Monday, January 2, 2012

1.2.12


Happy New Year!!

I can´t believe it is 2012 already! I remember thinking about how everything cool in my life would happen in the year 2012....ever since I was little i imagined and pretended it was 2012...the year I turn 21 and can do everything I want and the year that I finish my mission and everything. I can´t believe it is here already!! Transfers were today and my companion Elder Hansen is going to serve in Portimão (I was there exactly 1 year ago) I will be serving here with an Elder Searle from Shelly Idaho, I think he is from there, I don´t know him at all.  I am not super trunkie...well right now i was because Elder Deffense went home today...that was trunkie a little bit.

So before I start on this week i want to give you some crazy facts about the best mission in the world!! Here in Portugal as of Christmas day we had baptized....1094 in the year. That is more than any other 2 missions in Europe combined (a mission in England and a mission in Spain were next but they didn´t get 1000 together). A fulfillment of a prophecy that Portugal would be the Lighthouse of Europe! Also another crazy fact is that in Brazil there are 27 mission and we were able to baptize more than 20 of them....so only 7 baptized more than us! Super awesome!

Anyways for this week...well we found lots of people in parties...we found a girl named Mafalda who is 19 and lives above the church...so no excuses for not coming to church...except when she gets super drunk and a new years party and ends up sleeping the night at one of her friends....it happened this week. Anyways um We also found some cool guys that work in a meat factory near by...one named Gerson (cabe verde), Charles (brazil), Lindomar (brazil) we went and talked to them and explained the first vision and it was great they said they would try their best to come to church but didn´t happen...next week! I got to do an interview this week of a girl from Burkina Faso..she is 9 and knew the first vision better than i ever did before my mission. She was baptized on Sunday. And we had a good party with TONS of fattening foods! I am sick of candy and other sweet things!

Wow you found out a lot about Marlies...i hope you didn´t make it super awkward! Does Parker have a girlfriend? Does he have an accent? Did he speak Japanese for you? I am super stoked to do that when i get back...i am nervous to speak in church in English though...it will not come out very smooth for sure!

I hope you guys get feeling better here soon! I am sorry your ankle hurts...that doesn´t sound fun at all. Is dad able to move and stretch more now? He didn´t email me this week...i thought new years was supposed to be a time to start good things not stop them ;) Did you guys make and new years resolutions? I was thinking about them in sacrament meeting this week and i came up with three things i want to focus more on now but especially when i get home...the three E´s of 2012. They are in Portuguese but it is Expiação (atonement), Estudar (study), Evangelho (gospel) So i want to use the atonement, study daily, and focus my life in the gospel. Basically those 3 things were what i felt would be of the most worth. I still will figure out plans to do these things.

Haha that is super awesome that Zach and Todd are both taking a Portuguese class! Tell them they can start practicing their writing Portuguese to me! Umm the only problem with them taking one at UVU is they are going to learn Brazilian Portuguese which is different...it will still help Zach a lot but they pronounce words funny like when there is a "de" they say "ge" which is wierd and they don´t conjugate the verbs in the same way...they use a form of ing...like runnING (correndo)...but in Portuguese we say "we are to run" (Estamos a correr). It makes more sense in Brazilian but in the MTC he will learn the Portugal Portuguese.  Wow I didn´t know Tiffany was so close to getting married as well!! Who is she marrying?

Thanks for taking care of the contacts for me mommy!! I love you tons!!

Elder Bushnell

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