See You All Soon

What a crazy busy week! Our wedding/baptism for Tikler fell through last minute. The family of the bride wanted them to get married by a Protestant Minister and I guess that takes a little more time. He is on track for this next Saturday though along with MJ (a little girl) and Sydney (a young man). Sister Ma'a and Sister Havea will have to send me pictures.

Yesterday was my last Sunday in Pohnpei and I was flooded with hugs and kisses. Sapwalap Branch will be doing a potluck for me Wednesday and I get to go to a family home evening in the Kirinese village tonight in the Kolonia area. Everything is winding down so fast. It will be sad to say goodbye but soo good to see you all again. Don't worry Papa, I'll be working hard 'til the very end.

Congratulations to Jared on his new calling. Now he gets to discuss all sorts of deep doctrine with the high priests every week! 

I poakepoake kumwail,

Sister Beutler

Our baptism this week was wonderful. It was a man named Reagan who has been taught for over 8 years. He has had a lot of setbacks but this time he was truly ready and he finally got baptized. It was one of the happiest baptisms I've seen. He is so excited to do his own missionary work now. He wants to start going around with one of the returned missionaries and find peolpe to teach. :)

Things are still going well. We have another baptism and wedding set for this next Saturday. Tikler, the man getting baptized, is so prepared. He is one of those miracle stories where they are found, come to church 3 times in a row, and get baptized. There is a lot of opposition in his family but he doesn't care. He knows what is right and he is ready to do whatever the Lord asks. 

 

We just got news this week that is has been approved for Pohnpei to becaome a Stake! Everyone is so excited and I know it is going to move the work forward even faster. The dedication will take place on March 16 so I'm going to miss it by just a couple weeks. It is okay though; I'm just glad it is going to happen. 

Mom and Dad I'm so happy for you two that you get to be temple workers. What an amazing experiance that will be!

Happy Valentines

We had another wedding and two baptisms this week. The wedding took place right before the baptism and then the woman needed to be interviewed before she got baptized. It was the most chaotic baptism I have ever attended. There were over 200 people there and probably 50 more who were playing volleyball and basket-ball outside. Everything started late and there were the usual little glitches of people forgetting this and such, but we pulled it all off. We even had the rings, made a wedding cake, and she had a white dress to wear. Amongst the confusion we didn't really have time for many pictures. I did get the groom to stand still for long enough to get one good picture of him and the bride.

The other baptism was a cute girl named Erleen. The rest of her family is already baptized.

We also had our zone conference and it was so good. All the stress and anxious feelings I'd been having about going home are all gone now and I'm super pumped to sprint it to the end. We have lots of baptisms coming up so it will be easy to stay busy and focused.

One of our recent converts has a daughter who is disabled. The daughter just passed away last Monday morning so we spent a lot of our Tuesday at the funeral. It was an interesting experience. Last Sunday evening we went to see them and we could tell the daughter was going to die soon. We asked some of the priesthood men to give her a blessing so they went Monday morning and she passed away within minutes after the blessing. 

I pray you all have a miracle filled week!

Sister Beutler

A February Full of Miracles

Happy Groundhogs Day to all of you. It came and went here and I completely forgot Feb. 2 was a holiday. 

It is good to hear from all of you. Sounds like Stake Conference was really good. It should be a lot of fun to be in a smaller stake.

This past week has been awesome. As a three-some we have been working hard to teach thought by thought so that no one person takes over the lesson and we all have a chance to say whatever the spirit prompts. It has been working well and the Lord has really been leading us to prepared people. There have been a few times this week where we have talked to people on our way to a lesson and although we didn't have a member with us, we felt prompted to teach them right then and there. I've felt the spirit witness to them that what we have taught is true and we have several people who are working towards getting baptized by the end of this month. 

Our baptism this past Saturday for Erleen didn't happen. She is a 12-year-old and her whole family is baptised. She told our district leader that she hasn't repented yet because she still hates some classmates at school. I guess at least she's honest with herself. :) She's looking to be baptized this next week. 

One of the boys we taught this week (Sydney) said he had been sitting in many lessons in the past and he knew that our church was true for a long time. When we invited him to be baptized he pretty much told us that he thought we would never ask and he happily accepted a date for the 22nd of this month. 

I had a request to expound more on the story of the lady with 13 babies inside of her so here it goes. She said she got really sick until she couldn't walk any more and her belly got really really big. She finally went to the hospital. They did an ultra-sound and the doctor said she would die if they didn't take out her uterus. So, they took it out and inside were 13 babies. She said some looked like baby lizards (those were supposedly girls), some looked like the mangrove fish (the boys) and the others looked like turtles without their shells (those ones were the supposed demons inside). There you have it Deborah. See if you can figure that one out.

Love you all very very much,

Sister Beutler

We had a great week. Our tri-panionship is going well, we are getting used to working together and this is going to be a fun last transfer. We had a wedding yesterday for some investigators. It was real nice and simple. We met a woman who had thirteen babies inside of her. She said it was Satan's doings.

Love you all,

Sister Beutler

Hey,

Sister Fatongia left on Thursday and now I am in a three-some for my last transfer. It has been a bit of a challenge trying to combine the Sapwalap and Mesihsou areas and plan splits with only one car. There are so many people to teach in both areas. We are hoping that a sister gets sent to us soon. We heard there are a couple in the Phillipines waiting for their visa. Things are going well though. it is pretty tight squeezing three sisters into our little house. we have to stack our mattresses every morning to we have room to walk and study. I'm still just loving my mission. I have a lot of work to do before the end. We had a baptism on Saturday for Silo. His wife was so excited. He was the one that was supposed to be our Christmas baptism. he made it this time.

Love y'all,

Sister Beutler

Sister Beutler did not have time to write this week, but sent a note to her mother that she is fine.

Parakapw Mwahu

What a week filled with blessings. Since the new year everyone has settled down a bit with the parties and all and they are starting to get a lot more serious about living a better life this year than last. What better way to do that than to be baptized! There are two teenage boys (Kavika and Denero) from separate families that have been coming to church all on their own due to wonderful friends who invited them. Both of them wanted to be baptized but didn't have permission from their parents. We were able to meet with all the parents this week and they gave their approval. Yay! They will both be such strong additions to the branch and they have both shared their desires to serve missions. Denero's older sister (Lisa) is also preparing for baptism. She just needs to get married. Her husband is being a bit of a pill about that but he is a member from a good member family so I believe it will happen soon.

I received my two Christmas packages last Monday! They were so wonderful. Thank you all for thinking of me. The other sisters would all like to give their thanks as they made sure to partake of all the goodies. Jared, Sister Fatongia was thrilled to receive her honey. The best part of all was when Sister Komra opened her presents. She loves her scriptures so much she kisses them every time she picks them up. I sent a picture of her big smile while she read Deborah's letter. I was able to go on an exchange with her last week and it is amazing how much she has grown in just two transfers. One of the funnest parts of missionary work is seeing how much your fellow missionaries grow and progress. 

Love you all very much,

Sister Beutler   

Happy New Year

Hello Hello,

I had such a nice Christmas this past week. Your second Christmas on the mission is so much more fun than your first. I was already over the weirdness of not being with family, the heat outside and such from last year so I was just able to enjoy my unique Christmas on Pohnpei this year. 

Monday we had proselyting all day and then Tuesday (Christmas Eve) we had our P-day/Missionary Christmas Dinner/Pohn Rakied Christmas Party. At the Pohn-Rakied party, all the Kirinese members had made handicrafts for all the missionaries and we drew a number to see which one we would receive. I received a lovely hand-carved shark and a turtle made of shells. What kind and giving people I am blessed to serve among.

That evening all the Sisters slept together in Kolonia and we had a nice Christmas breakfast, devotional, and gift exchange together Christmas morning. We went back to our areas for the afternoon and spent all Christmas day going to family get-togethers we had been invited to, and eating until our stomachs almost burst.  

The best part of all was the day after Christmas when I got to skype all of you. it was so good to see all of your happy healthy faces and to hear that all is well back home. 

As for the missionary work, our Christmas baptism and wedding did not go through due to sakau in both instances. January is looking to be a good month though.

Oh how I love you all.

Sister Beutler

Merry Merry Christmas

Our three-some out in Sapwalap continued on all this past week, but we received the good news that Sis Ma'a's hip is healing well and she just flew back in yesterday so now Sis. Fatongia has a companion again and things can settle down a bit.

Things are going well in our area. Everyone wants to procrastinate until after the new year to repent so it's a little hard progressing them right now. It is looking like January will be a good baptizing month though. 

The Rohde family we found last week is so golden. When we went back to them on Tuesday they said they prayed about our teachings and they know it is all true. The grandmother kept piping up with her negative comments all through the lesson but they didn't seem to care and they even helped us explain some things to her. What a prepared family.  

I'm so excited to skype all of you in a couple days. We will talk later... :)

Love you all, 

Sister Beutler

What a crazy week. SIster Ma'a has been in Guam all week because of a pulled ligament so we have been in a three-some taking care of two areas. God has blessed us though because we were able to get lots of things done in both areas thanks to all the wonderful members who were willing to help out. 

We have been finding so many people lately that want to be baptized and have been to church plenty of times. They all just have lots of little things stopping them. We are looking to get at least a couple baptized before the end of the year though. Yesterday, a couple we were teaching told us they really want to get married so we set up a wedding then and there for Christmas Day. We look to be getting a couple baptisms out of that family if all goes well. 

Sister Havea and I went to the Uh branch for church yesterday. They haven't had a primary for a few months now so after sacrament we called all the kids together and held a primary/YM YW class. It was a lot of fun and the kids thought so too. We plan to go out there for primary every week now. That branch kind of fell apart for a bit but now they have a consistent adult Sunday School teacher and they are starting to have relief society again (we always get the "opportunity" to teach at least part of relief society whenever we go out there). The priesthood also meets every week in the branch president's office so that is a plus

Things are good for me. I'm happy and I'm enjoying the Christmas season out here in the bush. It's amazing how magical a string of Christmas lights looks when strung on a jungle hut.

Love you all and see you soon on skype,

Sister Beutler

Miracle Week

This past Saturday I got to see one of the most beautiful baptisms of my mission. Romeo and his wife Cindy got baptized. Augustine and his son, Jammy, also joined with a niece Atileen. Augustine's wife will be getting baptized this next Saturday. They were all so excited. It is so wonderful to see families get baptized together because you can know that they are a lot less-likely to fall away. Cindy and Romeo especially have such strong testimonies. We send a ride to pick up the family but Romeo always walks to church just because he wants to. As we were driving to the baptism we saw him walking down the road all by himself with a big smile on his face.

We got our transfer calls this past Wednesday. Sister Orrock and Havea switched places. Sis. Orrock was sent to Sokehs and Sis Havea is with me now. She is from Tonga. She started her mission in Saipan for 3 months and spent 4 months out in Sokehs. I was surprised and sad to say goodbye to Sister Orrock but like Sister Havea and think we will have a fun companionship. 

Yesterday some boys decided they would start the New Year off early and set off a bunch of pipe bombs during one of our lessons. The old lady we were teaching was cussing about them under her breath. She's such a funny lady. The other day I was talking to her about her pregnant cat and she was telling me how naughty it was. Every time it has kittens, she puts them in a bag and throws them in the ocean. Then, for some reason that darn cat gets pregnant again! :)

During another lesson yesterday the family's dog kept catching their kitten. Then She would pick it up by the neck just like a pup, take it to the edge of the hill. and throw it off. The kitten would attempt to run back up to the house and the dog would just repeat it over and over again.

Well, I hope you are all enjoying the chilly, Christmassy weather at home. 

Love, 

Sister Beutler

P.S. Mom I don't have a specific release date yet but I do know that the transfer will end on February 23rd so I should be finished sometime around that day.

Happy December

Pohnpeins are so funny about Christmas. The Christmas parties began yesterday and will continue on every day until the end of the year. Yesterday a man gave a very interesting prayer to begin our lesson. He thanked God for the season and then wished Him a very merry Christmas.

 

Thursday we proselyted until 4:00 and then went to Kolonia for our Thanksgiving Feast. We had a meeting and then ate lots of delicious food cooked up by our wonderful senior couples. Afterwards we got to spend the rest of the evening mingling and watching a slide-show of missionary pictures.

 

Everything is going well. There will be seven people getting baptized from the Welter Family this Saturday. I'm looking forward to that. One of them (Nedleen) has wanted to be baptized for years but has had problems getting married. Just this week she told us that she and her husband are going to Kolonia together and getting married in the courtroom. So she will get to join the baptism too!

 

That's all for now. Keep being my wonderful family!!!

Hugs and Kisses from me.

Love,

Sister Beutler

Happy Thanksgiving!!

There are so many miracles I get to see every day. I also get to see lots of funny things (mostly just Pohnpeins being Pohnpein). This week the men are cutting down all the trees by the power lines and as we drive past they always make sure to yell hello to us. Yesterday a funeral was going on and we got stuck a few times as people stopped in the middle of the road to let people out of their cars or just to talk. The other day a teenage boy was sitting in the middle of the road on a leg-less plastic chair just rocking back and forth. The young-uns like to dance for us as we drive past them. We also just saw a truck today with a 4divided by 4 symbol painted in the place where you would usually see 4x4. 

On a more spiritual note, our investigator Cindy who was supposed to be baptized this week decided to wait until Dec. 7 to be baptized with her sister and brother in law. Turns out, God's timing took it's role because her husband, Romeo, also decided he would get baptized with them. These two couples got married on the same day so his brother had a talk with him and convinced him that they should all get baptized on the same day too. Now they have a good support system as they all work to overcome drinking and chewing beetle-nut together. They are all so excited for their baptism day. A couple of the younger kids are also getting baptized with them. 

We have been doing a lot of finding this week and have found some good families. We went to the Uh branch yesterday and after sacrament meeting a girl (whom I had never met) came up to me and asked if she could start coming out teaching with us. She says she has a whole bunch of family in our area. She even gave me a few referrals. That was a miracle in and of itself.

Well, love you all,

Sister Beutler

Dear Family,

It seems that November is flying by. I can't believe it is getting so close to Thanksgiving. The holiday parties have already begun in Pohnpei. The other night we went to visit a less-active woman and she played her ukulele while we sang Christmas songs with her family. 

With all the parties going on, lots of our appointments fell through. We were blessed, however, because it gave us the opportunity to find many new investigators.

Wednesday we noticed a flat tire on our car just as we were about to go out teaching. We took it off and tried the extra tire in our trunk which turned out to be too small. After one of the members analyzed the situation he told us he could give our flat a quick fix that could get us to Kolonia. He also told us we better get a new back tire because it was so worn and bald. We began our drive to Kolonia and half-way there the back tire popped just as predicted. Our zone leaders came to us with a spare and as they changed it we got a large group of kids surrounding us who had just gotten out of school. The tire was stuck on pretty bad and when then Elders finally got it off all the kids clapped and cheered.  

We just put a man, his wife, and their oldest son on a baptismal date for December. The man, Augustine, is just like a giant kid and he always seems so eager to learn. It is a lot of fun teaching them. They all came to church yesterday as did 6 other investigators. One of them, Cindy, is getting baptized this Saturday. Things are going so well.

Love you all,

Sister Beutler

What another great week we had. I love Mesiso (my new area). We continue finding new people to teach and they are so wonderful. I am so blessed to be in this area for the end of my mission.

The young couple we found last week, Maylany and Penski, accepted a baptism date and they are both really excited to put religion back in their lives. 

Monday evening I had the opportunity to try dog. It tastes a lot like pig but more tough. It was nice and hot so it was good, but I don't think it would be very nice if it was cold. 

Tuesday we did service for an old couple. We actually planned it with their grand-daughters who were gone when we got there. I don't think the couple really knew what was going on or why we showed up to their house in service clothes. We told them we were there to work so they played along and gave us a part of their yard to go weed. The old man sat with us and told us all about his career as a police-man and his wife made us a nice drink made from boiled Madu bark. It tastes like black licorice and it's supposed to be really good for women to clean them all out. The water went out right as I was finishing up my shower after service so Sisters Ma'a and Orrock had to take a dip in the river! 

Uh and Sapwalap branches combined together and had a talent show on Saturday. It was nice. A few groups put on some skits and I tell you what, Pohnpein humor is a bit strange.

Yesterday there was a huge funeral and last night the Alati kids all showed up at our porch with a basin full of pig meat they'd taken from it. They asked if they could store it in our freezer. The picture is of one of the little boys with a full leg. 

I love you all,

Sister Beutler

P.S. Mama-For Christmas I would enjoy chocolate/nutela, gummy candies, granola, and a cheesecake mix. I don't really need much else. Sister Fatongia has requested some of Jared's honey (I'd like some too) and it would be nice if you could send some things for Sister Komra (she won't be getting a Christmas package from home). She needs some new crocs. Her feet are size 9. She also really really wants one of those mini scripture quads. Now that I think of it, I wouldn't mind having a few of those mini Books of Mormon. They are real nice.

Sapwalap Branch decided to do a little Halloween gig for all the kids. We showed up for a bit of it and everyone was having a great time. Most of the costumes were mix and matched old clothes tied together to bring the desired results. They went trick-or-treating to the old broken-down chapel and some of the classrooms. Then all the kids ran around with wild sugar highs the rest of the night.

We have some awesome investigators out here. The Welters are an extended family I used to teach with Sis. Varea when I was in Sapwalap the first time. They had been taught for years and years. This summer, one of the ladies finally took the step to getting baptized and since then, one by one the rest have been preparing. It's kind of fun coming back and seeing how much they have all progressed since I've been gone both individually and as a family unit.

We found a lady this week named Maylany. We saw her little boy outside and asked where his mother was. Then a voice called us from above telling us to come on up. The house is built on top of old box cars and we had quite the time finding her stairs as she shouted directions. When we did find them, she was standing at the top with a big smile and beckoned us up. Then she disappeared into a room where we found her sitting with her children, and ready to have a lesson. She just made my day.

We had our District Conference yesterday with 878 people in attendance. It was a lovely meeting.

Our mission nurse, Sis. Mclellen came down to attend the conference and to check out our living conditions. It was her first time to any of the islands besides Guam. She joined Sis. Orrock and I Saturday evening to go out teaching and was utterly amazed at everything. She is from the south and acts just like a true southern bell. She was a lot of fun to take out and certainly had a lot to say about our diet and lifestyle out here. Needless to say, I will be eating a lot more vegetables now and I don't think I'll be partaking of raw fish anymore.

Well, I love you all so very much.

Sister Beutler

P.S. Deborah you should send me a picture of the new baby boy. Please and thankyou :)

Big Changes

Hello,

It was transfer week and the island had some big changes. I'm finally finished training which means no more 2 hour companionship studies! We were split into two zones and almost every companionship was changed around. I'm back out in the jungle in a newish area called Mesisou. We will be going back and forth between the Uh branch and my old home of Sapwalap. It was a bitter-sweet change leaving Kolonia Branch, but I happy to be back home for my last few months.  

My new companion is Sister Orrock and it's really fun to be with her. She is from Alpine, Utah, and is 19-years-old.  Everyone was really surprised that they put the two white sisters out in the jungle together. All the kids keep asking us if we are twins. 

One of the investigators from Kolonia, Yolanda, told us an interesting story this week. She said her brother-in-law wasn't breathing right so they were trying to get him to the hospital in the middle of the night. One of her friends said she was going to check the Dolonier Apartments to see if she could find the Elders (the Elders moved out of there 8 months ago). Anyway, her friend returned with some men in white shirts and ties and missionary name badges. The two men gave the man a blessing and took him to the hospital. No one thought to ask their names until the man was safely in the hospital room. When they went to find the two Elders,they had already disappeared. Later Yolanda asked her friend where she had found the Elders and she said they were just standing by the road at the Dolonier Apartments all dressed in missionary attire at 2:00 in the morning. None of our Elders know anything about it. 

Well, love you all.

Sister Beutler

Dear Family,

It was another good week. We finally had a real lesson with Sivil (from Azerbaijan) and found out she is a Muslim and doesn't believe in Jesus Christ. That was definitely a first. I've never taught a non-Christian before. I don't think she's too interested in ever accepting Christianity. She was, however, thrilled to receive a Book of Mormon and says she absolutely loves reading. I'll be praying that the spirit of it will touch her heart.

 

We also found a 17-year-old girl named Emalane. At the end of her third lesson she told us she's known from the first time we came that what we are teaching is the truth. She told us she is going to write her mother (who is on an outer island) a letter telling her how she feels and asking if she can join the church. It is fun to find people who are that prepared.

 

General conference was great. We even got a couple of our investigators to join.

 

One of the young member girls, Mimi-Jo was following us around on Friday asking us all about missionary work and telling us how fun it must be to be a missionary. We then approached a man sitting in front of his house, introduced ourselves, and asked if he'd ever met with missionaries from our church before. In very clear English he gruffly replied, "No and I don't plan to." Mimi-Jo was horrified :)

 

Here is a story just for you, Gideon. On Tuesday we were sitting outside a house teaching a teenage-girl when her brother came outside and began yelling in our direction. Looking around, I realized he was yelling at me. I asked if he was alright and if we could do anything to help. That just got him more angry and he started swearing, blaspheming God, and talking bad about Americans. The girl stood up and we all walked away together. She apologized and told us he had a mental illness from taking too many drugs.

 As a whole, the week actually went very well with plenty of other interesting stories but they will be saved for another place and time.

 

Love you all,

Sister Beutler

This was an event filled week. I broke out with oozing sores all over my arms and one side of my face. They continued to get bigger and nastier every day so I went to the doctor on Tuesday. She told me I had a bad case of impetigo. Anyway, she gave me an antibiotic and some sulfur soap. I am happy to report that all the sores are almost completely gone. :)

We found a girl named Mimi who is 17 and she is truly searching to know more about God. I enjoy teaching teenagers because they always have so many questions and it's fun to see their faces light up when something clicks for them.

While walking through a jungle area, a bug flew on my lip and bit it before I even had time to react. My lip swelled up a bit but all is well now.

We contacted a referral on Friday and as we got to know him he told us of some elders that used to teach him when he was young. I asked if they'd gone back to him many times. He said they had and that he'd even gotten baptized. The funny thing is, this isn't the first time something like that has happened. It seems like there are lost members all over Kolonia that we just happen to find. It strengthened my testimony that the Lord knows how to guide His servants to His lost sheep who are ready to come back.

We just started teaching the lady from Azerbaijan. On Saturday we showed up right as she was getting her house organized and we helped her move her bed and furniture around. She was leaving to go swimming with a friend but invited us for dinner. We went yesterday and she made some very delicious food. It was hard to get some gospel discussion in with all she had to say but I think it will be fun to start teaching her. Right now she mostly just needs a friend. She's going to come to our dance class on Wednesday and hopefully she'll be able to meet lots of branch members there.

We have a couple little boys in one area that like to follow us around and sit in our lessons whenever we go to that road. They always add a bit of humor to my life and it's funny to hear the random little tid-bits they have to share about the gospel during the lessons. The best part is that they actually know the gospel well and the investigators like having them there.

I hope you all have a miracle filled week,

With Love,

Sister Amy Beutler