Last week of January!! Jan 27 2014

Sent: Monday, January 27, 2014 4:44 PM
Subject: Last week of January!!

Hey Everyone!!

It's the end of January and I am trying to figure out if I really have been out for over 6 months now. It's amazing how time has gone by so fast. I'm glad that y'all had a good week. You're going on an ALASKAN CRUISE?!?! Where do you come up with these ideas? I can't believe you are going on another cruise! Are you sure it wasn't Sister Holstrom's son that called? Anyway I'm glad that you got to talk and got the picture. She was an awesome lady and I'm so glad that I was able to be a part of her life at that time and be what she needed in that moment. It just shows me even more that I'm am following what God wants for me and I am where I am meant to be. She was less active and I think that where ever she moves that she will go back to church. I could see the light growing back in her. That's cool that you had a 70 for Stake Conference. One goal I've gained during the past 6 months is to continue my missionary work where ever I go for the rest of my life. I'm glad that you got to go to the Haily Museum with Chanler. I'm sure that he enjoyed it a lot. I always did when you came with. I haven't gotten a rain coat yet. It hasn't been rainy so I haven't really worried about it. And since you sent the leather jacket, that should suffice for now. And I did get a sweater so when it's cold I have that along with another sweater/jacket that Elder Taylor gave me when I came from Lake Elsinore. So I'm good for now. Oh and I bought a full suit from a member in Lake Elsinore for $50. It's a super nice Calvin Klein suit! It helps now that I have a suit that fits better along with the new pants you sent. And I have been loosing weight. Slowly but surely. Elder Wilkinson has become my personal trainer and I feel like he's trying to kill me every time we go over to workout but in the end I feel super good! ;)

Well this week went pretty good. Nothing too crazy but it was good. After I finished emailing last Tuesday we tried to stop in on people through the day and ended the night with dinner at the other elders apartment since both of us just got money for dinner. It was fun just to hang out for a while. Wednesday we had a super good day. We talked to E and he should be good to go for this Saturday with his baptism! I can't wait! We taught A again and had a great lesson with her and her dad and her two sisters M and L. They all showed a desire to learn more and I'm hoping that we can get them to follow A's example and start coming to church and eventually be baptized. To end the night off we had a short lesson with the McDs. We are hoping that if we do that more often it will get him to start opening up a little bit to the gospel and be more willing to soften his heart.

Thursday we had another lesson with E and that night started our exchange with our district leader Elder Jenks. I went into their area with his comp Elder Williams. Friday we spent in his area on bike. Yes I was on a bike for a day. It was fine all day until we had to bike to the opposite end of the area at the end of the night for dinner uphill the entire way. I made it though. Somehow I made it and it ended up not being that bad. It's a good thing I've been working out more lately. ;) Saturday morning we woke up at 4 and went to the other guys apartment to work out with them. Yes. You heard me. I actually got up at 4 in the morning to go workout. It was good, except Elder Renner and I were exhausted for the rest of the day. We all ended up taking a nap for lunch instead of eating. The reason we got up that early is because we had a stake missionary breakfast that morning at 7 so we needed to get up earlier to workout, shower, and take the other guys with us to the church building. The breakfast was good. Nothing really special was said but we got a good breakfast out of it. For the rest of the day until after dinner we were with Elder Wilkinson since his comp Elder Johns was in San Diego for one of his converts sealing. During that time we had two awesome lessons in which we put both people on date for baptism. Quick story, the first guy we went to see was J. He lives in Wilkinson's area, not ours. We weren't going to work in his area but for some reason we decided to and after seeing a potential investigator he remembered that J who was a former investigator, lived right down the street and thought we might as well go see him. So we walked over and knocked on the door. He answered and let us in. AS we started talking with him, he began to express that he was "feeling sorrow" at that time. As we asked him what was wrong he began to cry and told us that he had just found out that his brother was going to prison with a life sentence. This meant that most of his family would be out of his life. His wife divorced him and so he doesn't see her or his girls very often, he wont see his brother anymore, and he is really worried, with how old his mom is, that she will take the news of his brother badly and it will cause her to pass away. That leaves him and his dad. It was a very solemn moment. That is when the Spirit directed us to know what he needed. Elder Wilkinson and I testified of Christ and the Atonement and how it could help J get through this difficult time in life. As we were there for J to talk to we were guided to let him know how much Heavenly Father loves him and is watching over him. We promised him that if he were to come to church and follow the Savior's example and be baptized, that he would feel the love and peace of God, and that everything would work out for him. It was so amazing how strong the Spirit was. J told us that he had already taken off work as a sick day and was planning on bringing his mother to church with him. It was so amazing. It strengthened my testimony and was a great teaching moment for me to help Elder Renner understand that that was the reason we are out here as missionaries. To help other come unto Christ. God prepared J and led us to him at the time he needed us. I know that that meeting was meant to happen. I know that God was using us to help J know that He exists and His love and Gospel are real. I know that this Gospel is true. I've never felt it more strongly in my life. I love it. I know it. And I'm going to share it with everyone I see.

Sunday was my first day at church with my new ward. It was good. Although the talks were a little boring and I may or may not have fallen asleep during Priesthood. Haha oops. Oh well. It was ward conference and A and J came. E was in Arizona. But J said that this is the way he thinks church should be and that "the Mormon thing could be for him"!! I'm stoked! It will be a good week this week! I can't wait. That night we had a little FHE with the McD and their son S who was visiting from college. We talked about continuing revelation and prophets. It was a good discussion. Today we got up at 6 and came to work out with the other elders and after I fought hard to beat them in a game of super intense Risk, We went to the church to play ball and hang out with the zone. Now I'm going to go shop and hopefully after we hang out for a little longer I can test out my Christmas gift from the Freeman's and cut my own hair cuz it's getting pretty dang shaggy. We will see what happens.

Well that's all for this week. Please keep my investigators in your prayers as well as the McD family. I can't wait to hear from you again. Have a great week. Be safe. Have fun and look for opportunities to serve others and share the Gospel. The Lord will bless you if you do. I know this work is real. I love you all.

Love,

Elder B. K. Bushman