Pics

Only a few pics cause I'm lame. Make sure to send me pictures though because I like seeing your beautiful faces.

Sister Kofa, Elder Osei, Elder Tayie, Elder Bush, Elder Tana playing Monopoly on P day because Sister Kofa is my favorite person in the world!  I'm pretty sure that I've never played Monopoly before but it was fun! It is a really long game though and we didn't finish and I'm not really sure how it would end...

 Bad picture of me and my comp (light skin one) at the conference

WE EATIN' STAKE

First of all, yes I know how to properly spell "steak". Liberia has not changed me that much. But there is huge news from Liberia! They just started their first Stake again! 

For those of you that don't know the significance of a stake, it basically just means that the church is growing and that's a good thing. The church is in branches and districts when it first starts somewhere, and then turns into wards and stakes once it grows and gets more established, which is the case here. On Sunday we had the big conference and the Area Seventy came and it was super great. The Elder's Quorum President in my branch was made to be the District President which is cool. 

The church is really growing in Liberia and it makes me so happy to see such great progression here after all the hardship that these people have gone through. The truly faithful and devoted members really deserve this and will continue to be blessed as they continue the work and keep the commandments. 

For me this week was interesting. It's always a little different to adjust once you receive a new companion but I'm doing my best. Everything good will come with time and patience and love and by being obedient. We saw a lot of people this week though which made me happy. I feel that getting a new companion or area always gives you strength to work hard again so that's what I look forward to when there is a change. 

Thanksgiving was pretty normal here because apparently they have their own thanksgiving and it was like the first week of November. I almost forgot but then I remembered and made sure to get some nice food going. We ordered some food from a place that is in town and they delivered it for free! Basically a chicken place but it's good food. I had some mac n cheese too so I made that. The good part about not seeing things about Thanksgiving is that it didn't make me think of home as much! 

Everything here is great and small small my companion and I will work together and get everything figured out in our area. We're trying our best so that's all we can do right? Okay-o. 

Much love to you all!

Elder Bush

Sleep at Last

Hello fam,

I have great news for this week. Not really this past week but for the coming week I'm so excited about. 

This gone week we had some interesting days once again. I got sick a little bit this week but I'm better and I'm feeling alright now. I think part of it could have some from lack of sleep honestly. Not too much sleep for the boy the past 6 months but all of that will change now! We struggled a little bit this week to have lessons, well relatively I guess. I don't know how many lessons other missionaries teach in different missions but we only had 24 this week and that's a pretty bad week for me. 

Anyways, we had a little conference broadcast thing on Sunday for the West Africa Region and there were some really good speakers. Elder Stevenson was one of the ones who spoke because he just came here not too long ago. They talked a lot about how life can be really hard but you need to continue to push forward and God will bless you. A lot of people here have a tough life and I think they saw that when they came here. One of the other speakers that spoke before the broadcast started was President Yanforth. He is the District President here and he spoke about the church first starting here. He has seen a lot of things here as far as the church is concerned. He was there from the very start and probably has so many cool stories. He also mentioned an old man who was one of the first members who is in our area that we recently helped to reactivate. He said that the church in Liberia now has somewhere around 9,000 members! It's really growing here and missionary work is moving. 

I got my new companion today and he's super cool. His name is Elder Obasohan and he is from Nigeria but he's not like a lot of the other Nigerians. The best news really is that he doesn't snore! I tell God thank you. I'm really looking forward to working with him and I think things will improve a lot. I've been having a hard time small. 

In other news it's beginning to get really hot here while it's getting really cold at home! So all of you guys are starting to bundle up in layers and I'm beginning to sweat from every pore again. I actually kind of enjoy the heat to be honest. You just tend to get used to sweating every minute of the day. 

This transfer we should be having some baptisms that I'm really excited about. One family is getting married and will shortly after be baptized, and a lot of others that we've been talking to and working with for a while will finally enter the waters of baptism after some great conversion processes. I love the work I am doing and I feel that this new companion will help me to gain back some of my strength and motivation because I need it! 

Love you all!

All the best,

Elder Bush

More Pictures!

Football (soccer)  at Hotel Africa which was supposed to be like the biggest hotel in Africa but then I think the war came or something I'm not sure...

 The aftermath of about maybe a 30 to 45 minute rain I think. My companion decided to take off his socks and walk through it in his Crocs. Small children just stripped down to their boxers and ran through it hahahaha.

 One cool bridge we pass

 Our district with matching ties we got (poorly) made for us.

Me and my friend Nessie

The kids in their school uniforms.

 The Youth program

 Me carrying bucket on my head like an African :)

Desean Jackson jersey that I found and bought for less than $3 US.

Allergic to the World

Hey friends and family and everyone else! How the day? Hope your body fine-o because mine was not this week. 

Couple of things first. Tuesday it rained so hard I think it could have filled all of Folsom Lake in about an hour or so. Liberia weather is nuts and I'm getting a little tired of such bipolar activity. Saturday they told me that I would be getting a new companion so that's interesting. And on Friday I thought I was going to shrivel into a ball and die.

So here's the story. On Wednesday morning I started to feel really itchy all over my body and I kept scratching all day but we just continued because I figured it was just the heat or somethings. I got some rashes on my body that night but I just went to sleep and in the morning it was all gone so I thought problem solved no big deal. Wrong. Thursday morning I woke up and we had a meeting so on the way there my face started to feel funny and when we got to the church the rash or hives had gotten to my face and it was puffed up a little bit. I called the Mission President's wife and she just kind of said to wait it out  so I did and by the end of the meeting I felt okay and it had gone down. We went to eat and then after we ate it started to come back again but like all over my body really bad and really itchy. Once we got back to the apartment I took an allergy pill and it completely went away again and once again I thought that was it. Well I was wrong again. Friday I was completely okay and then Friday night I decided to exercise a little bit which was the worst decision ever. My face swelled up and looked like a grape that had sat in the sun and was turning into a raisin. It was one of the grossest things I've ever seen and I will not be sending the pictures for that reason. I took more allergy pills and waited for a while while my chest gave me extreme pain that I didn't understand. I thought maybe I overdosed on allergy medication because that was my third one that day hahaha. It went down but it wasn't even until Saturday night that it went away completely. I'm scared to exercise now. Apparently some other missionaries have had the same problem recently but we don't know what it is. Super weird but I think I'm okay now but maybe that's foolish of me to think again haha. I don't seem to have any problems today though! Just thought I would share that little story with you :)

Everything else is good and the week was a little slow but this week should be really fun I think!! Love all of you guys and that's about all I'll share for today. I'll try and send some pictures. 

Much love,

Elder Bush

Photos!

 Elder Bush celebrating his 20th birthday at his apartment and at Monroe Chicken--kind of a tradition for the elders to go there.

 The birthday shirt Alisa and her kids made for Steven's birthday

 Elder Bush and his Companion, Elder Tana from Hawaii

 The baptism of Janet--She was afraid of the water but she did it!

 Basketball near the river in New Kru Town

 The Primary Program--didn't go so well because the mics weren't working

 The coolest elder in Liberia-he thinks..

I'm Coming Home

Just kidding I will never be coming home I think after two years they'll just tell me to stay.  Ha bet I scared my mother and a few other people.

In other news, this week was just another ordinary week. I feel like each week when I come to write my letter I forget about all the stuff that has happened during the week. 

OH I just remembered one. Okay on Monday last week we went to play basketball in another area on a court that is actually not that bad for Liberian standards. It was really fun, but then it wasn't even until later that night that I realized that I had lost my mission phone. I was so bummed because all of the people that we talk to each day are on that phone. I called it and it was still ringing which I thought was odd. The next morning we called it again and it was still ringing but no one was answering. We decided to take a chance and go there in the morning to look for it before going out to teach. We looked around the court for a while and finally had the other missionaries call it and by some miracle we found it! It had gotten kicked off the side of the court I think and was hidden in the grass so no one saw it and took it. I really believe that God hid it so no one would find it because he knew how important it is to our work. I tell God thank you. 

I just have one other really long but amazing story I want to share. Once upon a time there were 3 little girls that visited the church in an another area and wanted to be learn more and be baptized in the church. Because Elder Bush is very stubborn he insisted that we met with their parents to teach the family before the actual possibility of a baptism would take place. Finally, we met with the parents. I will focus on the single mother of one of the 12 year old girls and her 9 year old brother (although the parents of one of the other girls both are attending church they can't be baptized until they solve their marriage issue). So, we finally met with this woman and her two children but at first it wasn't looking too great. She told us that she had already been baptized and she liked to shake body (dance) in her church. We basically just told her that we wanted her just to visit along with some other scriptures that helped us with our case. She agreed... 

5 Sundays in a row now she and her children have attended the church. She reads the places we give her in the Book of Mormon. She believes and prays about what we tell her to be true. And this gone Sunday she told us that she wanted to pay her tithe before she becomes a full member. Every time that we see her she just looks so happy. She gives us food every time that she comes and tells us that she has no problem with getting baptized now. We are hoping that next transfer she will enter the waters. She is absolutely my favorite person to teach and I love meeting with her and seeing the difference in how she was before and how she is now. This gone Sunday I was praying and fasting that she would continue to progress and overcome the fear of being baptized in the church. I love this gospel so much. 

This letter is very long now so I'll end here. We played football (soccer) today and that was fun but I should never be a goalie again. Africans are crazy. 

Love you all,

Elder Bush

P.S. Pray for your country and this Presidential election. I'm proud to be a Liberian now ;)

Short and Sweet

This week will be short because we played basketball today and we got a little behind but at least I'm getting to you!

Really fun to play basketball today but so much heat and sunburn which is sweet I have an awesome farmers tan. This week was not too eventful. Someone broke into our compound this week which just means inside our gate. All they stole was just two pairs of shoes which were outside (unfortunately one of which was my sandals for a reason I don't understand) and they reached inside our window in a different room and took one of my flash drives which made me sad. The only thing that I had on it though was just pictures which are still on my memory card so that's good. Just have to be more careful I guess. I will copy all of my pictures from my camera onto another flash soon. Then I can send some. 

We had over 30 investigators in church again this gone Sunday. One of the members also made me a bunch of food for my birthday last week which was really sweet of her. They have a lot of money which made me fel better because everyone wants to cook for us but I always feel bad when they don't have any money because it's like, I don't need that food you do! But yeah. 

One couple said that they would be getting married in December so we could finally baptize them because they've been coming to church for so long now! That made me happy. Everything is okay here! We also had interviews with President this week which were good.

Love you guys! Hope God will be with this country after the election on the 8th... Pray for your country... 

Elder Bush