May 11, 2018

(extra prep day!)

Hello! Its earlier than 130 i know, but its cuz we got other things done a lot faster this morning than we thought! 

so first off, i am a lucky duck. Elder Neil L Anderson came to the MTC on tuesday night! He also broke down Pres Nelsons talk on revelation and helped us understand it. after that, he went around and shook some missionaries hands. everyone in my sistrict got to shake his hand!!! it was amazing and i was so happy. 

VISITORS CENTER TRAINING IS THE BOMB. problem is, it is nine hours of class every day. which is a lot. the best part tho is that we get to teach real people. there is no other part of MTC training where missionaries get to work with actual investigators.only visitors center training. i had some super cool experiences with mormon.org chats and phone calls this week and i cant wait to tell you more about it on sunday. 

i got my green missionary t shirt this week and that was great! i wear it at the gym when im running or playing volley ball. 

about the quote at the top. its from sis paystrup. last night after a cool experience on mormon.org, she was flipping out and was like "why arent you guys pumped about this?" and we were all like "about what?" and she goes "WE ARE CONVERTING THE WORLD!!!" haha it was an awesome moment as we all laughed as well as realized how awesome it is to be a missionary. im constantly on a spiritual high and i love it. 

this week my goal is to fine tune the gift of discernment. it is crucial for missionary work and especially for visitors centers and historical sites. any thoughts you have on it i would love. 

i love you guys so much. i cant wait to call on mothersday cuz i have so much to tell you! and im sure you guys have plenty to say as well. i am also planning on calling when im at the airport. ill call you mom cuz i bet dad will be at work. 

i love you guys so much. so much. my prayers are often for members of our family and i think of you guys whenever i learn something cool. i love you guys so much you are the world to me.

sorry its short and earlier than planned!

know that i love you.

Sister Bush

May 8, 2018

Hello all! I sincerely appreciate those who have sent me emails to say hello back! You guys are amazing. 

We had some more rain this week! It was quite refreshing. 

You are probably wondering about the title here... I really did see a miracle in the cafeteria. There is an Elder in my zone, Elder McMurdie and he ate an icecream sandwich. But heres the amazing part- he did it in one bite. I kid you not! He took the icecream sandwich (not a mini- it was a full size icecream sandwich) and just put the whole thing in his mouth. he didnt spit any of it out, he just ate it. he didnt even use any milk or water. If that isnt a miracle i dont know what is! Moral of the story: missionaries in the cafeteria do weird things for entertainment. Anyways! That was hilarious. 

Besides that miracle, ive seen other miracles. True miracles- one of them being the change taking place inside myself as i become the servant of the Lord that i am meant to be. One of my teachers helped me realize that the Savior experienced everything we have experienced, and understands us perfectly. But because He is so loving, He is willing to experience it all again with us. The good and the bad, the joys and the pains. He wants to be right by our side. Im very thankful for the Savior Jesus Christ. I know He loves us all individually. 

Short and sweet, that is my email for the week (:

Keep pressing on! 

Sister Bush

May 1, 2018

Hello friends! Today is my second Pday. 

First off, let me say that I love being a missionary! It is the coolest feeling in the world, no joke. 

I wish I had more time to email, but alas, I do not. If you want more details about the MTC, you can ask my parents! I will just explain some brief things.

My companion is Sister Curtis. She is from Nevada and is amazing. She has a really sweet spirit and we get along quite well! As a missionary in the training center, my schedule is pretty darn busy. We teach lessons, do service hours, work out in the gym (which is fun!) and go to class to learn about the gospel. Oh and we try to fit in time to study the scriptures. I love it here. My faith in Jesus Christ has increased tremendously and I can feel Gods love more fully in my life. 

Today I wanted to explain what I have recently learned about the Book of Mormon, Another testament of Jesus Christ. It goes along perfectly with the Bible. Most importantly, it answers the deep questions of the soul. I had an experience this week where I was trying to explain the Atonement of Christ to an atheist. I used analogies, quotes and my own understanding. But he was so confused! He couldnt understand! Later in class we studied the Book of Mormon. I showed him scriptures from the Book of Mormon about Christ. He was then able to understand Christ, because of the Holy Ghost. Im so thankful for the Book of Mormon. I know it is Gods word to us, and can give us the strength and direction we need in our lives to be happy. I encourage all of you to read the Book of Mormon and search for the answers to your questions. I know that God will answer you if you are asking in faith(:

Im so thankful for all of you! 

-- 

Sister Bush

            

         

                     

(Email to parents)

So on Tuesday night, Elder Christofferson came to visit us! He gave a super cool devotional about revelation. He went through Pres Nelsons talk from this past conference and added his own insights, comments and promises. It  was so super cool. Because I was in the choir, I was able to not only sing joseph smiths first vision to him, but to every MTC around the world! (it was a huge broadcast.) Amazing! 

Also on tuesday night, Sis Curtis and I were asked to be the new Sister Training Leaders. We are like the zone leaders for the branch, but as sisters. we are in charge of Relief society kinda and go to branch council and welcome the new sisters into our zone. We help make sure that all the sisters are doing okay. I love it! I was actually super shocked by the invitation but I am doing my best to help the branch leaders and sisters in our zone. an elder in our zone was sent home this week and so that has been kind of hard for some people. i have been praying for him and his family

we have been working with investigators this week: Beth, Doug, Jacqi, Matthew and Sadie. It has been amazing to see them grow. In our TRCs we learn how to teach the gospel to their individual needs and it is amazing because it is just how the savior would teach. We asked Doug to pray this week and he gave a very simple, humble prayer and plea to know if God is there and if He loves him. It helped me realize that the gospel is very personal. it is just for each of us individually. and its so beautiful to see that in peoples lives and be a part of their conversions. 

my district is getting closer than ever! we are so happy together! 

i love sister curtis. she is the bomb. She opened up a ton this week and told me something she is struggling with. we have decided to study it together as a companionship- because thats what good comps do! ps she hit me in the head with a basketball and that was super funny. we have been trying to stay healthy so we always take the stairs and its killing me. our main classroom is on the 5th floor and we go up there at least twice a day haha. its good cuz we help each other stay healthy- especially in the cafateria.

my mailing address is 

Sister Leslie Katherine Bush

MAY16 IL-NAU

2005 N 900 E Unit 165

Provo UT 84602

Thank you! this will seem random but if you could send me a cheap pair of basketball shorts, a handheld pencil sharpener, a copy of my farewell talk and drawings from the younger kids that would be awesome hahaha. 

Dad! I love the kick the habit addiction medicine. that is awesome. it sounds perfect. i like the shirts with like martial arts people on them the best. The other ones are cool too tho. I cant believe you guys will be moving so soon! that is insane!! 

the plan for you and jonas to come up to utah sounds like it will really work. I hope that micah and evelyn dont have too hard of a time about it. 

im glad you guys loved infinity wars! Cant wait. well i guess ill have to haha. thats okay im way more happy here. 

mom i have a poem for you! I thought you would like it. 

he was just a little boy on the weeks first day

he was wandering home from sunday school and dawdling on the way

he scuffed his shoes into the grass, he found a caterpillar

he found a fluffy milkweed pod and blew out all the filler

a birds nest in a tree overhead, so wisely placed on high

was just another wonder that caught his eager eye

a neighbor watched his zigzag course and hailed him from the lawn

and asked him where he'd been and what was going on

ive been to bible school he said and turned a piece of sod

he picked a wiggly worm replying ive learned a lot of God.

A very fine way, for a boy to spend his time the neighbor said

if you tell me where God is, ill give you a brand new dime.

Quick as a flash the answer came nor was his accents faint

ill give you a dollar mister

if you can tell me where God aint. 

GOD IS IN THE VERY DETAILS OF OUR LIVES. I KNOW THIS FOR A FACT. HE LOVES US AND HE ONLY DOES THINGS FOR OUR BENEFIT. i bear my witness of His love every day. 

sorry the puncuation is all messed up im trying to type it out fast!! 

But i really liked it and thought you would too. 

Also! the quotes that both of you guys gave me were perfect and i love them so much because they are perfectly lovable!! yes!! keep the quotes coming! I wouldnt mind if you sent them on days other than pdays haha. Speaking of emails, please send it before pday so i can have more time to reply on pday instead of reading and then replying. but dont stress i know life is busy haha. 

mothers day is coming up! I wont get to skype or facetime. I can only call on the phone and it will only be 30 minutes. the phone shuts off after 30 so yeah.... my timephrame of 30 minutes will be somewhere in between 315 and 445 on the 13th. im excited about that! 

3 weeks is normal at the MTC, i just have a 4th week for visitors center training, where we get to go to temple square. that is gonna be so cool. 

dad  i roll out my back often, i am so glad you gave me that thing!

mom the scripture i marked in the book of mormon this week is 3 nephi 11 the two verses of when christ says arise and come unto me and the verse after. sorry i cant remember the exact number. im sure youll find it. 

sorry im so scatterbrained! Im thankful for the pictures you sent mom! They are so awesome. say congrats to the three boys for me im so proud of their skills. is there any way you could send videos of their testing?? 

we went to the temple this morning and it was awesome. 

I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH IM SORRY I DONT HAVE MORE TIME BUT I LOVE YOU AND IM SO GRATEFUL FOR YOU GUYS BIG HEARTS AND HUGS

I pray for you guys all the time (:

-- 

Sister Bush

April 24, 2018

hello!

Okay now to tell you about whats going on with me haha. there is so much!! We joke that every five minutes at the MTC we become new people. I am not kidding, it is so true! 

My district is a sistrict, which means it only has sisters. We are small, there are only 6 of us and we all live in the same room and go to some of the same classes. we are all going to the same mission too, so that is sweet! Theres sister Done, Sister Green, sister Baldwin, sister Paystrup, sister Curtis and me. (Sister Bush lol) Sis Done and sis Green are the district leaders. I am senior comp for right now. About sister Curtis, my comp! She is amazing. It has only been a week, but i am a better person because of her. She is very cute, humble, and full of faith. She was pretty shy at first, but we are opening up to eachother. I learned she has some social anxiety problems sometimes, so i am really impressed that she has chosen to serve! 

random thoughts: 

my heels are super raw. my shoes cut them up and they started bleeding on Saturday i think it was. the sockies dont really help. ive been using bandaids. 

I have two INCREDIBLE TEACHERS: Brother Holmes and sister Winegar. Ive learned so much from them and their roleplays and lessons. amazing. wish i could go into more detail. 

when my district works out together, we like to attempt to play volley ball haha. its fun, and im actually slowly getting better and contributing to my team. 

i wish we had more personal study time, but i understand that somtimes we wont get the full hour because we are so busy. 

there are some unique murals that i love here at the MTC. they are only found here at the MTC and my district likes to go and do these cool pondering activities by them. love it. 

Mom you would love it here. The spirit here at the MTc feels like a big temple. This is because everyone here is equal, has the same purpose, and we are united in coming closer to the Lord, bringing others to the Lord, and constantly serving. It is a place of power and learning and cleanliness. amazing. 

I saw Jacob Jensen the other day, apparently hes a teacher here.

Ive also seen a few people from my mission prep class at BYU-I.

First couple days were freezinggggg but the sun has come out and things are better! 

The food has been great! kind of too great. But ive been trying to be careful with how much i eat so i dont gain weight. From personal experience, i can tell you that the orange juice is fine (; 

THE CHOIR HERE IS THE BOMB. mom you would love the choir director, he does a great job. we are currently working on the joseph smiths first prayer song and its amazing to have so many misisonaries singing it together. I dont know if you will be able to access it, but we are having a devotional tonight and the choir will be singing it tonight. The choir director is very specific on how we sing "Joseph. This is my Beloved. Hear Him." Because he wants us to say it the way God would. IT IS SO POWERFUL. yes. 

also, we watched a video that is only fully available at the MTC called the Character of Christ. Its by elder Bednar. Try to see what you can find from it because it is amazing! I was mind blown. Plus Elder Bednar impersonates Cookie Monster and that is totally awesome to watch hahaha

Im so sorry all these thoughts are so jumbled! Im just trying to give as much information that I can. 

My spiritual thought is actually from the character of Christ. He is simple. and one thing that Elder Bednar taught us about HIm is that Christ always turns out in love when we would normally turn in with selfishness. I am working on always turning outwards now. 

I am learning so much. so much. I love the savior. i feel blessed to be called of Him and be His servant. I am excited to keep learning and keep teaching here before i enter the field. 

i miss you guys, i love you guys. Most of all, i am thankful for you guys. 

I encourage you to keep coming closer to the Savior everyday. It will change your life everyday. That is my testimony, because I am changing everyday as I come closer to Him everyday. 

MUCH LOVE