I Am Officially Italian! Sep 21, 2011

Wow, today makes 40 weeks since I left home. That's a long time.

So, me and Anz. Lehnardt are basically Italians. A BYU student group is here in Siena for 10 weeks, so we just met them all in church on sunday. There are about 20 of them, and only 10 members of our branch. So they make a huge difference lol. But when we first met them, we started speaking Italian to them, and they had no idea what we were saying. They generally do this study abroad to further their Italian, but I dont think this was the case....  We convinced them that we were Italian (I was from milano), and we just watched them as they struggled trying to communicate with us, and even at one point of specific defeat, one of them turned to the other and said that she doesn't think we understand english lol. SO this went on for about 20 min. Then our branch president started the normal church meetings, and invited me to come translate for them, becasue they don't speak Italian. Busted! So, me and anz lehnardt went up there and confessed that we're actually from utah and arizona, and we all got a good laugh about it. But yeah, we're Italian.

WELL. Things are going kinda slowly here in Siena. We're teaching a lot, and we keep finding awesome new people, but then for one reason or another they stop answering our calls after a while, or don't want to meet again. Like Alessandro from last week. We haven't heard from him since the day after we met him. It kinda stinks. BUT! either the Lord is testing us, or there's something more that we need to be doing, because he keeps sending us these people. For example, we met Becky just two days ago. She's from Yuma, AZ, and is here for 3 months for school. She really felt that it was not coincidence that we met, and feels like God is trying to tell her something, becasue she hasn't been going to church or anything for a long time now, and even before she came to Italy there were a couple other experiences that were pushing her towards God as well. SO we talked, and gave her a Book of Mormon, and the only bad thing is, she doesn't have a phone. We got her email address, but that's very slow communication (as far as my patience goes). So, now we're just praying to get a response from her one of these days so we can meet again!

Besides that, we did meet a man who works as a doctor in Siena, who just lost a brother in law, and we have had two lessons with him, and he's progressing! So that's exciting. That hasn't happened in a while.

But, yeah. Man, this gospel is awesome. I really like that quote you sent me, mom, from Elder Holland.

"In the gospel of Jesus Christ you have help from both sides of the veil, and you must never forget that. When disappointment and discouragement strike - - and they will - - you remember and never forget that if our eyes could be opened we would see horses and chariots of fire as far as the eye can see riding at reckless speed to come to our protection. They will always be there, these armies of heaven, in defense of Abraham's "seed". And sometimes, I feel like God even gives us, as members of the church, the opportunity sometimes to be in one of those chariots and come out of nowhere to the aid of someone who is going through a rough time. I have had that opportunity many times here, especially in the last few weeks, and it is truly awesome being an instrument in God's hands, and knowing that you're in the right place, at the right time. I don't know how He does it, but it's awesome.

I love you all, and would encourage you to keep studying the scriptures, and keep praying and going to church. I know that those three things are the first steps to solving any problem you will ever encounter.

vi voglio bene tutti!

-Anziano Bushman

Promised Miracles!!! Sept 14, 2011

Oh man, life has just been FULL of miracles!!!!! So, to give a little background information, Elder L. Tom Perry issued a challenge to the missionaries, that if we were to teach 20 lessons each week, our baptisms will double. So, it's kinda been a big deal around here to get to those 20 lessons each week, but not only that, to also make sure they are quality lessons, and powerful as well. Well, the first time I got to 20 lessons in one week was just last week (29-8-11 to 4-9-11) and then we got it again this week! And let me tell you, we have been seeing miracles!!! First and foremost, me and my comp are happier than we've ever been on our missions! Second, we teach a LOT more powerfully together!!! And then another thing, as of late, people have been calling us, and coming up to us to ask about the gospel! That never happens!

But mainly, I want to tell you about this man that we found as we were searching to talk to everyone and teach everyone. His name is Alessandro. We met him last thursday sitting on a bench at about 8pm. He'll tell you now about how much of a miracle it was that we met, and how he was so tired and about to go to bed, but decided to go out and get some fresh air for a second when we came up and started talking to him. But anyways, when we first met him, it was kind of rough. He is a very intelligent man, and didn't think we had anything new for him. He's very well versed with the bible, as well as with the Koran and other religious writings. In fact, he even has been working for the catholic church for several decades now organizing missionaries to go to different parts of the world, so religion pretty much consumes his life. And he saw no reason to talk to us. But, we insisted that we had something new for him, so he let us sit down next to him and talk. When we started telling him about the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ, it made a lot of sense to him. He told us how there are alot of things in the Catholic church that he doesn't believe. So, after a great lesson with Alessandro, we gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon, and he was very excited to read it, and before we could say anything he promised us that he would read it, and then asked if we could come back and talk with him about what he's read and whatnot! So, he gave us his number and asked for ours, and we parted!

Next day. We had another appointment with him. So, when we met, we first asked him about the Bok of Mormon, and what he thought about the book of Mormon. We also asked him if he read the chapter we left him to read. When we asked him that, he just laughed at us, and then just like any other fat+rich+intelligent man in the movies, laughed at our naivety as he told us that he didn't just read one chapter, but he read 20 chapters! And then he started telling us about all the stuff he liked about those chapters, about how applicable it all is, and how beautifully written it is! Then he talked for another 20 min about life in general, and started applying all the doctrines and principle in those first 20 chapters to his life, and, yeah! When he told us about how it happened that he read so much in only a day, he told us that his plans were originally to just read the chapter that we gave him and then go to bed. But, as he went to go to bed, he couldn't fall asleep! He said he just felt a hunger to read more! So, he read a couple more chapters, then managed to put the book down and tried to go to sleep, but couldn't! And this happened several times until he had read all the way through 1 Nephi 22. He's a monster! We really wanted to invite him to baptism, and this amazing experience he had with the Book of Mormon gave us even more encouragement, but still I was fairly nervous because he had told us before that he was already baptized, and not as a baby, but when he was grown and was able to make the decision for himself. So, I went about  it rather timidly, but then when I got to the part where I asked him if he would be baptized in this church, he responded very promptly with a yes! Whoot!!!

So, yeah! Miracle!

Things are going great here! The baptism (with Tine) was awesome! Me and my companion were the witnesses, and it was great! Me and my companion are getting along really well! It's just awesome here! Thank you so much everyone for your prayers and all you support!

Vi voglio bene tutti!

-Anziano Bushman

Siena is BEAUTIFUL with room to grow!!! Sept 7, 2011

Well, things have been pretty awesome here in Siena!!! We've just been talking to everyone, and teaching everyone! I'm not sure what it is about the work here, if it's the companionship I'm in, or if it's just this city, but it's really not that hard to find someone that's willing to talk to us out here! We have taught a lot of people out here in the parks, and then when we go to look for people in the homes, we almost always find someone that lets us in, and the last couple times we haven't had to do much looking before we found them! It's way awesome!

So, yeah. We still don't have too many investigators, so now we need to get better at moving from teaching to setting up appointments. But, the one investigator we have right now is getting baptized on Sunday! Her name is Tine, and she is super brava! She's completely changing her life for the gospel, and it's awesome! AND she's wanting us to teach her friends!

The branch is super tiny! Maybe 9 active members that show up each sunday, and the only priesthood holders are the branch presidency, but that just means we have a lot of good work to do. One of the big problems with the branch here, is they all live VERY far away. Most of them have to drive 100-200km to get to church every sunday, it's crazy! Our apartment is awesome! It's smaller, but way nice! There's all kinds of nice cooking equipment, and we even have a little backyard!!! We mainly walk everywhere, unless we're going out of Siena to another city to visit a member or less active or something. There are way too many hills and what not to have bikes.

I'm sorry the emails have been kind of short lately... My mind just keeps going blank! Being Senior comp is fun. It's very different in several ways... Because in the past I've had comps that have just taken the lead, and then I've had comps that have tried to take the lead, but shouldn't have (because they didn't know what they were doing), and I've had comps that have just worked as a team, but this, this is different. With both of us being fairly young in the mission I can't very well take the lead, but at the same time, in this situation someone has to. A lot needs to change in the work here, and I'm not blaming it on my companion or anything, but Siena has seen at least 6 different missionaries (me being the seventh) since I got here in Italy, and some of them did not do too much.... But me and my comp are determined to get Siena on track again! AND Siena is gorgeous! Definitely the most beautiful city in the mission! I'll keep sending pictures.

Thank you so much for writing me, I really love hearing from you all each week! I pray for you all each night! Take care and remember to always scegliere il giusto!

Anziano Bushman

(Pictured above and below) Me and Anz Scheurn finally chilling on P-day! (In firenze by the way) Oh, AND there's a Hard Rock Cafe there! So we all went and ate!  Then we went and checked out some of the cool sites in Firenze, it was awesome!

Me and Anz Scheurn got delicious Ice cream - Ben & Jerry's - because my birthday was just a while ago, and his is coming up!

This statue is everywhere in Siena! I guess it's there emblem or something, but it's representative of the Romulus and Remulus story, so I thought it was pretty cool.

Expect the Unexpected! Aug 31, 2011

Well, this week has been a little crazy. The journal entires show most of it, so this email that I'm writing now will just be an add-on to after the entries I sent.

Journal Entries

26-8-11

Well, today while we were finishing up weekly planning, Pres. Wolfgramm called us. He told us that we were getting space transferred. COMPLETELY unexpected! I had just started to get along with Anz Mauldwin, AND we had just found an AMAZING couple (Cesere and Silvana) who we met just 6 days ago and had already came to church, and seen us twice (and a third visit tonight). They're going to be baptized. But yeah, apparently Anz Blaga (from Romania) isn't getting along too well with his companion, so Anz Blaga and I are switching spots. I'm to become senior companion(I've been in Italy twice as long as my new companion) and I'm going to Siena. Wow! I'm kind of excited to get a new companion, but not at all excited to leave Ravenna... AND I haven't even seen the mosaics yet!

27-8-11

Well, last night we had an awesome lesson with Cesere and Silvana! Cesere read all the way to 2 Nefi 9 (90 pages) and had prepared literally pages full of questions for us! But, the part that was even more awesome, is that he realized that all the questions he wrote down didn't really matter, and so he just asked us about the resurrection. It was way cool seeing him - someone who is so focused on facts and what not - start to feel purpose in the gospel. Silvana apologized to us for not having read as much - she only read ALL of 1 Nefi (60 pages) lol. But we had a great lesson aout the plan of salvation. She kind of freaked out about the fact that God has a body of flesh and bone, and that we have the possibility to become like our Father, but as we went on and explained our message, it really made sense to her, it was awesome!

I called Pres. Gresta to tell him I was being transferred, and he was not happy... He tried to pass by last night, but was visiting a family till late.

This morning Fratello Bissi took us to see the best mosaics in Ravenna, and they were awesome! And ancient! Like 400-500 A.D. I said goodbye to my beautiful new bike...sad day...

I met Anz. Lehnardt (my new companion), and he's such a stud! And it was funny, we've had a lot of similar experiences! Especially with our MTC companions, he had the exact same "situation" as me. But yeah, this is going to be a good transfer!

Siena is BEAUTIFUL!!!! Walking around the city I keep trying to think of some kind of movie, or some kind of photo that looks like the scenery around me, but they don't exist! The travelling we do is all by foot, so no biikes. But man, I just can't describe to you how awesome everything is here! One of the really cool things here is their unity. They have a bunch of contrade (17 neighborhoods) here, and they are all very proud of the contrada they are in, and have flags, costumes, and all kinds of stuff! This week even, one of the nearby contrade is throwing a week long party, where every night they have this huge dinner, and a music show, or some kind of performance, just in the middle of the street! It's crazy! One of the big things with the contrade, is they do this race every year. They call it palio, and it's a HUGE horse race. They take the biggest piazzo (town square type thing, basically a big paved clearing) and lay dirt all around the edges, and each contrada races a horse, and whoever wins has bragging rights for the year or something like that. I've only been here like 4 days, so I'm still learning!!!

  Also! They have a dialect! Kind of. They don't pronounce the hard <<c>>s. So instead of saying chiesa catolica, they say hiesa hatolihah. It's crazy! And coca cola becomes <<hoha hola>> hahahahah

  But everything here is awesome! Our apartment here is way awesome, we have a backyard!!!! And my comp, Anz Lehnardt, is way awesome!!! And right now we're even about to go off to Firenze (Florence) with Anz Scheurn and some of the other anziani in our zone!!!

  Well, just to wrap it up real quick, I wanted to share a quick little spiritual experience that I thought was way awesome. We have an investigator here named Tina. My first impression of her (in church) wasn't the greatest. She seemed very uninterested, and just bored. Yet she was the one of our investigators that has a baptismal date. For next week! So, we had a lesson with her later on sunday, and found out that she didn't quite understand what the law of chastity was. She has a boyfriend, and here in italy, it's very normal for a boyfriend and girlfriend to be having relationships that are... a lot closer to those of a married couple. So when we explained to her that God does not want these relationships outside of marriage, she was upset. She thought that we were interpreting the bible wrong at first, then she moved to asking us if she could just get baptized in a different church and be fine, and she even went as far as to start saying that she didn't like our <<preachers>> in church hahah and said that they are not as exciting as her old one. But, we just calmy bore our testimony and asked her to pray about it, and that God would tell her what she needed to do. After a couple moments of silence, she explained to us her worries that her boyfriend would break up with her if she told him about the law of chastity, and she really really likes this guy. We again just encouraged her to pray about it, and ensured her that God would help her carry out whatever he commands her to do. Then, to my surprise, she asked us if we could talk to her boyfriend. If we could explain the law of chastity to him. She had already decided to keep it! She's willing to risk losing her boyfriend, she's willing to change her entire life for this gospel. And that's what this is all about. This gospel really is a gospel of change. And the story doesn't end there either! Yesterday she told us that she talked to her boyfriend (instead of wating or us to do it) and he was completely fine with it!!! He understood completely! Score! Miracle!!! I know that this church is true. I know that the Lord hears us when we pray, and if we pray with real intent, cioè the willingness to act on whatever it is God tell's us, we will be given the strength to do it.

You guys are awesome, I miss you all so much! Stay strong, and never stop praying!

-your favorite italian missionary,

Anziano Bushman

Some mosaic pictures from one of the churches in Ravenna
(building and mosaics built 1500 years ago!)

These are only a tiny bit of the views we have here in Siena.

My new companion, Anz Lehnardt

Some more of the cityscape, and it's surroundings.

There are a lot of streets with decorations like this. Those flags are flags for the contrada giraffa, and they even paint the lamppost with their colors! It's crazy!!!