PERU!!!!

10/1/19

Dear Family,

I made it to Peru! It is kind of crazy here! It is way different from the USA! The driving is terrible here! I thought I was going to crash like every 2 seconds. I am in Piura now. All the flights were good. I met the Mission President which is good! They are awesome - really cool! I am writing from the mission home where we are just chillin' and stuff. Tomorrow we get our trainers and go to our areas, so I am excited about that. Everything is good here! Hope everything is good back at home. I'll talk to you next Monday. Love you!
- Elder Bushman

 

Year 1, Week 6: Last Week at the MTC

Hello Everyone,

This week actually went pretty slow because I am leaving on Sunday to go to Peru. I'm really excited to leave and get to my mission and start sharing the gospel to everyone in Peru! I feel like I don't know enough Spanish, but I know if I continue to do what is right and study then He will help me! 

This last week has been really fun. My district has become so close so it's gonna be weird leaving! But on Sunday we did what is called the cereal challenge! 

Basically you get your whole district together and you try to empty out one of the cereal containers before they refill it. So our district ate 49 bowls of Marshmallow Mateys in 13 minutes! I came in clutch with 7 bowls in under 10 minutes so that was such a fun time! I didn't have cereal the rest of the time I was here, but it was still good - haha.

Another fun time our district had was celebrating my companion's birthday! His real birthday is on the 2nd of October, but we are not going to be together so we celebrated it early! We had a cake, sang happy birthday, and we talked and had a good time together! Also we had those birthday blower things that were super fun to play with, so it was a party - haha! 

So my friend, Rian, now Sister Holmes, came to the MTC on Wednesday! It was so much fun to catch up with her before I leave! She is going to be a wonderful missionary. So grateful for the opportunity to serve at the same time as her! 

So this week was way weird with our TRC's! The lady, Yaisa who we were teaching, they totally switched it on us and so then we taught another lady named Blanca! Our first appointment with her, she told us that her friend died the day before so that was way sad! We taught her the plan of salvation and it was really good! Throughout the week we had 8 TRC's. 2 of them were in English which was so weird, but we taught a lady named Katie. Then we had 3 with Blanca and all of them were really good! The other two were with members, both in Spanish. It was a little weird because we are used to teaching nonmembers but it was good! It was a good experience to learn. It was kind of sad with all our last TRC's because we can't teach them anymore, but I am excited to get into Peru and teach the people there.

I am so grateful that I was able to come to the Provo MTC and have such a loving, kind, fun, and supportive district! We have had so much fun together. We have had spiritual experiences together and it has been a wonderful 6 weeks! 

I am so grateful for all the things I have learned about the gospel and how to rely on the Lord in everything I do! I have learned so much and I have loved my time in the MTC! 

Thanks for everyone supporting me while on my mission; it has been great! Next time I'll be sending this from Peru! 

-Elder Bushman

 

 

Year 1, Week 5: I Got my Travel Plans

Hello everyone!

This week has been really good! Lots of fun times with my district, lots of Spanish, and lots more Spanish! 

Me and my companion are teaching this woman named Yaisa! She is so nice and kind and helps us with our Spanish. We have taught her three times now and they all have been so good! The first time we asked her if she would read the Book of Mormon and she said yes, and then we taught her how to pray and she prayed for the closing prayer! The next time we asked her if she read, and she read 1 Nephi 1-4! It was so awesome! She liked how obedient Nephi was and I testified that if we are obedient and follow God then we will be blessed. We talked a little bit about the commandments and how if you obey them you will be blessed as well! 

This last time she read all the way to chapter 9! She had a question about the tree of life and the fruit so we explained that. Her other question is kind of a story about my first experience with the gift of tongues! 

She asked the question why did Nephi kill Laban if the commandments say not to kill? We actually talked about this in English like our second week into the MTC so my companion pulls out the scriptures and we read a couple verses. He explains why and then I explain why as well. As I was explaining I had to use past tense. I am not very good at that yet but when I was talking I used the right conjugation of a verb that I hadn't studied very well. It just came to my mind when I needed to say it to get my point across! 

I am so grateful for the Lord helping me and blessing me with the gift of tongues! I know that as I continue to obey and do his work he will bless me and help me in the language I struggle with! This is like the first time I have seen the gift of tongues on my mission and I can testify it is real! 

So this has kind of been a normal week - just Spanish classes, some TRC'S and some devotionals which all have been great! My friend William Curzon came into the MTC this past Wednesday so it has been great talking with him! 

The great thing is that I got my travel plans yesterday! I leave on the 29th, so in about a week, at 6 in the morning! I'll be flying to Georgia and then to Peru! I am the travel leader person for my group so I have to make sure everyone is together and everyone gets to Peru safely, so that should be fun! 

I have one more pday before I leave! It's crazy to think that 6 weeks is almost up! But I'm grateful! I am excited to get into the mission field and teach the people of Peru! 

-Elder Bushman

 

 

Year 1, Week 4: Music Coordinators

Hello everybody,

Its crazy to think that I have been here almost a month and that I have only like two weeks left! Time has flown by with it being so busy! Sundays are definitely the most tiring, stressful, and crazy day of the whole week.

Last Sunday me and my companion taught the lesson in our district meeting. We taught about faith and trust in Jesus Christ. The lesson went super great. I love talking and teaching about the gospel; its so much fun! We have 5 districts in our zone, this week 4 of them left which left just my district. That meant that everyone got callings to do things on Sunday! Me and my companion got called to be the music coordinators! We pick the songs for sacrament meeting, organize the musical numbers and direct the music for sacrament meeting! I am so glad i am following in the footsteps of my mother who was also the music director in our ward! I felt like it was meant to be and I was born to have this calling!!! 

This coming Sunday is crazy though! All week we have been stressing because our district has to do everything at church. Elder Grant and I have to teach again, but this time it's in priesthood. Then we might have to give the talk in sacrament, and we have to get all the musical things ready. Its crazy but we can do it! 

Me and my companion taught Heidi three times this week! It was our last time teaching her because after this week we switch people to teach. Two out of the three times went really well but the one time we got stuck trying to explain how Joseph Smith used the Seer's stone to help translate the Book of Mormon. We had to try to do that in Spanish which was really bad! But we got through it and the other times were good! 

Everyone in the MTC gets shirts with their mission on it. So me and my companion got some and rocked the Peru shirt! It was really cool and i like matching with the Elders in my district!

On Sunday we have a devotional with a speaker. This time it was Elder Stevenson from the quorum of the twelve apostles! It was so cool to be able to listen to an apostle in person! He talked about how our call on a mission was divine and it was from God and Jesus Christ through the prophet President Nelson! He also talked about the Book of Mormon and the power of it! I learned so much from him and it was such a cool experience! 

This week flew by as well; been here almost a month and have about 2 weeks left! Let's go! 

-Elder Bushman

 

 

Year 1, Week 3: I Testified of the Truthfulness of the Book of Mormon

Dear Everyone,

I can't believe it is already another p day! I didn't believe it, but it actually flies by. This week has been pretty good! Sunday was rough because it was a Fast Sunday. That means we don't get breakfast or lunch, so in the time we would be eating we actually have Sunday meetings. I was in meetings from 8 in the morning till 9 at night, with a one hour dinner. I was starving the whole day, but I fasted for help on Spanish so that made it easier. It was kind of rough doing a 24 hour fast. I think that was the first time I have ever done one so that is something new I guess.

So this week we started our first TRC's in Spanish. Elder Grant and I are teaching this woman named Heidi. Let me just tell you now, our first one was a complete disaster! We tried to teach the Plan of Salvation which was a mistake because that is like the hardest lesson there is and trying to do that in Spanish was very difficult. We didn't know the material and it was just awkward. There are reviews at the end and she said that she was bored and confused and all the bad things. I don't think a lesson could get worse! 

However, the second time we taught her was 100× better! We taught her the 3rd lesson which is the gospel of Jesus Christ which is a way easier lesson.  Also we actually knew vocabulary and phrases for that lesson! We asked her questions, she asked us questions and we could answer and talk about it! At the end of our lesson I testified of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and the importance of faith. Then we challenged her to read Alma chapter 32 which is a chapter on faith and she accepted! I was so happy after because we actually taught the gospel to someone in a different language! It felt great to testify about something that is so true and get to help someone know that great feeling as well. I love TRC's; they are so much fun!

All the other days were about the same, just lots of Spanish classes, exercise time, and eating. Exercise time is fun cause I play basketball all the time so yeah, it's awesome! 

Friday was President Nelson's birthday. I can't believe he is 95! All the missionaries watched the broadcast and it was awesome! It was so cool to learn more about our prophet's life and celebrate his birthday! I loved all the music and sang along to a lot of it! I'm so glad I am able to be a missionary when we celebrated the prophet's birthday! 

So some of the missionaries who are leaving this week that are going to Peru haven't gotten their visas yet, so they have been reassigned to other places in the states. So I am guessing the same will happen to me. I will update about it when I hear more!

Thanks everyone and sorry about the pictures. I have a lot more this week so hopefully that's better! 

-Elder Bushman

 

 

Year 1, Week 2: I Love Teaching

Hey Everyone!!

It is my second week in the MTC, and it's going better for sure. Everyone says that the first couple days you are here are slow and then it goes really fast! That is so true. This week has flown by, and I can't believe I'm in my second week already. This week has been a blast! My district is so much fun and we laugh all the time.  We are all sore from laughing so much!

Me and my companion had our first TRC's this week! That basically means that we go and teach someone about the gospel for like 30 minutes. Some, I have heard, are actually investigators and some are just members, so we can practice on. 

We taught a lady named Alexi and she is a 22 year old who is going to BYU. We got together a lesson about the spirit and how to recognize the spirit. We connected great with her right when we went in which was great. As we went along she asked us a question that we planned on talking about which was perfect! She asked how can you tell if it is the spirit talking or your own thought! The spirit was there and we had a great lesson! We taught her one more time but it was basically about the same thing. She had lots of questions so we just answered them for the whole time. It was great! I love teaching! We start our Spanish TRCs on Monday so wish me luck! 

So the MTC isn't all that bad. The language is just hard to get used to. You can't speak the same way and you can't understand your teacher but other than that it's pretty good! I love teaching and feeling the spirit and that's for sure there a lot! My district is so fun and we laugh a lot! We get along great! 

We had our first devotional on Sunday and Bishop Causse spoke! He talked about ways we can be BOLD missionaries. It was really good and it inspired me to become a better missionary! I love the MTC choir! If anyone ever goes to the Provo MTC, you should definitely join the choir because it's so good! The director is so funny and tells great stories! And it's fun to sing so yeah, win win win! 

This week was definitely better than the first couple days. I think I just needed some more time to adjust but yeah it's great now and I'm learning a lot! 

I'm definitely terrible at taking pictures so I'll try better next week. 

-Elder Bushman

spencer.bushman@missionary.org

Photo: This is me with my companion, Elder Grant

Year 1, Week 1: My Purpose as a Missionary

Hey Everybody!

It is my first week in the MTC and feeling pretty good! I got here and they immediately threw me into a class. Every missionary has a phone so I can communicate that way as well as have a schedule. It's pretty useful, so I am grateful.

My companion is Elder Grant. He is from Cedar Hills so that is pretty cool. He loves soccer and he loves the gospel. He has a great testimony and I like him a lot. We get along great.

The first couple of days are just orientation but they are the longest three days of my life. I feel like I have been here forever, but it's only my fourth day. I am sharing a room with two other Elders, Elder Eqihua and Elder Nelson. They are really cool ,and we have a ton of fun together.

Spanish is hard but it's coming along slowly. I know how to say a prayer in Spanish so I only really pray in Spanish now. 

The food here is not very good which is rough because I love food. 

We had a really good lesson on our purpose as a missionary.  understand so much more now of what my purpose as a missionary is. We also had a lesson on the gift of tongues which really helped me get more comfortable in learning the language.

I know that as I work hard and have faith in Christ that he will bless me for it. I know that he will compensate for what I am not able to accomplish. I know that he answers prayers because he is helping me with the language. 

Well there will be more next week because it will be an actual week haha! Also there will be more pictures. 

-Elder Bushman

"God’s miracles are not happening just in Haiti, Thailand, or the Ivory Coast. Look around you. 'God is mindful of every people … ; yea, he numbereth his people, and his … mercy [is] over all the earth.'"

—Neil L. Andersen, "Thy Kingdom Come"