Felix got BAPTIZED!!! Aug 22, 2012

WELLLL. Felix got baptized!!!! Felix is such a man! Anz Rockwood performed the baptism, and I did the confirmation on sunday, and it was just awesome! We had a pretty decent turn out- even a couple of Felix's boxing students came to see him get baptized, which was actually super cool, because they were just three kids our age, but about a head taller than us, and probably could have eaten me and Anz Rockwood without much effort. They were huge, but! They came to support their 53yr old teacher. You know what's even cooler? One of them is a less active member. The grandson of one of our active members. And they were all very impressed by the baptism, and definitely felt the spirit. We'll see what happens. Everyone that came to the baptism though knew without a doubt, that Felix knew exactly what he was doing. He understands that baptism is not just an item on a checklist, but the beginning to a change of life. And the whole ceremony was just super awesome! Hahaha Felix came 2hrs early, rushing, cause he thought it was at 5 and not 7. Hahah so luckily there was another baptism (from missionaries in a nearby city) so he got to see a baptism before his own.

There were actually 2 pretty huge miracles that day, besides two awesome baptisms. So, before our baptism, the missionaries from Reggio had a baptism. And, not having a font in Reggio, they come over to Modena for their baptisms. The sister missionaries were also going to come so they could bring an investigator to see the baptism. Well the program got started and the sisters weren't there yet, and then 15min into the program they show up with some random girl, so I assumed that was the investigator they were bringing. Untill, that is, one of the sister missionaries turned to me and told me that they just barely found that girl, and that she lives right across the street. So, they were coming to the baptism, and on their way just invited a random lady to the baptism, and she came! Well let me tell you about this lady. Her name is Manuela, and we met with her again on Monday. She, is awesome. She has always wanted a copy of the book of Mormon, and she's come to church once or twice in the past, but there weren't any copies, and when there were, she didn't know if she had to pay, or how to get one. So, the sister missionaries gave her a copy. So we had a great lesson with her on Monday, and she just felt a huge connection to Joseph Smith and the situation he was in. About 5yrs ago she said that she "felt the call" to start being religious, but for various reasons the catholic church wasn't right for her. Nor were any of the other churches she had gone to, so she just figured that she didn't need a church since there wasn't one. But that was before she met us. Like I said, she felt a huge connection to Joseph Smith, and really felt that his story was true. She believes the Book of Mormon is true, but only because she doesn't think anyone would have the heart to make up a story like this. Which is a good start, but we encouraged her to pray about it still. The coolest part was when we invited her to be baptized. As soon as we asked her the question "When you come to know that these things are true, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone who hold the Priesthood authority of God?" she just looked stunned, and there was several seconds of just silence. She asked us if she still could be baptized, even though she was already baptized, and even though she had sinned in the past. We then explained to her that Jesus Christ paid for all of our sins, and she was just amazed. She just never really realized that she could still be forgiven, she thought it was too late. So we're going to see her tomorrow and help her on her way to baptism!

The 2nd super awesome baptism miracle, was Paolo. You know, cool thing real quick, both of these super awesome miracle people are italian. That doesn't happen too often. Normally they're foreigners. ANYWAYS Paolo. Paolo is the nonmember husband of Sister Rodriguez (the father of the little boy who is beating me up with a sword in several of my pictures). So Sis Rodriguez and Paolo came to the baptism on saturday to support Felix, and turns out that despite Sis Rodriguez being a member since before they met, this was the first time that Paolo had ever seen a baptism. He was also very impressed with how focused Felix was, and how important all of it was to Felix. So I got talking to Paolo, and we set up a time that we could come by their house. We've actually been trying to see him for a while now, but he often works far from home. But, being the national vacation time of Italy, he's at home now. So we had an awesome lesson with him about the Plan of Salvation, and at the end we were really able to see the desire in him to return to his Father in Heaven. He's awesome! Their family will be coming to the Family Home evening Thursday night, so we're pretty happy with how things are going. 

That's about it for today. I am just super grateful to be here in Modena with Anz Rockwood right now! There's no where else I'd rather be!

Well, vi voglio tutti un sacco di bene! 

Anziano Bushman

Anz Rockwood, Felix and me!

I am Captain Moroni!

Felix is getting BAPTIZED!!! Aug 15, 2012

Oh man, we had a super crazy week this week!!! We finally got new bikes! Our bikes were very much dead, and then last week they finally just collapsed. SO, we bought new ones! Funny enough, I actually found the same exact bike that I had bought in Ravenna a year ago before getting transferred 4 days later! Hahah so, while that may seem like a foreshadow, it's been over a week now, so I feel like I should be safe =)

Big News- Felix is getting baptized!!!! Whoot!!! This saturday! 

Mohammed came to a baptism this last saturday and then also came to church for the first time, and he really enjoyed both, but now he's staring to flake out on us... So hopefully it's not permanent. 

No word on Stefania or Alessandra yet. I guess things are still crazy with the vacation schedule... I'm not sure. 

Guido is starting to open up though!!! We are truly learning why Patience is such a virtue. Obviously, not every situation is going to be resolved with just patience alone. BUT if we follow Pres. Uchtdorf's advice (Continue in Patience 4-10) and endure well then can patience be a super awesome tool. And in this case, with Guido, it is very much needed.  He needs the gospel, and he knows it. He is just afraid. We're not quite sure of what, but that's the feeling we get... 

Well, sorry today is short. There's really not a whole lot of news this week.  

Thanks you all for the birthday wishes! See you soon!

-Anziano Bushman

Felix Is The Man! Aug 8, 2012

Well, we are being SUPER blessed in this usually-dead time of the year! Let me tell you a little bit why.

Felix. Is. THE MAN. Besides having had an overly gruesome/epic near-death war story, he is also a spiritual GIANT! He agrees 100% with all of the commandments of God, but not only. He had decided on his own that coffee, smoking, alcohol, drugs, and EVEN TEA are bad for us, and thus has never used any of them in his 53yrs of life. Except for tea. That one he got sick after his work told him to drink it so he stopped. aaaaaand yeah. We did a mock baptismal interview, and he whipped through it saying it was too easy! And just to put some icing on this beautiful cake, we asked him what he thinks about his baptism and his response: "I think baptism is very important, and an opportunity for us to change our lives. I'm ready to change my life!" I'm not sure exactly what changes he needs to make in his life, as far as I can tell, he's a saint. But yeah. A little tragic side to Felix however, is that he can no longer return to Cuba, his home country, because he's been out of the country for 5yrs and thus considered a traitor. Nor can his family leave Cuba. Cuba doesn't let it's citizens use the internet, and they have very VERY little contact with the outside world, so he just is able to call his family every once in a while, but the calls are $1/minute. He really wants his family to find the church their in Cuba though. We found out that they have a branch there, we just can't get an address.... So, yeah. That's Felix. 

Mohammed is also a stud. He is making huge changes in his life to embrace the gospel, and is meeting with us/coming to activities three times a week!

Guido is a little more stubborn, but he is also making a lot of progress. In fact, I really feel like I have been transferred here to Modena to help him in particular. He's a very smart guy, but he takes a lot of patience. He has this thick outershell that he just hides behind all the time with joking around. But, he's starting to open up. It's trying my patience, and it's taking a lot of firmness, but I've never felt so guided by the spirit as I do when I talk to him. God wants his son back, and he's allowing me to help!

Stefania also just got back on Monday, so we are going to see her tonight.

All in all the work just hasn't slowed down at all! In fact, I kind of forgot that it's august, cause last august was not nearly this awesome!!

Well, that's all I have for you guys today. vi voglio tutti un sacco di bene! 

Anziano Bushman

Not your average horse museum!

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)