Liberian Flow

Yeah Hello!!

So the internet is super slow today and my companion is on the good computer so I am just sending something short because it will probably crash soon.

Basically we had another great week. My companion baptized a guy for the two other elders this week because he was so fat that they thought he would be the only one strong enough to do it. The baptismal shorts were too small so they had to wrap two white towels around his body. So yes, even in Liberia we have overweight fat people. Being called fat here though is like a compliment actually so that's kind of cool.

In other news, we had 13 investigators, or people that we are teaching come to church this week. Yeah, only 13 so not that great ;) We have not had a baptism for a little while but I promise that very soon the waters will be flowing fast fast. There is even a guy that we think has stopped smoking and drinking because we have taught him about the Word of Wisdom. The work is moving fast fast because of these wonderful people and the hand of the Lord. We're really doing our best to teach as many lessons and people as we can. I swear people just come up to us and say they want to become member of the church. Although that doesn't always turn into something, at least sometimes it does.

Tomorrow is their independence day and I've heard it's just nuts. We're not really sure what we're going to do because everyone says people will just be insane and bad things can happen. Hopefully we can teach more Word of Wisdom and Chastity!

Again, on another subject, I saw a guy wearing a shirt that said Folsom Bulldogs here so I guess they're pretty famous. I can't wait to see a Bella Vista shirt one day.

Shout out to my beautiful sister Lauren on getting married this weekend! Make sure you send her love!

Keep loving and enjoying, July is almost over and before you know it I'll have already been out 6 months... Crazy!

Bye-bye-o!

Elder Bush

Blessings on Blessings

Hello!

What a week! Wow. Serve your mission in Liberia and time will fly I tell you.

So basically the work is moving and it is moving fast. Let me just tell you a little something about the week and missionary work in Liberia.

So I know it doesn't matter, but I really just wanted to share some numbers from this incredible week. We had 12 lessons where a member was present which was a pretty good week, but we also had 15 people given to us to teach this week which was nuts but so great! Then, the craziest thing, we had EIGHTEEN people come to church. Count 'em. You need 4 hands to count that high. We really want them to be prepared before they are baptized, but trust me baptisms will come soon.

This week there was a man that came to the church one day and said that he wanted to come to the church and know about it. Since it was during the middle of the week, we were not there but another woman who is always there took his name and number and gave it to me. I called him, but since he lives far away and we had already gone to that place this week so we said that we wouldn't be going there again and just invited him to church and said we would meet with him next week. Come to find out, him and his friend show up to church on Sunday and are super interested. Really seems like he wants to know more about the church and he said he's come again next week. They are both from Ghana and seem really nice (I love Ghanian people). I can't wait to teach them on Tuesday.

We really saw some progression for some other people that we are preparing for baptism on the 6th of August. There is a younger boy who used to always say hi to us that we started teaching and is really progressing now. He's probably like.. 17 years old? I love teaching people here because even the young adults are humble enough to desire to have religion in their life. Talking to them when they are with their friends is not embarrassing... It's just normal because everyone has such a firm belief in the Bible and in God.

I love these people so much. I don't know if there has ever been a missionary that cares for those he encounters and comes in contact with as much as I do. My heart truly aches to see the condition that some of them are living in. As we were walking down the road the other day I saw a small boy sleeping on the dirt floor next to some other small children. It caused me to recall the scene in The Blind Side where Big Mike, or Michael Oher, is given a room and bed to himself by the family that took him in. I remember that when she showed him the room he said, "I've never had one before." She asked, "A room to yourself?" He responded essentially by saying that he had never had a bed. I often wonder how many children and even adults here could say the same thing. Sometimes I wonder why Heavenly Father blessed me so much in my life. I feel as if I hold some responsibility in His eyes to help them in some way or provide something to them. I don't know what it is, but I know that I will never look at life the same way as I did before my mission. How truly blessed I am to serve in this country.

The worth of every soul is great in the sight of God.

Remember to be grateful for everything that you have been blessed with, because some have been blessed with nothing and are grateful for everything.

Hope you all have the best week! Sorry if I got a little depressing there, but it is just so important that we are thankful for everything that we have!

Love you all!

Elder Bush

Photos!!

This week Elder Bush did not send a letter because he spent all his time trying to upload photos! Here they are...

 Finally, LOTS of rain...

 His current companion from Oregon...

 The other Elders he came out with in February....

This is me at the with my companion at the baptism of Hawa, Theresa, and Tony!

Supah Week

So, this week was by far the best week of my mission so far. Let me tell you about the many blessings from this week. 

Okay so first! This week the Branch Mission leader (basically just someone who helps us with our work) had time so he was able to go out with us so we had more lessons with a member of the church there to assist us. Additionally, there was another returned missionary who went with us twice this week so we had plenty lessons with a member present and it was great, it really helps us in our work and is important in having another witness to what we are saying. 

We had two lessons this week that really stuck out to me. They were both on the same day, back to back. The first was with a guy named brother Mark. He has been to church several times because his sister is part of the church, but we have not been able to meet with him because he can be very busy. So finally this week we were able to meet with him because he finished the work that he was doing and it was so nice. We were mostly just answering his questions about the church, but he kept on telling us how much he loves the church and everything, but he just needs to know the doctrine before he can be baptized. We were very happy to help with that. We had his sister sit in the lesson with us and share her conversion story which was really powerful. After that my companion bore his testimony about how much the Savior loves him and how he will see the blessings if he continues in the church. My companion had seemed to be struggling a little bit so it was really nice to see him be able to say that. The next day, didn't see his sister at church but he came and I was so happy. 

We had a lesson right after that which was really powerful. There are two people, a woman named Sharon and a guy named Joshua, who we are teaching and we were hoping to have them come to church. We also knew that a man they stay with is an inactive man and was baptized in Ghana. When we got there the inactive member told us that the other two would come to the church tomorrow but he would not. We asked him why and then requested that he would sit down with us inside and tell us what had happened. He agreed and we went inside to talk with him. He told us a story about how a long time ago his sister was given money by the bishop in a time of crisis to travel out of Ghana, unfortunately his sister used all the money and I'm assuming left him stranded. He said because of this he left the church. It seems stupid, but a lot of people leave the church for grudges that they hold over other people. Anyways, I testified to him that Heavenly Father truly loved him and that he really wanted him to come back to the church. The spirit was really strong and right after I finished speaking and we finished the lesson and discussion he said "thank you, I'll be calling my sister to let her know that I am back in the church". I remember thinking to myself, well that was easy... But I think that sometimes all these less active people need is an invitation back to the church and they will return. He said that the following week he would come because this week he was going somewhere. But I was just really happy that I got to talk with him because the spirit was so strong.

Okay the last thing was that Sunday was a great way to end the week. Possibly due to the time change of the church to 12:30, we had 14 new people come to church this week. I was so happy and I can't wait to continue the work. The time is really going fast and I love it.

Okay, super long letter but I love you all!
 

Elder Bush

 

No Watah Again-o

Yeah Hello! How your body-o? I promised a good letter this week so here you go.

Yes I can still speak proper English, although I saw one of the American Elders who was with me at the MTC and he was like woah, you really have a Liberian accent. I really think that I inherited it from my mom because even the Liberians say I speak it very well and sound like them so that's cool. Gift of tongues in a way I guess.

First of all, whoever is in control of Paynesville is causing us to suffah I tell you. Aye man, for some reason there is no running water at all so this whole week we were using water from the tank and now we have to fetch water from a well if we need water hahahaha. Thinking about it now I don't know why it seems funny but it is. I guess it's kind of cool because when my own child goes on a mission and complains I can tell him that I used to draw water from a well on my mission so suck it up. It's really not that bad though because at least the generator is still working so we have power at night. I shouldn't complain, my life is good. (I asked him about how the well works, this is his reply: "The well is just literally like a well you might see in an old movie. It's just a cement cirlce that goes down really deep. It had a gas can that they've cut holes into so it will sink in the water. It's super deep and you drop down the gas container and pull it back up with a rope that they've attached it to. Kind of cool honestly.")

In other news! This week we had 3 more people baptized and comfirmed so that was supah sweet. Hawa Morris, Theresa Goffa, and her son Tony Obina were all baptized on Saturday and confirmed Sunday. Tony is pretty small (he's 9), but I could really tell how happy Hawa and Theresa were to be baptized. It had been a long process for the both of them due to complications with some commandments, but I'm so grateful that they made such a wonderful decision to be baptized.

This week I felt really good about all the lessons we were able to teach and the people that we were able to meet. I really thought that we had some quality discussions where we were able to get through to some people. On Saturday we even met with a woman who said that she had been wondering how she could become a member because she admired the church. We taught a lesson with a man that same day where I felt prompted to introduce the Book of Mormon right away that went really well. We called everyone Saturday night and again in the morning to remind them to come to church. We were really expecting a lot to attend and when the time came almost no one was there. It rained a little in the morning, but even people who said they were on their way over in the morning were not there. We thought that definitely this woman who said she wanted to be a member and many more would be there, so we were a little sad, but of course not discouraged. We know that next week things will be better and we'll just continue to work hard. I know that missionaries in other places are experiencing so much more discouragement and hardship than we are, having one bad week as far as chruch attendance. I am grateful that the 3 we baptized the day before were all there on time and confirmed! So no wahala. No Palava. (No problem).

Also, this week one of our recent converts started to teach me some Pelee. It is a dialect in Liberia (there are plenty) that is pretty common and it's kind of fun. Hopefully I can learn it really well so I can be full on African. Although that is not what I'm focused on! ;)

Overall, I enjoyed this week and again it is continuing to move forward quickly. We had a member of the Quorum of the Seventy do a Mission Tour here and so he came and spoke to us about our missions and how we can be better missionaries. I really learned a lot from him and really hope to be a missionary at all times and not just some of the time like he said. We enjoyed a nice lunch of chicken and rice afterwards too, and it was fried chicken so it was supah nice.

Finally, yesterday one of our recent converts did not come to church because she was feeling ill, so we went to visit her after church. We read in the Book of Mormon with her a little bit. As she read I reflected back on the first time that we met with her. I recalled how incoherent and nearly incapable her reading abilities were at the time. However, because she had been reading the Book of Mormon diligently, her reading skills have vastly improved. It's remarkable the progress that she has made since we first met her. It brings me so much joy that becoming a member of the church helps a person grow not only spiritually, but intellectually as well. It was really such a wonderful thing to see.

That is all for now! I believe that soon I will be able to send pictures so just remain patient please! I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Elder Bush

Anotha One

Another week finished in the coolest place on Earth (not temperature wise of course). This week had its ups and downs for sure but all in all I guess you could say that it was a decent week.

I was a little disappointed with the amount of lessons that we were able to teach this week honestly. It seemed as if every day there was something that inhibited us from teaching more people. This was the first week that I have taught less than 30 lessons so far on my mission. It wasn't that we weren't working hard, but that people weren't at home, I was throwing up, or meetings went really long. I know I shouldn't make any excuses, but I guess I just felt like the work did not move as well this week as it should have. My companion and I have already discussed how next week is going to be much better and much more productive. I'm excited for the improvements to come in this coming week. 

In other news, I'm really starting to probably get a little annoying with the way that I talk now. I've begun to pick up a lot of the phrases that Liberians say and you might laugh at first but I know it is going to get really irritating. I just find their sayings so funny. I say Heyyy mannn a lot because they say that a bunch. I'm finding that my speech is starting to be altered almost completely now. The Mission President's wife called me the other day to ask me about something and she couldn't understand me because of the way that I spoke. I thought that was hilarious. She also reminded me that I should try to teach them to speak good English... Wish me luck with that one. Most people say that I speak like a Liberian man now. So the coloqua or however you spell it is coming pretty well. Maybe I've received the gift of tongues who knows. 

I wanted to share a story from probably my favorite recent convert that he told us this week. Again it is the wonderful brother Wah. Brother Wah is like a brick wall in the sense that nothing seems like it could get between him and the church because of how committed to it he is now. Before we met Brother Wah, he was applying for a job to be a drafter for some people, meaning just like building design/concrete type thing I'm not exactly sure honestly. Anyways, this gone Monday he went to talk with the people and they offered him the job. The job was $450 US a month, which in Liberia is like a ton of money. Seriously. If you're making $450 a month you're rollin in money basically. He said that the contract that they wanted however required him to work on Sundays and even conflicted with sacrament meeting. He told them that he couldn't work on Sundays and turned them down. They even offered $50 more dollars and he still said no. I really just was so impressed and so grateful for his strength in staying away from something that he knew to be wrong. I just truly hope that if I come across a similar problem one day that I will be able to call upon the same strength that Brother Wah had that day and continues to have. He is an example to me and others as well I believe.

That was a really great experience and many other things from this week were great that I wish I could share all of them, but sadly I am not that mighty in writing as I am in speaking ;) So next week I can include some more and I promise to really try and find a way to send some pictures soon because it's hard keeping all these wonderful and crazy experiences to myself!

I love each and every one of you and I pray for all of you every day. Don't worry about Africa boy, he is enjoying life with the Lions and Elephants and things. 

Hope to talk to you all soon!

Elder Bush

 

PS I forgot to add!

I've gotten word that there's a chance another part of this mission could open up somewhat soon in a place called Maryland. Right now I guess they're trying to fix a bridge that leads there, but apparently once they do that they'll probably open up that part of the mission and I'm really hoping that I would get to be one of the first missionaries to go there because it would be super cool and we would probably baptize like 50 people a week. Maryland is like at the bottom of Liberia and really far away from anything so it would be nuts and also super cool so I'm praying that happens for real. I know it would make my mom happy :)

Okay that's all, bye bye-o!

Training But No Raining

Sweet sweet, sweeto. Another week, another six days full of adventure.

The beginning of this week I was with a Ugandan Elder who lives in the same apartment as me. We were both called to train so we were both waiting for our new companions to come to Liberia. So we just had like 2 days together.

Wednesday my new companion came and he is bigger than I am that's for sure. He is from Oregon but his parents are Tongan. He's super nice and is really trying hard to be a good missionary so I think we will do great together. I pretty much said everything in the lessons this week which was fine, but I'm sure he will begin to put in his input soon. His name is Elder Toloke and he is probably a little bit shorter than me and about 280. I think I might kill him by the time his training is finished though because of how much we walk and the speed at which we walk. I had him lead for a little one day and I noticed that he walked considerably slower than I do. So hopefully he doesn't die but we will see. 

I was a little nervous about training, but I could see how the Lord blessed me this week. When we would teach lessons and my companion wouldn't say much because he's new, it honestly felt like I just remembered everything I had ever studied. I began to quote scriptures that I'm pretty sure I had only read one time and knew exactly where to find the answer to questions that people asked. My knowledge of the New Testament is especially improving which I really enjoy. 1 Corinthians might be my favorite book. But I digress...

We had a lot of lessons this week once again and I'm hoping that soon we will be able to contact some new people and help them get to church. Rainy season is fast approaching and that will be a really easy excuse for people to make as to why they didn't come to church which will be irritating. Although, this week it was still super hot and it only rained on one night I think. 

Now that I know I'll be in this area for my first six months, I'm not really sure how to feel about it. I really like it here, but I keep thinking six months in the same area is a pretty long time. I know it will go fast, but I just hope I get to see all the different parts of Liberia!

Besides that, I'm not sure there is too much else to say about this week. I'm excited to train my new companion and help him to be the best missionary that he can be. I'm loving the work and everything else that Liberia has to offer. 

I don't think that I'll be sending pictures once again this week. It can be a big struggle since Liberia is pretty slow when it comes to technology and whatnot. Hopefully one day I'll just be able to send all of them but for now my options are limited since my camera can't send pictures directly through email and wifi. It needs a device or something I don't know. One fine day.

Love you all and I miss you. Hope you are having the best life.

 

Elder Bush