Familia!!
Where to begin, where to begin.. that is always the question. haha. It has been such a great week!! Of course it has had it's disappointments.. but those just make the successes all the more joyous!! (:
First things first.. Mom, I got the package and the letters you sent to the mission office! They just took a while because the post office doesn't like us. haha. I'll always get them there though, they just take up to 12 days. Where I got the letter you sent when you got my email on Wednesday! Super fast. I felt kinda bad because after I sent that email giving everyone a hard time for stopping writing since I've been out (which probably freaked some of you out, mom I know it did you, and for that I appologize) and then the Very next day I got a package and like 4 letters. haha. Most of them from you, mom (; haha Thanks for your continued love and support (:
I'm trying to think of all the questions that have been asked.. I read so many emails and letters before I actually have a chance to email home. Umm.. let's see.. Sister Nielsen Did get her package! And loved it! Thank you so much for doing that for her.. for me (: That's a great idea to print my emails and reply to them through written letter. I should start doing that! Grandma, you asked about the history of San Bernardino. Well.. it was settled by Mormon Pioneers! Amongst others, of course. But very cool! I have this paper on it that I will send to you (: What is your mailing address? Man.. I Swear there were more things to respond to! Hmm.. well.. I suppose if I remember throughout the week I will write it down and refer back to it next Monday. Now I will get started into some of the events from this past week!
Dad, you know how you said you'd be praying for Delores? Well.. THANK YOU! I saw a miracle this week (:
So you know how awesome I thought she was? And then how devistated I was when she asked us not to go back? Well.. we went back anyways. haha. You all know me.. I'm a pretty consistant and loyal friend. Well one day Sister Davis and I were like... I miss Delores. Let's just show up at her house again, just to say hi and see how she's doing. Well we did.. and I can tell you right now this was an impression from the Lord! We had a ward dinner party on Saturday so we decided we would go and invite her to that. Only first, before all else, help her realize how much we care about her still. My branch president in the MTC told me once, "No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care." And I can tell you right now that this is a Very true statement! Well.. unfortunately I used most my time up today trying to find a family proclimation to print.. (which I didn't even succeed at. Mom, could you get me a coupld 1/4 page family procs please?) and now my time is almost out. So I will try to make the story short.. but.. on this second door step visit we just chatted as friends. At first when she saw us at the door she was like, "Didn't you two call?" As if to say "Don't you remember how I told you on the phone not to come back?" Well at first this made me nervous.. but then I quickly said. "We just wanted to come see how you are doing! It's been a couple weeks and we've been thinking about you." Then she was all.. Ooh. Hmm. Ok. Well I'm doing good. And then she stepped outside. It intregued her that we were just wondering how she was doing (: Then we chatted for a bit just about friendly things and the whole time I'm sitting there thinking.. "Shouldn't I say something about the gospel? Afterall.. I Am a missionary. What should I say?" But then, much to my surprise, I thought.. "No. Don't say anything. Just continue to let her know you care about her." So.. that's what we did. We just talked. And it all ended up playing out perfectly. It was time to go and we still hadn't invited her to the dinner. But then the words out of my mouth still weren't an invite.. they were "Well Delores, in addition to coming over here to see how you were doing we also wanted to ask if there is anything we can do for you?" She asked, "Really?" I said, "Yes, of course! We are here to serve you." You could see it in her eyes even more than at first.. she could sense we were being sincere as we spoke with the love of our Savior! From this, I don't know how, but she mentioned that she was going to dinner with her daughter that night. She said she doesn't usually feel like going out but when she gets out and is social she usually is glad she did, so she told her daughter yes. This is when I was all.. "Oh! Well hey, there is actually a dinner tomorrow that we would really love to see you at." She said, "Really? Even though I'm not a part of your church?" Umm.. YEAH! Of course we do. I then explained to her that I know that Heavenly Father loves her very much, not just members of the church but everyone, and knowing that is what makes my love for her so strong, and I explained that nobody there would care either because they have that same knowledge. And then.. she said yes! It was SO great (: I'm telling you, we were guided there and in what to say. There is no way we could have just showed up and invited her, or showed up and tried teaching her the gospel.. we had to first show her how much we care. And I could see it in her eyes.. she felt something there. SHE even asked US if she could hug is goodbye! And she said we were the sweetest and she just wanted to adopt us! haha So then.. the party.. it couldn't have gone better either! She got there before we did and that wasn't even a problem! She met people right away! Everyone was going up and talking to her! And she was fitting right in! Everyone loved her (: By the end of the night she told us she was very glad she came. It was so funny because the first people she met, the Howell's, she said when they found out they said they could change that! haha. I asked if that's really what they said and she said well that's what I took from it. haha. She said they were very nice though and that I was right, they didn't care she wasn't a member- they were nice as ever! Then she met Bishop and she introduced herself as "just Delores for now" haha I was like "FOR NOW"?! That means she's considering learning more about what we got here (; haha and then the rest of the night happened and she had a blast and everyone was great to her and she had a lot of questions that everyone answered, and They invited her to church and told her all about it. And by the end of the night, when she met Sister Stone she introduced herself as "Si...Delores" hahaha She almost Said Sister! hahah Too funny. I called her out on it and it was funny (: Anyways though.. when we said goodbye She said to Us, "bye girls, I'll see you Sunday at 11!" haha YES!! Well.. she ended up not being able to come. she forgot she had someone coming to her house. She said sorry though and that she'd really come again another time. And she sounded sincere (: So here's to hoping!! We're not letting her go this time. We're not going to let as much time pass either. Can't let her forget how good she felt!! By the end of the night of the party I really could see the wheels turning in her head. She's interested in learning more, I know it. And we love her. So basically.. we're never giving up (: haha
Alright.. time's up. Unfortunately. But fortunately.. I LOVE YOU!! Oh, one more quick story.. mom's watch broke.. but THEN I said a prayer because I was so so SO sad and didn't want to wait however long to get the battery replaced and mom's watch makes me feel so good that I was so devistated and then by the time the prayer was over the clock was ticking again!! Now, I know prayers aren't always answered that fast, and not always the way we would hope.. but I am SO glad that it did this time (: He know's my heart.
Anyways.. I LOVE YOU ALL!! And the Savior does too. I know that for a fact, and I can never say that enough. Always spread the gospel, and when necessary use words.
Have a great week!! And thanks everyone for all the notes! Keep it up.
Love, Sister Busenbark (:
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Helllloooo!!
This week was great, guys (: Where to begin, where to begin.. haha. I suppose I'll start by saying that I love you all!! And second, I love the people of the San Bernardino mission! (Which, by the way, won't even exsist come July. Did I mention that already? I don't remember. The San Bernardino mission has been split though, and so wherever I am for that last transfer before the split (whichever side it's on) is what mission I will be in for the remainder of the mission! Which will be either the Rancho Cucamonga Mission or the Riverside Mission!! It'll be fun to see where I end up:)
So, this week I met a lot more awesome people. On Friday we went to dinner at a member's house, named Jimmy Green. And another ward member, Brother Sandoval was there too. Brother Green and Brother Sandoval are both converts to the church. And both of their stories inspire me! Let me tell you briefly what they are.. as best as I can (unfortunately I couldn't record it and send it to you exactly how they said it.. so powerful!) So, first we'll start with Brother Green. He grew up loving the Bible. He took it with him everywhere, reading it whenever he could. He left it on the bus a few times accidentally, but quickly bought a new one. But one day.. he lost it again. And at this point in life, he was living in a homeless shelter and could not afford to buy another bible. He was devistated. All he wanted was to read the bible. He drew from the words of God every day, he gained strength from them, and he knew the power they held. His greatest desire was to come closer to our Heavenly Father, and was seeking for every opprotunity to do so. Then, one day, he turned on the tv and there was a commercial on. (His first interaction with the church, haha!) Guess what it was? An LDS add on a FREE Bible! So he called the number to get this free bible. He was so excited. Before he knew it he had a couple Elder's there with a bible for him. He was so surprised how fast they got there, he was expecting to receive it in the mail or something. But the Elders explained who they were and what they do, and so he was excited. Said thanks for the Bible (all his sights were set on that) and the elder's were off. He said that right away though, he recognized them as being sent of God. (Seed planted) Then, some years later (he was in better circumstances) he was walking through a parking lot of a grocery store and he hears, "Excuse me, sir! Can we talk to you for a minute?" He turned around and saw that it was two young men dressed just like the two who gave him a bible. So he says to them, "Oh hey, yeah sure, you guys helped me out some time ago. I can give you some of my time. What can I do for you?" and that's when they pulled out the Book of Mormon and asked him to read it. He was seeking, he NEEDED the word of God, and they were there to provide it for him. They found him! And from there.. well he is an awesome member of the church (: Then there is Brother Sandoval, his story much like the first. He grew up Catholic and was very religious, great great guy. But one day he was sitting there studying his bible (which he also did every single day, and had read many many times) and was like.. but wait.. is this it? Am I really just supposed to live a good life and then it ends? Why am I even hear? What's the purpose of life? (ALL things that can only be answered through the gospel of Jesus Christ:) And as he was seeking (there it is, that word again) for these things, and praying diligently, he decided to go on a walk. On this walk he came across this swap meet. And at this swap meet.. there were two elders there, handing out Book of Mormons! (Seed planted) He took one, gladly, and then guess what? Read it! And then read it again! And he was like THIS IS WHAT I HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR, THIS IS TRUE!! But he had no idea where to go from there. Some time later, he was outside again, and say two other people dressed like the ones who gave him the Book of Mormon, so HE said to THEM, "Hey! You two! Come over here!" They came and he says to them, "I have been looking for you two." WHAT WHAAAT. Wouldn't that be cool? haha. Then guess what.. he was baptised two weeks later (: Moral of the story.. there are people out there SEEKING for the message which the gospel has for them! As hard as I look for them, they're looking too. As hard as I prepare for them, they're being prepared too. Isn't that so cool (:
It was a great night to be able to hear of these two men's stories.. especially when sometimes it feels like, "Nobody wants to give us the time of day. Why do I even try so hard to find someone who is not even there?" WRONG! They're out there, I just can't give up.. gotta keep looking, the finding (eachother) will come! (:
And THEN guess what happened? On Saturday, the day after hearing these stories, me and Sister Davis went to Panda Express to meet the Elders for lunch (and to do a peep challenge.. see who could eat 5 peeps the fastest. It was hilarious. Also ruined peeps for me. Elder Stephens won with 25 seconds. I came in 2nd place with 1 min and 7 seconds. Haha. Anyways..) While I was waiting for the elders to arrive, and my companion was looking at this menu, this man walks through the door and up to ME and says to me, "Hi. Are you from some school? Or church? Or some sort of organization or something?" I explained to him who I was, a representitive of Christ, and his next words were, "Oh good. I have been looking for a church." WHAAAT. The same thing that I had thought would be so incredibly awesome the night before, just happened to me. He explained that he had experiemented with 100's of other churches throughout his life but never stays long because he feels like they are missing something. But he said, "I am ready to find a church to stay at, commit to, and call my home." I was like, Saweeet, cause that's exactly what I have to offer (: haha Cool, right?
And THEN that SAME day.. we got a referral from some elders in our zone. A man, named David, saw them in their apartment complex, recognizing them as being someone of God, and basically says "Hey, I would like to come closer to Christ through studying the good book. Can you help me?" WHAAAT (again;) and of course they said yes, and got his information for us (because he lives in our area). We stopped by that Saturday, the day we got the referral, and when David saw us he was SO excited. He didn't think anybody was really going to come, but he was hopeful. He even said himself, "I am SEEKING. I am ready to do what is right. I want to come closer to Christ, I'll do whatever it takes." We gave him a Book of Mormon and explained that it was Another Testament of Jesus Christ. We taught him the restoration of the gospel, and how it is now in it's fullness on the earth. He was so excited, he opened it up to the introduction page (where it 'invites all men everywhere to read and ponder the words it contains, and ask God if it is true' and then the testimonies of the witnesses and Joseph Smith. We also read 3 Nelphi 11 when Christ visits) and dove right in! We read several pages with him and he would stop and ask questions (questions of wanted to know more, not questions of questioning if it were true.. he was accepting everything no problem and said everything just clicked and made sense to him! He is so eager to learn.) and talk about what he had just read, and he also would emphasis words that he liked when he read.. it was awesome. (He's a very good scripture studier!) He just soaks it all up, and he loves it! He would tell us this every couple minutes (: haha. (Keep in mind this is our very first time even meeting David, and we just showed up and he let us right in to teach him a lesson.. which never happens, usually they schedule an appointment for you to come back later, or say call later to schedule and appointment) And THEN guess what happened? I extended my very first baptismal invitation, AND HE EXCEPTED!! I am so happy for his enthusiasm and readiness and willingness to learn and act (: And I am SO happy that HE found the elders!! It will be really neat to be able to work with David as he prepares himself to enter the waters of baptism. He has SUCH a strong desire to repent and align his will with God's, and follow him (: I pray he keeps it!! Great great GREAT experience though, I'm telling you (:
Gotta hold firm to the faith, and have confidence of the converting power of the Holy Spirit! All things are possible through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer (:
A few random things.. I was getting mail every single day in the MTC, and now I haven't received a single letter in my two weeks of being here, what up wit dat?!? haha (Besides a ADORABLE post card from my valiant friend Linda, that is (: Made my day.)
EVERYBODY should study from the Preach My Gospel manual.. it will change your lives! It's definitely inspired writing. I love it!
Have a GREAT week, please (: Remember that I love YOU, and so does our Savior (: Things may be hard.. but it's comforting knowing that hard things are ACTUALLY easy through the Lord (:
I love you,
Sister Madisen Busenbark (:
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Hello!!
How are you all? How was Conference weekend? Didn't you just love EVERY SINGLE TALK?! haha. I love watching as a missionary because no joke.. Every Single talk I was like, and That's the first lesson. And That's the third. Ooohp, and there's the second. haha. I love how family centered the majority of the talks always are at General Conference. Because it IS central to the plan and it IS essential and the MOST important (: Makes me love you guys even more (; I could sit and talk about the talks all day, but unfortunately I have limited time. Now.. I'm really bummed and really sorry that I can't write much this week. I only have 7 minutes left before the library computer kicks me off. But I'm glad Sister Godwin was able to send you some updates (:
Where to begin, where to begin.. that is always the question. haha. It has been such a great week!! Of course it has had it's disappointments.. but those just make the successes all the more joyous!! (:
First things first.. Mom, I got the package and the letters you sent to the mission office! They just took a while because the post office doesn't like us. haha. I'll always get them there though, they just take up to 12 days. Where I got the letter you sent when you got my email on Wednesday! Super fast. I felt kinda bad because after I sent that email giving everyone a hard time for stopping writing since I've been out (which probably freaked some of you out, mom I know it did you, and for that I appologize) and then the Very next day I got a package and like 4 letters. haha. Most of them from you, mom (; haha Thanks for your continued love and support (:
I'm trying to think of all the questions that have been asked.. I read so many emails and letters before I actually have a chance to email home. Umm.. let's see.. Sister Nielsen Did get her package! And loved it! Thank you so much for doing that for her.. for me (: That's a great idea to print my emails and reply to them through written letter. I should start doing that! Grandma, you asked about the history of San Bernardino. Well.. it was settled by Mormon Pioneers! Amongst others, of course. But very cool! I have this paper on it that I will send to you (: What is your mailing address? Man.. I Swear there were more things to respond to! Hmm.. well.. I suppose if I remember throughout the week I will write it down and refer back to it next Monday. Now I will get started into some of the events from this past week!
Dad, you know how you said you'd be praying for Delores? Well.. THANK YOU! I saw a miracle this week (:
So you know how awesome I thought she was? And then how devistated I was when she asked us not to go back? Well.. we went back anyways. haha. You all know me.. I'm a pretty consistant and loyal friend. Well one day Sister Davis and I were like... I miss Delores. Let's just show up at her house again, just to say hi and see how she's doing. Well we did.. and I can tell you right now this was an impression from the Lord! We had a ward dinner party on Saturday so we decided we would go and invite her to that. Only first, before all else, help her realize how much we care about her still. My branch president in the MTC told me once, "No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care." And I can tell you right now that this is a Very true statement! Well.. unfortunately I used most my time up today trying to find a family proclimation to print.. (which I didn't even succeed at. Mom, could you get me a coupld 1/4 page family procs please?) and now my time is almost out. So I will try to make the story short.. but.. on this second door step visit we just chatted as friends. At first when she saw us at the door she was like, "Didn't you two call?" As if to say "Don't you remember how I told you on the phone not to come back?" Well at first this made me nervous.. but then I quickly said. "We just wanted to come see how you are doing! It's been a couple weeks and we've been thinking about you." Then she was all.. Ooh. Hmm. Ok. Well I'm doing good. And then she stepped outside. It intregued her that we were just wondering how she was doing (: Then we chatted for a bit just about friendly things and the whole time I'm sitting there thinking.. "Shouldn't I say something about the gospel? Afterall.. I Am a missionary. What should I say?" But then, much to my surprise, I thought.. "No. Don't say anything. Just continue to let her know you care about her." So.. that's what we did. We just talked. And it all ended up playing out perfectly. It was time to go and we still hadn't invited her to the dinner. But then the words out of my mouth still weren't an invite.. they were "Well Delores, in addition to coming over here to see how you were doing we also wanted to ask if there is anything we can do for you?" She asked, "Really?" I said, "Yes, of course! We are here to serve you." You could see it in her eyes even more than at first.. she could sense we were being sincere as we spoke with the love of our Savior! From this, I don't know how, but she mentioned that she was going to dinner with her daughter that night. She said she doesn't usually feel like going out but when she gets out and is social she usually is glad she did, so she told her daughter yes. This is when I was all.. "Oh! Well hey, there is actually a dinner tomorrow that we would really love to see you at." She said, "Really? Even though I'm not a part of your church?" Umm.. YEAH! Of course we do. I then explained to her that I know that Heavenly Father loves her very much, not just members of the church but everyone, and knowing that is what makes my love for her so strong, and I explained that nobody there would care either because they have that same knowledge. And then.. she said yes! It was SO great (: I'm telling you, we were guided there and in what to say. There is no way we could have just showed up and invited her, or showed up and tried teaching her the gospel.. we had to first show her how much we care. And I could see it in her eyes.. she felt something there. SHE even asked US if she could hug is goodbye! And she said we were the sweetest and she just wanted to adopt us! haha So then.. the party.. it couldn't have gone better either! She got there before we did and that wasn't even a problem! She met people right away! Everyone was going up and talking to her! And she was fitting right in! Everyone loved her (: By the end of the night she told us she was very glad she came. It was so funny because the first people she met, the Howell's, she said when they found out they said they could change that! haha. I asked if that's really what they said and she said well that's what I took from it. haha. She said they were very nice though and that I was right, they didn't care she wasn't a member- they were nice as ever! Then she met Bishop and she introduced herself as "just Delores for now" haha I was like "FOR NOW"?! That means she's considering learning more about what we got here (; haha and then the rest of the night happened and she had a blast and everyone was great to her and she had a lot of questions that everyone answered, and They invited her to church and told her all about it. And by the end of the night, when she met Sister Stone she introduced herself as "Si...Delores" hahaha She almost Said Sister! hahah Too funny. I called her out on it and it was funny (: Anyways though.. when we said goodbye She said to Us, "bye girls, I'll see you Sunday at 11!" haha YES!! Well.. she ended up not being able to come. she forgot she had someone coming to her house. She said sorry though and that she'd really come again another time. And she sounded sincere (: So here's to hoping!! We're not letting her go this time. We're not going to let as much time pass either. Can't let her forget how good she felt!! By the end of the night of the party I really could see the wheels turning in her head. She's interested in learning more, I know it. And we love her. So basically.. we're never giving up (: haha
Alright.. time's up. Unfortunately. But fortunately.. I LOVE YOU!! Oh, one more quick story.. mom's watch broke.. but THEN I said a prayer because I was so so SO sad and didn't want to wait however long to get the battery replaced and mom's watch makes me feel so good that I was so devistated and then by the time the prayer was over the clock was ticking again!! Now, I know prayers aren't always answered that fast, and not always the way we would hope.. but I am SO glad that it did this time (: He know's my heart.
Anyways.. I LOVE YOU ALL!! And the Savior does too. I know that for a fact, and I can never say that enough. Always spread the gospel, and when necessary use words.
Have a great week!! And thanks everyone for all the notes! Keep it up.
Love, Sister Busenbark (:
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Helllloooo!!
This week was great, guys (: Where to begin, where to begin.. haha. I suppose I'll start by saying that I love you all!! And second, I love the people of the San Bernardino mission! (Which, by the way, won't even exsist come July. Did I mention that already? I don't remember. The San Bernardino mission has been split though, and so wherever I am for that last transfer before the split (whichever side it's on) is what mission I will be in for the remainder of the mission! Which will be either the Rancho Cucamonga Mission or the Riverside Mission!! It'll be fun to see where I end up:)
So, this week I met a lot more awesome people. On Friday we went to dinner at a member's house, named Jimmy Green. And another ward member, Brother Sandoval was there too. Brother Green and Brother Sandoval are both converts to the church. And both of their stories inspire me! Let me tell you briefly what they are.. as best as I can (unfortunately I couldn't record it and send it to you exactly how they said it.. so powerful!) So, first we'll start with Brother Green. He grew up loving the Bible. He took it with him everywhere, reading it whenever he could. He left it on the bus a few times accidentally, but quickly bought a new one. But one day.. he lost it again. And at this point in life, he was living in a homeless shelter and could not afford to buy another bible. He was devistated. All he wanted was to read the bible. He drew from the words of God every day, he gained strength from them, and he knew the power they held. His greatest desire was to come closer to our Heavenly Father, and was seeking for every opprotunity to do so. Then, one day, he turned on the tv and there was a commercial on. (His first interaction with the church, haha!) Guess what it was? An LDS add on a FREE Bible! So he called the number to get this free bible. He was so excited. Before he knew it he had a couple Elder's there with a bible for him. He was so surprised how fast they got there, he was expecting to receive it in the mail or something. But the Elders explained who they were and what they do, and so he was excited. Said thanks for the Bible (all his sights were set on that) and the elder's were off. He said that right away though, he recognized them as being sent of God. (Seed planted) Then, some years later (he was in better circumstances) he was walking through a parking lot of a grocery store and he hears, "Excuse me, sir! Can we talk to you for a minute?" He turned around and saw that it was two young men dressed just like the two who gave him a bible. So he says to them, "Oh hey, yeah sure, you guys helped me out some time ago. I can give you some of my time. What can I do for you?" and that's when they pulled out the Book of Mormon and asked him to read it. He was seeking, he NEEDED the word of God, and they were there to provide it for him. They found him! And from there.. well he is an awesome member of the church (: Then there is Brother Sandoval, his story much like the first. He grew up Catholic and was very religious, great great guy. But one day he was sitting there studying his bible (which he also did every single day, and had read many many times) and was like.. but wait.. is this it? Am I really just supposed to live a good life and then it ends? Why am I even hear? What's the purpose of life? (ALL things that can only be answered through the gospel of Jesus Christ:) And as he was seeking (there it is, that word again) for these things, and praying diligently, he decided to go on a walk. On this walk he came across this swap meet. And at this swap meet.. there were two elders there, handing out Book of Mormons! (Seed planted) He took one, gladly, and then guess what? Read it! And then read it again! And he was like THIS IS WHAT I HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR, THIS IS TRUE!! But he had no idea where to go from there. Some time later, he was outside again, and say two other people dressed like the ones who gave him the Book of Mormon, so HE said to THEM, "Hey! You two! Come over here!" They came and he says to them, "I have been looking for you two." WHAT WHAAAT. Wouldn't that be cool? haha. Then guess what.. he was baptised two weeks later (: Moral of the story.. there are people out there SEEKING for the message which the gospel has for them! As hard as I look for them, they're looking too. As hard as I prepare for them, they're being prepared too. Isn't that so cool (:
It was a great night to be able to hear of these two men's stories.. especially when sometimes it feels like, "Nobody wants to give us the time of day. Why do I even try so hard to find someone who is not even there?" WRONG! They're out there, I just can't give up.. gotta keep looking, the finding (eachother) will come! (:
And THEN guess what happened? On Saturday, the day after hearing these stories, me and Sister Davis went to Panda Express to meet the Elders for lunch (and to do a peep challenge.. see who could eat 5 peeps the fastest. It was hilarious. Also ruined peeps for me. Elder Stephens won with 25 seconds. I came in 2nd place with 1 min and 7 seconds. Haha. Anyways..) While I was waiting for the elders to arrive, and my companion was looking at this menu, this man walks through the door and up to ME and says to me, "Hi. Are you from some school? Or church? Or some sort of organization or something?" I explained to him who I was, a representitive of Christ, and his next words were, "Oh good. I have been looking for a church." WHAAAT. The same thing that I had thought would be so incredibly awesome the night before, just happened to me. He explained that he had experiemented with 100's of other churches throughout his life but never stays long because he feels like they are missing something. But he said, "I am ready to find a church to stay at, commit to, and call my home." I was like, Saweeet, cause that's exactly what I have to offer (: haha Cool, right?
And THEN that SAME day.. we got a referral from some elders in our zone. A man, named David, saw them in their apartment complex, recognizing them as being someone of God, and basically says "Hey, I would like to come closer to Christ through studying the good book. Can you help me?" WHAAAT (again;) and of course they said yes, and got his information for us (because he lives in our area). We stopped by that Saturday, the day we got the referral, and when David saw us he was SO excited. He didn't think anybody was really going to come, but he was hopeful. He even said himself, "I am SEEKING. I am ready to do what is right. I want to come closer to Christ, I'll do whatever it takes." We gave him a Book of Mormon and explained that it was Another Testament of Jesus Christ. We taught him the restoration of the gospel, and how it is now in it's fullness on the earth. He was so excited, he opened it up to the introduction page (where it 'invites all men everywhere to read and ponder the words it contains, and ask God if it is true' and then the testimonies of the witnesses and Joseph Smith. We also read 3 Nelphi 11 when Christ visits) and dove right in! We read several pages with him and he would stop and ask questions (questions of wanted to know more, not questions of questioning if it were true.. he was accepting everything no problem and said everything just clicked and made sense to him! He is so eager to learn.) and talk about what he had just read, and he also would emphasis words that he liked when he read.. it was awesome. (He's a very good scripture studier!) He just soaks it all up, and he loves it! He would tell us this every couple minutes (: haha. (Keep in mind this is our very first time even meeting David, and we just showed up and he let us right in to teach him a lesson.. which never happens, usually they schedule an appointment for you to come back later, or say call later to schedule and appointment) And THEN guess what happened? I extended my very first baptismal invitation, AND HE EXCEPTED!! I am so happy for his enthusiasm and readiness and willingness to learn and act (: And I am SO happy that HE found the elders!! It will be really neat to be able to work with David as he prepares himself to enter the waters of baptism. He has SUCH a strong desire to repent and align his will with God's, and follow him (: I pray he keeps it!! Great great GREAT experience though, I'm telling you (:
Gotta hold firm to the faith, and have confidence of the converting power of the Holy Spirit! All things are possible through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer (:
A few random things.. I was getting mail every single day in the MTC, and now I haven't received a single letter in my two weeks of being here, what up wit dat?!? haha (Besides a ADORABLE post card from my valiant friend Linda, that is (: Made my day.)
EVERYBODY should study from the Preach My Gospel manual.. it will change your lives! It's definitely inspired writing. I love it!
Have a GREAT week, please (: Remember that I love YOU, and so does our Savior (: Things may be hard.. but it's comforting knowing that hard things are ACTUALLY easy through the Lord (:
I love you,
Sister Madisen Busenbark (:
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Hello!!
How are you all? How was Conference weekend? Didn't you just love EVERY SINGLE TALK?! haha. I love watching as a missionary because no joke.. Every Single talk I was like, and That's the first lesson. And That's the third. Ooohp, and there's the second. haha. I love how family centered the majority of the talks always are at General Conference. Because it IS central to the plan and it IS essential and the MOST important (: Makes me love you guys even more (; I could sit and talk about the talks all day, but unfortunately I have limited time. Now.. I'm really bummed and really sorry that I can't write much this week. I only have 7 minutes left before the library computer kicks me off. But I'm glad Sister Godwin was able to send you some updates (:
So I'll get to the questions.. my hymn book is in my old scripture
case in the closet I think. Or just sitting on the shelf. It is VERY
nice to have my own pillow and blaket haha. I fall asleep much faster
here than I did in the MTC.. I don't know if that's just cause I'm more
exhausted or if it's the blanket.. but Probably the blanket.. or both (;
haha. Here it is like.. WARM!! Very very warm. And beautiful (: When I
first got off the plane I realized that other peeps version of "dry"
heat is different than mine. It's kinda humid to me! haha. I'm getting
used to that though, not too bad. When I arrived on Tuesday it was
Perfect weather. Sunny, partly cloudy, and a slight breeze. Super green,
lots of different kinds of trees, can see the mountains, beautiful. The
next two days were TOO hott. Makes me nervous, I won't lie. I do know,
however, that faith and fear cannot co-exhist.. so I'm trying really
hard to hold to the faith. I am feeling ok.. I got a headache every
single day. And some days are harder to handle than others. It's proving
to be a challenge.. but I'm ok. Especially because the next days after
that.. Friday-today.. have been cloudy and dark. Just the way I like it
(; hahah. I seriously see it as an answer to my prayers..
because Thursday night I went to bed with a prayer of fear.. so so
nervous that maybe I can't do this. But then I woke up and the sun was
gone. And so my headache didn't get worse. And it was much easier to
give it my all. Which gave me just enough confidence to push the fear
away and say ok, this isn't all that bad (: haha. I do know that it will
get hot again very quickly.. but He's giving me Some hope to hold onto
so I'm gonna do just that (: My apartment is actually really nice! Two
bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, washer and drier, kitchen and living
room. Nice homey feel. I'm at the library down the street to email you!
The mission office is the church building, where packages get sent.
6541 Woodruff Place, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739. The mission Home is
President Godwin's home and that is different (: And my first area.. pay
close attention.. I am living in Rialto, in the Bloomington area
(ward), and our church building we go to on Sunday's is in
Colton. haha. My first companion, my trainer, is from Utah and is 24
years old, been out since September, and her name is Sister Davis. She
is the sweetest thing and is treating/training me very well (: (and we
actually have a lot in common! get along way well) In our ward we cover
the west side and Elder's are serving in our ward too and they are
covering the East side. It's been really fun to get to serve with them
too. All four of us go to a members house for dinner each night, and
share a thought. We get them stoked about missionary work!! (Did you
notice all the Gen. Conf. talks about member missionary work? It's cause
it is SO Vital!!:) We are white washing our area, which means that both
Sister Davis and I are new to the area and know no one. None of the
members, less actives, investigators, or area. So that's mostly all we
did this week.. meet people! This is good because now we will better
know their needs and be able to better serve them (: So basically.. this
week should be really great!! We went tracting the other day and met
this lady named Delories and she is super awesome... I really think
she's gonna turn into a new investigator this week (; haha. I just want
her to know everything so bad!! She's so ready (: She grew up baptist
but stopped going because some things didn't sit right with her, and
then nobody noticed she was gone until 2 months later.. which she didn't
like either. I swear, all she'll have to do is come to church, feel the
sweet spirit there, feel of her Savior's love for her through the
fellowshipping members, and BOOM she'll have the desire to follow
Christ. We talked to her on her front porch for like 20 minutes.. and I
loved every minute. Tracting wasn't as bad as everyone said it would
be.. in fact, I LOVE baring my testimony so many times in such a short
amount of time. Definitely not the ideal way of finding people though..
but it is A way. Anyways though.. high hopes for Delories (: On Friday
we went to a member's (less active not that long ago.. but he's
remembering what he once knew and coming back to Christ!) house and did
some weeding. Which was actually really fun, and I loved getting to know
him. His name is Randy Proctor and he served a mission in Utah! He was
in Tremonton for nearly half his mission... 10 years ago. Anybody know
him? (: haha OH, and get this.. on the flight here on Tuesday.. I MADE
MY FIRST CONTACT!! I was the only missionary who didn't get assigned to
sit by another missionary.. haha So basically I had to (: And WANTED to.
I couldn't pass up the opprotunity. He was the nicest guy, and as I was
chatting with him and getting to know him better I just casually
slipped my testimony in there (; haha. He asked about the nametag and
what missions ACTUALLY entell. His name was Matt and he is Catholic. He
really loves his family and it just blew his mind that I left my family
for a year and a half. He recognized right away that that must be
because I know that it's true. I testified to him of forever familes and
the restoration of the gospel (: It was a really neat experience and he
was really really nice. And he lives in my mission! If I'm ever in his
area.. I'm going to find him. He agreed to check out mormon.org,
but other than that he was comfortable in his own beliefs.. the only
thing I found challenging about this, which kinda gave me a heads up for
what I'll see out in the field, was that everything I was saying he
believed! So then what needs to happen is he needs to realize why it is
realivant to him to be baptised to be able to access the blessings of
the things that he believes. That's the number one thing I think.. to
help others come unto Christ you have to help them realize the WHY.
Which I didn't have time to do, so I gave him the mormon.org
card and hope he keeps his commitment to check it out. Because I know
that what I was saying rang true to his heart. He has a desire to follow
Christ. The spirit was there. The seed has been planted and I hope
nothing more than that missionaries will find him again when he is ready
(: This really was an eye opening experience for me. So glad I had it!
Love the people here. We are ALL children of our Heavenly Father! He
wants us to be happy, eternally, with our families. THE FAMILY IS MEANT
TO BE FOREVER!! I know that to be true. I'm about to be kicked off.. so I
better hit send. Unfortunately. I'll write more next week, and dad and
grandma I have answers to your questions and comments! So I'll get to
those eventually too (: And Olivia.. good luck!! You'll love the MTC.
Embrace it (: The Lord is on your side!! So excited to have you out here
with me and Elder Willis (: I LOVE YOU ALL!! Sis, I can't wait to get
your letter!! Have a great week (:
Love, Sister Busenbark (:
Love, Sister Busenbark (:
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