Working, Working, Working

Dearest family,

The work keeps moving on. Elder Patterson is a beast and he never wants to ever quit which is super awesome to have in a companion. The work has been a little challenging lately since it's been hard to meet with anyone, but we've learned a lot these last few weeks and probably the most important thing is to always remain positive. Just don't let hard times get you down! Is that really hard sometimes? Of course. This past week, I thought about the Metros for some reason. I sure miss Ben and I hope all is well with him. Tell him I love him to death! I wrote to Jolyn when I was in Khabarovsk but I haven't heard back from her. She should be heading home soon if she isn't already. Anyways, I was thinking about Brother Metro and how much I love his example. I'm sure he had some hard times and met some disappointments just like the rest of us, but you never would know it when you're around him. He's the example that has been carrying me through this last week. Just smile and go forward with faith. Thanks Brother Metro for your example.

Some news... President Pratt (Mission Pres.) announced this past Korea trip that we can't send packages home anymore through Brother Southerland because he doesn't want us to be abusing Br. Southerland's kindness. I was bummed when I heard this but I understand why. So basically, I won't be sending home any souvenirs or extra clothes or anything which kind of limits me on what I can buy and bring home at the end of my mission.  Which reminds me, my big suitcase that's with me here in Ulan-Ude has taken a bit of a beating. The worst thing is the wheels. They've been absolutely demolished. After the train ride here, I pretty much dragged my suitcase around until the wheels came completely apart. So we'll see what I can salvage. It may mean I need to find a cheap bag to replace it. We'll see. And as far as extra things, unfortunately, I may just end up having to pass things on to other missionaries or throwing stuff away I don't need. I hate to do that since I'd rather not waste anything, but the bags are getting a little heavy so we'll see.

We've talked again to a lot of really neat people. Probably the biggest distinguishing factor of Ulan-Ude compared to the other cities of the mission (besides the fact the so many of the people are Buddhist as compared to Russian Orthodox or simply Christian) is that so many people are so nice and willing to talk to you! They're also very apologetic when they turn you down. Which is kind of funny because that hasn't ever really happened on my mission before. Sunday was probably the best day yet because, well, it's Sunday. What's there not to like? The branch seemed a little smaller since all of the young adults (which is a very big portion of the branch) were in Yekaterinburg for a huge YSA conference that was for the Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, and Vladivostok missions. Hopefully, they had a great time. Sacrament meeting went well and then for Sunday school, the branch president asked the missionaries to lead the lesson. So, we all prepared a really sweet lesson about missionary work and started out by showing probably my favorite short film from the 2011 youth theme video called "We Believe." It was the clip with all the young men that invited each other to church 1 by 1 and now there's 26 of them coming to church together. It's all about inviting. That's our work as members. We invite and share what we know by word and deed. The missionaries are full time teachers just as Elder Bednar said in conference a few years ago. They're called to teach. We are full time finders. We covenanted to do that when we were baptized. The lesson actually turned out wonderfully and the members really enjoyed it. I know the Spirit guided my words along with the words of all the other elders. Our new companions did a great job preparing and sharing their part of the lesson. They all have such faith!

We found out yesterday that the opening of the new building is getting pushed back a little more, so we won't be moving in this week as we thought but probably in the middle of September maybe around Fallon's birthday! Or near the end of the month. It's going to be such a great blessing to have a building!

Anyways, yesterday, President Baldakov (the branch president) talked in priesthood about the temple since he was in Kiev not too long ago when his son Ilya was sealed. It was a powerful lesson to hear his testimony of the temple and to hear his gratitude to the missionaries for the work we do, which helps people obtain the blessing of attending the temple and entering into covenants with Heavenly Father. We definitely felt the spirit yesterday which is probably my favorite part of Sunday. It's a time to rest and to learn. 

I've really thought a lot about the impact of a mission lately. It's a humbling experience. And that's the way the Lord intends it to be. Never in your life do you really have the same opportunity as you do when you serve the Lord full time. I've begun to ask myself, do you really serve full time? Are there times you begin to think about yourself instead of those whom you're serving? How could you improve? I think that's one of my favorite things about new elders is that they come with new ideas and they're more that happy and willing to try them instead of getting stuck in the rut of doing the same thing over and over again. They're constantly improving, and it's so helpful for us with whom they're serving. 

I have one favor to ask of you all. Can you pray for me that I'll be able to write in my journal? I know that probably sounds silly, but since I have to do nightly calls with the companionships in my district, it's been even harder to record stuff I want to remember. I know your prayers will help as I try to work more effectively and quickly so that I record what's most important about each day. (Yeah who would have ever thought a journal would be important to Elder Bush?)

I forgot to mention we went running this morning with one of the members in the branch, and it was pretty chilly out which was weird. But the weirdest part of all is that Elder Patterson got stung on the inside of his lip by a bee. He made us stop and take a look because he felt something hurting inside his mouth so I took a look and pulled the stinger out. Yeah, weird huh?  

I know that Christ lives. He is our Lord. I love him and I'm striving to love the people that I serve. I know He is patient with me and I'm so grateful for the patience. I pray I'll continue to slowly progress each and every day. I love you all and I continually pray for you that you'll all be safe and happy.  Have a great week!

Love always,

Elder Bush

A Lesson on Love

Dear Mom and Dad and the Family and everyone else who may read this,

I want you to know, especially Mom and Dad, how much I love you. I don't think that in the mission culture, it just so happens that trainers and trainees take on the name of "papa" and "son" because it truly is a unique experience to train a new missionary. I really have learned so much from just two weeks of the experience. I also feel so much responsibility and it really gets me down when I don't feel I'm succeeding or reaching my potential because I feel it affects my companion and that's the last thing I want to happen. If there's anything I must work on more and that I want to accomplish, I want to make sure my weaknesses don't affect the beginning of his mission. I don't know if any of what I just said makes any sense but I pondered a while about that this morning and I hope I can continue to steadily improve so as to be the best possible example and trainer for Elder Patterson.

He really has taught me so much. And I love it. This certainly isn't my focus now but the thought just occurred to me that I can't wait to be married and be able to learn from my spouse. It will be such and adventure and rewarding experience. Anyways, this past week was a great lesson in love. You have to love the people. Love them with all your heart, even when you don't want to, because it has a profound impact on the progress of the work. It has a profound impact on how you grow as a missionary, as an individual, as a son or daughter of Heavenly Father. When we take it upon ourselves to serve God, we forget about ourselves. We give up ourselves, take up our cross 'daily' as Luke says in chapter 9, and we follow Christ and never look back. It's so hard to do that sometimes. I'll tell you all right now that forgetting about yourself completely and entirely is insanely hard. It takes some time to really work at it and accomplish it. But it is possible. Craziest part about it is once you think you've figured it out, you realize that you can do even more to give of yourself and to focus even more on others. You would think that simply leaving home and your family and friends would be enough. Not. The Lord requires more. You stop thinking about home nearly as often or letting your mind drift to past memories. Enough right? Nope. It takes even more. At least it has for me. And there's nothing more rewarding than losing yourself in the work of the Lord. You come much closer to your Savior. I still have some distance to cover and a bit of a gap to bridge but I can see the progress I've made thanks to the Lord's help.

I found out the other day that Sveta, the girl that Elder Miller and I were teaching got baptized this past weekend on Saturday. I'm sure it was a great experience for her and I pray she will never forget it. I also pray the Lord will continue to use me as an instrument in His hands to affect the lives of others. We never know the effect we have on others. You just never know. So, do everything you can do bring about good about you and the Lord will use you as an instrument for the benefit of others. Galatians 6:9 be not weary in well doing. Never stop doing good. Never stop serving. Quick story... So, we missionaries often find ourselves on the streets here in Russia. Go figure since we walk most places. Or take buses. But we're pretty much always on the streets and talking to everyone we see. I have seen the examples of past companions who always asked to help people that may have been in need, and I too have been striving to offer help at any setting that help could be offered. Rarely does anyone ever take you up on the offer. Even if a babushka is carrying 10 grocery bags filled with potatoes, carrots, cabbage and beets to make some borsch (keep in mind she's going uphill and she also lives on the 10th floor) for some crazy reason, she'll still turn you down when you offer to help. That has never made sense to me, but I have a hunch it's due mostly to the untrusting nature of many of the Russian people who have a hard time trusting those around them. This past week, we talked again to a lot of people and offered to help many that seemed they could use it. I reminded my comp that despite rejection, we must continue to offer our help because we never know who will accept it. On our way home Saturday night, we walked between two apartment buildings not far from the church and I noticed a babushka who was slowly making her way down the street as she carried two large grocery bags. We changed paths and made our way over to her and offered to help. She was astonished and told us we were like angels from heaven! She couldn't stop telling us how handsome we looked and how nice it was that we had offered to help. To her, we seemed to have come out of nowhere as though we were angels from above. We slowly walked down the street to her apartment building and offered to take the groceries to her door but she insisted that she see us off at the bus stop. We talked and talked and talked and she told us all about her granddaughter who speaks fluent English and has many American friends that have come to visit. He name is Nina and she was so loving. It felt so good to help someone and not that we expect it but it is rare that we're ever thanked for the service we try to provide. She generously thanked us over and over again and gave us her number and invited us to visit. We hope to see her this week sometime. Never ever forget to offer your help.

It's been so awesome to see my son (new missionary) grow and to see his faith. He talks to everyone. Really he has no fear which is so awesome. Continue to pray for him. He really will be instrumental along with all the other missionaries that have come with him in helping the church grow here. I'm convinced they will help fulfill prophecy. I pray I be here long enough to aid in the fulfillment of that prophecy as well as the church begins to explode here. By the way, we got to see the church building's interior this past week and wow, does it look amazing! As we walked into the chapel, Elder Patterson and I were immediately hit by the Spirit. It was a wonderful experience I will never forget, and this new branch will be a blessing for the members here. We had an interesting pday last week which made seeing the new building even greater but I'll tell you all more about that later.

I love you all so much. I realize my letters home have changed a lot throughout the duration of my mission. I've come to realize training that a lot of the crazy cultural differences are not so crazy to me anymore. I really don't seem to notice that stuff much. So I'm sorry if that's what you enjoyed hearing about. I'll try to pay more attention to it all. It is really neat to relive things though through your new companion. I hope you all have a fantastic week! Love you ALL!

Love,
Elder Bush

Contacted 142 people in one day

My dearest of dear families,

How art thou? How dost thine doings go back home in the homeland? Ok enough of this gibberish. I'm so glad to write to you all this week! This last one has been another great chapter in the mission. Hard to believe so much time has flown by and that so little time remains to serve the Lord. (Yeah I know I still have a little over 6 months but honestly, that's nothing.) This is the time to shine and it really is quite exciting to be a missionary of the Lord at this time. Mom, Dad, and the whole rest of the family, I know that this work is not just a good idea or a good thing that we do because we want to do a little good in the world. It is the work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I am his representative, and that is a lot of responsibility. Some may wonder why the Lord entrusts such a great responsibility with such young inexperienced folks. But I'm starting to really understand why. It's because the Lord loves us so much and he knows what we will become if we will give up ourselves in His service. He molds us and shapes us. And boy, do I have a lot of rough edges that I thought were already smoothed over. It will take a lifetime in fact to really smooth out most of my rough edges. But, serving the Lord is the Lord's way to jump start and in reality begin that arduous process. I've never done anything harder. Probably never will. It is really hard sometimes to fulfill the Lord's will when inside you have reservations or don't want to because you know how hard it will be or how much effort it will require of you. I must testify to you all though that it is worth it. I know that the Lord knows me inside and out. He understands me perfectly and is probably frustrated with me sometimes. But I'm certain He is pleased with me as well when I strive to give it my all and fulfill His will. I know Jesus is the Christ. He has overcome the world and through Him, our burdens can be lifted and our sorrows can disappear. He restored His church again to the earth in its fullness through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Of that I am certain and can never deny.

I love my mission. If you can't already tell. Probably because it's not 'mine'. Once I started to realize and continually remember that this mission is not mine but the Lord's and I am simply here on His behalf, I started to understand much more the meaning of the work in which I was participating. This past week has really been a test of my faith and thanks to my companion with a ton of greenie fire, I have been stretched and pushed and I know that I am coming closer to being the missionary the Lord desires of me. I love the elders in my district, so of course, district meeting went well. They all are so awesome and full of desire to serve the Lord sincerely that it's hard not to feel the Spirit in their presence. We talked mostly of logistical things during district meeting and about changes in the mission and unfortunately, we didn't really get to anything that I had planned. But that will be saved for tomorrow's meeting. Anyways, what has really struck me about this past week is the faith, desire, and diligence of the new elders. They truly have been called at a time when the mission is in need of them. They have no fear. Elder Bush has a lot of fear at times in his mission. I have also let the people really get to me at times. Khabarovsk was a difficult city that really beat me down and kept me from opening my mouth and declaring the good news of the gospel with all those amongst whom I was serving. But these new elders, despite their enormous language barrier, talk with everyone. I mean everyone. They're not afraid to say what they can. It reminds me of earlier times in my mission when I overcame my fear and really pushed myself. Irkutsk was a great city in which I really pushed myself as well. But these elders, especially my companion have helped push me and teach me like no one else before has been able to. Wednesday of last week, we had no lessons that worked out. The whole day was going to be filled with street contacting. So we set some admirable goals. We both figured we could probably talk to 60 people during the day and receive a few contacts. 60 people is a lot, and it takes a good effort to reach a goal like that. We left our apartment just after 11 after language study and returned around 2 for lunch. It that short time, we reached our goal and surpassed it by 20! I was blown away. I had never before talked to so many people. Many of them weren't interested. Many of them were really really nice. We later set a goal to try to speak to another 60 people in the evening with the remaining time we had after working a little in the area book and finishing some studies we have to do as part of our new training program. We again started talking to everyone. And I mean everyone. If they walked past us, we talked to them. Again, we were met with many people that weren't that interested. And with about 4 minutes left, right near our apartment building on the way home, we met our goal and talked to 2 more and in the end, we had spoken with 142 people. Only one man had expressed much interest and was willing to take a book of Mormon and gave us his number so we could get in touch. And we met him just before we got home. It was a long hard day in which we talked to everyone we could. The best part of that day was during my prayers that evening as I knelt beside my bed. As I prayed, I thought about all the people we had talked to. Their faces and words ran through my mind over and over again. And there were so many!! The Lord knows each of them and loves them so much! As my mind reflected on all of them, I was overcome with that feeling of love for all of them and I prayed so hard that he would bless Igor and Hatasha, Vladimir and Sergei, Alexander and Sasha, Yulia and Dima. We continued to talk to tons of people the rest of the week and testified of the divinity of the Savior, of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, and that the church of God has been restored on the earth. I know all of that with every bit of my heart, and I am privileged that I can declare that message each and every day.

We also got to see the new church building that we'll be moving to soon. It is almost finished being built. It looks awesome!!!!! I'll have to send you pictures soon. (Unfortunately, the battery is dead in my camera.)

Well, I'm doing well in short. My health is good. Although I miss really working out. I may start waking up a little earlier to get a better work out in in the morning. Oh that reminds me, Ulan-Ude doesn't have hot water right now in the apartments. And hasn't for a while. It's supposed to get turned back on today but we'll see. So, basically, we've been taking cold showers for the last week and a half. Which is awful. (not that I'm complaining) but cold showers are certainly not on my list of "wow that's awesome! I’d definitely do that again!" things. What we usually do is boil water when we first get up, kind of like I did with Elder Waltman over a year ago and then take it in the shower with me, get soaked with the ice cold shower water, soap up, and then rinse off with the warm water in our huge soup pot. Yeah, it gets the job done but I will be so happy when the water gets turned back on.

Oh and Mom, you would be so proud of me. I'm actually able to cook some things that my companion compliments (I think he's just being nice since I'm his first comp in the mission field).

Well, I love you all to death, to the Spirit World, the Resurrection, Judgment, and the Celestial Kingdom! (hahaha aren't I just hilarious?) But seriously, I really do love you all a ton. Hope your week's a grand one! Good luck back at school!

Love,
Elder Bush

The first few days in Ulan-Ude

Well howdy folks,

Trev, I want to wish you a very happy belated birthday! For some silly reason, I always remember things before or after I need to. I wanted to wish you a happy birthday last week, and I remembered before we went to write home and after when we were out and about, but I couldn't seem to remember while I was sitting at the internet cafe. Hope your birthday was a great one and I hope you enjoyed turning 19. Enjoy your time at home with the fam!

Well, craziness has struck the mission of Elder Bush and it wouldn't be nearly as much fun without a little craziness, right? But before I start about all the craziness, last Monday I bought some souvenirs that I will send home probably my next Korea trip. Let's see, what else exciting happened... Oh on Wednesday, we got the grand opportunity to attend a Russian wedding. A returned missionary named Ilya that got back from serving in Moscow about 3 months ago (who is actually from Ulan-Ude; his family lives here and his Dad is the branch president) got married to a girl named Tanya, who also just got back from her mission about 2 months ago from Samara. In Russia, before going to the temple to be sealed, you must be married civilly by law and so they had a ceremony at the usual place where weddings always take place in Russia. That place is called 'zaks' and the marriage ceremony really only consists of some woman talking over a microphone, loud music playing, the bride and groom signing their marriage certificates, and the equivalent of our best man and bride's maid signing the certificate as well as witnesses of the wedding. It was interesting to say the least. It was well done and I was really happy for the both of them because they're both so awesome! I must add though, it felt very empty and I guess that's because it doesn't really compare to the sanctity, beauty, and symbolism of a temple marriage. They along with their families are in Kiev right now most likely because their sealing is going to take place tomorrow if I'm not mistaken, which I'm sure will be an awesome moment for the both of them. I must say it was a pretty neat experience to be able to see how weddings take place in Russia though. The best part is probably that they film the entire wedding with several cameras. And then after the ceremony, we all go downstairs to watch the wedding again. That part was a little awkward because at the end of the wedding, everyone goes up to wish the bride and groom congratulations and for some stupid reason, the camera guy decided to leave the camera on me for like 10 straight seconds. Yeah, awkward. Everyone laughed at that part. And then, when we (the missionaries) congratulated the groom we of course did our half handshake/man hug thing (you know what I'm talking about) and then when I came up to Tanya, I put out my hand and she laughed and shook my hand. Everyone else had given her a hug so it was funny to all the rest of those in attendance to see 6 guys at the end just shake hands with her. All the members loved that.

Later Wednesday we had an awesome lesson with a man who is a little handicapped mentally but he is so awesome and has such a strong testimony of the gospel. He really knows so much! I'm sure going to miss him.

So, Thursday night, I got all packed up and ordered our monster taxi to pick me up the next morning at 8 and then we planned to swing by the other apartment to get the three new elders who had flown in at 2 in the morning from Vlad and would be traveling with me to Ulan-Ude. When I got to the apartment, I double checked the tickets and found that the train time said 7:55am. And at that point, I felt my heart hit the floor. Then I doubted myself because all train tickets have time written on them according to Moscow time so I thought, maybe I was reading it wrong. But as I talked with Elder Stewart, we confirmed that we had probably missed the train. He had checked the tickets the night before and noticed the difference in departure time and what we had been told (I thought we would leave at 9:15 since that's what I had been told). But, his alarm didn't go off since his phone was set to silent and when we arrived at 8ish, we woke them up when we rang the doorbell. So we went to the train station and sure enough, we missed the train. But we were able to exchange the tickets for tickets on a train the left at 10:11 which worked out wonderfully. It was a little hectic, but we got it all worked out and got on the train bound for Ulan-Ude. The new elders are my companion, Elder Patterson, who is such a stud!!! I love him so much already! Continue to pray for him because yeah, the beginning of the mission is kind of hard. There's also Elder Bean and Elder Bell and they're great elders. They all speak awesomely! (which I don't think is a word but don't care) I really am blown away by their faith and their dedication and it really is so refreshing to have some greenie (a green or new missionary) fire and faith alongside me. I wouldn't say I was a Doubting Thomas all the time, but I have had my moments on my mission where it was harder to have faith and I let myself doubt. I have a feeling this is going to be a great experience for the both of us! The last few days have been so much fun because I've been reliving the first few days of my mission realizing there is so much, especially about the language and culture that he just doesn't know yet. Talk about crazy! I never thought I would be training. Elder Patterson kind of looks like me which is pretty funny. He actually reminds me a lot of Uncle Derek with some of his facial expressions and how he says things. Uncle Derek, I hope you're doing well and I sure miss you all in California! It'll be great to see you all again! I will definitely have to succumb to the inner kid in me and hit up Boomers with Grandpa and Uncle Derek once I'm home someday. :) The branch is great and I'm super excited to be here. We should also be in our own new building that is almost done sometime in September! I've seen pictures and it is going to be AWESOME!!! Can't wait.

Well, I love you all so much. I'm so grateful to have such a family. You all are great support. I continue to pray for each and every one of you. Continue to pray for me that I can do the little things that will help me come closer to the Savior and become more like Him so I can serve Him even better.

Love you all!

Ст. Куст (that means bush in Russian... pronounced koost)

P.S. I'm now district leader. Didn't think that would happen either. I could use prayers for that too.

I being transferred to Ulan-Ude

Hello to one and all,

Time seems to be flying by faster and faster and there's just nothing I can do about it. I was very glad to hear from you all and I hope and pray that the Lord is watching over you. It sure sounds like he is. :) Well, this past week was a little hectic. We did service on several days which really made the days fly by. We helped a member finish redoing her apartment along with the zone leaders. We were gluing these ceiling tiles and putting down carpet and moving stuff and basically it was lots of fun. To put it simply, our investigators are doing well, although they're not so happy about the fact that I'm being transferred. Speaking of which, I'm heading to Ulan-Ude! And I'll be training! And district leader which will be a great opportunity to serve. So, my new companion’s name is Elder Patterson and he is from Burly, Idaho (I don't really have the slightest clue where on the earth that is except that it's located somewhere in the state of Idaho between Boise and Rexburg). But he plays football for the Oregon Ducks and was (if President gave me accurate information) on special teams and was the long snapper. This all basically boils down to the fact that my new companion has accomplished one of my life dreams: playing in (or in my case simply attending) the Rose Bowl. And since most football players make me look tiny, he'll probably be huge and can eat me. Especially in my weak physical condition in which serving a mission has left me. Ok I'm just teasing but really, I am in pretty bad shape. Running in the morning is awful, especially with a companion right now who ran in college.

Anyways, so the plan for this week is I'll still be serving with Elder Miller until Friday morning, and then I hop on the train with three new Elders (my new comp and the new comps of Elders' Phillips and Steed) and we will head to Ulan-Ude. Should be exciting! I'm super excited to train and I can't wait to serve in Ulan-Ude. Although, it will be pretty hard to leave Irkutsk because I have come to love this city. Those are probably the words I say regarding every city I've served in. I really have been blessed with the opportunity to travel in my mission considering I've been transferred almost every two transfers to a new city. The only cities left are Nakhodka and Artyom.

As far as how I'm doing, I'm doing alright. Lately, I've really begun to notice that the Lord has worked through me in interesting ways. I never have really been a missionary that sees "success". And as of late, since we have some very high goals set for the mission this year, I've been a little discouraged and feeling kind of down, as though I'm not sure I've been the servant the Lord intends me to be. But, I know discouragement is not what the Lord wants in His servants. And I've recognized that the Lord has been working through me to touch the lives of others in ways that aren't always represented in visible results. For example, I think I mentioned to you all that while Elder Zamora and I were in Usserisk, we were asked to give a young woman a blessing. She's the daughter of one of the members that Elder Boyer (my MTC teacher found and taught). This daughter has had contact with the church off and on and yet never has been super interested in knowing a whole lot more. If I'm not mistaken though, she decided to investigate more not too long ago and was baptized this past weekend. I know the blessing that I helped give to her from our Heavenly Father was probably not the reason she all of a sudden decided to learn more but it was a very powerful blessings in which everyone in the room was touched by the Spirit of the Lord. Elder Zamora and I were both blown away and Elder Zamora commented to me about the feelings he had during the blessing. He knew the words I was saying were from the Lord. The Lord works through us in His own way and in His own time. We just have to be ready and willing to serve and remain worthy of His guidance.

I have really come to love the city of Irkutsk. It has been a great city of growth for me. I've learned so much actually. Mostly, I think I've come to realize that I really know nothing and I have so much to learn in this life. I'm excited for a new change and it will be great to see a new city. Soon, Ulan-Ude's new building will be finished and it will be AWESOME to have our own building that the church has built. The work is beginning to burst here in Russia, and I'm blessed to be a part of it. Soon, I don't know when, but soon, people will begin to recognize the truth of our message. People shall flock to the church. They will tear down ideas that we're a cult, that we're strange, that we're just here to steal peoples' apartments. (Yeah, some people think that.) I'm privileged to be here. I know that Jesus is the Christ. (That is a greattttt book by the way.) I know that this is His work. He has called me. And I know that He knows each of us.

I love you all so much. Sorry I didn't write a whole lot today. Please let me know if you have any questions. I'll try to send some pictures soon. Love you!!!

Love,

Elder Bush