They Came to Church! Aug 1, 2012

Well, Modena is legit. Just thought I'd let you know. Also, we're legit. Ok okay, maybe it wasn't ALL us, but the Lord is definitely legit. So, let me explain a little bit as to "why". 

We'll start with Felix. So, last week (10 days ago) Felix didn't come to church, and I immediately lost faith in him. I know, I'm a terrible person. I immediately started assuming that he was just another flaky foreigner. BUT!!! Last wednesday or so, Felix gave us a call on some random number and apologized for not having talked to us lately, but his phone was stolen and so he had to get a new one. Whew! So, we saw him last weekend before church and had an awesome lesson where he showed us his baptismal calendar, and he has not missed a single day with reading the scriptures or praying! He's a stud! and then on Sunday, he came to church!!!! Hahah I may seem like I get excited over the weirdest things, but coming to church for the first time has seemed to be the BIGGEST obstacle in a person's personal conversion. So when they finally make that step, it's so much easier!!! So Felix, Alessandra (and Alessandra's less-active dad), and Guido came to church. It was also Alessandra's first time in church, and she really enjoyed it as well.

I don't know if I've said much about Guido yet, but he was actually found by Anziano Smith (from my MTC group) over a year ago. He is very skeptical about all things religion, and he's had a lot of trials in his life that has led him to ask if there is a God, why are there all these trials??? Some missionaries in the past have dismissed him because he won't get baptized in 3 weeks, and others have kept teaching him to no avail. So hoping not to fall into either of these 2 groups, we started teaching him. We've been very patient with him, and I feel that we've done a good job in responding to his questions but also in helping him see what the important questions actually are (if that made any sense). We're trying to help him understand that God loves us. But to do that, he needs to read the scriptures and come to church. So this last sunday was a big step for him as well!

As for Stefania, she's still super awesome, but she is currently in Sardegna. In fact, I don't quite know what to do with her. We're taught (and I've seen in first hand experience) that without an objective, people normally don't progress in the gospel. That objective more often than not is a baptismal date. But, with her not even able to come to church because her parents won't allow it, I don't know how we're supposed to set a baptismal date! I will definitely be fasting about it this weekend...

Alessandra is also awesome, just a little more unsure of things. Which is completely fine. She's only just beginning to learn about our church. She is also leaving on vacation this weekend. 

As for others, there's Mohammed, who is a non-practicing muslim who wants to better his life. We taught him yesterday in the church about The Word of Wisdom, and he really wants to quit smoking, and knows it's bad (he's already quit drinking). He takes some convincing usually, but he's super diligent about reading the scriptures, we just need him to come to church on sunday!!

Umm... oh! We also found a super awesome chinese kid who was super excited/surprised that we were offering him something for free! Oh man he had THE best chinese accent I have ever heard in my life! When I get home I will imitate it for you. Hahah he also gave us some chinese tea to take with us, and we didn't have the heart to tell him yet that we don't drink tea, so we just accepted it and went our way. 

And for now, that's about it. Nothing else really going on. We went to the Ferrari Museum in Maranello today. And this isn't just any old Ferrari Museum, this is the Ferrari Museum where they make the Ferraris. We wanted to drive one, but it costed 70euro to drive the cheapest one for 10min. So, that clearly didn't happen. One day....

Well, thank you all for all of your prayers and support! I love you all!

Anziano Bushman

Supercharges! July 25, 2012

Well, another week here in Modena. Everything is going great! Unfortunately though, not too much to report. A couple of our investigators are still going strong, like Stefania and Alessandra, but other than that we're on the hunt for new investigators! The weather has been pretty unpredicatble: we had a crazy rainstorm the other day in the middle of summer. But other than that everything's been pretty tranquillo. Only thing that comes to mind is just a cool thing that's happened on my mission several times already. Periodically, without deserving them or earning them in any way, God has given me "supercharges". These "supercharges" fill me with the oddest desire to go out and DO everything I can to build the kingdom of God, and this last week I got the biggest "supercharge" yet. I can't explain why, and in fact part of me still dreads doing finding work, but this "supercharge" easily overpowers the discouragement and fills me with desire to do. And, it's awesome.

This truly is the work of the Lord. The time of his second coming is drawing nearer and nearer. Now more than any other is the time to reflect on the words of Alma in his fifth chapter:  

I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances?

The scriptures are real accounts, written by real people and soon enough all those that don't know this are going to find out. Today is the day to choose. And I am SO ridiculously grateful for the tender mercies the Lord has had in sending me off on a mission to gain a testimony of these things! And I thank all of you who have helped me get out here, and who are helping me stay out here. I love you all, and wish the best for each of you!

Anziano Bushman

Modena is Great! July 18, 2012

Well, Anz Rockwood (or StoneTree) is a stud! We get along super well. We've been doing a lot of cleaning this week (and almost finished) but also a lot of teaching. Sunday in fact, we found a man named Felix who gave me another wonderful opportunity to speak spanish (he's from Cuba). Now, a lot of foreigners here in Italy are kind of bums. They normally come "looking for work" but never find it, and end up mooching off some relative, can't ever invite some one to their home because they live in someone else's home, and all of these traits add up to them being weafy. Every once in a while one of these weafy investigators will make it though to the waters of baptism (not to bash on any baptisms that have ever taken place, or to doubt missionary judgement) but they usually don't remain active in the church. Felix has been in Italy less than a year, found a job, has invited us to his house to teach him, and comitted to be baptized on the 11th of August. He's awesome! Our second lesson I even backed off the spanish and he understood all italian just fine! We're now trying to get a member to come with us tomorrow to our 3rd lesson with Felix. He's a stud! 

Besides that, not much has happened with the other investigators. There's Guido, who was found by Anziano Smith (from the MTC with me)  a year and a half ago who is actually making progress. He's pretty upset with God for his trials he's had in his life, but we're managing to maintain a spiritual atmosphere, showing him the answers to his questions, and piano piano he's making progress!

The biggest thing we're doing right now is with our member work. We made a flag of missionary work, and we're committing all the members to sign it, testifying that they will strive to do missionary work see Alma 46:19-20 so that means that we need to pass by all the members! Which is going pretty well. I'll let you know as soon as the miracles start pouring =)

Well, other than that not much is going on. Modena is great! I love it. Just know that I am keeping all of you in my prayers every week, and that vi voglio tutti un fracasso di bene. 

-Anziano Bushman

The Work Moves Forward! July 11, 2012

        Whazzup??? This week has been pretty crazy! I probably say that every week, but that doesn’t diminish the fact at all, the mission is just super intense!

​      Well, I know I sound like a broken record, but…transfers! Anz Strobelt goes home to Philadelphia on Friday. My new comp will be Anz Rockwood, and I’m way excited! I’ve met Anz Rockwood in past conferences and he’s a super cool guy. Pondering on my last 4 transfers, I’m curious as to what will happen… I’ve never stayed in a city more than 5 months (Siena) but it’s not uncommon to stay 6 months. But seeing as I’m getting a new companion, (we’re not going to be together for 6 months) I’ll probably go to yet another city before coming home.
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      Alright, now to important stuff. Besides the complete geographical layout of the city, I believe I’ve got everything down pretty well. I’ve been very blessed with getting to know the members quickly (the Milano 3 experience helped a lot) and our investigator pool has been cleaned of all those who don’t want to learn, and the investigators that we have now are all super legit!
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      Stefania is a 21 yr old girl who has become very good friends with the youth in our ward. Her parents unfortunately don’t want her learning with us, so the ward organizes youth activities every week so she can have an excuse to come to church during the week, and then we just teach her before the activity. We had a super awesome lesson with her last week where she asked us why she feels strange (different) when she reads or meets with us, and so we had a perfect opportunity to explain to her that it’s normal, and that it’s the Holy Ghost confirming to her that these things are true. As soon as we said that she was so relieved! And now she loves reading even more! She’s awesome!!!
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      There’s also Valeria. We went over to a member’s house on Friday for lunch and they brought a friend, Valeria, who’s also way cool and even came to church with them this Sunday! We won’t be able to see her again this week because she lives far away and we have transfers, but she wants to learn more, so definitely next week!

      ​My favorite experience, pero, was definitely Friday night. The 2nd counselor in the bishopric was having his 24thbirthday and, being a returned missionary, wanted an excuse for his friends to hear the gospel. So he told us to bring 4 copies of the Book of Mormon and invited us and his 4 best friends over for pizza. The lesson went great! Very different reactions from all 4, but they were all somewhat interested. And then on Sunday, Jonathan (2ndCounselor) told us that one of his friends, Davide, wants to learn more! Success!!
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      So, yeah, the member work is going super well, and I’m having a lot of fun! Well, that’s all for this week!
      Vivoglio un fracasso di bene!

      Anz Bushman

At verona, but we were in a rush, so I just snapped a quick picture.

Celebrating Anz Strobelt's 2yr mark!

The Volpe family (Jonathan, next to me, is the one that had his bday recently and invited his 4 friends to learn about the gospel)

Modena is Awesome! July 4, 2012

Well, right now I'm actually in Verona, just finishing a scambio with some of the missionaries over here. Verona is very pretty, but also with all the tourism it's just more commercialized than I would have liked. Siena is still the best =)

My companion is great! He's staying focused and doing his best, even with only a week left. And we get along really well. In fact, he reminds me a lot of Brian Strong, as far as personality goes and what not, so it's nice to have a good friend out here, even if it is only for another week.

We got to play soccer with the members last Pday, and it was awesome! I was definitely rusty, but it was way fun. We played on a calcetto field, which is just a little soccer field, that had turf and was completely enclosed with 20ft high nets, so it was way nice.

We've had some difficulty getting from point A to point B, but I'm starting to learn the city now, so hopefully I'll be ready to go next week! Also, I'm getting better at getting to know the members right away, and talked to nearly every member in church this week and set up appointments with them! The cool part is seeing how excited they all were to have the missionaries over, because I guess the past missionaries didn't see the members too often. And with these members living IN modena, it will be a lot easier than it was in Siena and Pavia where we had to take trains to see them and all kinds of shenanigans.

Other than that we do have some pretty cool investigators. One Stefania who is super legit, but her parents aren't super supportive (but she's 21, so it's her choice). She is also very integrated already into the youth program, so we normally teach her everytime they do an activity.

Well, actually that's about all there is to say for this week. Modena is awesome, and I'm really enjoying it here!

Take care everyone, and stay safe!

Anziano Bushman

Space Transfer! June 27, 2012

Well, for those of you who don't remember from last august/september time, a space transfer is when there is a tragedy in the mission, and President has to change a couple of companionships in the middle of a transfer to keep everything still alive. We had a missionary that I knew (more or less) go home. So, I got transferred to Modena. Modena is in the same region as ravenna was (emilia romagna) and I really do like the area. There were 4 missionaries here in Modena, but President transferred 3 of them out, closed a companionship, and sent me here with Anz Strobelt who got to Modena 4 weeks ago. And then Anz Strobelt is finishing the mission in 2 weeks. So, if you've been following, this means that neither of us know anything about the area, investigators, or members. And I've got 2 weeks to figure it all out so I can explain it to the next missionary. Hahah it should be exciting!

We got the call on Sunday night around 9:15, right at the end of the work day, and then monday we were in Milano all day for a zone conference. I got here in Modena Tuesday around 4pm. It's a nice city. I was super sad to not be able to say bye to all the members in Pavia, they're super awesome!!!

Also, in Pavia we had a record number of people in church! And, to make it even more of a miracle, was our ward in Pavia just barely changed Sacrament meeting to the first hour instead of how they had it, as the third. But, Nury and her 4 kids were there in church for sacrament meeting, as were 3 romanians that we met in a park! And then, Davide (Nury's husband) came for the last 2hrs of church!!! It was a huge miracle!!!!!

I've also been seeing some awesome success in english class. There's a student in Pavia that used to come to english class a long time ago, and even took the missionary discussions for a while, but after the church moved she stopped coming. But recently Paola has been coming and really enjoying it. Well, this last friday at the end of the class we invited her to say the closing prayer. She was a bit taken off guard, and said that she had never prayed before, and not wanting to constrain her I told her that I would pray if she didn't feel comfortable, but she quickly responded saying that she wanted to say it, and just asked for a refresher of how to pray, and then after she finished the closing prayer you just knew that it had touched her. The spirit was so strong, you could almost touch it!!! It strikes me as odd that the missionaries had never asked her to pray before, because she was very willing to pray, and it was exactly what she needed! And then here in Modena I had another nearly duplicate experience! English class is turning in to a pretty awesome finding activity!

Well, that's all I've got for you. Just keep in mind to always be looking for missionary opportunities! They're there, I promise!

-Anziano Bushman

Certosa di Pavia. It's a pretty sick monastery, and you have to be super quiet, and no pictures are allowed....

Me and Anz Jensen (my first comp & trainer in Italy) right before he went home!!

Bishop Poggiolini's family

MILANO ZONE!!!

Last night with Anz Eveson 

Start a Study Journal! June 20, 2012

Heyy, we finally moved in!!! Whoot! This place is soo much nicer too! I snapped a couple of photos, so you may be able to get a good idea of how awesome this place is.

Well, as far as the work goes, it’s going well. Two lesson in particular come to mind (even though we’ve had many awesome lessons this week). The first one I wanted to mention was with Marius (gelataio miracle find from a month ago). We finally managed to find a time and place that worked for both of us, and turns out he’s even more awesome than I remember! After we presented him the Book of Mormon and explained a bit, he told us he had a question… which normally isn’t the greatest thing to hear, because too often that statement is followed by some piece of anti-mormonism nonsense. He then asked us (also keep in mind he’s 20 yrs. old, loves soccer, and pretty normal guy) so he asks us “How can I avoid sin and temptation?” That was definitely NOT what I was expecting! But Marius is such a stud! And really wants to change his life, and he believes that we can help him. Golden!!!

The other lesson that stands out was yesterday with Davide Bedalucco. Ruben (our ward mission leader) was able to come with us, and even drive us there, saving us from a 40 minute bike ride in church clothes. But Ruben was super key to this lesson. He was just able to relate to Davide better than we (as foreigners) would ever be able to, and so things are finally starting to click for him! Nury, his wife, was working so we’re going to go again by them tomorrow to catch Nury up to speed. But the best part about all of this was the enthusiasm that Ruben had after the lesson! He was just super excited for Thursday, and ready to make plans and what not to help this family towards baptism! It was definitely something I hadn’t seen in Ruben yet, but I am super glad that he’s involved again in missionary work.

Well, that’s all I got. I love you all so much, and hope to see all of you at the airport in 6 months!

Oh, one little tidbit: one thing that’s really helped me a lot this week, is I started (finally) a study journal. Following the counsel of Elder Scott, I bought a notebook that I like and could even “treasure” and I’ve been keeping note of any questions I’ve had, or dilemmas I’ve been facing, and then praying about them and writing down what I receive as an answer in prayer. And then! (this part is key) I’ve been reviewing what I’ve written. And let me tell you, it is making a world of difference! Things I never imagined that I could do are now coming to me as natural. It’s amazing! If you don’t have a spiritual study journal, I suggest you start one! Well, again, vi voglio un sacco di bene! Ciao!!

Anz Bushman

On scambio with Anz Lehnardt, my ex comp/new district leader!!!

Pictures of my new place!