Anziano Jonathan Bushman: Flight Plans!

Martedi- Well, the highlight of today was when Anziano Webb and I split up to teach the new districts how to hold a district review- and it was awesome. The district I taught had 4 sorelle and 8 anziani, and every single one of them and some amazing things to share! What made it more awesome, is district reviews are way easy to conduct, so I just got to sit back and listen to everyone talk and share their experiences. Oh, and just one example of why it is so amazing to have sorelle in the district/zone: The meeting was just about over, and nearly every single one of them had shared something, but one of the sorelle noticed that there was an elder that hadnt spoken yet, so she asked him if he had anything he wanted to say- and that sister was definitely inspired when she asked that. This particular elder had been having a rough time, and was being seriously uplifted by the meeting we were having, and was really enjoying listening to all the testimonies, so he told us that, and then he bore his own testimony, and I honestly can't remember what was said, but I remember feeling absolutely certain that we were all exactly where we needed to be, doing the exact thing God would have us do, and it was awesome!

Mercoledi- So, our district had decided this week to seriously step it up in the italian/SYL-ing and it has helped me A LOT. Just a little background for this experience- Anziano Portellano is from France, came in the same time as us, and is learning english and italian right now. Currently, his italian is better than his english. And just today (and several time since) some joke was told in english, and Anziano Portellano couldn't understand it. They would repeat it several times, but he still just wasnt understanding. So I explained it to him in italian (idk why i thought i could do it) and he understood it. So, ya. Awesome.

Giovedi- I'm loving the language; I am able to say nearly everything I want to say to express myself. It gets hard at times because there are only about 7-8 anziani/sorelle in our entire zone that have a good grasp on the language, but it's wayy awesome when I'm talking with one of them, because we can both understand eachother perfectly! Also today, we got our flight plans! And you should have seen the mail room, when our district leaders pulled that mail out and we all saw what it was, we freaked- and the rest of the elders in the mailroom stared at us like we were insane. It was awesome. We fly out a week from today, Feb 22, and arrive in Milan Feb 23 around 4:50 pm. FYI, Milan is 8 hours ahead of Arizona. Oh, and also, (i'm guessing because Bushman comes before the other anziani's last names in the alphabet) I am the travel leader for the italians, so i've got to make sure no one gets lost and all kinds of fun stuff like that. [mom, i sent you a copy of the flight plans on saturday morning, so you should be getting them soon- I needed some help deciphering what exactly we are allowed to take as far as luggage goes and so forth- thanks!] Anziano Parrish's mom sent some homemade salsa again, and i think I have been converted. Once that salsa was gone i started eating regular salsa, and still liked it! I guess that's what happens when non ci sono buon cibo.

Venerdi- I got the valentine's day package you sent today (See's chocolates), and it is delicious! I'm still working on trying to finish it, and have even had to share a bunch of it, but thank you so much!! It's perfect! Interviews today were kind of crazy. Anziano Jeter took forever for his interviews again (just because he loves to talk) but that meant that he was interviewing until 10:20pm, and then I had to interview him during breakfast the next day (zone leaders have to get a report from the district leaders and then interview the district leaders as well) So other than that, things went alright today. I had my weekly interview with Fratello Calder today, and long stoyry short- without him telling me anything- I learned that I am completely full of myself. ANd while it's not immediately apparent, it affects how I see others, and thus how I treat others, and prevents me from being able to see my companion as God sees him, which I think is why we've been having so many problems.... So i am definitely focusing on that now

Sabato- I got the shoes you sent me! and they are perfect! I love the pictures and sunglasses (lol) as well - I dont think Anziano Webb likes the sunshades at all, but he'll get over it lol. And the earplugs-what for? Well, anyways today I spent my language study time with Anziano Jeter helping out the new districts with their language study, and I found out the next day that they were really worried about their language skills, and that that little "tutoring session" put them at ease a lot, so that was awesome to be able to help them like that. Also- today we had a lot of italian activities- we first built a mostra (poster thing) with a message about the church and a picture or two to attract people one of them said "Crede che c'e una vita dopo la morte? il Signore dice di si." and it was kinda epic. So the teachers and both new districts walked around the hall acting like it was a street in italy, and we would ask them about the messages on the mostre and what they thought about them, and set up return appointments- it was ALOT of talking. We also did a door to door activity to help show the new districts what to do, and then they tried- and they are already way good at the language- it's awesome. We also set up a date for Giorgio's baptismal interview, so that should be good!

and i am out of time so i will send the rest in a letter! ciao ciao!

un’altra cosa ch’é succeso a sabato-

I was up visiting the new Italians in the residence hall that night, and they were way bummed about the language, so I tried cheering them up because they have already learned a ton, but that didn’t work. And then D&C 88:49 came to my mind (well, it took me a good 5 minutes to figure out the reference) and I read to them “...the day shall come when you shall comprehend even God...” and then verse 68 can be tacked on to that: “...and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will.” So that was really awesome to see those scriptures lift their spirits.

Domenica – Well, this morning we were released as zone leaders, so that was kinda way sad... I really didn’t want to give up that position I had that made it so easy to help others, but I guess it’s for the best because now we can help the new ZL’s through their first week. The temple walk was way awesome, everyone was wanting pictures w/Anziano Webb and I because we were the first ZL’s and all that, so we were basically celebrities.

Lunedi – We watched the new district’s TRC today since we couldn’t have our own, and so we could help them out, but the companionship I watched did the entire lesson in Italian, after less than 2 weeks in the MTC. It was legit.... and humbling. But every time I would come up with something that they could improve on, they did it almost immediately (I was at a monitor watching them through observation cameras). It was awesome. We forgot to teach Giorgio about the Law of Chastity until our appointment, 30 minutes before his baptismal interview, so that was a little awkward. But he forgave us and still committed to follow it. Then, because the interview was held in a room with a one-way mirror, we were able to watch/listen to the interview, and it was relatively comical. Anziano Jeter (our district leader) conducted the interview, and when he asked the question “Do you believe Thomas S. Monson is a true Prophet?” Giorgio’s response was “chi é Thomas S. Monson?” And Anz Ellsworth (Anz Jeter’s comp. who was watching with us) busted out laughing on the floor, while Anz. Webb and I started praying our hearts out as we realized we hadn’t mentioned the current prophet... But, Anz Jeter was able to pull himself together, and he asked Giorgio if he could see his Book of Mormon. Anz Jeter flipped through a couple pages and pulled out a picture that Fratello Calder (Giorgio) kept in his Book of Mormon, of him shaking the prophet’s hand! So that was hilarious as Giorgio started saying that that must have been a bank conference, and then asked Anz Jeter how he knew that it was in there, and said it must have been revelation, so that was awesome. After that was a health and safety meeting where the guy ended every tip with, “But if you’re going to Western Europe, don’t worry about it.”

Tonight was awesome though, everyone was all sad that we aren’t zone leaders anymore, and Anz Wilkey said that I’ll always be his ZL, lol, so that was nice to feel all that love. Even the Portuguese half of our branch loved us, because they didn’t have a ZL for 2 weeks, so we filled in, so that was fun. Also, there’s a very shy elder (he was home schooled) in one of the Portuguese districts and he never talks to anyone, but he came up to me and wanted to get my picture before I left.

I have gained such a strong testimony of the Atonement in all this. I truly feel that when I have done all I can do, and have exhausted all my options, I can turn to the Atonement and know that Christ has been in my shoes and can help me if I just ask with faith. Vi voglio un sacco di bene! –il vostro missionario preferito

-Anziano Bushman