Beuford district

The best part  of any training meeting - lunch time!

Zone Leader Council - May 2012

Dreams really do come true.....

Dear Family, Sorry that it is so late that I have gotten to you over the email, but we haven't gotten the chance to go to the library today because they are all closed. We are finally at a member's house and I have the quick opportunity to write a quick letter. But before I start I need to remember a couple of things. Mom, I need some more garments, bottoms, stretchy kind, large, thank you, probably like 4 more.

Ok, anyway my week went really well here in S, I can't believe that it is already the start of a new week and the last week of the transfer. This week has been busy with trade offs in H and S and we are still struggling to find elect people, however we did see a couple of miracles this week with some referrals that we received from some members. We went and gave a blessing to a lady named M in the hospital on Friday. She was a referral from a member and she is a non member, she is a cousin to the member. She is in her 70's and she was so funny, she was telling us how she was hallucinating because of the medicine she was on. She told us that there were bugs all over the walls and little people dancing around and at one point there was a grizzly bear between Elder N and I. At one point there was a young nurse that came in, and for purpose of the story I will say she was not bad looking, and she told the nurse, "look at me with these three good looking young men coming to see me tonight, I am really racking up! Although they probably would rather have you in here then me." No joke those were near her exact words haha Elder N turned bright red and I just laughed. She became a new investigator.

On Monday I played some basketball against some black kids after emailing you all by the Library. They asked if we played and I said yes and Elder N and I just went and played. By the way this has been one of my dreams since I have been in S, to play against a bunch of black kids in the street and I got my chance. There were 5 of us so we played a free for all game to 32 by 2's. Well it wasn't long before my dream was realized as I came up triumphant against these street ballers haha I think the Lord gave me some extra abilities to play against them because afterwards we were able to give them some pamphlets.

These are the only two big experiences I really wanted to talk about since I have such a short period of time to type, but I did want to let you know that my next P-Day will be on Tuesday instead of Monday so don't expect to hear from me next Monday. Alright love you all sorry it was short but this day has been hectic. Have a great week! Love, Elder Bushman

 They boyz are back in town (Elders Bushman, Neville and Bass - all Farmington boyz)

Where it all begins......

So so lucky!!!

Dear Family,  Wow I can't believe you all got to listen to President Uchtdorf and Elder Holland - they are two of my favorite speakers! I heard President Uchtdorf told people it was ok to fall asleep in church...is that true? I can't wait to hear about what Elder Holland through down on too, hopefully it was missionary work haha Elder N and I were talking this morning about how when President Hinckley said we could double the amount of baptisms with unified effort from the members and missionaries if everyone just worked together and actually did missionary work. We were talking about how we haven't even got back to that number that we had that one year, kind of sad. While I've been out here I’ve really began to understand the meaning of our covenants and the importance of members. I mean we all make that covenant when we are baptized to share the gospel. "To stand as a witness of God at all times, in all things, in all places even until death." Just think if every member really did that and really focused on sharing the Gospel, it would be amazing how many people would join the church. I wish I would have done a lot better when I was back home.

Anyway our week went pretty good. Nothing really happened the first two days of the week we were just going about teaching lessons and what not, except for on Tuesday we were doing service for this man named Don Joyce. He was someone Elder N and Elder R tracted into and asked if they could help in anyway and he said yeah paint my house so they said ok. I don’t think people think we are serious when we ask that, but we are! So we came back on Tuesday and started painting the trimming of his house green and he was very happy. He is an older black man that has a lot of health issues so can't really do a whole lot. After painting he went and bought us lunch and we taught him the restoration while we were there and he was really interested and said he would read the Book of Mormon and now we are winning his wife's heart too so hopefully we can nudge are way in there. 

On Wednesday we made our way down to Jacksonville for our 2 day leadership training conference. However I got sick in the middle of the night and had a fever the whole day so I didn't get much out of the first day, plus I was asked to give a training but luckily it was on Thursday that I was going to give the training. I felt a lot better on Thursday and was ready to learn, I got a lot more out of it. However out of the 4 people that were asked to train I was the last one to go and we were all given a similar topic to train on. I was asked to train on being bold with our commitments but not pushy or manipulative. Well the first Elder trained on why we commit people to do things and he also talked about being bold. So I started scrampling through my notes and realized I could still talk about not being pushy or manipulative.  Then the last guy right before me gets up and yep, he trained on not being pushy or manipulative. I hate being last, this happened to me at Zone Conference last month too and I just had to wing it. Well I was sweating bullets trying to think of something I could add to what had already been added. So I got up there and stood before all the missionaries and asked the Assistants how much time I had and they just shrugged, so I said a little prayer inside my heart and started talking. It's amazing how if you are prepared, that no matter what happens the spirit will tell you what to say and this is what happened this time. I basically ended up giving a training about charity, that we cannot be bold unless we have charity. Because we could be straightforward and say the most bold things in the world but if those people don't see that we care about them then it is going to mean nothing and they will feel nothing. So everything ended up working out really well and the spirit was really strong.

The rest of the week went alright, we weren't able to find any new investigators this week unfortunately, that is something we have been struggling with this week, is finding elect investigators so we have been praying mightily for some miracles. The highlight of the week is that our new convert, K, got to go to the temple this weekend with the youth and she absolutely loved it! She said it was incredible and that she wishes she could live there haha. I was so jealous; I haven't been to the temple now for 15 months!  I want to go so badly but it will have to wait. Well I'm getting kicked off the computer so I got to get going. Have a great day love you all!  Love, Elder Bushman

A small note

Dear Family,  Well I don't have a whole lot to talk about since I talked to you all yesterday! It was so good to see all of you over skype but really weird at the same time since I haven't seen you all for 15 months. It was funny because before we talked, as Elder N and I were driving over to this members house to do skype we were talking about how we felt nervous to talk to our families haha So yeah I felt a little nervous before I talked to you all and I don't really know why, kind of funny though, it was kind of like going on a date almost haha just kidding I got over it pretty quick though. It was weird seeing Heber and Lane, they look so grown up it's crazy! I think Heber looks a lot more like Hillary then Jake, which is a good thing, no offense Jake. 

Elder N and I had a baptism this week which was just a great tender mercy of the Lord and it went really well with lots of non-members showing up and it was just a spiritual meeting. We were also able to set another date with D again. She was the black lady that Elder N and I found about 3 months ago and she has had a couple of dates, but now we have set a solid date with her for the 27th. Elder N and Elder R were able to weed out her concerns and solidly commit her to a date and they said it was very powerful, and from what I know of her, she is very true to her word when she commits to do something, so we are very excited about that. We also were out of our area again for 2 days this week as we went up to R and B on trade-offs and those were a lot of fun. I enjoy going on trade-offs with other missionaries to learn from them and help them in any way that I can. But basically that was our week. This upcoming week we are going to be having Leadership Training down in Jacksonville where we are going to be learning a lot of cool stuff, and yes President Barry was at that Seminar that Brad's mission President went to, so I am excited to hear what went on there. But anyway thank you again for the wonderful conversation yesterday, love you all and have a wonderful week!  Love, Elder Bushman

Life is good!

Dear Family,

Well life is just amazing I love it so much! I'm glad to hear that things are going well and that Hunter is even winning some baseball games, congratulations! I remember how frustrated I would get when I wasn't playing well, I was telling Elder N the other day about my college experience and how terrible I was playing when I was there, it's just no fun, but it is a lot more fun when you are doing well so good for Hunter. Hunter is a lot more patient and not so much competitive as I am though so maybe he loves it no matter what haha Baseball has made me such a numbers guy though I am definitely grateful for the drive and motivation that sports gave me to be the best I can be, but sometimes It also has its setbacks when it comes to missionary work, so I am still working on getting myself well rounded in that aspect of my life haha

Anyway things are going very well here in Savannah, right now Elder N and I really just trying to find out how to find the elect. To really see the vision beyond what we already have to take it to the next level and really achieve what the Lord has in store for us. President B told us this morning in a letter that The Lord is pleased with our work and what we are doing, but he is not satisfied, there is always something more that we can do. It is so true, so many times in my life have I just done enough, just done as much as I need to do and I was satisfied with it, but there is no growth involved when you do that. Growth comes as we reach beyond what we have set for ourselves, to run the extra mile, I just pray that I can do it and that is the best thing about it, we need to rely on the Lord to achieve it, there is no other way!

This week was great though, on Tuesday we had a lesson with this lady whose name was E who lives on Alma street. That is actually how we contacted her, we knocked on her door and told her that she lived on a street that was in the Book of Mormon and so she wanted to read it haha it was great. She is a real big talker though and has studied many religions and is not a big fan of religion but is willing to learn. On Wednesday we got to drive down to Zone Leader Council in Jacksonville which is always a treat. I just love those meetings so much we get so spiritually fed throughout the meeting and then we get physically fed afterwards with amazing food, it's just the best thing ever. Then we went back that night and taught K at the church and finished up the lessons with her. So now all we needed was her uncles permission for her to be baptized. Oh boy did Elder N and I fast and pray this weekend for a miracle to happen and while we were in Church V got a text from K saying that the Uncle was fine with her getting baptized! OOOOOOH YEEAAH! It was a really incredible experience actually because about 2 months ago, or a month, I fasted that she would have the desire to be baptized and when I closed off my fast I saw her in my mind dressed in white with Elder N and I there and now everything is working out that it is going to happen, I am just grateful! But we need to keep praying because crazy stuff happens all the time right before baptisms, the Devil works hard. Anyway so things are looking good for her to be baptized on Saturday.

T also had a really cool experience this week. She called me Monday morning very excitedly explaining this life changing experience she had. So she recently had surgery on her mouth and it has been really hurting her and she had to go to work Monday morning. She told me that, that morning she prayed for help from Heavenly Father to help her fulfill her responsibilities at her work as a nurse and that her jaw wouldn't bother her. When she got to work there was a lady there that wasn't supposed to be there but ended up taking her place so she could go home. She said that she was filled with the spirit, like she had never felt before and recognized that, that was an answer to her prayer that morning so now she believes God to be there 100 percent, which is truly a miracle!

Earlier this week I was having a pretty rough day and my mind was everywhere but on missionary work, it was terrible.  It was really frustrating to me too because I knew it was something that I could easily refocus myself on but for some reason I just couldn't do it. To worsen the circumstances all of our plans that we had scheduled for 3 hours fell through in 10 minutes, oh yeah that is frustrating. So Elder N and I just prayed that we would be led to where we needed to be and I prayed that I could be focused enough to feel the spirit. I knew if we just got out to work that I would forget myself so we decided to go to a neighborhood near our house and tract. So we went to work and at first I was still having a hard time focusing and we just kept getting rejected left and right by people, but we just kept going and after about 45 minutes of tracting we knocked on this door and an 18 year old kid walked out. As soon as I saw him, I knew there was something different about him and everything that I was thinking about myself went out the window. We began to talk to him.  He wasn't like all the other kids in the neighborhood, he didn't have his pants around his knees, he spoke maturely, he is planning on going to college, and is graduating High School. While we were talking to him I could just tell that he could recognize the spirit, in fact he told us that he felt it. By the end he asked us if he could have a Book of Mormon and when we asked him if there was anything we could do for him, he asked us if we could say a prayer for him that he would understand the Book of Mormon, it was incredible. It was a huge testimony builder to me on how the Lord is mindful of us always. Even though I wasn't very focused at the time he led us right where we needed to be to help me forget all the stuff that was on my mind and focus on the work. My mind was completely freed after that, and I was so grateful for it. The Lord is mindful of all of our needs, he really is.

Ok funny story real quick so the other Day Elder N and I were tracting in this neighborhood and this black lady asked us, "Are you the Mormons." And Elder N said, "Yeah, what gave us away?" To which she replied, "Two white guys in a black neighborhood." haha it was so funny and we looked around and said yeah that makes sense, it was great! But anyway I got to get going, but thanks for all that you do and I will talk to you all next week. Oh and I was thinking about doing the skype and I will probably call around 5 PM your time, so be ready, Love you all by! Love, Elder Bushman 

Elder Greer, Bushman and Danderidge at the mission office on transfer day

 Service with a smile..... Elders B., H., B. and N.

My trainer, Elder W. going home!

Collard greens, pig feet, and such.....

Dear Family, Well what a wonderful week it has been! I don't even know where to start but I guess I'll start by answering Dad's question about all the different stuff I have eaten since I have been here and surprisingly enough it has all happened while I have been in Savannah. But I have eaten: collard greens, ox tail, pig feet, chicken liver, gizzard, and who knows what else. The thing is that I have loved all of it, except the chicken liver and gizzard, that was disgusting, but everything else tasted great. However, once I realized that I was eating pig feet, I got kind of grossed out because Elder L said, "Elder Bushman you hate feet, and you are eating it right now." Yeah I was pretty disturbed after that haha But I love southern food and I think collard greens are great, it's just all really bad for you.

This week started off with a lesson at B's house. He made us shish kabobs, I don't know if that is how you spell it but I tried anyway, but it tasted amazing! I love that food so much, it was great and then we watched the Testaments with them and they absolutely loved it! 

On Wednesday, I'm skipping Tuesday because nothing real special happened, we just found some new investigators, but on Wednesday we drove down to Jacksonville to transfer meeting. Elder H who is living with us is training so we were very excited to see who his new missionary was going to be. I just love being around new missionaries too. It's a lot better when you aren't the one training them, I assume it would kind of be like being a grandparent; you get all the benefits of being around them with out having to raise them. Elder N and I were hoping it would be Elder G since he is from Farmington, but instead he got Elder F, even better! Elder F is from the Dominican Republic and he is such a great missionary. He is black so he will be perfect for Savannah and I just love him already. He is the only active member in his family and is now on a mission, how amazing is that? I really hope that his being on a mission will get his family in gear. That night he had his first baptism too because they had a baptism ready to go for that evening, that's like every new missionaries dream, so it was incredible. 

The rest of the week we were really just preparing for B's baptism, we were just so excited for it, because not only was he being cleansed and getting on that strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life, but he was going to have a lot of non-member friends and family at his baptism. So Saturday roles around and we are super excited, we made sure everything was going to be just perfect for the baptism and the service. B's whole family showed up, which was about 6 people, and a lot of his friends as well. All in all there were probably 30 people there at the baptism and only a few of them were actually members from our ward. The service was amazing, we started off with singing “I Need Thee Every Hour,” which is one of my favorites and then Elder N gave a great talk on Baptism, then B went to the font. The spirit was super strong as he was immersed in the water, being born again spiritually into a great new world. We then went back to the Relief Society room and as B was changing Elder N and I taught the restoration to all the people that were there, it was amazing!  I don't know if the teaching was amazing but the opportunity was haha Then when B came back I got up there again and gave a talk on the Holy Ghost and then B got up there and bore his testimony to everyone and basically invited them all to learn more, it was fantastic! Everyone was very impressed with the service and thought it was great! After that we went out to dinner with everyone and we had the chance to talk to some of the people that were there and they were asking us all sorts of questions about what we do as missionaries and they were very impressed so I am hoping we get some referrals soon. But anyway it was just a great day, and my joy is full.

Then to make it even better, B went up to K, the other person we are teaching, and told her that she would be next in a few weeks. So on Sunday we taught her the Gospel of Jesus Christ and invited her to be baptized on the 12th, and she said yes! The Lord is just merciful, that's all I have to say. The only thing now is that she needs to get permission because she is a minor so pray that she can, we will need all the help we can get! She is great though, she has been coming to church for the last 2 months as well, about the same time as B. She is the cousin of L, B's girlfriend, but it is V, L's sister, who is the one that has been working with her. The D family has just been doing an amazing job at doing missionary work! I'm glad to hear that you have been having some missionary experiences Mom, I wish I would have been better at doing missionary work back home. Anyway so now we are preparing for K's baptism and we are going to be super busy this month because of all the trade offs and we have 2 zone leader councils, and we have a leadership training week, so yeah it is going to be crazy but I love crazy! I'm going to send some pictures, so thanks for all you all do and have a wonderful week, love ya! Love, Eld

I'm sooo happy!

Dear Family,  Thanks for the pictures mom.  That was really funny about the missionary Mom's lunch. Those other mothers must be amazing women for the kind of men they raised that are out here in the mission, Elder A, Elder R, Elder N, and Elder B are some of my most favorite missionaries! The great news is......I get to stay another transfer here in Savannah!!!!!!!! One of the missionaries that lives with us, Elder H, is training as well, so I am really hoping that he gets to train Elder G so that there can be 3 Farmington Boys living at the Fenwick! (That is what we call our house because it’s on Fenwick Avenue).  By the way I did know Greg Forbush, he graduated with Devin and Elder B, so I went to Elementary, Jr. High and High School with him. Elder B already told me about him however, that is really crazy. It's just hitting me harder and harder about how fragile life really is. We have been teaching the Plan of Salvation a lot lately and I have been reading the Book of Mormon again and wow, the Plan of Salvation is so important, everything wraps around it, I don't even know how to explain it, but it is incredible! 

Anyway, I am just really happy!  I wanted so badly to stay in Savannah to be here so I could finish up the work that Elder N and I had started and now I am getting the opportunity to finish it off and keep it going! I just love it up here in Savannah so much, it really has felt like home and become my home on my mission, plus this will be my first 6 month area, so it should be fun! It feels like I just got here yesterday though, it’s intense. Anyway, I will talk about the week now. Well things are going really good, BG is getting baptized this upcoming Saturday and he is just one of the most amazing people I have ever met. He finished the Book of Mormon the other day and prayed about it and got a confirmation that it was true and he just understands the Gospel so well. He figured out that it was true before he even asked us to teach him, so now I kind of understand how the Utah missionaries feel, It's like we don't even teach anything we just go over and review the lessons for them haha  But it really has been a blast teaching him because we can go so much more in depth with him then we can some of the other people we teach, and he is really smart so he understands and comprehends it all. He is a pharmacist so that really helps, like the other night we taught the Plan of Salvation and he asked us about heavenly mother. Well we explained it to him and just told him how it is and he accepted it and said it made sense! Oh it is so nice when they already have a testimony. He is just doing so great and he has already started making plans to go to the temple, and to serve a mission when he is older. I am definitely going to come back when he and L get sealed in the temple, it is going to be amazing!  Tonight we are going over to watch the Testaments with him and eat dinner, we are super excited; he is an amazing cook!

All of our other investigators are progressing nicely. K is also very amazing and very solid. We taught her the plan of salvation yesterday and she understood it and knew it made sense and she just loves it all. We haven't set a date with her yet. T is doing great, she gave me a call the other day and told me how she is feeling the spirit at work to help her with her patients and how happy it is making her, it's incredible! She went from zero faith to now recognizing and understanding the Spirit in her life. 

So we are visiting with this partially less-active member named Brother B. He is a black man and he loves the gospel. Well anyway the other day he bore his testimony to us and was like yelling and through his arms up and said "I KNOW THE PROPHET IS REAL!"  It was so good to hear from him and then we asked him to sing us some soul music, with which he proceeded to do and it actually sounded really good haha Then we sang a song for him out of the hymn book. Elder Neville and I aren't the best at singing but we love to sing and do it all the time for people and they really enjoy it believe it or not. We have a lot of fun out here, I just love it! We had a potluck at the church last night as well where he sang some more, it was great!

But anyway that is really all I have for the week, this week is going to be crazy with transfers and all. We are getting a lot of new missionaries in the zone and a lot of new district leaders, so we are really excited! Also we will be traveling a lot because we will be doing a lot of interviews, so it's just going to be a crazy week, but I love crazy weeks, I feel a lot more fulfilled when I'm stressed out, I don't know why but I think I perform a little better under a little stress. Anyway I love you all and have a wonderful week!

Love, Elder Bushman

And so it goes....

Dear Family,  Well it sounds like it has been quite the crazy week for you all back home. I'm glad Hunter won a game.  I am quite amazed at his determination to keep trucking through all of that.  To be completely honest, if I were him I would be getting so frustrated haha I think that is why I was blessed to have such a good team to play on when I was younger, I just didn't take losing very well and never have. And Dad I don't know why you felt prompted to talk to me about the frustrations of people not accepting or not seeing the grand vision but that was perfect. I have been feeling that a lot recently myself, just working with all these wonderful people who need the gospel so much but aren't willing to take the steps necessary to receive the blessings that come from it. I too just want to grab them and shake them and help them see what they are doing, but unfortunately that darn agency gets in the way haha When I was in Julington Creek Brother C would always joke about how he hated agency because so many people reject the gospel because of it, we had some good laughs. But the thing is that it’s not just the people that we are teaching but it is the missionaries that our under our stewardship as well. I've never felt so responsible and so helpless all at the same time in my whole life. Our zone is so big, it's so hard to reach out to all the missionaries and help them and so they are a lot of the time left unto themselves to do the work and I just worry all the time about how to help them more and help them see their potential as missionaries and as children of God really. A mission is so vital to rest of someone’s life, I’m really beginning to realize this more and more because there is so much you can learn in these two years that you couldn't learn anywhere else and you just want to help them understand that. So yeah I know exactly where you are coming from and it is really easy to get frustrated. I was really frustrated this morning actually because as a zone we had a really bad week, but then I realized I can only do so much and things happen, we’ve just got to be patient and love those that we serve. 

Anyway this week was a really good week. However, all 5 of our dates that we had have fallen through because they weren't able to make it to church so that was a bummer, but that didn't worry me at all because the Lord just provides people. On Monday we were able to teach BG, who has been coming to church for the last month with a lady in the ward, his girlfriend. He finally decided that he wants to be taught and be baptized, so we had a wonderful lesson with him on the restoration and he made us some great burgers. We then taught him on Saturday at a member’s home and he decided that he wants to be baptized on the 28th! Then on Wednesday another member who we have been working with to teach her cousin finally said that her cousin was ready and we had an amazing bible study class at the church Wednesday night. We started in a room and talked about the Priesthood and what it was and where it came from. Then we went into the Chapel and talked about how the priesthood is used in the church today and how it is the same as it was back when Christ was around. Then we went to the Relief Society room and watched the Restoration and talked about how the priesthood was restored. then we went to the baptismal font and talked about how saving ordinances must be performed by the priesthood, it was amazing! The spirit was so strong the whole time. Afterwards, V who is the member, told us that as soon as K got into the car she started to cry because she felt the spirit so strong and everything began to click and make sense and she asked V if she could be taught. So we were able to teach her on Sunday and she told us that she wants to get baptized as well. So even though all 5 of our dates that we set fell through, to miracle people just come out of nowhere and are ready to be baptized!

But anyway that was basically the highlights of the week and so we are really excited! the only problem is that transfers are coming up in a week and I've been here for 3 transfers now, so I'm a little worried that I will be leaving since it has been my record so far to never be in an area for more than 4 months. But I am praying that President Barry will leave me here in Savannah 1 more transfer because if he does we will definitely have probably 5 or more baptisms this upcoming month. But I know that wherever I go will be where the Lord needs me to go. Sorry that this letter is a little shorter this week but we are kind of rushed because the other missionaries are already done and they are waiting on me, so I got to get going. Thank you for all you do, love you all, have a great week!  Love, Elder Bushman

Zone Conference

3 Farmington boys - Elder Bass, Elder Bushman and Elder Neville

Savannah Zone

Another Blessed Week!

Dear Family, Wow, another week has just flown right on by, I cannot believe that it is already Easter again. It really felt like yesterday that I was in the Atlantic area with Elder Zabriski just trekking on our bikes in April, wow, it's just incredible how time flies by. Well sorry I won’t have much to respond back to because I didn't get a letter from mom yet, it will probably come this afternoon, but I did get the pictures and the email from Dad so thank you for those. Doing that work on the house seems like it was a lot of fun, I've decided that I like doing strenuous labor, it makes you feel good even though it doesn't feel so good. I think that is why I have gotten so into running now, it just makes you feel good after. Anyway, that picture of Heber kind of freaked me out, I haven't seen a picture of him in months and he looks so much different, I don't even recognize him anymore.

Anyway I will talk about my week now. Our week went amazing! On Monday night we went and saw Sister B and she pretty much rebuked us the whole time we were there. She didn't like how we were always out past dark and was telling us that we need to be obedient to the scriptures and follow the spirit when it comes to talking to people, because we just talk to everyone. It was nice because she was concerned for us but at the same time she just doesn't understand, so after she was done I asked if I could respond. I thanked her very much for her concern but then told her that this is what we have been called to do by a Prophet of God and as long as we are obedient to the rules we have been given we are protected. It all ended well but she had totally forgotten a lot of things. It’s been a whole month since she has been to church because she found a job and we can't ever meet with her because she is always tired from working, she is going to work herself to death.  We then went to go see this lady that we met in the elevator the week before, her sister had been baptized in Augusta. We went and taught her and set a date with her for the 28th. 

I can't remember much that went on in the earlier part of the week other than that, we went to a few district meetings in R and B but that's about all I can remember, mainly because I missed writing in my Journal that day haha.  But we have been preparing people for baptism mainly. However we had an amazing day on Wednesday, we went on a trade off with the Assistants and it ended up being a wonderful night. Before every trade off we ask or get asked what we want to work on, well I wanted to work on receiving more referrals because it has been something Elder N and I have been struggling with and I told Elder R this. They showed up kind of late in the day so we didn't have a lot of time to work together because we had a few appointments, an interview, and a scripture study class to teach. After meeting with an investigator I asked a referral from him. He told us to go to the Brentwood apartments but didn't have a specific name. Anyway that night we had to do an interview and teach the class at the church.  We had nothing to do afterwards so we decided to pray for the Lord's guidance and I felt impressed that we should see Brother C, however I knew the other elders were going to see him so we decided to see O instead. On the way to see him we got a text from the other Elders to go see Brother C, so we did. While we were there a man called Brother C, his name was J L. He had run into Brother C down at the Georgetown Building about a month and a half ago and wanted to meet with him again, and guess where this man lived....He lived in the same place that our investigator had referred us too earlier in the day! We got the referral we were seeking for, it was incredible!  Anyway we went and saw J Saturday morning with Brother C and as soon as Elder N and I met this man we felt this enormous amount of love for him, something that I haven't felt with too many of the people I have taught, and we both felt it. He is just so humble and so ready for the gospel, it was incredible. We taught him the Doctrine of Christ and set a date with him for the 21st, the Lord is just rich in mercy.

To top it all off, on Sunday while we were at church, there is this man named B that has been coming for the longest time, he is dating one of the girls there. He was talking to our ward mission leader and told him he wanted to get baptized. They turned around to us and we have an appointment with him tonight!  Wow, I am just so humbled and grateful for what the Lord is doing for us, it's amazing!  He told us that when President Uchtdorf spoke and said "come home" he just broke down and he knew it was true, he had no more questions.  It was just wonderful, I love the Spirit so much it just amazes me every day. So these are the things going on here in S, and I just love being a missionary! Well I love you all and hope you have a great week!  Love, Elder Bushman

Zone Leader Council

Wow!

Dear Family,  Wow it has truly just been such a spirit packed, spirit filled week this week and I have loved every minute of it. It is good to hear that things are going well back home and that life is continuing to go on very well. I hope you all enjoyed conference as much as I did because it was probably one of the most powerful ones that I have ever been to! This conference I came in with the Question of how I could be more humble and less competitive. The reason being because I love having good numbers and being at the top of the board, and I really wanted some good advice or "rebuking" on how to be more humble and grateful that others are doing really well even if it was better than our companionship. It's just ridiculous that I should even feel competitive about stuff like that I mean honestly its all a team effort, however on the other side it keeps me really motivated, so I was looking for that happy medium. Well I sure got my prayers answered as I got rebuked the whole conference! It seemed like so many people talked about having an eye single to the glory of God and that the only honor that we should ever seek is the Lord's and nobody else's. That really hit me hard, something I already basically knew, but I just think I needed one of the Apostles to say it so I could be spiritually rebuked and have more motivation to change haha So these last couple of days I have been really focusing hard on being grateful for what I have and drawing my motivation from my love for the Lord rather than my love to compete. However, in Zone Leader Council this week I suggested that we should make a competition out of a certain aspect of missionary work that we were discussing and Sister Barry full heartily agreed with me and thought it would be a great idea because that is how she was raised, but we both realized that it probably wouldn't work because that is not how everyone was raised, but it made me feel better that I wasn't the only one that liked having a competition haha

Anyway, this week we had a great week, we were able to go out on a trade with President Barry on Thursday which was a blast. I love working with President Barry he is one of the most amazing men I know, he really is like my second dad. (Don't worry dad I still love you more) We had the chance to go see T. who I have been teaching for the longest time and the whole time she just talked us up to president, telling him how great we are and how much we changed her life, it was really funny. I think she thought we were being checked on or something and that we needed a good grade but anyway we were able to go over the Baptismal Interview questions with her and she was solid with everyone of them and understood them, so we are really excited for her baptism on the 21st. Then we were able to go see our investigator D and she did the exact same thing! She sat and talked us up and told President how amazing we are haha She told him and assured him that we work very had and that we are very good missionaries, yeah....I think she had the same mindset as T as well. But the great thing was that we were able to set a date with D as well for the 15th of April, she is a really cool lady. Both of them watched conference and enjoyed it.

Oh this week I had a fun encounter with a Jehova's witness. We were knocking some doors and tracted into this lady and just started talking about God and how he had blessed her life and she was very happy to talk about it. Eventually at some point in the conversation she asked us, "Did you know God had a name." and we said, "yes, it's Heavenly Father." She said, "No, it's not, that is just a title.." I said, "no it's not, that is what he wants to be known as because he is our Father and he wants us to address him as such." she said, "No that is just a title and he has a real name." I said, "I know where you are going with this, you think his name is Jehova...well let me ask you this...would you call your father by his first name when you address him?" she said no. I said, "Neither would I. I would call him Dad because that is my relationship with him, i wouldn't call him Marty, I would call him father. Now God is the Father of us all and he is no different." well that kind of shocked her at first, but then she tried to argue with me that my Dad isn't everyone elses dad and that if she were to talk to him that she would call him by his first name. Well duh! My Father isn't God, he's only my father, but God is the Father of us all and we are all brother's and Sisters. Anyway, the conversation went downhill quite a bit and we decided to agree to disagree but it was just one of those moments where I was sick of people trying to justify something that was completely false. Now I know how you feel Dad whenever I tried to argue with you about something that never made sense, and I apologize. haha

so anyway that was just a fun Story, but after Conference last night we had the chance to go over to see one of our investigators and we set a date with her as well. So as of right now we have 3 baptismal dates for the month of April which we are really excited about, and the Lord is definitely blessing us. Now I just pray that we can continue to find elect people that are ready for the Gospel because lately we have just been finding people that aren't elect, so keep praying for us, I really do appreciate all of your prayers. I am just so grateful for the gospel and the powers of heaven. It's incredible that people can be so far away yet have such a great influence on someone by saying a simple prayer.  This General Conference really hit me, there were just so many good talks and such a great spirit, that it made me motivated to always be a doer of the word not a hearer only. I loved the talk about how you can be Active in the Church but not in the Gospel and I think that is how I was most of my life growing up, but now I understand the importance of both and how both are necessary to salvation. It's just given me a lot to think and ponder about. But anyway, I got to get going, but I love you all and have a great week!

Love, Elder Bushman

The Superbowl!

Dear Family, Wow it sounds like things are pretty crazy back home. I'm glad you got to have those face shots with the snow Dad, that's what I got to enjoy one last time before I left, it's pretty amazing! But don't worry it is not distracting me, teaching the Gospel is 100 times better! And mom I'm glad you are feeling better, that's one thing I’ve been blessed with so far being on my mission, I haven't gotten sick, so I just keep praying that I won’t.

Well this week has been a super crazy week for me as well; we had our 2 trade off days while we were out of our area again. We went up to R to go on a trade off with Elder L and Elder M. They had to do an emergency transfer because Elder L's companion had to go home, so Elder M, who has been in one of my districts before came up to R. I had the opportunity to go with him and it was a pretty crazy experience, because he was really down. He just didn't understand why it had to be him that got transferred especially when they were finally having success down in G, so we talked for a long time and then got out and worked hard. They have seen a lot of success since then, so I'm hoping that he is feeling better and recognizing the Lord's hand in his life now. It was perfect that I went with him though, because I felt much the same way when I got transferred to J.C., after having such a great transfer with Elder A and seeing so much success and then being pulled away, it was hard but the Lord knows us better than we do and he does everything for our good. 

After that we went up to B and had a good trade off up there. The only problem is that I barely got any sleep each night and so I was getting pretty cranky by Thursday. I hate feeling that way, because I really don't want too but it's so hard to control it. Then when we came back to make matters worse, all of our appointments fell through and so now I am tired and mad because everything fell through, but we just went and hit the skreets (his words) and started to talking to a lot of people, and it made me feel a lot better. That's what I love about hard work, if things aren't going well and you are feeling weighed down, then get out there and do something that gets your heart pumping and the sweat rolling and you will feel a lot better. Speaking of sweat, it is already getting super warm over here. It has been 84 most of the week and its only March!!! I'm not too excited for the summer, but it doesn't matter because the work is the same and it is still wonderful!

Our week was looking pretty bleak after our trade-offs because of all the appointments that were falling through and it seemed like everyone that we were finding didn't live in our area, so we were giving away a lot of referrals, but we pressed our way onward and in the end the Lord pulled through for us. We ended up having 4 of our investigators at church, two of which we had originally dropped earlier in the week because they canceled our appointment and I got frustrated and dropped them, but we decided to go by on Saturday to see them. Her name is R and the other is B, we talked to R and had a really good talk at the door about how much we cared about her and only wanted the best for her, she started crying and the spirit was really strong. She told us that she was coming to church that minute and we found a ride for her. Sunday morning we pulled up and she had woken her self up and scared me half to death by jumping out of her house while I wasn't paying attention, but she told us that B would be coming with her, which he hadn't been yet, so we were really excited. Brother R picked them up and we went to church. We had a really good fast and testimony meeting and B and R absolutely loved it and we have an appointment with them tonight to reset their dates, they are amazing!

Also this week we had our investigator, T, since I have been here we have been teaching and she finally told us that she felt like she was ready to take the next step. She has gone from zero faith to, in her words, 99.99 percent faith, and it has been amazing to see. Well last night we went to her house and we were able to set a date and calendar with her for April ___, I am so excited, it will be so good for her, and it's great because I have been teaching her for so long and its now all finally coming together. So despite the earlier problems in the week, everything turned out extremely well by the grace of God. But yeah that is how my week went and I am excited to start this new week, especially with General Conference coming up!  It’s like the Superbowl for us! haha Well I got to get going, but you all have a wonderful week, and I love ya. Love, Elder Bushman

Let the good times roll....

Dear Family,

Wow, it's amazing how fragile life really is isn't it? I definitely remember The Smith family and I am saddened to hear that happened, but I am so grateful for the Plan of Salvation and for the Temple, knowing that the priesthood authority and power has once again been restored to the earth to bind our families together forever, what a tremendous blessing! And yes Dad I guess you could say my blog post was a little bit out of frustration, but mostly just saddened by the state that a lot of these people live in. This weekend was St Patrick’s day and here in S they have the second largest celebration in the United States, there were over a million visitors to S over the weekend. But leading up to the event there were just posters after poster talking about beer and everyone just talked about the parties and how drunk everyone gets and its just a sad thing that for people to have fun the have to revert to doing things that in the end will ultimately bring them eternal unhappiness for a few moments of pleasure. We unfortunately had to drive through down town at one part of Saturday and there was just so much immodesty, immorality, drinking, and everything else you can imagine going on, it was just sickening. But despite all the wickedness that goes on in the world and despite the great hold that Satan has on so many hearts, there is also so much good and beauty in the world, and that is why the Gospel Changes Everything. 

Anyway, but I had a wonderful week! Because this week was transfer week, we didn't have to go on any exchanges so we got to work a lot in our area and we got a lot of work done which was really nice. Unfortunately nothing really super special happened this week, all I can think about right now is just how grateful I am for having the Gospel in my life, I don't know where i would be with out it, and I wish I understood it like this before my mission, of course I still don't understand nor appreciate it fully, but I do understand it better and I could have done so much better as a teenager, but thank goodness for Repentance! haha Anyway, sorry my mind is just in other places I'll try to focus on what happened this week. Well we didn't get to speak at a P Church this week so I don't know of anything that can compare to that. Oh by the way mom, I noticed that you said I looked skinnier in my photos which doesn't make much sense because I haven't gained or lost a pound so I don't know what to tell you. However, Elder N and I have kicked it up a notch and have been running about 2 miles every morning this week, but still haven't been loosing any weight. 

Well I got this week to share are funny experiences that happened basically because nothing special went on and all of our investigators are doing pretty well. On Friday we went over to see T, she's been a long time investigator, but is slowly but surely progressing. Well anyway they live in a really hard circumstance with her being divorced and her ex-husband being a really bad example of how to treat other people. Well I guess her son tried to take a swing at Ts roommate the other day and so T asked me if we could council her son. I didn't really know how to respond to that since I have no authority over her son whatsoever but I went a long with it haha I decided to kind of brush around it but still get the point across to read Alma 56 and 57 about the 2000 stripling warriors. A really respects us and I think the story went really well with the situation, but that wasn't enough for T, she ended up leaving us alone out on her back patio with her son to talk to him about being a respectful young man. At first it was kind of awkward, but then we just started talking about sports and eventually we were able to tie in the gospel and it really impacted him, it was really cool. 

On Saturday we went to go see the O_____s and when we got there they told us about how their next door neighbors dog killed their cat and how she wanted us to pray over his grave.  Well we went into the backyard and stood over the burial sight and I volunteered Elder N to do it. By the way Elder N is extremely allergic to cats and hates them with a passion hahaha He was so mad, and he told me that his prayer was a complete lie because he hates cats, oh it was great! Anyway things are going good here and I'm loving every minute of it and I love all of you and thank you for your prayers and everything you do, have a wonderful week!

Love, Elder Bushman

Pooler district meeting

Spreading the Gospel.... One university and one congregation at a time....

Dear Family,

Well as I was sitting here in the Library reading dad's email, I about died laughing inside of myself, I am grateful that I didn't burst out or anything because that would be quite the scene, not that it would be unusual (Garrett busting up laughing) because I saw a guy dancing in front of the screen the other day. It sounds like quite the adventure tending those two, probably pretty relieving to Jake and Hillary to dump them off for a couple of days as well haha 

Well things are going really well here in S, it's crazy how fast this last transfer has gone bye, I don't even know what to think. It seems like yesterday that I got Elder N as my new companion and now it's already the beginning of a new transfer! So Dad I can already see how it is going to go by so fast and you better believe that I am going to make every second count. This week was really good, it was crazy seeing the hand of the Lord just truly open doors for us this week and provide miracles that we don't really understand why we deserve to have them, but they happened anyway and I am grateful! On Monday we got a call from our Stake President asking us if we would like to go speak at a ______ church with him on Wednesday. Well of course we readily accepted and were just shaking in our shoes with excitement waiting for Wednesday!

Wednesday was on of the most memorable days on my mission so far probably. It started off with us going down to _____ University to set up a booth about mormon.org and also questions of the soul that the Book of Mormon answered. For 2 hours we had the greatest time of our lives as we just talked to everyone that walked by and handed out a ton of supplies. A member in our ward goes to school down at the university and she set it up for us, so it was a great opportunity to get ourselves out there and let people know who we are.

Then that evening we got to go to the _____ church. Going to the Church Elder N and I were a little nervous, heart was pounding a little bit, but we were really excited at the same time. I had been assigned to speak on the organization of the Church and about the Priesthood and Elder N was assigned to talk about the Book of Mormon. We had practiced what we were going to say that morning but were now just praying that the Spirit would direct our words and that we wouldn't stumble. President O, our Stake President, got up there first and started to talk about the restoration and the first vision. As he recited the first vision, the spirit was incredible in the room, it was completely silent and all ears and eyes were directed towards him. You could have heard a pin drop it was so silent. He spoke the words so beautifully and so perfectly that the spirit flooded the room, my heart was pounding and the Joy of the gospel filled my soul. Afterwards Elder N got up and talked about the Book of Mormon and the spirit directed his words , he spoke with much power and bore a wonderful testimony about the divinity and importance of the Book of Mormon. Then it was my turn, I got up there not quite knowing exactly how I would say what I was going to say and I don't think I ended up saying anything that I had previously designed to say. I wasn't nervous at all as soon as I started talking, but the spirit just directed my thoughts and my words and I was able to say everything that I felt was needed to say. Sister O then talked about the youth programs, and we had people asking how they could help their kids avoid the temptations that are so available today, it was great! We were only supposed to be there for an hour but ended up being there for two as people kept asking more questions, and they weren't bashing questions, but they were really elect questions. We basically talked about everything and the spirit was there the whole time. The Pastor was kind of squirming in his seat haha I felt bad for him because I don't think they were expecting something so powerful, but our message has so much weight behind it, it's incredible! We were the first Christian Church that they had come speak; before it was just Muslims, Buddhists, and Hinduism. So when we came in with the Spirit, I think it really just blew them away. Everyone that was there took some type of material and about 10 of them took a Book of Mormon, it was an incredible experience!

The rest of the week continued to go really well and we were able to find a lot of solid new investigators and we had a few of our investigators show up to church and were able to set 2 baptismal dates. I don't have a whole lot of time to go into a lot of detail about all of that, but it was just incredible all that the Lord helped us out with this week. I am going to try and send a recording of my training that I gave at the church, so hopefully I can get it sent to you. But I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love, Elder Bushman