Happy April Fools!!!

Dear Family,

It was happy to see the Easter hike pictures. What cute nieces and nephews I have! I can't believe it is already April. It seems like winter never even came :) 

So, we finally received our transfer calls after the long 8-week transfer. 4 new Elders came to the Island. My area has been split in half so Sister R. Varea and I will no longer be working in Kolonia. Now we only work on Sokehs Island. We hardly ever went down there before so it will almost be like opening a new area. As we have been looking over the old records for Sokehs Island, the most recent is from 2010 and most are from 2006-2007. It is going to be quite the job trying to find all those people again. There are several records of people that sounded like they were really progressing and then the missionaries must've never went back. We don't know if the missionaries were transferred or what happened. It will definitely be  an interesting week for sure. Sokehs is a volcanic island so it's just a giant mountain in the sea and the people mostly live all along the base of it. Many live up higher in the mountain too though. 

This week we worked in Kolonia and then when the new Elders came we spent three days showing them around and helping them meet all our members and investigators. One of the Elders has only been out for 3 months and the other one is brand new. They are really nervous about working in a new area and both being so new in the language. They will be fine though. All the girls we have already fallen in love with them.

While the Elders were taking care of some stuff with the zone leaders on Saturday, Sister Varea and I went out to contact the last of our refferals. We ended up teaching the most horrible family ever. There was a fat lady that made up names for everyone in the family and they were just a bunch of bad words. Then she told us all about how well versed she is in the bible and started quoteing lots of random scriptures. She just wanted to bible bash so we ended that lesson pretty fast. As we were leaving they all made a bunch of dumb jokes. They made a return appointment for us but I don't think we'll be sending the Elders back there. 

The week has been a enjoyable week over all though. Our branch is really emphasizing reactivation in Sacrament meeting talks and in sunday school. I think the visiting teaching may be organized now. We definitely need it. There are over 600 members in our branch and the attendance rarely gets over 100. It will help a lot to have another set of missionaries in our branch too. One man we have been working with for the past couple months finally came to church yesterday with his wife after years of being less-active. We also have another less-active woman we've been teaching that for the last couple weeks has come and even brought all the neighborhood girls.

I feel like I'm babbling so I will end now. Stay strong and always remember God in all you do. 

With all my love,

Sister Amy Beutler

Happy Easter Week

Dear Family,

I'm getting excited for the Easter week here in Pohnpei. I hear it is very well celebrated and everything is closed down to commemorate the birth of our Savior. 

We haven't heard the official transfer calls yet but we know 4 new elders will be coming and who will be training them. Apparently there are no new sisters coming yet because none of us will be flying out to Guam tomorrow. 

Today we had a zone activity at Nico Beach to say goodbye to Elder Davis.Two elders ended up going to the hospital. One cut open his hand while cutting firewood. He only had to get one stitch but his cut was really deep. The other, which just happened to be Elder Davis, cut his head open on a rock and had to get a few stitches. It was a fun activity though and they were both back in time to eat. 

This week we met one of Sister Varea's old investigators on the street and she asked us to come back and teach her. Apparently she has gained a lot of weight in the last six months. Sister Varea asked how she got so fat and she said she was sick. When asked what kind of sickness she said "Soumwahw en Sadan" (Sickness of Satan). A little taken aback I asked her to repeat herself and again indeed she did have soumwahw en sadan. She said Satan had been staying inside of her but she is all better now because she took some local medicine and he came out of her. 

The same day we had Gloria and Cynthia tell us all about how ghosts eat little girls. Those two got baptized this Saturday. Our baptism was combined with the Nett and Sekere areas so we were able to see 11 people baptized. All the Elders there got to baptize along with one of Nett's very recent converts. It was a wonderful sight to see all those people in white. 

One of the blessings I've seen in my life this week is that I got chicken pox as a youngster. The chicken pox are going around the island and it's nice to not have to worry about catching it. 

Our 14-year-old boy, Rayden, is finally progressing again. He was too ornery to sit in any lessons so we stopped trying to teach him for a few months. We just picked him up again and he is more than happy to sit and participate in the lessons. He has even started going to stay with a member-family on the weekends. That is good because now he has a ride to church.

I guess that's all folks. Keep loving the Lord with all your might and he will continue to take care of your families. I hope you all enjoy the Easter season. 

Love,

Sister Beutler 

Happy St. Pattys Day

Dear Family,

Yesterday we had district conference and Elder Ringwood came to speak to us. On Friday, he and President Mecham had a zone conference with all the missionaries. It was really neat to meet and hear from one of the General Area 70. He spoke a lot to us about the prophesies of the latter-days being fulfilled and the pace of the work progressing. Our job as missionaries is to live what we preach and to endure to the end even after our mission. We must always be working towards perfection. I'm excited for the day that Pohnpei will have it's own stake. I know there are many miracles to be seen ahead.

This week we have happened to pick up some old investigators again just by chance and I feel like this time they have been prepared to hear the message of the gospel. They have changed so much from just a couple months ago when we stopped teaching them.

The couple (Tessie and Elis) that I thought were going to be so good have now split up. Tessie went back to Chuuck and Elis moved out of Kolonia. We don't know where he is. I guess life can throw a few curve balls. Maybe they will find the gospel again at another time, in another place, with a different set of missionaries.

We have two 10-year-old girls (Gloria and Cynthia) that we are preparing to be baptized this next Saturday. It's always fun to see how much a child's knowledge of the gospel can increase with-in only a few weeks. When we started teaching them they didn't even know how to pray or read the words in the Book of Mormon and now they have learned so much. I know God loves His little ones.

Sister Varea found a paper in the church with a list of English words the 3rd graders were supposed to memorize for school. She was just glancing at it and she noticed an asterisk at the bottom that said "shall" is a word no longer used in the English language. We got a good laugh out of that. 

I heard Ryan Reeder served in Pohnpei. Do any of you brothers or sisters know him well and if so, do you want to find out the areas where he served and who he taught etc.?

Love you all,

Sister Beutler

I was never able to send the picture of Rachel and Lorsy so I am sending it now. They are the two Kirinese girls that just got baptized a couple weeks ago. 

March 11

Well Family Dear,
It was another nice sunny week in Pohnpei. I tried a guava this week. We were explaining faith to a couple young girls and I began to use the example of a seed. They said they didn't know what a seed was (I guess I shouldn't have been suprised. People don't plant seeds here, they just jam a stick in the ground and let it grow). Anyway, one asked if they were the little things inside the guava. They got all excited and assured me that they needed to go out and pick a guava for me so we put the lesson on hold for a minute while they climbed the guava tree. :)

We have a 38-year-old man (Skiller) we are teaching that, up until this week, his lessons were pretty hard. I think he was mostly being taught to make his parents happy and I think he was also just being polite. On Monday, however, he was out at sea with an old man and their boat motor wouldn't work. They tried everything they could think of and even tried paddling back to land but they just drifted farther out to sea. They were pretty scared but finally Skiller thought to say a prayer. He gave a prayer asking for help, then pulled the string for the motor and it started right up. Now he still doesn't talk a whole lot, but there is something about him that has changed. He has heard lesson #1 dozens of times but we decided to teach it again. This time he actually answered questions and really listened with his heart in it. 

I feel like every time we teach a less-active family we find a child or two that have never been baptized. It feels like we teach so many children but I can also see how much their parents testimonies are being strengthened as we involve them into the teaching process. I know God works in mysterious ways. Sometimes I get a little impatient with all the people that tell us they can't come to church because they are luwet (weak). But, we will continue flooding their homes with the word of God. Someday they will come back. They just need a few hefty thrusts in the right direction.

I finally got a nametag in Pohnpein after 6 months on the island. I guess this means they want to keep me. Yay!

Aneesa, I don't think you'll have to worry about saving a puppy for me. When you told me about your boys I thought of I funny story that happened a couple weeks ago. Some of the little girls in our ward ran up our steps with us. As they peeked into our house they had a lot to say about how "lel" (cool, sweet, tight) it was. They asked if we lived there and when we said yes they gave us a surprised look and said. "Are you two family?" They couldn't see why you would live with anyone who wasn't your family member.

Well Bye for anmother week.

Sister Beutler

 

March 4

Hello again,

We had a wonderful week. People are finally accepting invitations to be baptized again and we even had 6 investigators at church yesterday! Tessie (Daisy) and Elis are still doing well. They were both able to recieve blessings this week to help them overcome chewing beetlenut. Tessie has already read all of 1Nephi-2Nephi in less than two weeks and they both still really want to be baptized but are working up the courage to tell their families about it. 

Last monday Elder Lefevre was cutting the Elders hair. I haven't even had a trim since I started my mission so I asked him to do mine too. He said he would do it if he could trim it with his razor. He ended up doing a good job and now I know how to trim long hair with a razor too. I think it's probably just as easy to use scissors though. 

Yesterday one of the little girls at church asked me "Kowe mehnia" (where are you from). I replied "Ngeh mehn Idaho" (I'm from Idaho). She gave me a funny look and said "Ke sehse ia wasa ke mehnia?" (You don't know where you are from). I then told her again, and the third time I had to write out the name, Idaho, on a paper. She can understand some English so when I said "Idaho" she thought I was saying "I don't know." :)

We were teaching a lesson this last week and one of the men was reading a scripture when a spider the size of a half-dollar ran onto his book. He glanced at it and just kept reading. After he was done he lifted up his book and the spider came leaping across the floor right to me. I jumped up and ran and I think I gave everybody a shock. They just laughed and laughed. Sister Varea was laughing so hard that she just had me finish the lesson on my own because she couldn't talk. No one here is really afraid of spiders because none of them are poisonous. I still can't bring myself to just let them crawl on me though. 

Meagan (a member that joins us to go out teaching), climbed a cavica tree on Friday and knocked some down for us with a long stick while we stood at the bottom and caught them. They are very delicious. They almost have the taste and texture of a macantosh apple except a little sweeter. 

Well, I still love you all just as much as ever. Mom and Dad I pray for you two every day. I know the Lord is pleased with all the work you are doing out in Guayana. That is wonderful that so many people were able to recieve eye exams and glasses. I know that project probably softened lots of hearts. I also know the people who donated all that time and money will be greatly blessed for their service to others. See, they killed two birds with one stone.

Until next week,

Sister Beutler

My little home here in Kolonia