let us in right away, which was really nice because it was blistering hot outside. We went in and started talking to the husband for a little bit and then the wife came in and started talking....and never stopped! She would just go on from one subject to the next, it was pretty funny but annoying at the same time.  Finally though we were able to talk a little bit about the gospel and give them a Book of Mormon and they said we could come back, so it was good. Then we had an awesome lesson with our investigator M. later that night and finally got a member to the lesson...oh yeah! We read 3 Nephi 11 with him and explained baptism and everything and then went over the restoration again and why it’s important that someone must have authority to baptize and he said it all made sense. He then told us about how he had been looking for a church and prayed that he might know which one to go to and then that day the missionaries knocked on his door. He even admitted it was a sign but he is still afraid to come to church. He is progressing and I think he'll get baptized but it will be a slow process. 

On Friday we had our movie night and it went pretty good. We had one person show up that wasn't a member and it was someone we contacted on the street.  His name is J. and we were riding our bikes a couple of weeks ago and we see this black guy walking into the forest so we pulled over and started talking to him.  Well he was way excited to talk to us, but he didn't have a lot of time, so we got his phone number, gave him a pamphlet and said we would call him. Well we've been calling him the last couple of weeks and finally he came to our movie night and he absolutely loved it. We gave him a tour of the church afterwards and in the baptismal font room invited him to be baptized.  Boy was the spirit strong!  He said that this felt like the direction he needed to head in but he couldn't set a solid date yet. So I am way excited about him.

On Saturday we helped these non-members move for like 4 hours it was terrible, but good at the same time. Terrible in that it was extremely hot and it was disgusting how much we sweated. You really learn how to sweat when you live in humidity, let me tell ya, but it was good. But other than that I can't really remember much of Saturday, I think my brain got fried from over working. Speaking of being tired, our apartment has bed bugs and so the other elders have been getting eaten alive. Our bedroom doesn't have them so they have been sleeping in our room the last couple of nights, and I have not been able to sleep, so yeah I'm pretty tired, but that's nothing new. haha 

Then yesterday at church was really good, we had ward council and our bishop finally let us talk about our investigators and asked us what we need help with from the ward....It was a Miracle!!! I guess they had had a meeting with the stake president and also President Barry and I guess he figured out things a little better haha Well that was my week, it was a good one and its crazy how fast this transfer has gone by. This was probably my funnest transfer so far even though we didn't have a lot of success, but I lived with some awesome people, so the Lord blessed me in that area. I'm sad though because Elder W. is going home and Elder D. is leaving, I'm going to miss them but life has to move on. Oh hey where did Austin and Libby go on their honeymoon by the way, nobody ever lets me know about these things. Well that’s about all I have so you all have a wonderful week and I'll talk to ya later! Love, Elder Garrett Bushman

P.S. if anyone wants to check out my blog here is the link: http://garrettbushman.blogspot.com/ 

Out here in the swamps....

Dear Family,  How’s it goin?! Sounds like everything is going well back home, it must be pretty crazy getting ready for the wedding. Well life out in the swamp is going pretty good. We had a crazy hectic week but it was good. The work is still going pretty slow but I still feel extremely blessed. But first I guess I'll answer some of dad's questions. Yes we have a car, our area is really big, we live about ten miles from the bulk of our area, so thank goodness we have a car. However, for the past two weeks we have had go bike because we ran out of miles, so that stunk. We had to drive out to our area everyday and then bike which wasted a lot of time which was kind of frustrating, but oh well what can you do? No we don’t have many dinner appointments, in fact I think we have only had one the whole time I've been here. The members don’t really help out a whole ton, there are a few people in the ward who are just way awesome, but other than that the rest of them aren't to serious about missionary work, so our whole objective is trying to get them on board. Especially in an area like this, without the members and getting referrals, the work is going to go really slow, like it has been haha And yes we have a lot of fun with the other elders. We live with the zone leaders, so we are always having a good time in the apartment. Alright there you go dad I answered them all I think haha and mom I did get the film disk, so I'm good.

So first I want to talk a little about the whole online missionary thing. So for Facebook, my profile should be open for anybody to see, but I think I can only add family members as friends. As for my blog, that’s open for everyone and the more comments I get on those things the better. The whole point of online missionary work is to get more people that are looking up the church online to go to church websites. So the more comments and the more hits on a website, the more frequent it appears when you search on Google or something. We want people to go to more church websites and missionary blogs and what not then anti-Mormon stuff. So what I would invite everyone to do is to go to mormon.org and create a profile. It's very simple and very easy and it will help with the work, so please do it.

So anyway we had a pretty good week, like I said it was kind of slow but really hectic. On Monday we got a text from N. and he was really struggling, he got a notice on his door that he would be kicked out of his apartment in 7 days, and so we were calling all over the place trying to get some help from him, and everybody was so slow to act. It was super urgent because his phone was going to get shut off the next day because he couldn't pay for it, so he needed help and we couldn't seem to get any.  So we actually lost contact with him on Tuesday and then miraculously heard from him on Thursday! He got a new phone and we set up a time to see him on Friday. So on Friday we went and picked him up with a member and brought him back to the church so we could be in a more spirit conducive environment. We had a wonderful lesson with him, we read D&C 121 and 122 with him and felt the spirit so strong. We asked him if he still wanted to be baptized and he said yes, so we set it for Sunday.  So we got an interview lined up and everything and he was way super excited!  But then we found out he couldn't get baptized because of some certain reasons and that we would have to wait for a little while. So it was really sad having to break the news to him that he couldn't get baptized, probably one of the hardest things I've had to do.  So we almost had a baptism this weekend but I guess the Lord had something else in mind.

On Saturday we had the wonderful opportunity for Elder Giddens, a member of the 6th quorum of the seventy, to come speak to us. It was amazing!  That man had so much knowledge of everything, he didn't even come prepared with anything; he just came with his scriptures and with his prayers. He would just start going on about a subject, and it was so spirit led, i was able to have so many questions answered. And now I just can't wait till August 13 when Jeffery R. Holland will come to speak to us!

Oh we also had a really awesome district meeting on Wednesday and it was cool because it tied in a lot with Elder Giddens and what he talked about.  But at the beginning I had everyone in my district tell their story of why they came and then we talked about reaching our true potential and becoming who we wanted to become when we first came out. Then we all prayed individually for ten minutes to seek guidance and inspiration on what we need to do. It was a really powerful experience and I learned a lot from it as well.

Ok so I know I’m bouncing back and forth but that’s just how my mind is working right now haha  So as for our other investigators.....well its kind of rough at the moment. A. and C. are slowly progressing but they didn't come to church on Sunday, well nobody came to church on Sunday.  Yeah so that’s basically the story of what’s going on here, just appointments and everything falling through but we are still seeing success so I  just need to be patient haha Which is something I often times lack.

Well I don’t know what else to really talk about, but I'm still having a blast and loving missionary work! This truly is the Lords work and I am so grateful that I have had the opportunity to grow up in the gospel, it’s such a blessing. I don’t know where I'd be if I didn't have it, I would hope that I would be willing to accept it, if missionaries came to me, but I am just glad to already be in it.  But I love you all and hope you all have a great week.  Love, Elder Garrett Bushman

Just another week in paradise....

Dear family and friends,

This week has been a long and hard week, so I am grateful to be starting over a new one haha Well the week started off great with N. saying he wanted to get baptized and we set a date for this next Sunday which was awesome, and this happened on Tuesday. It was kind of cool too because he came to us and said he wanted to get baptized. He just texted us Monday night and said he wanted to because he was thinking about it, and it gave him the chills and he felt really good and he said he knew it would bring him greater happiness. So we told him everything that needed to happen for him to get baptized and planned it all. However through out the whole week we couldn't get to him and finally on Saturday we had everything lined up for him to come to a baptism, and he bailed on us. He had to go look for a place to live because his lease is up in 30 days at the place he is living at. And so he didn’t come to church and I'm not sure what we can do for him. Its a sick feeling when you care and worry about someone and their life isn’t going the right way. I imagine its somewhat similar to how parents feel when their kids go astray, but probably not quite as much. So yeah that’s N's story so far.

On Wednesday I had district meeting and it was good. We had the ward mission leader show us how to do a church tour and then I had a training on the role of the holy ghost and how we can use it to be more confident and have more power and Authority to spread the gospel. I love talking about the Holy ghost because to me there is nothing greater than the gift and companionship of the Holy Ghost. To me the Holy Ghost symbolizes  a PERFECT FRIEND. He's there to comfort us (John 14:26-27) he's there to lead us, guide us, protect us, prepare us, calm us, give us strength, and so on and so forth. Aren't those the perfect attributes we would want in a friend? So I think its ironic when we do things to push him away haha but we aren't perfect, that’s what the atonement is for. But you know I really do know there is nothing more loyal to us than the holy Ghost, It truly is an amazing gift we have, and when we have the Holy ghost it brings us confidence, not confidence in pride, but confidence in sharing the gospel with others. So how do we help others feel the spirit that comes from us, well we love them, we serve them, and we bear our testimony. There is nothing more powerful than a simple testimony that is sincere and heart felt. Its what brings the convincing power of God to help us and others feel his love. There's a quote by President Thomas S. Monson that I love and it says, "Regarding one's testimony, remember, that which one willingly shares he keeps, while that which he selfishly keeps he loses." what better way to build our own testimony than by sharing it with others. D&C 121: 45-46 is a super powerful scripture on how we can do and have all these things I talked about.

Well there's my spiritual speal but back to the rest of the week. So all week we tried to get a lesson with A. and C. and couldn't get one. Oh but I did get to go on a trade off  with Elder J. which was fun, its a crazy place. And he had a membership at a gym and oh did it feel good to get a solid work out in, I was in heaven being back in a real gym again haha. But yeah the rest of the week we just got doors closed in our face, had to ride bikes all week, and got drenched by rain while riding our bikes on Friday. So this week has just been really hard and yesterday I had to stay home from church with Elder R. because his is really sick, so its now been two weeks in a row I've missed the sacrament which really stinks. But you know what, there are always better days ahead and I am fortunate enough to have my best friend, the Holy Ghost, to help me through. So like I said, I am grateful to begin a new week and I feel really good about this week, its going to be great! I hope you all have a good week and I'll talk to ya later!  Love,  Elder Garrett Bushman

So very excited!!!!

Dear Family,  So Elder D. and I had an amazing week, but before I get to that I guess I'll answer some questions first. So yes dad I do get your letters, thank you so much for them they are awesome and I also get your emails. I wish I understood more about law because in your last letter I had no idea what you were talking about haha but it sounds like you are way super busy with work right now, which is probably good and bad yeah?

Ok so first off I just got to let you guys know something really cool...................ELDER HOLLAND IS COMING TO SPEAK TO OUR MISSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is that not the coolest thing EVER! I am so excited!!!!! I can't begin to describe to you all how happy I am haha I get to meet an apostle! Especially Jeffery R. Holland, he is one of the most powerful speakers, I love listening to him talk. Also the week before we have a seventy who is going to come speak to our zone and the Jax west zone so its going to be awesome! oh and Elder Holland is coming to speak to us on August 13, it's going to be so amazing.

Ok so now for the week. Elder D. and I are having a blast right now, we are being so blessed. On Monday we went and saw this former investigator named C. We just started talking to him and some how started talking about Christ and the atonement, and really had a way spiritual, powerful lesson. It was so spirit led too, its amazing how the spirit can just guide you on what to ask and when to say something and when to listen. Anyway he invited us back over for the next day to do some service for him. While we were there we really made good friends with his son A. and his grandson S. After service C. went to go get some food for us, so we went back out and worked some more, went and saw some people and then came back. We got back before C. got home and I had the thought to go watch the restoration with A. and S.  So we went in there and we were like "hey you guys want to watch a movie with us?" and they said "sure, is it about Jesus" we were like "yeah a little bit" haha so we explained it to them and then watched it, and they were glued to that TV! It was so awesome.  C. came back and we ate dinner, then we had a short lesson with them and invited them to church. C. was a little unsure, but A, said yes right away and so did S.  haha so that was awesome!

On Wednesday I had leadership training which was really good, we went over some things that could benefit the mission and how to become more effective leaders, I loved it, President Barry really is called of God to lead this mission, I just love learning from that man and also from the other leaders. On Thursday I had district meeting and pretty much just went over everything that we went over in leadership training and it was good. My district is awesome, there are only four of us in it, and the zone leaders so it’s a very tight knit unit and we all get a long great. We also had a way sweet lesson with this guy named M. that night and invited him to be baptized at the end and he just sat there for like 3 minutes thinking and said "well that’s hard to say no too" then thought some more and then said " I'll have to get back to you, I can't answer right now" oh man he was so close to saying yes! but we are excited to keep working with him.

Friday and Saturday were kind of stinky days though. It rained all day both days and nobody even opened a door for us, it was terrible. But finally Saturday night we got into C's door and I can't tell you all that went on but basically we offered him a blessing and told him what it is and he said he would like one. He took us out to dinner first, which was awesome and by then it was 9:00 so we didn't get to give the blessing that night but we re-invited them to church and of course A. said yes right away again haha

Sunday was our culminating day this week, it was amazing! We went with some members to go pick up some investigators, A. and a kid named N, C. didn't come. But we arrived late to sacrament meeting which really stunk but we had 4 investigators at church! I kind of took A. around to all of his classes and stuff and he absolutely loved church! He was asking me all sorts of questions about the atonement, and what it meant that the son of man descended below them all, it was so cool! Then after church we went and gave C. a blessing, and it was just way super spiritual and we had a member who spoke Spanish with us which was even better. We also gave A. a Book of Mormon and he said he would read it every night. Oh man it is just so exciting! Our goal is to set a date with them this week so its going to be good. So yeah we had a great week!

So Hunter's team took second huh (at state)? Well that’s cool, they made it a long way I bet that was exciting, and Mom you'll have to send me pictures of Big Sky Montana I want to see what it looks like. Oh by the way that was so weird getting Austin and Libby's wedding announcement in the mail, SO WEIRD! But I guess its good that Austin is finally growing up and becoming a man, ITS ABOUT TIME!  hahaha Well I can't really think of much else to say, so I guess I'll say goodbye and I love you all, Have a great week!  Love, Elder Garrett Bushman

Leadership Training Meeting

Dear Family,

Oh wow! it has been an eventful week. A lot has gone on and I am just having wonderful experiences and feeling really good, I love the spirit so much, I've just been feeling it really strong all morning so hopefully I can put my words together.

Well my new area is called _____, I actually got transferred to the area that Elder A came from haha kind of funny. My new companion is Elder D. He is from Mesa, Arizona and a big funny guy and he has been out 8 months. We are already getting along very well, however he is kind of shy, so I've been doing most of the door approaches and talking to people and teaching. So I am really working with him on having him overcome his shyness, I know really weird coming from me right? haha But I've just been really working hard on trying to have him speak up more in lessons and what not, so we are really going to have a great transfer, its going to be fun! My new area is super wealthy - everything looks like the K. neighborhood in this area. I've already tracted more this last week than I did all of last transfer because we pretty much have no investigators.  Elder D. and I are pretty much white washing this area. We found one new guy this week who is pretty cool, and we set a baptismal date for the 30th of July but it isn't way super solid so we are going back to see im today. Other than that we are really trying to work with the members and get them on our side so that they will be willing to give us referrals because we are going to need their help more than anything. There are also a ton of part member families and formers that we are planning on going to see, so I just have a great feeling that this area is just about to explode and that we are going to get a lot of good work done here, so I'm way super excited!

So I had my first district meeting on Thursday and it went pretty well. I trained on working in unity and how we all need to have the same goal and the same purpose in mind and not contradict each other. I talked about how God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are our perfect examples of working in unity, they all work for the same purpose which is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. In all reality, that is our same purpose as missionaries and member missionaries, we are all working together to bring people unto Christ and receive the restored gospel so that they can receive eternal life. As I planned for this I really realized how great our calling is and how great of a responsibility as members of this church that we have to share the gospel, it was a really great eye opener for me. It's also kind of funny how nervous I was when I got the calling to be a district leader but its really not that bad, I don't mind getting up there and talking, I've actually gained a greater love for my mission as I've started to serve my fellow missionaries as well as the people in my area, it feels really good.

On Sunday the 2nd counselor in the bishopric asked me to get up and bear my testimony, which I was actually grateful for because I got to bear my testimony on the importance of missionary work and how it’s the Lords work not ours and that we all need to be involved. I didn't quite phrase it like that but I hope that the ward now realizes that we are serious about this work and that it’s important.

So I want to tell you all about why I have had such a spiritual morning, it’s really been a great blessing to me. So last night I had to report to the zone leaders our numbers for the district. As I talked with them they asked me if I had any specific plans I wanted to set for the district on how we could achieve our baptism goal. I thought about it and I just really couldn't think about anything, or anything that I thought could help. I got some very profound advice, and they told me that as I begin to sincerely pray for my district and how I can best help them that the inspiration will come and that ideas will just stop popping into my head. I thought to myself, well I sure hope so because I've been doing that all week and nothing has happened so far. But I took the advice and I really prayed hard for ideas on how I can best help the district. Last night as I laid in bed, ideas just started popping into my head just like they said it would and then this morning even more ideas came, and I just felt and overwhelming feeling of the spirit. I think I am finally really starting to grasp hold on what missionary work is all about, because right now I just feel like going out and knocking on every door in Jacksonville. That’s why I said earlier that I love the spirit!  It's amazing, it’s what brings true joy and true happiness.  I am so grateful for this gospel and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to grow up in it and have such a wonderful supporting family and friends.

Well there's my little spiritual shpeal for today, I hope you all have a wonderful week, oh and by the way I finished the Book of Mormon on Monday and it was awesome! So I hope you all are still reading it, ok well...big gulps huh? well cya later!  Love, Elder Garrett Bushman

L's Baptism

What the Heck?

Dear Family,  So this week was one of the best weeks of my mission.  Elder A. and I decided at the beginning of the week that we were going to set the example for the district and that we were going to do everything in our power to reach all of our goals and get a baptism.  However my thoughts are extremely jumbled right now because I am really nervous for this next transfer but I'll let you know more about that later. 

So last Sunday Elder A. and I fasted for a miracle, we fasted that we could help with the zone goal of ten baptisms for this weekend.  We had a really good feeling going into it and something amazing did happen. So on Tuesday we were at the Library because Elder A. has an online missionary assignment, and I called this lady that had befriended L. at church that Sunday. I thanked her for being a good friend to L. and then asked her if he had said anything about the church to her and she said “Yeah! He wants to get baptized!”  I was shocked! I don’t think I have ever been so happy in my life, I guess something finally clicked with him. We went over there that night without him knowing because we just had a feeling we needed to go over there. The lady I had talked to was there and we started talking and ended up teaching the third lesson. At the end we were like "so L. we heard you wanted to get baptized?" and he was like "yeah when can I do it?" We asked him when he would like to get baptized and he said this Saturday! Yeah L. got baptized on Saturday!!!! hahaha What a testimony booster to Elder A. and I on the power of fasting and prayer.  So for the rest of the week we prepared for his baptism, we finished teaching him the lessons and he stopped drinking that day, and stopped everything. He even had a lot of opposition that week but he just kept telling us that he had a goal in mind and that nothing would stop him, and that even if Satan himself showed up to try and stop him that, that wouldn't even work hahaha He is such a stud! Then the baptism on Saturday was amazing, However he did have to be baptized three times because Brother W. couldn't get him under haha But as they were walking out of the font you could just hear those two laughing and joking about it.  I called him later and talked about it, and he said that he loved it and that he had a great time. Then on Sunday it was crazy because we had 3 baby blessing and 3 confirmations.  L. was the last one to get confirmed and later he told me that we was sad when it was over because he liked it so much, he is just so solid and so awesome, there isn't much more to say about it.

Oh and guess who else we ran into again....yeah we ran into T. and L. again while we were at the Library. We met with them that night and set a date for the 17th with them.  It was a way powerful lesson, we read 3 Nephi 11 with them about Christ coming and they absolutely loved it.  Later in the week we watched the restoration with them and they loved that as well. They also read the pamphlet on the plan of salvation and they were just so excited about how we lived with god before we came to this earth. So we set up everything for them to come to church with us this Sunday and even got them a ride.  But at 9:30 we get a call from their ride and they told us that they were late and couldn't find them.  So that was a big bummer until T. and L. just randomly showed up at church. They figured out a way over there and they told us they did it because it was something that was important to them and that it was a priority. The only problem is that they might get evicted from their apartment, so we are just praying they don’t. 

So all these amazing things were going on, we have 3 dates set for this month and then I get a call Saturday night......and I'm getting transferred. I was shocked, I thought for sure I was staying, I mean I haven't even had a companion for longer than one transfer yet and Elder A. and I were doing such good work. Then I get a call this morning from President Barry asking me if I could be a district leader.  Yeah that is why I am nervous as junk, I haven't even hit six months yet.  I'm not nervous about being a district leader so much as I'm nervous that the missionaries I will be serving with won’t respect me because I am so young.  But I know that the Lord's hand is in everything and that this is what I need to be doing. I don't know where I am going yet, I won’t find out till Tuesday but I hope its not too far so I can come back for the baptisms.  Jake, Austin, and Dad if you have any good ideas for me about leadership or being a district leader I would really appreciate it, I'm going to need all the help I can get haha.

Oh by the way I finished the Book of Mormon today and what an amazing experience it was!  Oh man it was crazy, especially reading about the destruction of the people.  I can't believe how stubborn they were. However I love Moroni's testimony at the end of the Book of Mormon, he basically says that the Book of Mormon is true and all those that don't believe in it will see him at the judgment and he'll be like "I told you so" haha it was awesome! I hope you are all still reading and having a great experience like I did. Oh also Sister H. texted me the other day and told me that she went to church this weekend and that she is doing a lot better so that was good to hear, and thank you for keeping her in your prayers. 

Well I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July, it sounds like you are going to have a really fun day. We don’t really have anything fun planned; we are just going to go say goodbye to some people.  Sorry if my letter isn't as long this week, but like I said my thoughts are all over the place right now, so its really hard putting it all into words.  But I love you all and thank you for your support and your prayers they help out a lot.

Love,  Elder Garrett Bushman

And then there was smoke......

Dear Family,                                                              

So yes mom there have been fires going out here like crazy! I guess Jacksonville is surrounded by them and the last couple weeks the smoke has been terrible. We have been riding our bikes and there will be ash falling from the sky, but this weekend hasn't been too bad we've been having a lot of rain so the Lord has been watching out from us. But its funny because every time we go over to the M___'s when we are on our bikes, Sister M____ asks me how many packs of cigarettes I've smoked that day because of the smoke and I always say like two haha But yeah On Wednesday the smoke was so bad that we could only see like 50 feet in front of us, its been crazy!  Well this week has been really good and kind of a bummer as well and I'll explain more about that.

So on Tuesday I get a call from Elder P. telling me that Sister H. is really struggling. I was shocked! I gave her a call up and started talking to her and I guess everything is just seeming to fall apart for her. She's been struggling with why we need the word of wisdom, she went online and looked it up and read a lot about it. She thinks that it was just guidelines. I guess someone saw her drinking one night and they told the missionaries and so she got way mad about that because they didn't tell her to her face. Also she found out that she can't be sealed to her kids because she isn't married, and just a whole bunch of other stuff. I felt so sick because she was just so confused and so angry, I tried to reason with her and tell her why things were the way they were and what not but I realized in the end I just had to tell her I loved and cared about her and let her figure it out. So that was really stressful at the beginning of my week but I’ve been praying really hard for her all week and I feel everything will be ok.

On Thursday we had a way awesome day because we got to go eat at the M's! It was awesome because Sister M___'s mom came in from Hawaii and they made us Kalua pork and all this other wonderful food oh I loved it!!!!!! Then sister M____ and I had a way intense ping pong game, she is so competitive, its so much fun! Every time we play we just go at it and have a blast. She won the first game, she absolutely destroyed me haha but then I beat her the second game, its always going back and forth. The kids are awesome too, they are always wrestling with me and stuff and it just reminds me of Hunter and I always wrestling around and having pillow fights and what not, its so much fun. They really do feel like family to me. We also watched the Testaments with them that night and Sister M had a non-member friend over who watched it with us and I guess she got pretty emotional through it but she left right after the movie and we didn't have a chance to bear testimony about it. However, Sister M's mom is a non-member so it was sweet being able to bear testimony to her and she already loves us its awesome.

L. is also doing very well. We watched the Testaments with him over at the W. on Tuesday and he was glued to that TV the whole time and he got teary eyed too. But he is so stubborn he won’t admit he felt the spirit for anything, it’s so funny. We try so hard but he just won’t do it, but he's been reading the Book of Mormon like crazy! He's already into second Nephi and he remembers everything he reads because he reads over it twice. We have just figured that he will come to us when he decides to get baptized because every time we ask him he just says he has more reading to do haha but he knows its true, I can tell because he loves coming to church and he loves reading and he loves meeting with us, so its just a matter of time.

We haven't been able to get a hold of L. this whole week, but we do have an appointment with him tomorrow so hopefully he is there and doesn't bail on us again.

We also got two new investigators that moved in from a different area. The missionaries called us and told us they were moving in, so we went and helped them move in, and it’s this elderly couple, L. and T. They have been investigating the church for a while and are considering getting baptized so that was kind of sweet miracle. Then on the way back from that we saw T. and L. walking on the Sidewalk!  We pulled over and started talking to them and set up an appointment but when we went back they left us a note saying they had to go somewhere, so we are going to try and contact them today. But that was just a way sweet miracle because I had thought they had moved or something.

That’s basically all that went on this week. But I just want to let you all know how proud I am of you for reading the book of Mormon. I myself am in 3rd Nephi right now and am planning on finishing the book of Mormon this week. Transfer meeting is next Tuesday and I made a goal to finish it before then and I'm just about to get into some of the best parts of the book of Mormon where Christ comes and visits the people. As I read those chapters I always just think to myself how wonderful it would have been to be there, to have seen him and felt the wounds in his hands, feet, and side. I would have loved to have heard his sermons and to have seen him heal people.  There are so many things that they saw that aren't written and I just can't wait for the day when I will get to see him, when I'll get to wash his feet with my tears. (even though I don't like feet but I think his will be alright haha) but I just pray every day that I will be ready for that day, and I am so grateful that I have been given the path to get there and that I have been give all the instruments I need to be successful. The book of Mormon is true, Christ really did appear to them and its awesome being able to tell people that, and I hope you all feel the same.

Well I wish everyone a wonderful week and thank you for everything, Love ya!  Love, Elder Garrett Bushman