August 22, 2019

Hey! Short one this week, didn't have time to write much....

But I really felt impressed to talk about temples. So I wanted to tell you about Katharin Fleck. I don't know too much about her. All i know is that she is my 6th cousin, and was born in 1901 in Nebraska. Today was her special day! 

Today I went to the Nauvoo temple and did her work. I had the privilege in doing things and making promises in her behalf. I was baptized and confirmed for her, was endowed with power for her and sealed her to her parents as well. Overall, we were in the temple from 7:45 to 11:15 and it was one of the best experiences of my life. 

She will not be forced to accept the work I did for her, but now she has the choice. And that choice sets her free! 

I'm so grateful for temples. I know that they are sacred, and a place we can feel God's love most abundantly. If you feel like something was lacking with your week, please go to the temple. Or study temples. Or learn more about what temples are at comeuntochrist.org! This week wasn't the easiest for me, but because of my time in the temple, I came closer to Christ. Just like Katharin Fleck. And I know that you can too. 

Have a great week! 

Love, 

Sister Bush 

August 15, 2019

HELLO EVERYONE! 

I know it's been ages since I wrote an email to everyone with updates!
So sorry haha but I've been crazy busy with the Lord's work 

Pageant season was the best summer I've ever had in my life.
I met thousands and thousands of people, and with many of them i had great experiences.
Funny experiences.
Moments of joy and moments of sorrow.
And with that came many sacred experiences.
I will never forget the way that those people have changed me. 

Even though pageant season is somehow gone, Nauvoo is still alive and well!
My new companion Sister Young is super cool and
we both love attending the temple so we go as often as we can 

The other upside to having some study time now available
is that I can continue writing historical fiction for the people who lived here in Nauvoo. 

I'll just remind you that 

1. These writings are first draft, and havent been edited at all. 

2. The things I write are based on real people, real places and real events.
(But not official church history) I just add details to help myself  (and hopefully others) understand more how they felt. 

Today I've included at the bottom the continuation of the Riser family story. 

Background info: 

George and Christiana were both originally from Germany but moved to Nauvoo when they were little kids.
They met and were married in Ohio.
George had a very successful shoe shop there, but upon hearing of the
persecution of the members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints,
he felt inspired and wanted to know more. So they sold their shoe shop and
moved to Nauvoo to see what they could learn!  They wanted to find out why
these church members were willing to sacrifice so much.
As George and Christiana came to know the restored truths of Christ's gospel, they too chose to make sacrifices...... 

       ****************************

George stares in fixation at a wooden shoe last, concentrating on poking the holes with the awl in the right place.
His eyebrows wrinkle as he threads the flax seed string through the holes in the leather.
Christiana watches him pull out the nails in silence. She's anxious to talk but doesn't want to interrupt his work.
Finally she can't help herself.
"George?"
"Hm?" He's still staring intently, and doesn't look up.
"I want to discuss something with you."
He nods, but Christiana knows he isn't listening.
"Sie da." She speaks German, their native tongue, to signify that she needs his attention.
George looks up, sets down the shoe last and puts the hammer in his lap. "Ja?"
"I wish to ask your opinion of the Prophet, the Prophet Joseph Smith and his words this morning."
Christiana studies him, her heart pounding.
George smiles. "I was contemplating the very thing at this very moment!"
Christiana laughs and then leans forward. "And? What are your feelings on the subject?"
He rests his arm on his work table and runs his hand through his hair.
"I cannot forget the feeling in my chest as he spoke......
as he explained eternal truths with such simplicity and testified of our Lord Jesus Christ with such surety.
 I feel as if the aching void in my heart has been filled with His restored gospel."
Relieved and overjoyed with his response, Christiana jumps up. "I feel the same!"
They nearly dance around the kitchen, rejoicing. He spins her and they nearly fall over, bumping into his work table.
Shoe lasts and nails fall on the floor. Neither of them are bothered,
because the feeling in the room and in their hearts is a deep, pure joy.
George smiles from ear to ear, tears filling his eyes as he tenderly grabs Christianas hands.
"I know it's true. We must be baptized." Christiana agrees and they embrace.

Only hours later, Christiana is awoken in the middle of the night by her baby boy. John.
He was sick all day and now he's not only crying but hes struggling to breathe.
She scoops him up in her arms and rushes to awake her husband.
George runs down the stairs and gets a rag wet for the baby's head.
He comes back up the stairs and kneels and Christianas side, eyes full of concern.
A painful hour goes by and George gets up, pacing the room.
"I cannot bear to see him like this. And he's only getting worse."
Baby John gasps for air, coughs, and begins to wail again.
Christianas hands shake as she touches Johns forehead.
"Should we call upon brother Joseph?" Her words are barely a whisper.
George stares into the little candle flame and then back at their son.
"He is a man of God. If anyone will know what to do, it will be him."
He then begins putting on his shoes, coat and scarf. He kisses John Jacobs forehead and squeezes his wife's fingers.
"I'll be back."
As the night goes on, and John gets worse and worse, Christiana holds her little son tightly in her arms,
listening to his feeble coughs and desperate gasps. A question continues to plague her mind.

Why? If we are trying to be faithful, why is the Lord letting this happen? 

She rocks her son back and forth, silent tears sliding down her face. 

"Oh God, please heal my son."

       ******************************

Christiana rocks her precious one year old and begins to sing softly to him.
She sings the hymn she heard at church that has come to mind often since she first heard it:

"The time is far spent; there is little remaining
To publish glad tidings by sea and by land.
Then hasten, ye heralds; go forward proclaiming:
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven’s at hand,
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven’s at hand."

The hymn has new meaning to her now.
Christiana feels comforted by the thought that glad tidings are coming her way and
that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Soon she hears the door downstairs, and stops singing. I
t opens and closes, and then the stairs creek as her husband and the others climb up to where she is.
First emerges her George, then Elder Orson Hyde, and last of all comes the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Holding his hat in his hands, he looks at Christiana and then John.
"You were right to call upon us, he is gravely ill."
Joseph touches his fingers to the little boys head, and Orson Hyde does the same.
"We shall bless him in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ."
Christiana nods, tears filling her eyes.
Joseph then pronounces a blessing on the boys head,
using the power of God given to him to heal in the same way Christ healed when He was on the earth.
He speaks with power and authority, boldly declaring that John Jacob would live, and be instantly made whole.
The spirit fills the room and Joseph finishes in the name of Jesus Christ.
He puts his arm around Orson Hyde as they watch John.
Everyone's eyes on the little one, breathlessly waiting to see what he does.
John Jacob coughs, gasps for air and then sighs.
He eases into his mother's arms and blinks many times until his eyes close and he is breathing softly.
"I have never seen such a miracle as this." Christiana whispers, in awe.
Joseph smiles and shakes George's hand.
"The priesthood power - given to man- is one of Gods holiest gifts. It is meant to bless all His children.
Thank you for asking me to come."
"No, thank you. Thank you." George embraces him. "We were so very worried, but we can now rest."
"It was my privilege and honor. Let me know how he is in the morn."
Orson and Joseph leave and head back home.
George turns to Christiana. "Was that not miraculous?"
She laughs. "It is remarkable to think I was concerned about death only moments ago,
when he is now sleeping soundly and breathing as if he hasn't a care in the world. God be thanked for His prophet."
"And God be thanked for you my dear, and your beautiful faith.
We heard you finish singing a hymn as we entered the house."
Christiana smiles. "It was how the Lord was comforting me."
George kisses her forehead. "It was not comforting to you alone, but to me as well. Thank you."

After this experience, George and Christiana simply cannot wait another day to be baptized.
So they choose to cut a hole in the frozen ice of the Mississippi river to do so!
It is an expression of their gratitude to the Lord and a desire to join His church.
As George comes up out of the frigid water, he cuts through the ice,
gets on solid ground and embraces his beloved wife as she wraps a blanket around his shoulders.
"I've n-n-never been ha-happier in my life!" He exclaims, shivering from head to toe.
Christiana laughs and hurries over to the waters edge for her turn.
Joseph stands in the frozen river, hugging himself to try to stay warm. She can see his breath in the air.
That moment, as the icy water climbs up her legs inside her dress, Christiana gasps and takes a step backwards.
She pauses and says a little prayer in her heart.
Father, please give me strength.
The words of the hymn from the night before re-enter her mind, this time the second verse.

"Shrink not from your duty, however unpleasant,
But follow the Savior, your pattern and friend.
Our little afflictions, tho painful at present,
Ere long, with the righteous, in glory will end,
Ere long, with the righteous, in glory will end."

Christiana smiles and wades even deeper, pushing forward into the freezing water.
Im doing this for you God. Thank you.

   ********************************

To be continued.......
Because George and Christianas story doesn't end there! The third and final segment of this journey
I will write later on(: 

I love the Riser family! They had such faith. And when they came to know the truth,
they were willing to make sacrifices for the Lord. That is a common theme among the early members of the church!
They sacrificed so much. 

A favorite quote of mine by one of those early saints said
"I make a sacrifice of my all for Christ's sake to do his work." 

Powerful. Why did they sacrifice so much? 

Because they knew the Savior. And they loved Him. 

What can we do to show our love for the Savior? What can we do to give our all to Him? 

This is what I've been pondering these past couple weeks.
I know that as we give ourselves to the Savior, as we offer Him our hearts and our lives,
He can make much more of us than we can by ourselves. 

Have a great week! Thank you for reading, I know it was a long one. 

All my love, 

Sister Bush 

August 8, 2019

What a week. Saying goodbye to a companion and saying hello to a new one is always a crazy week haha 

Last pday was a wacko one and I don't feel like I got to talk to you guys like at all but it was a great pday. I got to spend all day with sister Deckers little brother, Jakob. He is such a good kid and some of the sisters thought he was my little brother haha cuz of how close we were. A miracle was that he was having a bad day because we were doing "boring things" but I talked to my friend ypm sister cordova and she was able to get him to come on stage for sunset!!

Super fun. 

Also that night was the last night of British pageant. Last opportunity to sing in it as a missionary.... It was pretty fulfilling. The stage was so full! 

We got up there and I sung with my heart - I had tears but it didn't hinder my singing so that was good. It's hard to describe the experience when singing on that stage. I know I will come back later. Pageant is not over for me. 

One line that stuck out to me was when robert laird and Becky laird are leaving to go to Nauvoo and they are afraid of leaving their home but they have faith so they say "And wherever we go, it will be Scotland to us." 

And the spirit whispered "And wherever you go, it will be Nauvoo to you." So of course I stated sobbing haha. 

I'm going to miss pageant so much. Man, so many feelings.  

Saturday Aug 3 sister decker and i were Roving so we got to still hang out with her family a little! Then we had to say goodbye, which was sad. I'll miss jake, he's my new homie. He reminds me a lot of Gideon, which is why we got along so well. 

That night we had pageant strike which is always crazy. We watched the Nauvoo pageant one last time (yep cried that time too) and then started packing up! We put away all the chairs, stage stuff and lights. We were out working till midnight and didn't get bed till even later. Boy was I tired, especially since the next day was Sunday and we have church at 7:50am haha. But it worked out (: the Lord strengthens!! 

Sunday Aug 4 

This was such a good day, i was able to Receive revelation during Sunday school about my new companion (cuz I already knew it before they announced it remember) and so that was good. 

District council we did a book of mormon read together of 1 nephi 8 and also we accidentally got locked into the council room haha the door was locked from the inside and outside! President Lusvardi almost knocked it down. We ended up getting a screwdriver and screwing off the doorknob haha so that was a fun adventure 

Then sis Decker and I went to the Sunday concert! Oh man I just love how much music opens the heavens. I really have such a testimony of that. 

Even though I should have packed on Sunday to be prepared to move I didn't haha I just talked with Sis Decker 

Aug 5 

Monday we served at Land and records 

I was So sad cuz I will miss sister Decker! We spent as much time together as possible because we have just gotten so close and will miss seeing each other every day. 

That night we also had the Ice cream dinner(: I tried something new! Maybe you've had it before but it was my new favorite. I got vanilla ice cream and I got a unfrosted strawberry poptarts and crushed it up in there and it tasted like a strawberry cheesecake kind of thing. It was pretty darn good! It almost tasted like one of dad's milkshakes haha 

Also that night sister Decker, robison, Mitchell and I decided to have a Traveling notebook where we all take turns writing in it and giving it to each other. Cuz we just want to keep talking a ton haha 

Aug 6 

Tuesday - my Last day with Sis Decker! 

We spent it serving in the Boot shop. It was actually pretty slow. We only had like 7 tours. Which is really slow compared to the normal 50 during pageant season haha. 

We did a little photo shoot and so that was good. Also studied on charity and enduring trials together (: 

Then we went to sunset that night to sing! 

Aug 7 

Land and records! First day with sister young. 

After talking a bit, sister young and I decided that she is the hulk. (It's not an insult, she likes it.) Haha she just talks about how she's always angry. And i talked about how i try to help her so she told me that i am black widow. It was a kind of funny connection but later I found out It was actually true. 

 

After that we did some family history, had lunch, then closed at the print shop. when we left I prayed sincerely for the spirit, I prayed for charity and for us to be able to work in unity. And the spirit flooded into my body to confirm I was doing the right thing. 

I just want her to know that she's loved. And that even though the mission is hard I will stand by our leaders and show that I care about her. And so this week I am going to serve her every day and pray for her all the time and just love her the best i can. Because I think all the issues she has stem from the fact that she doesn't feel like anyone loves her. 

So I will flood her with my love everyday. And be as kind as possible. That's why I'm so glad I studied charity so in depth last transfer. 

I hope that all makes sense haha. 

Overall, she's a wonderful person with so much potential!  And so no matter what happens I will just do all I can to love her. Because that's what Christ would do (: 

Anyways, love you both. Thank you for being such amazing examples of love and kindness, no matter what. You are both the kindest people i know and I want to be more like you. Also dad thanks for sending that spiritual thought about love, it really helps! 

Sincerely, 

Sister Bush 

August 2, 2019

Hey I don't know how much time I'll have to write a good email to you guys. 

We've been all over the place. Right now I'm waiting for the play called the promise to start....

But basically just make sure to tell dad about my decision to volunteer to be with sister young, how my appointment went with the urologist  and my experience with that girl Kelsey from the ysa on pageant grounds (: 

Yep it's gonna be a quickie. Sorry..... 

Please pray for sister young and I. I'm praying it will be everything it needs to and that I will be able to help her. 

Scripture thought for this week: 

1 nephi 18: 11 And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel did take me and bind me with cords, and they did treat me with much harshness; nevertheless, the Lord did suffer it that he might show forth his power, unto the fulfilling of his word which he had spoken concerning the wicked.

This is when Nephi is tied up on a ship but he explains why the Lord is letting these bad things happen. "Nevertheless, the Lord did suffer it that he might show forth his power." 

It is through hard things that we come to know God. It is through the bad days that we learn to recognize God's hand. It is because of the trials, persecutions and afflictions that we learn to rely on the Lord. And feel His power in our lives. Working in us and through us. And I know that that is true. I've seen it in my life and in countless others. 

I love you guys so much. More than you know. Seeing sister Decker united with her family was making me a little homesick at first but it was good to be able to talk to you guys, that made me feel better! Plus her little brother is way fun to hang out with. 

I'm already past pday curfew haha but I just had to finish typing it out. I've done like a line every 30 minutes or so throughout the day. 

Just know that I love you and I'm thinking of you and praying for you guys all the time. Good luck with all your craziness!!!! 

Love love love you 

Sister Bush 

July 27, 2019

This is the best place and the loveliest people under the heavens.


That's a quote from Joseph smith about nauvoo! It still applies today (; 

Hello my favorite people on this planet!! 

This one is gonna be a quickie haha I decided to just tell you stories by talking about people I met this week: 

The screamer: 

So I've probably talked about him before but this guy stands on pageant grounds as we welcome guests. He has signs. He screams offensive, irritating and provoking things about our faith. He yells at families. He wears ceremonial clothing and garments sometimes. He throws temple clothes and garments in the dirt and spits on them and stomps on them. He sings with a microphone praise to the man parodies with rude sayings. He has a video camera on his shoulder in case anyone says or does something stupid. He wears shirts that talk about homosexuals and Joseph Smith and other weird things. He's just not my favorite haha. We call him our loud friend. But the awesome thing is, no matter what he does, he can't even try to compete with the spirit. We stand on the other side of the fence and welcome people in with smiles, compliments and hugs. We answer their questions. We hand out newspapers that explain our beliefs and pictures of the savior. It's amazing because I've never felt the power of my setting apart so strongly in my life than when I am at that gate. The spirit is just so strong and I know that people notice the difference when they walk across. Plus also we have the bagpipes that play come thou font really loud and so yep it's awesome haha. 

Claire: on pageant grounds I met a girl that had just turned in her mission papers!! She was so excited.we talked about pageant and I invited her to go in with a question, and that it would be answered. She loved the idea! It was perfect. Because of the storm, that pageant performance only lasted 15 minutes before they had to close it down but I have a girl belief that they didn't close it down until she got her answer. I didn't get to ask her because it was wild but I have a feeling she did! 

Lauren: this little 10 year old girl is so cute! We were on the wagon that day, (and the weather was PERFECT) and sister Green and riddle dared me to do a whole wagon ride in an English accent.... I know I'm crazy haha but I did it. It was actually harder than I thought but super fun! Lauren loved it. When I saw her later that day she remembered my name! She ran up to me - "sister bush!!!" And hugged me haha. Then she started talking in an English accent hahaha so that was funny. I think she will always remember that 

Her parents thought I was actually from England tho even though I explained it was a dare so I guess my accent was pretty good hahaha 

Dr. Campos! What a sweetheart. Somehow it was the same doctor at the ER when I went as it was when I went in the first time. A tender mercy. She remembered me and was super nice. What I love about her is that she thinks out loud and walks you through her mental process- which helps you know why she does what she does and helps you feel like she really cares. So that was good. I was super grateful for that.  

Sister Decker (I already knew her haha but I got to know her better this week. I love her more each day!!) 

Boy she's a champ. We've been through a lot this week but we've bonded so much! There were some things the spirit told me I should do so that we could have a better companionship and so that she could feel more love and it has made a difference. I love her so much! We've planned district council in the hospital, gone on exchanges to help other sisters, seen miracles and laughed about the weirdest things haha. PS her mom is coming next week so that's exciting! 

Ellie Riley and William: 

3 youth from Houston that I got to talk to at the visitors center! They are super cool. We were talking for a bit and then the spirit helped me know what questions to ask. One thing I asked was: what do you hope to get out of your experience in nauvoo? 

Riley said he was prepping for a mission. Ellie said she wanted a stronger testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith. So cool. I haven't been able to check back with them yet but whenever we see each other we give high fives or wave! We always remember each other's names haha youth are so fun.  

Carlos, Miguel and Alexis: I already told you about these bus drivers and how we got to give them copies of the book of mormon in our pjs haha they are so great. What a cool experience. 

Pretty hair lady: there was this lady walking down the street with a stroller and me and my comp were both like woah she has such pretty hair! But didn't get to tell her. Later, we bumped into her and told her! She thought it was so sweet. We invited her to look for a theme when she watched pageant. She said she would and was so excited. I wasn't sure if we would see her at the end cuz we had to run as soon as the performance was over but she was right there! Bumped into her again! She told us the theme she found was the power of the Book of mormon. We were able to testify and have a cool moment together. Her son is serving in Taiwan so that is cool. 

A grandma: 

This cute old lady was researching her family at land and records and I found out she was related to jonathan Browning and I got so excited. I helped her find his house to take a tour, told her some of my favorite stories about him and was just thrilled to learn about her family. I don't know why I was so excited about someone else's ancestry haha but I was. After we finished she was very touched and told me "i just love how you are as excited as I am. Thank you for caring." So cute!!!  

family From American fork: 

 This family had an issue and I helped them out and then found out that he's a doctor in American fork and when I told him about your practice he knew where it was! So cool. Then I got super hyped cuz I found out they were related to lucius Scovil and Calvin pendleton. Haha way awesome!! The girl said if she went to Costa vida and saw my brothers she would say hi haha 

Sister mckenzie: 

She is from Jamaica and reminds me of Emma pena. I was able to spend time helping her know that she's loved. She loves playing with hair so whenever we didn't have a tour we would sit on the steps outside and she would play with my hair or brush my hair. She told me she was able to feel peaceful that day and so that made me feel good. Even though it was a long exhausting day I'm glad I spent time helping her feel loved. 

Anyways those are some people from this week and some experiences I had with them! Also the experience I had with the spirit in coming to know Christ better through 1 Nephi 11, 12 and 13 was also a super super super huge highlight

Have troy send me his trek talk!! 

Love you so so so so so so much!!!! 

Sister Bush 

Pictures

July 20, 2019

Hellooooooo

What a week. I know I say that every week haha but what a week. This week everything was just go go go go haha but that's how it is with pageant season!!

Sunday... I had another kidney episode. I had one at 3am and then another one at 8am. This time it was my left kidney and it hurt so bad I didn't make it through sacrament and stayed in the bathroom curled up. So we came home early, I slept, then we had district council and then I served in the Brigham young home. My kidney hurt again during sites but I took medicine and still gave tours. I just wanted to show heavenly father that I was willing to still work. Also that day there was a family who let their kids go over the fence to chase our sheep! Seriously?!?!?! That's not okay. So i had to go out there and tell the parents that it isn't okay. Haha people are so weird why do they do these things. Our sheep were freaking out but they calmed down later. 

Monday 

I went on exchanges with sister _____, and we served at the bakery! What a day. Whenever the crowds would get intense, she would go to the basement and hide out because she said she was afraid of having an anxiety attack. So at the moment when I would need extra help she would leave. Yikes! It was a long day but I did just fine, we only had 50 something tours instead of the usual 90. So God helped me out there haha. But it was good to spend time with sister-------, since she has been having a hard time. We had an awesome companion study during lunch and at the end of our exchange she just turned to me and said thank you. I said what for? And then she said "sister Bush, by far you have been the most nice to me since I have come to nauvoo. Thank you for being patient and being kind." It was so sweet. Kinda sad that I've been the nicest cuz I really haven't gone out of my way or anything but I'm glad she knows I care about her. 

After that I went on a district leader date with sister mckenzie! We went to Wal-Mart to get her some craft stuff, stopped by Wendy's for a snack and then sang at the end of British pageant. She's so fun and has a sweet spirit about her (: 

Tuesday 

we got to serve at the log school! 

We had lots of cute families come in, homeschooled families that connected with me, and I tried all day to follow the spirit. At one point the spirit helped me save a little girl cuz she was eating chalk and her parents didn't know! But I was able to notice and point it out. Phew! 

Sister Decker and I also had an adventure that day because we were finally able to arrange the furniture in a certain way to be able to open the trap door in the sitting room and discover the basement! Haha. The miracle is that no one came in while we were doing that hahaha 

That night we did sunset and I made the parmesan chicken in a crockpot for our lunches this week (: 

Wednesday 

We served in the cultural hall! With sis Norton and mckenzie. First, sis Decker re-enacted the whole movie called how to lose a guy in 10 days haha. Neither sister Norton and I had seen it (or any movie for a long time) So we felt like we got to watch a movie because of her acting skills haha it was hilarious. Because of that, I had the idea to let the families that came in do favorite movie scene re-enactments on the stage of the cultural hall so that they could have more fun during the tour! It totally worked! What a hit! Boy did those families and youth groups love it haha. My favorite was two dad's who did the song from the lion king. 

"I can see what's happening..." 

"What!" 

"And they don't have a clue..." 

"Who!" 

"They'll fall in love.. and here's the bottom line..." 

(They both pretend to cry) 

"Our trio is down to 2" 

Hahaha so funny. 

Also that day we had a huuuuuge storm! A bunch of trees were knocked over, street signs almost fell on people, the tornado sirens went off and about 60 youth flooded into the cultural hall, sopping wet. We took them down to the basement and what happened was amazing. They all started passing around a roll of paper towels and rags they found, and began singing hymns. It was a beautiful moment ad I could hear the tornado sirens and thunder in the background but these youth had prayed and now we're singing songs like come come ye saints, I am a child of God and child's prayer. How sweet. 

Thankfully the storm let up, and people went. We had more tours and then we were told to close the sites early and go help on pageant grounds with all the chairs and mud so we could get the set, stage and entire thing ready so that pageant could still go on!! It was awesome. And pageant was amazing that night. I love the way the Lord helped us finish everything and put it all back in time for it to work out. 

Thursday 

Log school again!

It was actually surprisingly busy! Log school isn't super popular but all day we were giving back to back tours. So neat! It's my favorite to joke about phonetic spelling with people. Also we had a fun guy who loved puns even more than I do and was making new ones every minute. What a crack up. I gave him a few back haha. Also I met a cute cute cute lady from georgia, about 2 hours away from where I was born! She was just going and going on about how much she loves nauvoo, loves the gospel and is happy to bring youth here. Adorable. 

Friday 

Boot shop! I got to be Christiana almost all day! 

There was one family that really stuck out to me. The parents began crying when I talked about my family and how we listened to Joseph smith. The kids began crying when I talked about how I lost my son. As I explained how hard it was for my family to loose my little boy, the kids turned and looked at their parents. By the feeling in the room, I could tell that they had recently lost someone. The rest of that tour I'm sure they thought I was still portraying Christiana but I wasn't. I bore my testimony to them of eternal families and Christ. I quoted verses from the book of mormon and the spirit was so strong. The boot shop became a sacred spot for me and that family that day. I saw them later at sunset and the dad told me it was his kids favorite place that they went that day. How amazing. I love how special that was. 

Today is me and sister Deckers compiversary!! So I'm making a cake. It's a surprise but I'll send you pictures  (: 

I hope trek has been amazing. I can't wait to hear all about it! 

Oh also a verse that I pondered a lot this week was 1 Nephi 1:5 

"Wherefore it came to pass that my father, lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people." 

The thing that stuck out to me was that he prayed AS he went forth. Not before. Not after. But in the very act he was praying. And that's how I've been trying to give my tours, to have a prayer in my heart for the people I've been teaching as I'm teaching them. I think it's made a huge difference, and the amount of promptings I have received has increased. I love the power of prayer! I'm sure you've had a lot of in the moment prayers since you've been on trek 

Wellp, I think that's all I've got. I love you I Love You I LOVE YOUUUUAH!!! 

Sister Bush