July 13, 2018

WELL I CAN COUNT TO 200!!

I held a raccoon this week! our neighbor has tame baby raccoons and they are soooo cute. it pooed on sister Moss and that was funny! it didnt poo on me, it gave me kisses. so i guess im a raccoon tamer (; 

- pageant officially started on tuesday! and so that is super sweet. my favorite part of both pageants is when we get to go up on stage and sing, to represent the Lords missionaries. its a powerful moment to bear testimony through song! also, as i get to know the characters in pageant i am planning on writing some historical fiction about Nauvoo! just short stories(: so that is going to be awesome. ya know, when i find the time haha

- the bugs are terrible here. i have 31 bug bites on my legs and yes i was taking every precaution i could think of haha. 

- kids are so cute. my spiritual thought comes from a kid we met at pageant. our conversation was very short. all i know about him is that he is 7 years old, played the stick-pull with his brother and lost. and right as he left he said "yeah but i can count to 200!" his enthusiasm and confidence made me laugh. and so somtimes when i think of something hard for me i just remember "well i can count to 200! so maybe i can do this!" haha so i just want to remind you guys that you can do hard things. and maybe when you are struggling with something, remember something hard youve accomplished in the past! and i know that as you remember your strengths and triumphs, it will give you extra motivation and power to overcome more hard things. 

you are all super great! have a wonderful week.

sincerely, 

Sister Bush

email to parents:

i love those amazing quotes mom, thanks for sharing! ill have to re-look at that conference talk, i remember it being great. speaking of conference talks im so impressed with your entertainment fast! what made Jonas invite you guys to do that? it sounds like the blessings you have received out-weigh the costs. ive noticed that in my life as well. i dont constantly have headphones in or am wanting to watch a movie. it makes a big difference in my connections with people as well as how productive i feel during the day! how long is your entertainment fast going to be for? 

conference talks are really my favorite. during pageant season we barely have any time to do anything for ourselves, including study. so conference talks while i get ready in the morning have been a lifesaver! another reason im grateful that this is a smart phone mission. 

first patient today!!!! whoop whoop!! im so so proud of you dad. im so proud of our family. i remember when you werent sure if you could start your own practice or not, i remember when you were trying to decide if you should wait or do it right away and all those uncertainties you had. in my brain i thought to myself "i bet that hes going to just fly with this and he will start just as im getting out on my mission. hes going to do great." and i was right! here you are! im so happy for you, i know you will be helping so many people. 

utter nonsense sounds fun! you and the kids should either make a nauvoo one or a missionary one and send it so me and my district can have a jolly ol good time! sounds like a bunch of fun. you should also send videos of the kids doing it haha

im glad you guys live close to a temple now! you should go once a week. or try to. we are allowed to go every pday and ive made it a goal to make sure i go every pday. even if its just to sit in the celestial room or something. this week ive been learning a lot about temples (probably because of the sites ive been in, the pageant and also the sunday school lesson we have to teach on sunday is about temples) and its been awesome! i love the temple so much and i know that one of the reasons i am in this mission is because Heavenly Father knew that i would want to go to the temple every week. 

so on pday i pulled a mom and re-arranged the house we live in hahaha. its cuz FM had crammed sis beckwith and sis teauge in a small room and had put all the dressers in the big room. sis teauge wanted to fix that and switch all the furniture and so while she was at her doctors apt i decided to do it for her haha. sis Beckwith helped me, it was hard work! we moved all the dressers and suitcases into my room, then moved the two beds into that room. then we moved the dressers into the empty room. then we decorated their new room. after that we put the spare bed that was in my room (from sis Jones) into the dresser room. then we re-arranged me and sis moss beds to not be awkward and also decorated! which explains the pictures i sent of a few of my mormon-ads on the wall and also pictures of the family. so that made our house more homey and lovely to come home to. not that we get to spend much time at home anyways haha but its nice.

that night we had an amazing district meeting about praying with faith. i loved it. ive been changing my prayers and they have been a lot more meaningful, thanks to the tips in preach my gospel! i love it. after the meeting, i wanted to go to bed but sis Moss had a breakdown about what shes going through so i just decided to listen. she loves pictures, and had put all her pictures up. she was crying and looking at the wall, saying "this is gods plan for me." i agreed. she felt like she didnt understand why she was going through such a hard time though. and then the spirit whispered something very profound to me, which was helpful for both of us. the spirit told me to tell her that life was like that. she had a wall filled with good memories right now, but back in the day when she struggled before she didnt know what it would look like. i told her to imagine another blank wall. the blank wall is the future. faith is waiting and trusting that the wall will be filled someday. one picture/moment/memory/answer at a time. just thought you might like that(:

this week we have been serving at land and records. the first day was hard because there are some things in there that dont feel like missionary things. computer stuff, record keeping and sending and other crap like that. i felt like i was at work, using a screen for a few hours. but when i was able to focus on the times when i could connect with people and help them find their ancestors and stuff it became way more enjoyable! i love serving there because you can watch the spirit of elija in action! yeaaaa Also! found out im related to William Gheen and his house is still here! so yep i took a picture in front of it(: so recently ive been changing my mindset, like when people ask me what my favorite site to serve in, i just choose whatever site im in that day! cuz when i decide the one im in right now is my favorite then i start acting like it- which helps the guests to feel like it might be their favorite too! 

pageant officially started on tuesday!!!!!!!!!!!! it was quite a new experience for me haha. we pre-greeted and post-greeted. its exhausting but its also super duper cool. pageant changes people! especially the family casts. ive heard it described as a family efy. so thats cool. the bugs however. are not cool. I HAVE 31 CHIGGER BITES ON MY LEGS. that was from the night id been taking vitamin E pills for two weeks, i used bugspray all over, i wore a long dress and i didnt let my feet touch the grass when i was sitting down. and i still got bit. what. i just cant win haha. so now ive just been trying as many solutions as i can. i went to walmart today and they didnt have any womans boots so please send me some. so that i can stop getting bit. usually size 7. use my account. ps the vitamin E pills are the catfood pills. weve nicknamed them that because they smell like catfood haha. 

 

i love singing at the end of british pageant! it is so powerful and amazing! i love bearing testimony to people through song. i love representing missionaries to huge crowds. i love sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. so this is awesome. 

my schedule right now is wack though. what do you think of it? any suggestions on how to not be so drained yet still go the extra mile and do everything im asked to? 

okay. my spiritual thought is Isaiah 53. the whole chapter. or mosiah 14. im highlighting the whole thing in my little book of mormon. plus mosiah 8:8. but thats a different story. 

this is what Elder Holland said: "surely the most sublime, the lengthiest and most lyrical declaration of the life, death and atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ is that found in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, quoted in its entirety in the Book of Mormon by Abinidi as he stood in chains before king Noah." 

it is so powerful. since i discovered its amazingness yesterday night ive already re-read it like 4 times. i love it so much. so my invitation is for you to read it with new eyes. and see what the spirit can teach you about our Savior. 

i love you guys so much. getting those letters from some of the kids this week was a blessing! i am doing so well here. i really am changing so much, and its in a good way. Christ is making more of me than i even knew was possible! i love it! and i love you guys! and i love nauvoo! 

sincerely yours

sister Bush

July 6, 2018

Hello! Quick highlights! 

This week I got to spend some time in the bakery- which in case some of you don't know, is one of the busiest sites here in Nauvoo. That probably doesn't have anything to do with the free cookies we hand out. I'm sure it's because of how amazing of a man L. N. Scovil was. anyways, we were so busy on the 4th of July. We gave over 48 tours and handed out more than 500 cookies. The cool thing is that also means I was able to bear my testimony to more than 500 people. I'm grateful for these opportunities to serve the Lord! (Even though it can be exhausting sometimes haha) 

Also on the 4th of July, we got to celebrate a little! We got some sparklers and enjoyed them on our roof! What a fun night with my companion and other members of my district! I'll send pictures!) 

Spiritual thought: "Every unselfish act of kindness and service increases your spirituality. God would use you to bless others. Your continued spiritual growth and eternal progress are very much wrapped up in your relationships—in how you treat others. Do you indeed love others and become a blessing in their lives? Isn’t the measure of the level of your conversion how you treat others? The person who does only those things in the Church that concern himself alone will never reach the goal of perfection. Service to others is what the gospel and exalted life are all about." 

- Elder Whetten 

I love this quote!! Because of it I've been trying harder to treat visitors the way Christ would every day (: 

Pageant starts soon and that's exciting!!! Come and see it and me if you can! Dates are from July 10 to August 4. 

(Ps this month I have a new pday- it's Friday this month.) 

Have a great week! 

Sister Bush

Email to family:

this week has been crazy. fast sunday was great. i decided to fast to become more selfless. during that fast i had many opportunities to practice! haha when my comp sis Moss was tired and needed some rest and food from fasting, (around lunch) even though all i wanted to do was rest for 20 minutes before heading to the log school house (our site for the day), i made her some food and helped her out.  its what the savior would do. i now try to jump at any opportunity to serve- no matter how small it is. sometimes its just running downstairs to grab something someone forgot before getting in bed or being the one to clear the table. whatever it is, i try to jump up and help because i know it is how the Savior would treat His companion. 

that fast sunday we had dinner with the Cordons. they are hilarious!!! elder cordons favorite scripture is 2 Ne 9:34. he told us that if he could pick his job after this life, he would want to be the thruster. read the scripture and it will make sense haha. he wants me to make a tshirt for him about it. 

on sunday night we watched the performance "Our story goes on" by the people who do Pageant. they did so good! it was about the plan of salvation and a familys role in that plan. it almost made me cry. i loved it. 

so this week ive been serving in the bakery and the lucy mac smith home! the bakery is one of the busiest sites in nauvoo. because we hand out free cookies after the tour. so everyone goes there. on the fourth of july we had more than 48 tours. we gave out like more than 500 cookies. it was insane. i was on my feet all day and we were both exhausted haha. the plus side is that means that on the fourth of july i was able to bear my testimony to more than 500 people as well! which is way cooler than handing out cookies. 

also on the 4th, we got sparklers and went out on the roof of our house and lit them! you probably saw the pictures and stuff. that was super fun. we didnt get to see fireworks but i think we will on saturday. we shall see!! i missed you guys a bit more on the 4th but it turned out just fine cuz of sparklers and prayers(; 

yesterday we were in the lucy mack smith home (and will be tomorrow). i love lucy mack smith. it totally makes sense that we named Lucy after her because mother smith was such a loving and loyal person. just like lucy. ive learned so many cool things about her! and best of all, felt her spirit and it seems that ive kinda got to know her while serving in her house, sharing her testimony with visitors, watching sister Archibald portray her and reading her stories. what an amazing woman with a firey testimony! so something really cool about that is that she was called mother smith. and that was not only because she was the mother of the prophet. she was also in a way the mother of the church. another thing is that she was called a mother in israel.  heres what the site guide says:

"the term mother in israel harkens back to the strong faithful women of the old testament, particularly Sarah, Rebekah, Leah, and Deborah. (see Judg 5:2-31; 2 sam 20:19) among the saints, the title was bestowed on exceptional women, usually through patriarchal or other blessings. these women were honored for their strength of character, devotion to family, virtue, spiritual gifts, charitable acts, and leadership. lucy mack smith was foremost among them."

btw this week i think ive hit my eating groove! i used to have an eating groove and budgeting that groove, but it was not a super healthy groove haha. right now i only have pasta like once or twice a week. how crazy is that for me to say! for lunches and dinners i usually have eggs, salads, soups, yogurts and fruits, veggies and chicken! my body feels healthier and i love it. also this week ive been taking vitamin E pills and i think its been helping with the bugs. with Pageant starting so soon, the bugs will really be an issue. cuz before the shows start we pre-greet and then after it ends we try to have faith building conversations with people. (post-greet). all this while we will be in the long grass at night. the STLs told us to get boots and socks..... so i need a good pair of boots and long socks haha. ill look today at walmart today cuz i am returning my fit bit and should have the money for it. but if i dont send a picture of my boots and socks today that means i need you to look for me mom! with pageant starting our schedule is changing. we will be getting up at 7, (half of the week we have meetings at 8,) then be at the sites from 9 to 530 and then dinner before being at pageant from 630 till like 1030 or 1045.... most nights we wont watch the whole thing and take a break at the visitors center to study (cuz we need personal study and companion study haha) but thats gonna be how it is in the summer! we wake up at 7 because of how late we get to bed every night. how hectic is that?! its so wack. i know it will be hard to just be going going going but im excited to serve and do my best. its just crazy cuz its like no other mission in the world!! 

this morning we did sealings as a district in the Nauvoo temple. I LOVE ITTTT 

im so grateful for you guys you have no idea. i love you so much, more and more each day. you two really are the best. 

love love love love love love love love love love 

Sister Bush 

MIRACLES HAPPEN HERE!!! i wish i had all the time in the world to tell you about them!

June 30, 2018

yet another week has gone by in Nauvoo(:

here are a few highlights:

- i made my Brazilian fudge and it was so good! i made it so sis Jones could try it before she was transferred. my cravings have been satisfied. for now (;

- there is this huge huge hill by the temple and it curves into mullholland street. this week, on my bike with one gear, i made it up that hill! i wasnt moving very fast or anything, but all that matters to me is that i didnt stop to walk. i made it up! what an accomplishment for me. 

- on friday i killed 51 flies in the family living center, and my companion sister Moss killed 48. someday we might break the record haha. 

-this week in my scriptures i have been studying the book of Enos in the Book of Mormon. this book has sooooo many cool things about it but the one thing i will share is that it gives us a process of how to have a well rested soul every day. often we may feel like our spirits are tired, hungry or bored. but to be well rested and always have energy in our spirits, we can follow the pattern Enos shows us. 

1 Learn the gospel, ponder the truths

2 desire to be closer with God, have faith in Him

3 pray and be persistent 

4 receive a remission of your sins (repent) 

5 help others, serve

6 continue to act in faith

this process may seem complicated but it really is a daily thing! ive tried it out and though i may be exhausted physically, i always have a well rested soul. 

Enos 1:17 

thank you all for your emails, support, and prayers! 

have a great week!

Sister Bush

June 23, 2018

TO EVERYONE:

Sooooo this week in the middle of the night i woke up to my companion talking! and yes, she was giving a tour in her sleep. she doesnt remember any of it but i sure do! Sister Moss in her sleepy voice started out "Heber C Kimball was a man of faith...." and went on for a few minutes! haha quite a funny experience.

oh and the other thing was that we experienced our first tornado warning. so the siren went off during a storm and we sorta all freaked out. i wasnt as scared tho so i did my best to keep my companions calm haha. we were in the basement for like 20 minutes tops. (the basement did begin to flood tho haha) anyways, when our district leader called and said it was safe we went back upstairs. the next day we discovered that a lightning bolt from the rainstorm had hit the tornado alarm system and accidentally made it go off! so it was a false alarm all along haha. but it was still a fun adventure! 

okay, also transfers!! This upcoming tuesday sister Yamamoto will come. she is from Japan and has been in the provo MTC learning english. Sister Jones and sis Y will be companions, and will be moved to Carthage. a few other people will move around but most everyone will stay the same. sis Beckwith and sis Teauge from Carthage (our STLs) will move into our yellow house with us. i will still be with sis Moss!  i am excited for sis Jones too. Carthage is wonderful, and she will be a good companion to sis Y. (she is already trying to learn some Japanese for her haha) so thats the change! nothing to huge! ill be with sis Moss for a while more! yaya(:

quick spiritual thought: "the eye of faith" is a phrase used in the scriptures. What does it mean? I feel that people often say that we dont need to see the future, because we have faith. and that is a cool idea. but i like to say that it is because we have faith that we can see the future. When a person has faith in Jesus Christ, their lives begin to change. their hearts are transformed and so is their future. faith in Christ allows us to see miracles in our lives, it allows us to see the promises of God being fulfilled. faith in Christ allows us to feel the truths of the gospel, thus giving us an anchor to hold on to in stormy waters. I encourage you to study faith if you are in stormy waters. and if you arent, i still encourage you to study faith! because storms can come very suddenly sometimes and as you prepare you can be ready to sail safely. you can try reading in Alma 32, Ether 12, Hebrews 11, and 1 Nephi 8. all great chapters. also if you would like any conference talks on the subject i can give you some! i have more than 40 haha. just let me know. 

thank you so much for all your support! you guys are amazing(:

have a great week!

Sister Bush

TO MOM AND DAD:::

yes! the purpose of the book of mormon is the same as my purpose! that is why the book of mormon is so powerful in the hands of a missionary. my problem is, im not quite sure how to use the scriptures more during tours. because it almost seems weird to whip out your scriptures in the middle of a tour to illustrate a point. you know? and so im thinking on maybe memorizing some so that i can quote them? im not quite sure how i will do it, but i do know that i want to use the book of mormon more in my teaching. 

thank you for your love, testimony and prayers! i am so grateful for your support. it comes in various ways: pictures, emails, testimonies, spiritual thoughts, sweet memories, prayers, ect. i love you guys! i hope and try to support you too(:

 

also! i really appreciate the lyrics you sent me hahaha my companions and i love to sing it randomly while we are in the house. 

ive been busy on pdays, but president doesnt give us a time limit so ive been pretty good about replying to people. i dont spend a super long time emailing, but i do get enough time to reply to pretty much everyone! maybe i just dont get a lot of emails haha. i dont know but i love talking to anyone who emails me! 

your story about faith preceding the miracle is inspiring! I LOVE IT. it reminds me of the story when Heber C Kimball was called on a mission with Brigham Young to England and both of their families (and them included) where sick with malaria. they couldnt even walk on their own and their wives couldnt get out of bed. they postponed the mission for a bit, but then decided to leave anyways because they wanted to serve and had faith that God would heal their families! they said goodbye to their children shaking with fever and their wives laying ill in bed. they even needed help getting in the wagon the day they left. they were just so sick and they knew they probably wouldnt see their families for a couple years. i cant imagine the faith they had. what i love is how they gave their families a cheer. this is where the "hurrah hurrah hurrah for Israel!" comes from. they gave a cheer, Heber C Kimballs wife got out of bed to wave them off saying "God bless you" and they were off. what a huge sacrifice. and the Lord blessed them greatly for it. Heber C Kimball and other missionaries in England were blessed with 6,400 converts (who eventually came to Nauvoo.) amazing right! the greater the sacrifice, the greater the miracle! though your story of faith and moving records to the ward is not the same haha i do feel that the principle is the same. faith before the miracle. wow you guys are amazing. pioneers in the Bush family(;

first off! fathers day call! it was so good to see you guys. it really made my day. but the weird thing is i feel like the call was only like 5 minutes long! and then all of the sudden i was back into my crazy missionary life haha. it was fantastic to see all of your faces and be able to have an actual conversation. i love you all so dearly. 

on sunday i got an extra interview in with president Lusvardi and it was good! a ten minute interview. even though we pretty much never get to talk one on one, i feel that President Lusvardi completely understands me and cares about me. he is a very busy guy yet whenever i talk to him i can always see how genuine he is. what a nice man haha

okay. so. have you ever wanted the spirit of prophecy? like reading through the gifts of the spirit and thought "man it would be cool if i had that one." i know i have. well this week i learned that anyone can have it. and heres the quote to prove it! 

"“Revelation may be given to every member of the Church. The Prophet said that every man should be a prophet; that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. It is not only the privilege but the duty of each member of the Church to know the truth which will make him free. This he cannot know unless it is revealed to him. …The gift of the Holy Ghost is given to the members of the Church so that they may have the spirit of prophecy and revelation. Let it be understood however, that they will not receive revelation for the guidance of the Church” (Joseph Fielding Smith)

isnt that amazing! if you have a witness that Jesus is the Christ, you have the spirit of prophecy. this didnt make sense at first to me, but as i realized that the 12 apostles and first presidency have a special witness and have the spirit of prophecy i realized that it was because they had that special witness that they have the spirit of prophecy. once realizing that, it hit me that i am right now a special witness of Christ- and have been taught to promise people blessings. If i am speaking by the spirit, I am speaking for the Lord. therefore, i have the spirit of prophecy. wow. what an honor and burden that is upon the shoulders of every missionary in the church! and what a blessing for the members of the church that have so many people filled with the spirit of prophecy. you two have the spirit of prophecy as well- just for your own individual lives and for the family. but still! how cool is that! if you have a testimony of Christ, you have the spirit of prophecy. wow. anyways, thats just ONE of the amazing things i have learned this week! 

this week we have served in the Heber C Kimball home and the Seventies Hall. these sites are slower in the morning, so we got to watch the youth devotional by Pres Nelson and other cool things like that! can i just say holy cow about the youth devotional. so cool! i was awestruck. the spirit was very strong, and i realized that these really are the latter days. 

because we have a lot of free time at the sites we not only study and learn amazing things from the spirit for hours every day but we also do fun things! haha im sure youve noticed. we are currently working on a tangled parody song- the morning song by many Moore- except we are making it about our sites and what we do when no one comes to visit haha. it is pretty hilarious, we will send the video when we are done. 

i know it might look like all we do is mess around.... thats probably because those are the only times we use our cameras! anyways i promise that the majority of what we actually do is missionary work(; 

speaking of missionary work, let me tell you about Heidi. i know i mentioned her before but there is more! Heidi is amazing. she has a lot of trials in her life but Nauvoo has changed her. the change is pretty drastic too. in the past she has not only been inactive but has gone down a dark lonely scary path. Nauvoo has completely turned her around. she has a testimony now. she has a goal to get her endowments and be sealed to her daughter. and she wants to do it here in Nauvoo. she plans on coming back next summer. i have faith that she will. i kind of think of her as my first progressing investigator. we will keep teaching her while she goes home and starts on the path to the temple. she is so grateful for us that she picked out artwork of the savior for us and gave it to us. each art piece is different and beautiful. Heidi told me that she picked mine because she knows of my love for the Savior and has been inspired by the relationship i have with Him. she says i have helped her get back on her feet. i was so grateful for that. we love her and we will continue to help her achieve her goal of going to the temple!!!! man i love being a missionary. 

ahhh yes the tornado warning siren thing. so it went off during a storm and we sorta all freaked out. i wasnt as scared tho so i did my best to keep them calm haha. we were in the basement for like 20 minutes tops. (the basement did begin to flood tho haha) anyways when our district leader called and said it was safe we went back upstairs. the next day we discovered that a lightning bolt from the rainstorm had hit the tornado alarm system and accidentally made it go off! so it was a false alarm all along haha. anyways it was still a fun adventure! 

so this week we had a mission tour with elder Kim B Clark of the 70. he is so great!! he gave a young adult devotional a while back about Joseph Smith so it was really cool to get to see him and hear what he had to say! he gave a lesson about being a successful missionary. he promised that if we develop these 5 attributes we will be successful:

faith in the Lord Jesus Christ

obedience

having the Holy Ghost with us

loving the people

working hard 

his message was great! i learned a lot from him, from his wife, and from the spirit. also i got to meet him and shake his hand so that was cool. a lot of the sisters got to give tours to him but we werent one of those :( which is sad cuz we were at the 70s hall and hes a 70! so we thought for sure he would come! i guess not haha. it was cool to learn from him anyways. also sister Bonnie L Oscarson was here this week. we didnt get to meet her though. but still cool! im sure more general authorities will come. 

oh ps in preparation for elder Clark they had us read some scriptures- one was alma 32. at the time in my personal study i was also in 1 nephi 8. as matchy matchies go, i dont know why i have never noticed all the cool things before! it is amazing! you have to check it out. i love the imagery of growing our own little tree of life in our hearts <3 

 

okay okay transfers. soooo on tuesday, sister Yamamoto will come. she is from Japan and has been in the provo MTC learning english. Sister Jones and sis Y will be companions, and will be transferred to carthage. a few other people will move around but most everyone will stay the same. sis Beckwith and sis Teauge from carthage (our STLs) will move into our yellow house with us. i will still be with sis Moss! so that is good cuz she is my bestie. i am excited for sis Jones too. Carthage is wonderful, and she will be a good companion to sis Y. (she is already trying to learn some Japanese for her haha) so thats the change! nothing to huge! ill be with sis Moss for a while more! yaya(: this week we will serve at Heber C, the Tin shop and family living center. 

this week im emailing late because we went to a baptism in burlington! (an hour-ish away) Patty visits Nauvoo a lot and has been taking the discussions for months. so i dont know her super well but we went to support her and she was so happy! the baptism was small, humble and a sweet spirit was there. so great! 

and last of all you saw the video of us having an ice cream dinner! haha that was so fulfilling it made me happy and feel a little more at home(: im glad i have such a great district that will help me with my weird and wonderful family traditions! 

last thing: this week i felt that i wasnt really doing my all as a missionary. its not that i was doing a bad job because i wasnt. ii was doing a good job. but I knew i could do more and Heavenly Father knew i could do more. at first i was discouraged as i realized that i had been slacking. but then with gratitude for the atonement of Christ i put it behind me, and just started new. im much happier now as i have been giving my all. i give my all to the tours, to my studies, to my companions, to my prayers, to my service- to everything. and i do it with faith in Christ that as i give my all, He will make it enough! i havent changed anything im doing drastically, but in my heart i can feel the difference. and i love it. isnt the gospel of Jesus Christ just the most wonderful thing you can even think of? because it is so wonderful, i spend quite a lot of time thinking of it. and because im doing that, my spirit has just been so happy (:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:

sooooooo im really honored to be your daughter. you two mean so much to me. i love you so so much, it isnt even logical haha. 

cant wait to hear from you again!

hugs, prayers, more hugs, and more prayers! 

love,

Sister Bush

June 16, 2018

hello all! 

some real quick highlights from this week!

- we experienced a bit of a storm, and my companions were afraid of a tornado. thankfully nobody went to the land of Oz and we were safe in the seventies hall! (minus a tiny bit of water that seeped through the doors) 

- both of my companions now know how to speak with water inside their mouths. and sing too! without it spilling out of course. i am quite impressed with what we can do in our spare time haha. 

- i am very excited that we get the special opportunity to skype home on fathers day!! what a blessing. (our mothers day calls were not all that they could have been so our mission president is making it up to us!) 

I want to talk a little bit about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He can not only cleanse us of sin, but He can enable us to do things we never could do on our own. This is called the enabling power of His atonement. I have experienced this power this week, and i testify of it. He is there to help us no matter what our struggle is. if it is biking up a rough hill, staying awake during personal study, missing home, trying to connect with people on a tour, understanding a principle of the gospel, overcoming feelings of inadequacy or doubt, personal weaknesses- it doesnt matter. He is there, ready to help us. and the enabling power of His atonement is available to all who trust in Him and to all who ask. I love this gospel and i love my Savior. He is everything to me(:

ps here are some pictures from this week(: did people get the ones of my dresses last time?

June 9, 2019

Okay so this week i was at the Visitors Center. and i flippin love the VC. it is amazing. it is a lot easier to feel like a missionary in the VC. ive connected with a lot of cool people. at first i could only connect with a couple people each day and it frustrated me. i wanted to help more people. but i learned that i cant connect with everyone. i just cant, because it is impossible.

But heavenly Father can. He is the Father of our spirits, and has a long lasting connection with everyone. the deeper my connection is with Him, the more people i can connect with. Once i learned that, i was able to connect with a lot of people each day. i connected with a guy who went to get his endowments here right before his mission, a teenager named Sariah that was here with her family, an elderly lady whos birthday it was, a mother from Atlanta Georgia who was trying to help her kids, two priests who came with their ward, an elderly couple who has come to nauvoo for the past 25 years every year to "refill their tanks", a 14 year old girl with a youth group (we are actually going to stay in touch), a family with a down syndrome man, two leaders from a youth group, a grandma and her grandkids, a young father and his little girl and so so so so so many more.the more i come to know Gods children, the more i come to know God and feel His love for them. each of them, as individuals. so the next time you feel a connection with someone, i hope you realize that it is because you have the same Father in Heaven and He loves both of you dearly. 

few more random highlights:

- my dresses where finished! (pictures attached)

- sister hatch made amazing maple fudge and it is so dang good! 

- oh and by the way, my mission is unique because i am encouraged to invite family and friends to visit nauvoo. so if you are wondering if you can see me while i am on my mission, the answer is actually yes! come see Nauvoo and discover why it is so special(:

yours truly,

Sister Bush

ps! im diving into conference talks and am making collections, so if their is a topic you would love to know more about (faith, Gods love, peace in trials, ect) i would be happy to give you a list to help you out! 

June 2, 2018

hello everyone! my pday is now saturday. (for this month.) 

Couple highlights: 

My dress is almost done!! I'll send pics when I get it. 

The rocky road fudge here is to die for..... 

I am loving Nauvoo so much I think I'm going to write historical fiction about it! About the saints! You know me, I'll never stop writing haha. 

Quick thought: On sunday, we served in the Wilford Woodruff home. We where there from 1230 to 5 and we never got a moment's rest. We gave the tour to 144 people during that time span. It was insane. And I learned a profound lesson. For all my sisters serving here in nauvoo, pay attention. Anyone can memorize a script or walk someone through a home. And so at first when I came here I thought I wasn't special. But that's not the reason we are here. Only I have my testimony. And Heavenly Father wanted to utilize my testimony, and give me as many opportunities to touch the lives of his children. The mission where i could testify to and touch the most people is here in Nauvoo. And that's why we are here. Because God knows how special are testimonies are, and he wants to bless us with as many opportunities to share it as possible. (: 

And for everyone to remember:  please know that God is aware of you. I've noticed that too, with all the special people that come here. He is mindful of all his children. He has a plan of salvation that is specifically for you. That is just beautiful to me. 

Hope everyone has a great week! 

Sister Bush